Book Reviews with National Book Tokens
by Chris Powling
Book reviewer Chris Powling picks the best of the new books on the market this month.
July
The Old Devil
Donald McRae
(Simon & Schuster £18.99)
'A fascinating account of the threel trials which established Clarence Darrow as 'The World's Greatest Trial Lawyer'. It also lays bare the human failings of a gifted but complex man.'
Tell Me Lies
Adrian Mitchell
(Bloodaxe £10.95)
'The last collection of poems by Adiran Mitchell - Britain's 'Shadow Poet Laureate' - who died last November. And it's wonderful. Sharp, clear poetry that's topical, universal and bound to last - especially when accompanied by the drawings of his friend Ralph Steadman. Not to be missed.'
The Little Stranger
Sarah Waters
(Virago £16.99)
'This week, lock the door, draw the curtains, pour yourself a stiff drink... and enjoy a superb ghost story -The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. You'' need that drink long before you get to the end.'
June
The Last Champion
Jon Henderson
(Yellow Jersey Press £18.99)
'Forget Tim Henman, or Andy Murray for that matter: this week's book choice is a biography of Fred Perry who won the Wimbledon Singles Title three times in succession in the 1930s. Jon Henderson's The Last Champion is equally brilliant on Perry himself... and on his most formidable opponent: good old English snobbery.'
D-Day: The Battle for Normandy
Anthony Beevor
(Penguin £25.00)
'Apparently Stalin once said 'in the whole history of war there has never been such an undertaking.' He was talking about D-Day which is the title of Anthony Beevor's latest book...historical fact narrated with all the verve and power of historical fiction.'
Dead Tomorrow
Peter James
(Macmillan £16.99)
'A thriller this week which knows exactly what it's doing. Dead Tomorrow by Peter James - the latest Detective Superintendant Ray Grace story which weighs in at more than 500 pages. Luckily it has the pace to match...'
The Music Room
William Fiennes
(Picador £14.99)
'It's not often I come across a wholly original book, but The Music Room by William Fiennes is just that. Part memoir of childhood, part celebration of a famous stately home, part tribute to a doomed elder brother. What ambition... and what an achievement.'
May
Chaplin
Simon Louvish
(Faber £25.00)
'A Study of the 20th Century's most famous figure - bowler hat, baggy-pants, big boots and all! Yes, it's Charlie Chaplin. Charlie's life, art and attitudes are surveyed by Simon Louvish with immense style and erudition.'
Bye Bye Birdie
Shirley Hughes
(Jonathan Cape £12.99)
'The first graphic novel for adults by Shirley Hughes? Shirley Hughes, one of the world's most popular illustrators for children? Bye Bye Birdie is adult all right - not to mention slapstick, surreal and superlatively well-drawn. I'm still getting over the shock of it!'
The Canterbury Tales
retold by Peter Ackroyd
(Penguin £25.00)
'Love...sex...infidelity...villainy...drunkenness...murder....all in Peter Ackroyd's re-telling of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chancer. Fourteenth century life given a twenty-first century flavour.'
The Decisive Moment
Jonah Lehrer
(Canongate £16.99)
'A book about decision-making - Jonah Lehrer's The Decisive Moment brings neuro-science to bear on the most effective and ineffective of our thinking and feeling. We need both to make our best choices.'
About Face
Donna Leon
(Heinemann £16.99)
'The latest Guido Brunetti novel by Donna Leon - superb, as usual. What Patrick O'Brian was to historical fiction, Donna Leon now is for crime fiction: simply the best.'
April
Greed
Richard Girling
(Doubleday £12.99)
'Richard Girling's Greed is a book to curl up with...also curling your lip and maybe your fists as well. Beware though, he has one or two surprises in store...'
Alternative Anthem
John Agard
(Bloodaxe £9.95)
'The Guyanese poet John Agard is as magical on the page as he is on the stage. No wonder his latest book comes complete with a DVD.'
Midsummer Nights
Jeanette Winterson
(Quercus £18.99)
'Midsummer Nights , edited by Jeanette Winterson, offers twenty short stories - all by well-known writers - every one of them based on a famous opera. What better way to celebrate the 75th season of Glyndebourne!'
March
The Coroner
M.R. Hall
(Macmillan £10.00)
'A first-thriller by a writer who's an old hand at television scripts. Does The Coroner introduce us to the next Linda La Plante?'
The Telescope
Richard Dunn
(NMM £12.99)
'A simple instrument, at least to begin with, that transformed our perception of the world....and beyond. Richard Dunn's brief history of The Telescope is, quite literally, eye-opening.'
Lili Marlene
Liel Leibovitz & Matthew Miller
(Norton £17.99)
'Noel Coward once said 'extraordinary how potent cheap music is'...well, here's a book about one of the most potent songs ever written and what it reveals about the time when it was most popular.'
Children's books...
City I Love - Lee Bennet Hopkins & Marcellus Hall (Abrams £7.99)
The Incredible Story of Classical Music - Darren Henley (Hodder £5.99)
Our White House - Intro. by David McCullough (Candlewick £12.99)
'A book of poetry, a book on classical music and a book about politics....all written for children of primary school age with clarity, wit and a becoming lack of condescension.'
February
The Fifth Floor
Michael Harvey
(Quercus £18.99)
'Not yet in Chandler's class...but Michael Harvey's second crime-novel comes promisingly close: Laconic, resonant and politically aware, his writing gets better and better.'
Buy from Amazon
On Kindness
Adam Phillips & Barbara Taylor
(Hamish Hamilton £14.99)
'A book that could hardly be more important or more timely as Adam Phillips and Barbara Taylor make a fascinating case for one of the most valued yet most neglected of all human qualities.'
Buy from Amazon
Don Quixote
retold by Martin Jenkins & Chris Riddell
(Walker £16.99)
'An abbreviated and re-illustrated version of one of the world's greatest - and funniest - novels. Between them, Jenkins and Riddell are true to the classic original, but bring it sparklingly up-to-date.'
Buy from Amazon
January
The Big Sleep
Raymond Chandler
(Penguin Classics £50.00)
'A re-issue of one of the greatest crime-novels ever written published in one of the best paperback formats I've ever come across. This is literature de luxe...don't miss it!'
Buy from Amazon
Morris Minor
Martin Wainwright
(Aurum £12.99)
'One of Britain's favourite cars celebrated in just the style that suits it: amiable, reliable and charming.'
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Stieg Larsson
(Maclehouse Press £16.99)
'If you think Swedish thrillers are a bit slow and lugubrious try Stieg Larsson's new book 'The Girl Who Played With Fire'. It's as fast and fascinating as its enigmatic central character...not to be missed.'
Buy from Amazon
Reporting America
Alistair Cooke
(Allen Lane £25.00)
'Alistair Cooke's 'Letter from America' was a radio-fixture for almost sixty years. 'Reporting America' shows why - a centenary tribute to mark the birth of radio's greatest ever reporter.'
Words & Pictures
Jenny Uglow
(Faber £12.99)
'A witty and elegant exploration of an often fraught relationship between writers and illustrators. Jenny Uglow loves both and it shows in this brief penetrating study.'
Buy from Amazon
Admirals
Andrew Lambert
(Faber £20.00)
'Armchair seamanship under the command of an expert - an account of 10 top admirals, according to Andrew Lambert, who made the British Navy supreme for more than three centuries.'
Buy from Amazon
