海角大神

Monitor reviewers were captivated this month by a raft of offerings, from memoirs and meditations to books about historic events and social issues. The April releases proved to be a boon for book lovers of all tastes.聽

1 The Department of Sensitive Crimes,聽by Alexander McCall Smith

Detective Varg investigates crimes too odd or baffling for the police department in Malm枚, Sweden. An imaginary boyfriend is reported missing. A man is stabbed 鈥� in the back of his knee. Varg is a quiet crusader for justice who doesn鈥檛 miss a detail. Chicanery is exposed; mercy is exacted. It鈥檚 hard to imagine a less dark Scandinavian police novel, or one that is more winning.

2 Lost and Wanted,聽by Nell Freudenberger

Physicist and mother Helen Clapp is a highly accomplished author and professor. When her best friend Charlotte (鈥淐harlie鈥�) dies, her world changes as she engages with Charlie鈥檚 family and friends. Timely and delightfully observant of relationships, this novel is deeply heartfelt, amazingly intellectual, and beautifully thought provoking. 聽

3 Charged,聽by Emily Bazelon

Journalist and lawyer Emily Bazelon shines light on the under-examined role of prosecutors in America鈥檚 crisis-level incarceration rates. This rigorous, compassionate, and vital book argues that district attorneys who focus more on mercy and less on simply locking people up have a pivotal role to play in fixing the criminal justice system.聽

4 The League of Wives,聽by Heath Hardage Lee

When their husbands were taken captive in Vietnam, military wives were told to keep quiet until the U.S. government could bring them home. In this new lens on the Vietnam War, Heath Hardage Lee shows how the 鈥渞eluctant sorority鈥� of POW and MIA wives evolved slowly, and sometimes painfully, into warriors in their own right, confronting senators, ambassadors, and even the president in the effort to save their loved ones.

5 American Moonshot,聽by Douglas Brinkley

The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 has provoked a stream of books, and one of the best to appear in the early part of the year was written by popular historian Douglas Brinkley. His book makes the space program even more dramatic by matching it with the life story of President John F. Kennedy.

6 Falter,聽by Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, the first聽 organization to combat climate change, is done playing Mr. Nice Guy and has ramped up his efforts to save us from ourselves. 鈥淔alter鈥� lays out in blunt terms how and why the human game went wrong, who and what was responsible, and how we, if we are determined enough, can fix it. There is no time to lose. 鈥淔alter鈥� is a rallying cry for the environmental movement.

7 Possessed by Memory,聽by Harold Bloom

Harold Bloom, America鈥檚 preeminent literary critic, is lying awake at night reciting lines from poems. It鈥檚 not a way to count sheep; rather, he鈥檚 gleaning from the verses the 鈥渋nward light鈥� that will comfort him as he enters the 鈥渆legy season.鈥� This audacious personal odyssey offers readers a cosmos of possibilities when contemplating what happens once we 鈥渟huffle off this mortal coil.鈥�

8 Solid Seasons,聽by Jeffrey S. Cramer

As in all long friendships, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson had their periods of revelations and frustrations. Jeffrey S. Cramer explores their relationship through their own words, demonstrating that Thoreau could not fully appreciate Emerson, and he lacked Emerson鈥檚 ability to love another person, warts and all.

9 Save Me the Plums,聽by Ruth Reichl

How we鈥檝e missed sitting down to a virtual meal with Ruth Reichl. The latest memoir from the food writer covers her decade as the final editor of Gourmet magazine, bringing us into an elite world that mixes 鈥淭op Chef鈥� with 鈥淭he Devil Wears Prada.鈥� Reichl is reflective, dishy, deeply personal 鈥� and even willing to share a few recipes.聽

10 K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches,聽by Tyler Kepner

Baseball junkies will love this book. Even casual fans will get a kick out of it. The New York Times baseball writer Tyler Kepner examines America鈥檚 pastime through the squinty eyes of a pitcher. The author captures the glory and quirkiness of the sport he clearly loves, from the spitball to the 鈥渟croogie.鈥