Richard Munson’s splendid biography of Benjamin Franklin provides an insightful view of the statesman’s lesser known accomplishments in science.

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Didion and Babitz

Lili Anolik’s Didion and Babitz is a freewheeling and engaging narrative about two iconic literary rivals and their world in 1970s Los Angeles.

Crafts, Hobbies & Home, Nonfiction

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Garden Wonderland

With its seamless integration of gardening principles with advanced design ideas, Garden Wonderland is the perfect gift for new gardeners—or anyone in need of a little inspiration.

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Holiday treats for the women in your life

by Rebecca Denton

Biography

Biography

The life of a Confederate Cary Grant

Review by bookpagedev

In his prime, Roy Blount Jr. declares, Robert E. Lee “may have been the most beautiful person in America, a sort of precursor-cross between England’s Cary Grant and Virginia’s Randolph Scott.” Why, then, do most Americans today think of Lee if they do at all as a solemn, unsmiling figure in gray? Such an image comes to us, of course, largely from myriad photographs taken during the Civil War. Leave it to Blount, the renowned humorist, to show us not only the iconic Lee dubbed “The Marble Model” by his fellow cadets because he never received a demerit at West Point but also the flirtatious ladies’ man who never outgrew his fondness for dancing, gossip and parties.

Those readers who seek information on Lee as a career Army officer and military tactician will not be disappointed here; one finds extended discussion of Lee’s service in the Mexican War, as superintendent of West Point, and later as Confederate general. What distinguishes Blount’s treatment, however, is the author’s analysis of Lee and the race issue. The Virginian owned a handful of slaves and wrote that he considered “the blacks” to be “immeasurably better off” in the United States than in Africa. “God’s will,” he maintained, dictated that they be enslaved for their “instruction.” As Blount points out, Lee’s views on African Americans differed little from those of his contemporaries, North or South. For example, his battlefield nemesis, Ulysses S. Grant, wrote in his post-presidential memoirs that in order to bolster the Republican Party “it became necessary to enfranchise the negro, in all his ignorance.” This outstanding volume is the latest entry in the Penguin Life series, which allows distinguished authors to select a person about whom they are curious and then write a short, synthetic account that will inform the general reader and the specialist alike. Blount’s graceful narrative reflects the author’s wide reading of and mature reflection on the standard biographies of Lee. The result is a miniature masterpiece. Dr. Thomas Appleton is professor of history and associate director of the Center for Kentucky History and Politics at Eastern Kentucky University.

In his prime, Roy Blount Jr. declares, Robert E. Lee "may have been the most beautiful person in America, a sort of precursor-cross between England's Cary Grant and Virginia's Randolph Scott." Why, then, do most Americans today think of Lee if they do at all…

Coming soon to a theater near you

by Becky Ohlsen

Cookbooks, Food & Drink

Food & Drink Cookbooks

A sweet, savory gastronomic trilogy

Review by Alison Hood

by Alison Hood

Celebrated American author M.F.K. Fisher once said that when she wrote about food and eating, she was really speaking to our hunger for love and warmth. We humans are hungry, each with different longings we assuage according to our varied cultural roots. Come to sustain us through the winter are three savory volumes of food writing from a cornucopia of authors, including Fisher, that illuminate man's culinary and agrarian traditions, creations, prejudices and cravings.

A memorable meal might offer superb dishes and exquisite vintages served in a delightful ambiance. Mark Kurlansky, author of The New York Times bestseller Cod, delivers just such a remarkable repast with his gastronomic anthology, Choice Cuts: A Savory Selection of Food Writing from Around the World and Throughout History. Literary writings from an eclectic company of authors focus on man's knowledge and appreciation of food and drink through the ages. From Plato, Brillat-Savarin and Thoreau to Elizabeth David and Alice B. Toklas (who reveals the best way to clobber a carp), these "cuts" analyze culinary arts and exaggerations, degustation and man's enduring desire for crispy pommes frites.

