EDITOR’S CHOICE
The 47th Samurai by Stephen Hunter, $26
It’s always a treat to find a new Bob Lee Swagger novel in the mail. This one is no exception as an aging Swagger takes on some very bad guys in Japan – as only he can do it. There is lots of swordplay as Swagger takes duty to the highest degree. | Tom Walker
FICTION
Mercy by Lara Santoro, $23.95 | Santoro, who has covered the African AIDS epidemic, evokes the continent’s everyday horrors and uncommon moments of grace in decidedly unsentimental prose, and her depiction of international journalists’ lifestyles is similarly powerful. | Publishers Weekly
When We Were Bad by Charlotte Mandelson, $24 | With humor and panache, British writer Mendelson (Love in Idleness) presents London’s Rubin clan, presided over by matriarch Claudia, a brilliant, charismatic London rabbi blessed with zaftig curves and a will of steel. | Publishers Weekly
NONFICTION
The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy by Glenn Kessler, $25.95 | In this gripping and intelligent account, Washington Post correspondent Kessler chronicles those two years (as secretary of state), drawing on his firsthand experiences traveling with Rice as well as an impressive array of documents and interviews. | Publishers Weekly
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself by Alan Alda, $24.95 | Alda is chatty, easygoing and humble, rather like a Mr. Rogers for grownups. His words of inspiration would be a perfect gift for a college grad or for anyone facing major life changes. | Publishers Weekly
The Party of the First Part: The Curious World of Legalese by Adam Freedman, $23 | Freedman offers a cornucopia of hilarious, offbeat and downright bizarre examples of simple concepts contorted into words that defy understanding… | Publishers Weekly
PAPERBACKS
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright, $15.95 | Everyone who wants to know more about the creation and growth of the terrorist organization that wants to kill us should read this important and compelling book. | Tom Walker
Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart, $15 | Myriad twists and turns juice the plot and deepen the atmosphere in Hart’s moody second offering (after “Haunted Ground”). | Kirkus
Facing Down Evil: Life on the Edge As An FBI Hostage Negotiator by Cliff VAn Zandt, $14 | Despite the absence of gunplay, these nuts-and- bolts descriptions of bank robberies, dramatic prison riots…and exotic hostage dramas in foreign lands make for gripping reading. | Publishers Weekly
COMING UP
OCTOBER
Slam Nick Hornby, $19.99 | The author of “About a Boy” is back with another comedic novel about a guy whose girlfriend tells him she’s pregnant after they’ve already called it quits.
OCTOBER
Head and Heart: American Christianities by Garry Wills, $27.95 | The author explores Christianity’s place in American life throughout the country’s history, from the Puritans to the presidency of George W. Bush.
JANUARY
Diary of a Bad Year by J.M. Coetzee, $24.95 | The Nobel winner’s newest novel about an aging author who is asked to write his thoughts on the state of the world.
