Guns: The Culture and Creed of Guns by a.j. somerset (biblioasis)
what makes this book entertaining and ultimately an important addition to the limited gun canon is that somerset likes guns. he owns them, shoots them and loves them. and yet he is exasperated that gun owners, along with their culture and rhetoric, have “become more radical,” rendering “anyone who breaks ranks” a “traitor to the cause.” — michael s. rosenwald
You are reading: Washington post best books 2015
the art of grace: on moving well through life by sarah l. kaufman (norton)
sara l. Kaufman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning dance critic for the Washington Post, argues that grace is the quality of being at ease with oneself, whether one is an agile dancer or a powerful athlete, or just an ordinary person who runs errands and remembers. . hold someone’s door — sarah archer
bad days: a life of surfing by william finnegan (penguin press)
Just as surfing has always been more than a form of recreation (some call it a religion, others simply a path), this excellent memoir transcends its supposed subject matter. elegantly written and structured, the book is a fascinating adventure story, an intellectual autobiography, and a restless, searching meditation on love, friendship, and family. — john lancaster
the battle of versailles : the night american fashion took the spotlight and made history by robin givhan (flatiron)
robin givhan, the washington post’s pulitzer prize-winning fashion critic, focuses on a fashion show and fundraiser for the dilapidated palace of versailles to illuminate a sweeping cultural shift from a past of parisian couture to future of American ready-to-wear clothing. — joanna scutts
The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal by David E. hoffman (double day)
One of the best spy stories to come out of the cold war, this true story hits the sweet spot between gripping thriller and heavily researched history and then turns into something more, a clever character study of spies and the running spies. them, the conflicting motives, the risks, the almost inevitable bad ending. — joseph kanon
black earth: the holocaust as history and warning by timothy snyder (tim duggan)
Hitler’s ideology is essential to understanding Nazi efforts to exterminate the Jews, explains Timothy Snyder; the führer’s worldview inspired the Germans to become “entrepreneurs of violence”, encouraging them to show their allegiance to the new order by innovating new techniques of mass murder. — michael s. roth
The Porcelain Collectors: America’s Century-Long Quest for Asian Art Treasures by Karl E. meyer and shareen blair brysac (palgrave macmillan)
As entertaining as it is insightful, this anecdotal narrative follows the adventures of the wise and eccentric scholars, collectors, and titans of industry who brought the treasures of the Middle Kingdom to America. — michael dirda
the custer trials: a life on the frontier of a new america by t.j. styles (knopf)
once celebrated as a tragic hero, george armstrong custer has become a joke, even though the battlefield was the only arena in 19th century america where he succeeded until the day he failed and died at little bighorn. In this excellent biography, Stiles sees the irony and restores Custer as a three-dimensional figure. — Michael A. elliott
the devil knows : literary greatness and the American sublime , by harold bloom (spiegel & grau)
Tracing “the god within that generates poetic power” through the work of 12 canonical American authors, Bloom delves into complex meditations on literature while delineating the subtle web of allusions and influences among the great writers of the past. — michael lindgren
the dark web: inside the digital underworld by jamie bartlett (melville)
The “darknet” is a digital den of iniquity up to 500 times larger than that captured by google search engines. In this thought-provoking tour, Jamie Bartlett, Director of the Center for Social Media Analysis at UK think tank Demos, introduces us to the trolls, anarchists, perverts and drug dealers who seek unrestricted freedom there. — Mateo Wisnioski
dead wake: the last voyage of the lusitania by erik larson (crown)
Cunard officials defied German submarines patrolling the Atlantic, calling the Lusitania “the safest ship at sea.” But Larson’s gripping and richly detailed account of the 1915 sinking demonstrates that much more was going on below the surface than is generally known. — daniel stashower