Kurlansky's clear, well-researched introduction (a small history of food writing) and commentary enliven his selections, which are tucked into chapters on gluttony, food and sex, the primary food groups, culinary rants, food politics and the seductions of chocolate. Choice Cuts is an erudite treat containing practical instruction on preparing your Thanksgiving turkey, arcane lore on the aphrodisiacal properties of celery, and peculiar recipes, such as how to make your whole roasted cow look alive again. A book for culinary aficionados, Cuts casts a wide appeal as pure entertainment, especially when garnished with a comfortable armchair, favorite libation and a plate of chilled, crunchy celery at hand.

When French winemakers speak of terroir, they refer to a signature confluence of natural elements that distinguish one vineyard from another, helping to produce unique, legendary wines. This concept of distinction is no less evident when considering American Southern cuisine, which is bound intimately to its terrain and cultural diversity. The Southern way with food is feted in Corn Bread Nation 1: The Best of Southern Food Writing, edited by John Egerton. Cornbread draws an endearing culinary portrait of the South, long renowned for its anomalies of habit and culture.

These collected essays from contemporary writers such as Rick Bragg, Roy Blount Jr., James Villas and others, are a celebration of Southern food, cooks and culinary traditions many of which have fallen prey to progress. Funny, perceptive, and wise, often a touch odd, these evocative writings are a paean to the vanishing South. There are not many men left like 96-year old Coe Dupuis, a Cajun moonshiner, who contributing writer Craig Laban calls the "wizard of whiskey, a Stravinsky at the still." And it is hard to find a good batch of livermush, a fragrant mess o' beans and hocks, or ambrosial 'cue at just any corner cafÅ½. These are special dishes of heredity, place and the sometimes strange finesse of Southern cooks.

Cornbread Nation, sponsored by the Southern Foodways Alliance, a Mississippi group dedicated to preserving Southern food culture, is not a definitive study of its subject, but provides a soulful, enlightening window on the terroir of Southern cuisine. With tributes to cooks Edna Lewis and Eugene Walter, debate on country- versus chicken-fried steak and a rhapsody to watermelon, even readers north of the Mason-Dixon Line will want to pull up a chair to the convivial Southern table.

Jeffrey Steingarten, indefatigable eater and food critic for Vogue, pulls no punches: He will go to the ends of the earth to debunk quackeries of taste and uphold gastronomic veracity. It Must've Been Something I Ate: The Return of the Man Who Ate Everything, a compilation of his essays for Vogue, chronicles Steingarten's investigatory travels into the truth about how, why and what we humans eat.

Steingarten's introduction, "The Way We Eat Now," asserts that misguided attitudes toward food are at the root of global angst. He believes that bringing an open mind to the table can foster personal, and ultimately global, goodwill. The author's culinary quest is often perilous: He takes a turbulent trip on a tuna boat in search of the elusive bluefin, endures a claustrophobic brain scan to prove that gourmandise is not caused by insidious brain lesions and suffers an overstuffed stomach searching out the last honest Parisian baguette.

These essays, a delight for discerning eaters, are lavished with Steingarten's self-deprecating wit, obsessive doggedness and his devotion to "the elemental, primordial glee we feel every time we are called to dinner." He preaches a simple gospel: Eat happily, be happy!

