http://www.boston.com/ae/books Find book reviews and news on authors, best sellers, fiction & non-fiction, literature, biographies, memoirs, children's books, and more from The Boston Globe. en-us 2009-11-26T10:41:04Z http://www.boston.com/ http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-Based_Image_Resource/bcom_logo_140w.gif http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/27/music_gift_guide____our_pick_for_the_top_music_book?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews ‘They both knew that they would be best friends for a long, long time. Not that they talked about it; it was just there.’’ This is one of many things that Clarence Clemons writes about Bruce Springsteen in his highly entertaining new memoir, “Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales.’’ 2009-11-25T22:29:59Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/27/music_gift_guide____books_about_music?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews “Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story Behind the Song,’’ Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Jo-Ann Geffen Funny, poignant, and insightful essays written by the songwriters of some of pop music’s biggest hits. The best - like the adulterous backstory to “Stop! In the Name of Love,’’ involving a disgruntled girlfriend and a baseball bat - deepen, entertain, and ... 2009-11-25T22:26:59Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/26/a_feast_of_facts_in_james_bakers_thanksgiving?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews Thanksgiving came late in 1939 when the traditional fourth Thursday fell on Nov. 30 - a date of much concern to retailers facing barely three weeks until Christmas. Michael Kenney, Globe Correspondent 2009-11-25T17:28:16Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/25/the_wrong_mother_starts_strong_but_leaves_the_reader_unbelieving?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews Sophie Hannah has a lot going for her as a mystery writer. She’s breezy; she’s two steps ahead of the reader (this reader, anyway); and she’s not afraid to take on unsettling subject matter. But the longer this tale of a mother in Britain who may have killed her child and then herself goes on, the more apparent Hannah’s fatal ... Ed Siegel, Globe Correspondent 2009-11-24T18:12:42Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/25/then_and_now_harvard_square_sets_a_quirky_course?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews A self-described “quirky individualist,’’ Mo Lotman has done all sorts of things: writing, acting, music, even comedy. This makes the Somerville resident an ideal chronicler of Harvard Square, a very quirky place defined by all sorts of things. Lotman spent 4 1/2 years researching and writing “Harvard Square: An Illustrated History Since 1950’’ (www.harvardsquarebook.com). Lotman’s profusely illustrated book shows a ... Mark Feeney, Globe Staff 2009-11-24T17:39:27Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/24/ancient_romes_intrigue_comes_to_life_in_cleopatras_daughter?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews Most people have heard about Cleopatra and Marc Antony: their epic love story, their heroics in battle, their dramatic deaths. But until now, little has been known about the equally dramatic lives of their children, who were left to the mercy of their father’s enemy, Octavian Caesar, after their parents’ deaths. Michelle Moran, author of “Nefertiti’’ and “The Heretic Queen,’’ ... Lylah M. Alphonse, Globe Staff 2009-11-24T01:08:42Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/24/harvard_center_salutes_act_up_in_new_york_during_the_80s_aids_crisis?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews Banners screamed from the dingy walls of subway cars. Stickers shrieked from moving taxicabs: “Silence = Death.’’ Hannah Martin, Globe Correspondent 2009-11-24T01:07:34Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/23/silverglate_in_a_book_indicts_federal_prosecutors?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews Boston lawyer Harvey A. Silverglate began outlining what became the book “Three Felonies a Day’’ 19 years ago, when he could no longer contain his anger at what he viewed as federal prosecutors abusing their power. Now that the book is complete, it will be interesting to watch whether a defense lawyer’s indictment of those he says sometimes file criminal ... Steve Weinberg 2009-11-23T01:51:15Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/22/art_thats_more_than_kids_play?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews “Children’s Book of Art’’ (DK) isn’t just for kids. Lushly illustrated with hundreds of art works, this beautifully designed book has the depth and variety to engage art lovers of any age. Find out about the life and work of artists from Leonardo da Vinci to Andy Goldsworthy. Learn to paint a fresco, make a woodblock print, and sculpt marble, ... 2009-11-21T22:34:27Z books http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/22/solid_attributes_but_not_quite_characters?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews For a writer, creating a character is more mysterious than creating a set of attributes, however complex or clever. Even the most lifelike doll’s costume doesn’t bring the doll to life. It wasn’t enough for the God of Genesis to exquisitely assemble Adam’s pile of dust; He had to blow on it. Richard Eder, Globe Correspondent 2009-11-21T22:33:46Z books http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/22/this_history_of_jazz_is_more_a_primer_on_how_to_listen_to_it?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews Do we need another gargantuan book that purports to retell the history of jazz? The aficionado’s bookcase is crammed with such texts, which come and quickly go. But the latest one, by the highly respected and talented jazz scribes Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux, arrives with a twist. Steve Greenlee, Globe Staff 2009-11-21T22:32:20Z books http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/22/short_takes_boston_globe?