African Madness

Alex Shoumatoff. Vintage Books USA, $9.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-679-72545-9

The New Yorker staff writer investigates the AIDS epidemic in Africa, environmental catastrophe in Madagascar, rumors of cannibalism in the Central African Republic and the legacy of gorilla expert Dian Fossey. ``Shoumatoff's love of the African continent, its fertile potential and enchantment, pulsates through these engaging pieces,'' reported PW . (Feb.)

Featured Nonfiction Reviews

Alex Green

Green, a Harvard lecturer on public policy, debuts with an enthralling biography of Walter E. Fernald (1859–1924), a controversial doctor who shaped much of 20th-century Continue reading »

Joe Dunthorne

In this riveting memoir, poet and novelist Dunthorne (Submarine) parses his family’s complicated legacy in WWII-era Europe. What begins as a study of his grandmother’s escape Continue reading »

Joe Kloc

Journalist Kloc debuts with an enthralling account of the anchor-outs, an impoverished boat-dwelling community in Sausalito, Calif., and their battle with the city’s wealthy Continue reading »

Jeanne Carstensen

Journalist Carstensen debuts with a riveting blow-by-blow account of the Oct. 28, 2015, sinking of a boat full of refugees near the Greek island of Lesbos. Nearly 300 passengers Continue reading »