Ridin’ herd with the cowboys

by Julie Hale

Family & Relationships, Self-Help

Self-Help Family & Relationships

Advice for surviving in the real world

Review by bookpagedev

by Ellen Marsden

When it’s time to leave the comfy confines of home and school, a few words of wisdom about the real world can save new graduates a lot of time, money and aggravation. We’ve found four new books all great gift ideas that will help grads ace the transition. (And for those of you who have been out there for a while but could still use a few clues, these books are definitely worth reading.) Stepping out Your old life is behind you and what lies ahead is a great big grown-up world. How do you get a job, an apartment, a car, a life? How do you clean from top to bottom, or cook a chocolate cherry cake? Two new books that are informative on their own and even more comprehensive together will help you through. No one likes to be lectured about this stuff, but the authors present their information as a trusted big sister might with humor, knowledge and care all of which makes for an enlightening and entertaining read. Rebecca Knight, author of A Car, Some Cash, and a Place to Crash: The Only Post-College Survival Guide You’ll Ever Need (Rodale, $17.95, 334 pages, ISBN 1579546269), offers smart insights into navigating and negotiating your way in the real world. Drawing on her own experiences and those of many recent graduates, as well as directing the reader to helpful books and websites, she covers the basics of jobs, apartments and cars as well as insurance and investing, food and friendships. In Real Life, Here I Come: A Survival Guide to the World After Graduation (Adams, $12.95, 304 pages, ISBN 1580628419), author Autumn McAlpin starts with surviving college, then progresses to finding your first home away from home and thriving financially, physically and socially. Witty, three-question quizzes begin each chapter and help you assess your understanding of the topic to follow, but no matter what your score, there is good, sound information to be learned about life. On the right road When it comes to choosing a career, “to thine own self be true” is the focus of Roadtrip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your Path in Life. Authors Nathan Gebhard and Mike Marriner, with Joanne Gordon, believe that if you have a broad understanding of what’s out there, you can better determine how to realize your dreams and passions. Gebhard and Marriner, not knowing what to do after college, set out in an RV and took a cross-country road trip to meet with successful people and learn how they found their paths in life. More than a hundred people were interviewed during the authors’ travels and a couple dozen of the more captivating interviews are in the book, including Arianne Phillips, stylist for Madonna and Lenny Kravitz; Howard Schultz, chairman of Starbucks and owner of the Seattle Supersonics; scientist and human genome decoder Craig Venter; and Manny, a lobsterman in Maine. The book urges readers to go on their own road trips and gives guidance on whom to meet (answer: anyone you want), how to get the meeting and what to do and say during the conversation. Hit the road you can only regret the roadtrip not taken.

On-the-job nightmares You might just make it in the workplace after all, and with The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Work (Chronicle, $14.95, 176 pages, ISBN 0811835758) you’ll be that much more savvy and have that much more fun. In the latest book in the The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook series by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht, you’ll learn such skills as covering mistakes and covering tattoos, making yourself seem more important and making yourself invisible. Presented in a deadpan, businesslike style laced with humor, the book’s step-by-step instructions tell you how to get a job you’re not qualified for, stay awake during a meeting or restore a mistakenly shredded document. Ellen Marsden is a writer in Jackson, Tennessee.

When it's time to leave the comfy confines of home and school, a few words of wisdom about the real world can save new graduates a lot of time, money and aggravation. We've found four new books all great gift ideas that will help grads…

The allure of an elusive fish

by Bruce Tierney

Memoir

Memoir

Newsman Robert MacNeil reflects on his adopted homeland

Review by bookpagedev

by Edward Morris

You can’t accuse Robert MacNeil of being impulsive. The novelist, playwright and former host of The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour worked in the United States on and off for 45 years before he decided to cast his lot with the Yanks and become an American citizen. Looking For My Country explains how he reached this decision and traces his career as a frontline newsman.

MacNeil, who was born in Montreal and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, had two American grandparents. But his mother was an Anglophile who saw little to admire in that country to the south. MacNeil made his first foray into America in 1952, seeking work as an actor. Then, after laboring as a print and television journalist in England for a few years, he returned to America in 1963 as a reporter for NBC. The new job plunged him into the middle of some of the great stories of the century, among them the Civil Rights movement and the assassination of President Kennedy. In 1975, MacNeil launched the program that would become The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour. There he remained until 1995. Two years later, he became an American citizen partly for convenience and partly from a growing appreciation of what the country meant to him. “Just when you think that there isn’t any new news and you’ve seen everything come and go,” he tells BookPage from his office in New York, “then something like the present war [with Iraq] happens or something like 9/11 happens, which certainly shook my thinking and had a profound effect on me. 9/11 made me understand my attachment to this country in an emotional way that I don’t think I understood before. It had been creeping up on me. Then, suddenly, I felt defensive about it, and a lot of my equivocation just vanished.” It would be a mistake, though, to conclude that the 72-year-old author has become a flack for Old Glory. He still speaks of America with the same measured tone and reportorial detachment that endeared him to a generation of news junkies. Besides the new book, he’s written a play about Karla Faye Tucker, the murderer turned devout Christian who was executed in Texas in 1998. The play has already had a workshop production in Connecticut and is now in search of a New York venue. MacNeil is also overseeing a special for PBS called Do You Speak American?, a sequel to the acclaimed The Story Of English series, which he helped produce for PBS in the 1980s.

