The editors of The Times Book Review have chosen the best fiction and nonfiction titles this year and Penguin Random House is thrilled to publish 7 of those selected
“Rebecca Makkai’s The Great Believers is a page turner . . . among the first novels to chronicle the AIDS epidemic from its initial outbreak to the present—among the first to convey the terrors and tragedies of the epidemic’s early years as well as its course and repercussions. . . . An absorbing and emotionally riveting story about what it’s like to live during times of crisis.”—The New York Times Book Review
“More artfully composed than many of the books in its genre.” —The New York Times
“Bravura . . . There There has so much jangling energy and brings so much news from a distinct corner of American life that it’s a revelation . . . its appearance marks the passing of a generational baton.” —The New York Times
“Gripping. . . . Astonishing . . . Washington Black’s presence in these pages is fierce and unsettling. His urge to live all he can is matched by his eloquence.” —The New York Times Book Review
“American Prison reprises [Bauer’s] page-turning narrative [as reported in Mother Jones], and adds not only the fascinating back story of CCA, the nation’s first private prison company, but also an eye-opening examination of the history of corrections as a profit-making enterprise. . . . Bauer is a generous narrator with a nice ear for detail, and his colleagues come across as sympathetic characters, with a few notable exceptions. . . . The sheer number of forehead-slapping quotes from Bauer’s superiors and fellow guards alone are worth the price of admission.” —The New York Times Book Review
“The extremity of Westover’s upbringing emerges gradually through her telling, which only makes the telling more alluring and harrowing. . . . By the end, Westover has somehow managed not only to capture her unsurpassably exceptional upbringing, but to make her current situation seem not so exceptional at all, and resonant for many others.”—The New York Times Book Review
“[N]othing in Pollan’s book argues for the recreational use or abuse of psychedelic drugs. What it does argue is that psychedelic-aided therapy, properly conducted by trained professionals—what Pollan calls White-Coat Shamanism—can be personally transformative, helping with everything from overcoming addiction to easing the existential terror of the terminally ill.”—The New York Times Book Review