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews THE LEXICOGRAPHER'S DILEMMA: The Evolution of "Proper" English, from Shakespeare to South Park By Jack Lynch Walker, 336 pp., $26 Barbara Fisher, Globe Correspondent 2009-11-21T22:28:52Z books http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/22/a_self_righteous_overprotective_doctor_splinters_family_and_friends?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews In both the conception and execution of her stunning new novel, “A Friend of the Family,’’ Lauren Grodstein has channeled Edgar Allan Poe and his glowing review of Hawthorne’s “Twice-Told Tales.’’ David Thoreen, Globe Correspondent 2009-11-21T22:25:29Z books http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/22/author_signings_and_readings_in_greater_boston_nov_22_28?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews TODAY: Joe Kahn (“Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy”) speaks at 10:30 a.m., Jewish Community Center, North Shore, 4 Community Road, Marblehead; for tickets ($18) and information, visit jccns.org/jewishbookmonth87.html . . . Ian MacKenzie (“City of Strangers”) and Maureen Foley (“The Book of Illumination”) read at 2 p.m., Newtonville Books, 296 Walnut St., Newtonville. Judith Maas 2009-11-21T22:23:50Z books http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/22/up_an_ugly_river?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews The Connecticut River starts as a trickle up in northern New Hampshire. For 410 miles, it wanders through the heart of New England before emptying into Long Island Sound. Jan Gardner, Globe Correspondent 2009-11-21T22:22:24Z books http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/22/whodunits_with_depth?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews Readers who relish another opportunity to spend time with Kinsey Milhone, that tough cookie who cuts her hair with nail scissors and cleans up swell on those rare occasions when she unrolls her little black dress, will be pleased with Sue Grafton’s “U is for Undertow.’’ It’s still the early 1980s; Kinsey is still just 38 years old; and she’s ... Hallie Ephron, Globe Correspondent 2009-11-21T22:20:06Z books http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/22/a_fresh_view_of_abigail_adams?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews On the Fourth of July 1956, trustees of the Adams Manuscript Trust gave the vast collection of family papers to the American people. At once, the Massachusetts Historical Society and Harvard University Press set out to microfilm and publish the numerous diaries, correspondence, and other documents. Since then, many scholars have studied the Adams Papers, as they are known, seeking ... Paul C. Nagel, Globe Correspondent 2009-11-21T22:18:50Z books http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/21/from_a_mans_mind_come_a_girls_thoughts_in_mathilda_savitch?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews It’s a little disconcerting, maybe even a little creepy, when a grown man pretends to get inside the head of a young girl. But such is the imaginative fantasy that literature can afford, and in “Mathilda Savitch,’’ poet-playwright Victor Lodato does a great job of conjuring the first-person voice of a feisty, precocious young teen dealing with the death of ... Karen Campbell, Globe Correspondent 2009-11-20T17:19:11Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/05/13/past_runs_through_present_in_water_ghosts?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews On a languid June morning in 1928, the mouth of the Sacramento River shrouded in mist, three desolate Chinese women suddenly appear on a small boat off the shore of Locke, Calif., a farming village. Robert Braile, Globe Correspondent 2009-05-12T16:10:44Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/05/12/mommy_diva?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews Mexican superstar Thalia has been the pinup girl for many things in her chameleonic career. Diva-in-waiting in the tween pop band Timbiriche. A wildly popular telenovela actress. Queen of the dance floor one year, mariachi singer the next. Fashion designer. Radio host. You name it. James Reed, Globe Staff 2009-05-11T14:44:06Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/05/11/familys_dysfunction_is_a_medical_mystery?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews Something is very wrong at Hundreds Hall. Dr. Faraday notices that as soon as he answers the call to the grand country estate. For starters, the maid he's been asked to see is clearly not ill, and although he diagnoses young Betty's stomach upset as acute homesickness, she insists that she has good reason to want to leave. "It isn't ... Clea Simon, Globe Correspondent 2009-05-11T01:22:47Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/05/09/solving_mystery_of_finding_readers?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews Once, Seth Harwood intended to get his novel published the old-fashioned way: Get the pedigree, write the manuscript, nab the agent, win the big contract. Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff 2009-05-08T16:07:57Z liv http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/05/09/a_fenway_fairy_tale?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews 'The Prince of Fenway Park," Julianna Baggott's latest novel for younger readers, centers on a 12-year-old boy who helps break the curse that once bedeviled the Boston Red Sox. Baggott's story incorporates time travel, racial prejudice, and a cast of fantasy creatures who inhabit Fenway Park's nooks and crannies. Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Bill Buckner, and Tom Yawkey figure in ... Joseph P. Kahn, Globe Staff 2009-05-08T16:06:35Z liv