Books Update: 'A Book of Secrets'

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August 5, 2011 Books Update

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review 'A Book of Secrets' By MICHAEL HOLROYD Reviewed by TONI BENTLEY The noted biographer Michael Holroyd retells the story of Vita Sackville-West and Violet Keppel, but with more depth and context than anyone before. Excerpt: 'A Book of Secrets' ADVERTISEMENT Also in the Book Review Horror The State of Zombie Literature: An Autopsy By TERRENCE RAFFERTY In the case of zombie fiction, you have to wonder whether our 21st-century fascination with these hungry hordes has something to do with a general anxiety about overwhelming, uncontrollable threats. 'Northwest Corner' By JOHN BURNHAM SCHWARTZ Reviewed by JULIE MYERSON John Burnham Schwartz's new novel returns to the broken families of "Reservation Road." Excerpt: 'Northwest Corner' 'The Rules of the Tunnel' By NED ZEMAN Reviewed by EMMA FORREST A depressed writer searches for answers to his problems in the lives of kindred sufferers. 'The Pirates of Somalia' By JAY BAHADUR Reviewed by JOSHUA HAMMER At great personal risk, Jay Bahadur, a Canadian journalist, explored the causes of modern piracy, charting its explosive growth and humanizing the brigands. Excerpt: 'The Pirates of Somalia' 'The Night Train' By CLYDE EDGERTON Reviewed by ADAM MANSBACH In this novel, set in the civil-rights-era South, two aspiring musicians fight to preserve a forbidden friendship. Up Front: Adam Mansbach Excerpt: 'The Night Train' 'The Theory That Would Not Die' By SHARON BERTSCH McGRAYNE Reviewed by JOHN ALLEN PAULOS Sharon Bertsch McGrayne traces the controversial history of Bayes's theorem and its contemporary practical applications. 'Paradise Lust' By BROOK WILENSKY-LANFORD Reviewed by ANDREA WULF A history of the eccentric searchers that have sought the real Garden of Eden, in the Arctic, Chinese Turkestan and rural Ohio. 'Devotions' By BRUCE SMITH Reviewed by STEPHEN BURT Bruce Smith's poems call attention to the everyday world and the male experience. 'Tiger Trap' By DAVID WISE Reviewed by TARA McKELVEY David Wise assesses the impact of Chinese spying in America. Excerpt: 'Tiger Trap' 'Other People's Money' By JUSTIN CARTWRIGHT Reviewed by MALENA WATROUS Contributors to the financial collapse of 2008 emerge in Justin Cartwright's novel. Crime Grimm Lessons By MARILYN STASIO Mystery novels by Reginald Hill, Will Lavender, Michael Harvey and Judy Clemens. More Crime Columns ADVERTISEMENT

Best Sellers Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction Hardcover Fiction Hardcover Nonfiction Paperback Trade Fiction Paperback Mass-Market Fiction Paperback Nonfiction All the Lists Related Columns TBR: Inside the List Editors' Choice Paperback Row Back Page Essay The Great Fleet Street Novel By THOMAS JONES Evelyn Waugh's 1938 novel "Scoop" features journalists and the police in cahoots, and a press lord with a cult of personality. Sound familiar? Book Review Podcast Featuring Brook Wilensky-Lanford on the search for the Garden of Eden; and Toni Bentley on "A Book of Secrets" by Michael Holroyd. National Endowment Announces Humanities Grants Spider-Man Spins a New Secret Identity Predicting Bubbles and Crashes The Art of Summer The Words We Live By By DWIGHT GARNER A day of wandering the semantic landscape of Manhattan with an eye out for everyday words: the language of street signs and menus, MetroCards and T-shirts. Reviews by The Times's Critics 'A Book of Secrets ' by Michael Holroyd 'The Family Fang ' by Kevin Wilson 'Humiliation' by Wayne Koestenbaum 'Rock the Casbah' by Robin Wright 'Bed' by David Whitehouse Archive Crime Columns Children's Books The New York Times Book Review: Back Issues Editor's Note Thanks for taking the time to read this e-mail. Feel free to send feedback; I enjoy hearing your opinions and will do my best to respond. Des Shoe Web Producer The New York Times on the Web ADVERTISEMENT

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