Being a foreign-born reporter on an American beat was never particularly difficult, MacNeil recalls. “You learn, just as you learn good manners, how to approach things with a certain amount of diplomacy. Also, when I didn’t like something, I could keep my opinion to myself. After I became a citizen, I felt freer to say what I thought about this country, both negative and positive. I think I had been, consciously and subconsciously, biting my tongue in the past.” MacNeil does precious little tongue-biting in his book. He points out America’s lack of comprehensive health care, its harsh penal system and its refusal to control guns. “The luxury of not being in the [news] business anymore,” he says, “is that I can say things like that, and I don’t have to pretend.” But MacNeil is quick to acknowledge that America has become a far more open society than the one he first visited. “Oh, I think hugely less puritanical,” he says. “There’s the relaxation of the sexual mores, for example, and greater tolerance for all kinds of behavior that would have shocked people 50 years ago. The last half-century has been an amazing period of informalizing in America. [Consider] the sodomy case that is being heard in the Supreme Court now. The expectation is that the Court will overturn those laws because society has become increasingly tolerant of homosexual behavior. That’s a huge change. And I’m in favor of that because I have a gay son, who’s a very successful theater designer.” Citizenship, MacNeil reflects, enables him to engage in politics at a level he finds comfortable: “I never wanted to be a pundit. I never wanted to write op-ed pages or go on television and sound off about things or be a politician. I’m happy to have my own opinion and air it when I think it’s necessary.” Edward Morris writes from Nashville.

You can't accuse Robert MacNeil of being impulsive. The novelist, playwright and former host of The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour worked in the United States on and off for 45 years before he decided to cast his lot with the Yanks and become an American citizen. Looking…

America’s first WWII battles

by Alan Prince

Arts & Culture, Music

Music Arts & Culture

On tour with America’s beloved bard

Review by Hunter Foreman

by Hunter Foreman

Offering a close-up and visceral view of one of America's finest contemporary poets, Larry "Ratso" Sloman's On the Road with Bob Dylan, a behind-the-scenes look at Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour of 1975, is a fascinating portrait of the man who once advised, "Take care of all your memories. For you cannot relive them." Luckily for Dylan, Sloman took note of all the happenings during the unforgettable tour that took place in support of the multi-platinum album Desire. Originally published in 1978, his book is being reissued this month with new photographs and a new foreword by Kinky Friedman.

In the whirlwind of that hectic time, Dylan's days were packed with commotion. Surrounding him were talented musicians like Joan Baez, Robbie Robertson and Joni Mitchell, as well as the poet Allen Ginsberg. He was involved in efforts to free Reuben "Hurricane" Carter, the legendary boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, whom he championed in the song "Hurricane." And he followed a demanding tour schedule. "A lot of people can't stand touring," Dylan said of his traveling days, "but to me it's like breathing. I do it because I'm driven to do it."

An intense portrayal of the man who has defined and redefined rock-and-roll for nearly four decades, On the Road with Bob Dylan is required reading for any fan. From the music to the groupies, the book captures the aura of an era. Anyone can go see him in concert, but very few have the chance to actually know the musician. Thanks to Sloman's book, readers can come pretty darned close.

Hillbilly haiku hits home

by bookpagedev

Biography

Biography

Elvis fans love him tender, love him true

Review by Julie Hale

by Julie Hale

Those hips, those lips, that baby face: of course, we're talking about Elvis. August 16 marks the 25th anniversary of his much-mythologized demise. Since that unforgettable day in 1977, the King has continued to cause a sensation, generating as much attention in death as he did in life. And that's saying a lot for the hillbilly hipster who once kissed so many girls he got calluses on his mouth. A good boy and a bad man, a gentleman and a lady-killer, Elvis pouted and snarled, sang like an angel and danced like a demon. By the end of his brief life, he'd been enthroned on the top tier of rock-n-roll royalty and permanently absorbed into the national consciousness. As with all things connected to the King, a frenzy of activity has occurred in the publishing world to commemorate his purported passing. Unless you're one of the rare few who've spotted Elvis in a Burger King, check out the following titles to make sure his legend lives on.

