Books Update: 'And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life'

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November 25, 2011 Books Update

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review 'And So It Goes' By CHARLES J. SHIELDS Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY Kurt Vonnegut died in 2007, but one gets the sense from Charles J. Shields's sad, often heartbreaking biography, "And So It Goes," that he would have been happy to depart this vale of tears sooner. ADVERTISEMENT Also in the Book Review 'Van Gogh: The Life' By STEVEN NAIFEH AND GREGORY WHITE SMITH Reviewed by DEBORAH SOLOMON A speculative biography suggests that Vincent van Gogh might have been murdered. 'The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc' By JONATHAN LETHEM Reviewed by ROBERT CHRISTGAU This collection presents Jonathan Lethem as a reader and writer, but also showcases his nonliterary interests. Up Front: Robert Christgau 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' By DANIEL KAHNEMAN Reviewed by JIM HOLT In the conflict between intuitive and rational decision-making, which side wins? 'Free Ride' By ROBERT LEVINE Reviewed by JEFFREY ROSEN Web sites that drive down content prices are "parasites," Robert Levine says. Will in the Middle By JOHN SIMON Rome's influence on Shakespeare, and Shakespeare's on Verdi. 'Ghost Lights' By LYDIA MILLET Reviewed by JOSH EMMONS A journey to the jungles of Belize becomes a soul-searching expedition for Lydia Millet's mild-mannered hero. 'The Last Sultan: The Life and Times of Ahmet Ertegun' By ROBERT GREENFIELD Reviewed by ALEX ABRAMOVICH A biography of Ahmet Ertegun, who built Atlantic Records on black music. 'Parallel Stories' By PETER NADAS.TRANSLATED BY IMRE GOLDSTEIN Reviewed by BENJAMIN MOSER Peter Nadas's novel takes a sweeping look at 20th-century Europe. 'Civilization: The West and the Rest' By NIALL FERGUSON Reviewed by DONALD KAGAN How did the West come to dominate the rest of the world, and is its 500-year reign ending? 'Ed King' By DAVID GUTERSON Reviewed by DAVID GOODWILLIE David Guterson's Oedipal tale takes America to task. 'The Tigress of ForlÌ: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageousand Notorious Countess,Caterina Riario Sforza de' Medici' By ELIZABETH LEV Reviewed by DOMINIQUE BROWNING Elizabeth Lev tells us why Caterina Riario Sforza de' Medici was both celebrated and feared. 'Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942' By IAN W. TOLL Reviewed by MICHAEL BESCHLOSS The author of "Six Frigates" traces the war with Japan from Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Midway. '"Something Urgent I Have To Say To You: The Life and Works of William Carlos Williams"' By HERBERT LEIBOWITZ.ILLUSTRATED. 496 PP. FARRAR, STRAUS & GIROUX. $40 Reviewed by DAISY FRIED A biography of the doctor-poet William Carlos Williams. 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 100 Notable Books of 2011 The Book Review's annual list of outstanding works. Plan your holiday shopping with The New York Times 2011 Holiday Gift Guide. Related Columns TBR: Inside the List Editors' Choice Paperback Row Essays The Not-So-Invisible Empire By KEVIN BOYLE Two books examine the political power and religious roots of the Ku Klux Klan in the early decades of the last century. Wired for Sound By JOHN SCHWARTZ What do our preferred approaches to reading say about us? The Mechanic Muse The Mind's Ear By JAMES PARKER With audiobooks, the spoken-word performance becomes inseparable from the text. Back Page Essay What Muncie Read By ANNE TRUBEK People make hoary generalizations about changing American reading habits but we actually know very little about the history of reading. Book Review Podcast This week, historian David Greenberg assesses Ann Beattie's latest book, "Mrs. Nixon: A Life"; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; Alexander Star takes an anthropological view of Afghanistan; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Clues to Raymond Chandler's Life and Career in Sale of His Books and Papers Embattled Intellectual Historians Make a Stand First Play by Nathan Englander Postponed From Public Theater Season Reviews by The Times's Critics 'The Drop' by Michael Connelly 'Then Again' 'The Last Sultan' by Robert Greenfield An Idea as Much as a City 'George F. Kennan: An American Life' by John Lewis Gaddis 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. Jeremy Egner Web Producer The New York Times on the Web ADVERTISEMENT

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