dietrich & riefenstahl: hollywood, berlin and a century in two lives by karin wieland
translated from german by shelley frisch (liveright)
wieland focuses on two young women from traditional homes, marlene dietrich and leni riefenstahl, who forged innovative careers and maintained unconventional private lives with similar audacity but who diverged on the crucial civic and moral decision of their times: to support Hitler or give up on him. — michael sragow
Dissent and the Supreme Court: Its Role in the Court’s History and the Nation’s Constitutional Dialogue by Melvin I. urofsky (pantheon)
a great legal historian masterfully tackles the subject of dissent, from the earliest days of the supreme court, when dissents were rare and ill-advised, to the modern era, when they often outnumber majority opinions . Urofsky concentrates on those fundamental solitary dissents that first expressed what became the evolution of constitutional doctrine. — david cole
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh (Thomas Dunne)
In his refreshingly candid memoir, neurosurgeon Henry Marsh shares his doubts and fears along with fascinating case histories. Like the work of fellow doctors Jerome Groopman and Atul Gawande, “Do No Harm” offers insight into the lives of doctors and the dilemmas they face when we cast our outsized hopes into their fallible hands. — nora krug
lucky son: my life, my music by john fogerty with jimmy mcdonough (little, brown)
A natural, folksy, and crusty storyteller, Fogerty chronicles the brief but brilliant success of his band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and its tragic collapse, not for the usual reasons of drug abuse or lack of talent, but out of sad little jealousy. and a bad contract. — greg schneider
the gay revolution: the story of the struggle by lillian faderman (simon & schuster)
Other books aim to explain how the rebellious lgbt movement achieved its triumphs. this compulsively readable one, carefully anchored in the historical record, brimming with fascinating stories and thoughtful analysis, succeeds. — e.g. graphite
ghettoside : a true story of murder in america by jill leovy (spiegel & grau)
A Los Angeles Times reporter who has spent more than a decade in the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods brings them to life with grace, art and deep indignation. It’s no secret that America has a problem with black-on-black violence, but what Leovy understands is why. : david m. kennedy
Give Us the Vote: America’s Modern Fight for the Right to Vote by Ari Berman (Farrar Straus Giroux)
In a book that should be a primer for all Americans, an investigative reporter for the nation documents the fight to pass the voting rights law, its transformative effects, and most importantly, the counterrevolution in course designed to strip the law of its power. — john lewis
h is for hawk by helen macdonald (grove)
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Traumatized by her father’s death, Macdonald turns to falconry, and a book by the late T.H. white, who, obsessed with his own demons, tried to train a goshawk. Her beautifully conceived and written memoir, intertwining her stories, reflects both the power of pain and the power of a wild and violent world. — boy gavriel kay
he wanted the moon : the madness and medical genius of dr. perry baird, and his daughter’s quest to meet him by mimi baird with eve claxton (crown)
In 1944, Mimi Baird’s father disappeared from her life. Decades later, she recovered a manuscript her father had written that explains his absence: he had been hospitalized for mental illness. An edited version of that document is the centerpiece of this riveting memoir, which combines the elder baird’s narration, a cinematic story featuring ratcheting-looking nurses and an escape scene straight out of “the fugitive,” and the poignant discovery of his daughter from a lost father. . — n.k.
Be still : photo memoir by sally mann (petite, brunette)
Best known for her provocative photography, Sally Mann seems to choose and compose her subjects for maximum provocation. Ella’s memoir, a national nonfiction book award finalist, is a sweeping coming-of-age story of mann, her family history, her influences and her artistic choices, and is packed with anecdotes and images dazzling. Is it the shock for the shock? she takes a look and decides. — nk.