If Elvis was an industry, then his target market was, of course, teenaged girls. Who else could be persuaded to purchase Hound Dog Orange non-smear lipstick? In The Girls' Guide to Elvis, Kim Adelman compiles all the juiciest, need-to-know info about the Hunk O' Burning Love. The creator of GirlsGuidetoElvis.com, the popular Web site, Adelman has produced a kitschy handbook filled with gossip, timelines and delicious trivia. Illustrated with retro graphics and rare photos, this fast, fun read covers the following Elvis-oriented categories:

Hair: Those sensational sideburns, that glorious pompadour . . . Believe it or not, his locks were brown, not black. According to Girls' Guide, in the early years, Elvis used a pomade that darkened his crown, which was later dyed black on a regular basis. (Compare his coif to Priscilla's: though it may have been challenged by her formidable bouffant, his was undoubtedly the dominant do. What hair, what a pair!) Girls' Guide checks in with Elvis' stylist, Larry Geller, who did his hair for 13 years and fixed it for the last time when the King was lying in his coffin. See Geller's account of the postmortem primping for proof that Elvis really is dead. Really.

Girls: A hobby. Elvis dated notables and nobodies, and had a special place in his heart for chorus babes. Natalie Wood and Ann-Margret were two of the dolls who appeared on his arm before he met Priscilla in Germany in 1959. She was 14; he was 24. Two years later she was living in Memphis.

Food: Naughty, naughty. Elvis's love for peach pie and fried okra resulted in split pants onstage. It also led him to experiment with freaky fad diets, one of which believe it or not required him to be injected with the urine of a pregnant woman. Girls' Guide includes the Teddy Bear's favorite recipes and examines the health problems that resulted, in part, from his hearty appetite.

Sex: That little three-letter word . . . Sorry, we can't divulge details here!

And finally, the Girls' Guide quotes from fans ("Tom Jones is Jesus Christ, but Elvis is God Almighty") are also fab.

An outstanding visual memorial, Elvis: A Celebration traces the arc of the King's career, depicting the bright beginning, the dark ending and all the drama that came between. With more than 600 photographs, as well as material from the official Elvis archive in Memphis, this weighty volume is a one-of-a-kind testament to the appeal of the rocker who gyrated his way to superstardom. Classic pictures of the 1950s Sun Records sessions feature bandmates Scotty Moore and Bill Black, while film stills of the '60s illustrate the movies we love to hate. All the incarnations of the star are represented here: cowboy Elvis, G.I. Elvis, Hawaiian Elvis, Elvis as wholesome country boy and sophisticated city slicker, as father, husband and son.

Close-ups of his costumes from the '70s show the shades and capes, sequins and fringe that made the singer such a model of sartorial splendor. Many of his ensembles from the Aloha "eagle" outfit to the famous sundial suit, a gold and white creation emblazoned with an Aztec calendar design that was the last he would wear onstage weighed at least 25 pounds.

Here's a new way to get your hands on Elvis: Villard's interactive title The Elvis Treasures is full of souvenirs and unique memorabilia that can be removed and perused by the reader. The singer's story is told through reproductions of documents and collectible items like letters, press releases and film scripts, along with illustrations from the Graceland archives. Pull-out posters for Jailhouse Rock and King Creole, a steamy love note sent to Miss Anita Wood, Elvis' gal in Memphis during his time in the Army ("I can't explain to you how I crave you and desire your lips," wrote the Hound Dog), as well as reproductions of tickets, telegrams and postcards, make this a mini-museum dedicated to the ultimate heartthrob.

With text by music journalist Robert Gordon, an Elvis expert and author of The King on the Road, the volume offers a comprehensive look at the life and music of the man who put Mississippi on the map for reasons that had nothing to do with race. Combining a fascinating narrative with clever visuals, this ingenious book is accompanied by Elvis Speaks, a 60-minute audio CD of interviews with the King. It all comes in a sturdy, handsome gift box. Perfect for fans who prefer to experience Elvis in 3-D.

Young patients’ heart-rending lessons

by bookpagedev

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Maria Ressa

By Sarojini Seupersad

Maria Ressa’s book is a political history of the Philippines and an intimate memoir, but it’s also a warning to democracies everywhere: Authoritarianism is a threat to us all.