Fierce Attachments: A Memoir

Vivian Gornick. Simon & Schuster, $10 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-671-65757-4

This supple, energized memoir chronicles Gornick's (Essays in Feminism) explosive relationship with her mother and her unsuccessful battle to reject a legacy of hatred, depression and humiliation. Gornick is ""an able storyteller with a keen ear for dialogue,'' but, according to PW, her work bogs down with ``therapy-talk and self-indulgence.'' (May)

Featured Nonfiction Reviews

Bruce Chadwick

The Battle of Gettysburg was a dramatic combination of pathos and absurdity, according to this remarkable selection of primary sources from historian Chadwick (The Cannons Continue reading »

Joshua Howe, Alexander Lemons

Howe (Behind the Curve), a professor of environmental history at Reed College, and U.S. Marine veteran Lemons team up for a searing mix of wartime memoir and scientific Continue reading »

Rich Benjamin

Benjamin (Searching for Whitopia) delivers a devastating memoir about the ripple effects of the coup that ousted his grandfather, Haitian president Daniel Fignolé, in 1957. Continue reading »

Marlene L Daut

Historian Daut (Awakening the Ashes) offers a powerful biography of Henry Christophe (1767-1820), who fought for, defected from, and ultimately ruled over Haiti. She first Continue reading »