Books

A Madoff Cookbook Has a Secret, Too

A food and wine expert said that she was paid to write a cookbook that was published listing Ruth Madoff as a co-author.

Hortense Calisher, Author, Dies at 97

Miss Calisher’s unpredictable turns of phrase, intellectually challenging fictional situations and complex plots captivated and puzzled readers for a half-century.

W.D. Snodgrass, 83, a Poet of Intensely Autobiographical Themes, Is Dead

Mr. Snodgrass found the stuff of poetry in the raw material of his emotional life and forged a bold, self-analytical poetic style in postwar America.

'Somewhere Towards the End'

Diana Athill, 91, catalogs the insults (and joys) of old age in her second memoir.

• First Chapter

'The Inheritance'

In his new book Mr. Sanger delivers a withering indictment of his longtime subject: President Bush’s foreign policy.

Hedge Fund Executive to Lead Borders

The Borders Group book chain plans to name a hedge fund executive as its chairman as part of its effort to stay afloat, a person with knowledge of the announcement said.

Book Is Rallying Resistance to the Antivaccine Crusade

Paul A. Offit sees a fiery debate on autism as being hijacked by vaccine opponents peddling false hope.

• Health Guide: Autism | Vaccination
• Read an Excerpt of 'Autism's False Prophets'

A New Chief for Simon & Schuster’s Children’s Division

A little more than a month after the departure of its publisher, the company has appointed Jon Anderson of Running Press to fill the post.

Following That Fast Cash

Niall Ferguson moves at whirlwind speed in “The Ascent of Money,” a somewhat frustrating PBS documentary based on his recent book of the same title.

Fiction Reading Increases for Adults

The National Endowment for the Arts says in a report that it believes a quarter-century of precipitous decline in fiction reading has reversed.

'Elsewhere, U.S.A.'

Dalton Conley shows himself to be a much more acute observer than analyst in his book on techno-distraction.

Inger Christensen, Scandinavian Poet, Is Dead at 73

Ms. Christensen was a distinguished Danish poet whose work was a cornerstone of modern Scandinavian poetry.

Religion Writer Who Copied Work Draws Support of Readers

Many fans of Neale Donald Walsch, the author of the best-selling series “Conversations With God,” rallied around him and begged him not to quit blogging.

• Christmas Essay Was Not His, Author Admits

'The Sky Below'

It’s hard not to be seduced by Stacey D’Erasmo’s selfish hero, an artist whose hunger for expression, for a father and for a home embodies a sense of entrapment that could make anyone behave badly.

• First Chapter

'The Uncrowned King'

A biography of the young William Randolph Hearst is also a story about the rising power of the press in the late 19th century.

Allen Ginsberg's Letters

Two collections of letters by Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder, both edited by Bill Morgan, illuminate the poets’ careers and emotional life.

• Times Topics: Allen Ginsberg

'The Journey'

This newly translated novel, written in the 1950s, uses the tools of literary modernism to depict the dislocations of spirit and consciousness caused by the Holocaust.

• First Chapter

'Beat the Reaper'

In this novel, Pietro Brnwa, contract killer, becomes Dr. Peter Brown.

• First Chapter

'The Shadow Factory'

James Bamford brings his narrative of the National Security Agency into the post-9/11 era.

• First Chapter
• Profile of James Bamford

'Bright Young People'

For some of Britain’s wealthy young, the 1920s was one long party.

'A Country Called Home'

In this novel, an idealistic Connecticut couple flee to a new life in the rural West, but things soon go awry.

• First Chapter

Picture Books About Math

What makes a child come to love numbers? These three books might help.

'What to Do About Alice?'

A picture-book biography of Alice Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt’s free-spirited daughter.

'The Runaway Dolls'

In the third book of the Doll People series, toys come alive and venture outside the house while their owners are on vacation.

Children's Bookshelf

More children’s books reviewed.