The White Queen, by Philippa Gregory, $25.99. The queen of British historical fiction (“The Other Boleyn Girl”) kicks off a new series with the story of Elizabeth Woodville Grey, whose shifting alliances helped the War of the Roses take root. Publishers Weekly FICTION
American Adulterer, by Jed Mercurio, $25. Mercurio’s third novel is a riveting imagining of the inner life of a satyrlike John F. Kennedy, referred to as “the subject,” as he beds a steady stream of starlets, interns and prostitutes. Kennedy has figured prominently in hundreds of books, but Mercurio’s take on the subject is fresh, bold and provocative. Publishers Weekly The Lace Makers of Glenmara, by Hether Barbieri, $24.99. Barbieri (“Snow in July”) sets her latest in a small Irish town, Glenmara, where a heartbroken American tourist, Kate Robinson, finds her one-night stay extended with the help of some motherly role models. Barbieri’s world generates convincing warmth and emotion, making it worth a look for “Friday Night Knitting Club.” Publishers Weekly
NONFICTION
The Anti-Communist Manifestos: Four Books That Shaped the Cold War, by John V. Fleming, $27.95. In this lively, bookish tale, medievalist, retired Princeton professor and — important for this story — amateur bookbinder Fleming examines the curious careers of four fellow travelers whose conversions away from the cause occasioned once-important books. Kirkus A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster, by Rebecca Solnit, $27.95. Surveying disasters from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, she shows that the typical response to calamity is spontaneous altruism, self-organization and mutual aid, with neighbors and strangers calmly rescuing, feeding and housing each other. Publishers Weekly America’s Girl: The Incredible Story of How Swimmer Gertrude Ederle Changed the Nation, by Tim Dahlberg, $25.99. Trudy Ederle was the first woman to swim the English Channel, in 1926. For several years, her fame had been uproarious, her achievement thought earth-shattering. She enjoyed New York’s biggest ticker-tape parade, had her own swimsuit line and had Americans rethinking women’s athletic capabilities. After a semisuccessful vaudeville tour, her career declined; she turned to giving children swimming lessons and, later, selling dresses in a shop. Library Journal
PAPERBACKS
Taking On the Trust: How Ida Tarbell Brought Down John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil, by Steve Weinberg, $17.95. (With) pointed, contrasting portraits of the pioneering investigative journalist and the titan of industry, Weinberg recounts the connections that both figures had with the oil industry. . . . Rockefeller remains a sketchy figure, but Tarbell emerges as a remarkably intelligent, diligent and principled woman with great independence of spirit. Kirkus
The Assassin, by Stephen Coonts, $9.99. Bestseller Coonts’s exciting third thriller to star reformed burglar turned CIA operative Tommy Carmellini (after “The Traitor”) raises a timely issue — the lack of well-to-do Americans on combat duty in the war against terrorism. Publishers Weekly Mozart’s Ghost, by Julia Cameron, $13.99. Cameron, the author of more than 25 books and probably best-known for “The Artist’s Way,” brings her fans a twist on a stereotypical romance that strikes a chord with those willing to immerse themselves in a world of ghosts. Publishers Weekly
COMING UP
A Change of Altitude, by Anita Shreve, $26.99. A young married couple, Margaret and Patrick, move to Kenya with the intention of staying a year. But Margaret soon discovers that she has a lot to learn about Africa — and her new husband. (September)