How Music Was Liberated: The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century, and Piracy Patient Zero by Stephen Witt (Viking)
If you’re wondering where all the tower record stores went, or why your kids listen to music on youtube, or what motivated j.k. Rowling to take down an operation called Oink’s Pink Palace, then you need to get your hands on Stephen Witt’s iconic, intelligent, superbly informed, and indispensable How Music Was Freed. — louis bayard
If Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Koran by Carla Power (Henry Holt)
This unique account of the Islamic faith, a finalist for the National Nonfiction Book Award, focuses on the perspective of an imam the author has known for more than 20 years. power turns what could have been a dry account of a series of interviews into a vibrant account of a friendship and its search for meaning through the contemplation of another religious tradition. — rachel newcomb
isis: the state of terror by jessica stern and j.m. berger (ecco)
This book should be required reading for all politicians and legislators. It paints a picture of the Islamic state as a sophisticated and adaptable organization with a clear plan for the future, an elaborate internal administrative structure, and strong millennial appeal, but it does not portray ISIS as “an existential threat to any Western country.” — rosa brooks
Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Rebuilding of Israel by Dan Ephron (Norton)
In writing the story of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination and its aftermath over the next 20 years, Efron enlisted the cooperation of Rabin’s family, as well as that of the presumed assassin, Yigal Amir. the result is a carefully told, clearly presented, and gripping narrative. — matti friedman
the last of the president’s men by bob woodward (s&s)
alexander butterfield, the aide to richard nixon who revealed the existence of the white house recording system during the 1972 watergate hearings, sat through 40 hours of interviews with bob woodward of the washington post and delivered more than 20 boxes Documents for this latest look at the dysfunctional Nixon administration. — evan thomas
m train by patti smith (knopf)
Patti Smith’s new memoir is as insightful and beautifully written as Just Kids, her national award-winning book, set in the New York art scene of the 1960s and 1970s. But it’s less linear: the Excursive record of a lifelong pilgrim during the 40 years since his groundbreaking debut album, “horses”. — elizabeth’s hand
nagasaki: life after nuclear war by susan southard (viking)
susan southard’s fascinating book tells the stories of five us survivors. uu. bombing of nagaski these hibakusha (the “atomic bomb-affected people”) waged nuclear war their entire lives; the only victory is to live long enough to share the experience. — carlos lozada
the nuns of sant’ambrogio: the true story of a scandalous convent by hubert wolf, translated from the german by ruth martin (knopf)
sister maria luisa was intelligent, charismatic and beautiful. she was also a rapist, embezzler, murderer and, when her crimes came to light in 1858, a serious threat to the vatican. Lobo, a scholar of great integrity, resists the temptation to sensationalize as he reconstructs history from the Inquisition transcripts. —gerard degroot
once in a big city: a detroit story by david maraniss (s&s)
maraniss, the publication’s associate editor, recreates 18 months in detroit in the mid-1960s, when the city was already downsizing and losing jobs but buoyed by the contagious optimism of motown. The tragedy at the heart of this gracious and generous book is that all that remains of that hopeful moment is a soundtrack. —kevin boyle
The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys’ Club by Eileen Pollack (Beacon)
Some 40 years after graduating from Yale with a bachelor’s degree in physics, Pollock, now a college professor of creative writing, conducts a kind of academic “autopsy” of her experience and the barriers women in science still face. — marcia bartusiak
ordinary light by tracy k. blacksmith (knopf)
a memoir about growing up in a loving middle-class black family and the rites of passage a daughter endures to grow and break free. You don’t have to know Smith’s Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry to appreciate her ability to write in a unique and universal way. — cl.
The Pentagon Mastermind: An Uncensored History of Darpa, America’s Top-Secret Military Research Agency by Annie Jacobsen (petite, brunette)
a fascinating and sometimes uncomfortable exploration of the defense advanced research projects agency, the high-tech incubator responsible for stealth technology, tank simulators and the m-16 rifle, as well as data mining programs and the investigation behind the harsh interrogation techniques used after 9/11. — dina-rastón
the award: who’s in charge of america’s schools? by dale russakoff (houghton mifflin harcourt)
Five years ago, the struggling public schools of newark, new jersey received a sudden infusion of aid from a star-studded consortium of politicians, silicon valley money, and TV stars. what can go wrong? As Russakoff, a former Washington Post reporter, documents in her incisive and vivid account, just about everything. — sarah carr
sam phillips : the man who invented rock and roll by peter guralnick (small, dark)
Sun Records founder Sam Phillips oversaw a series of recordings that made his label a central player in the rock and roll revolution of the 1950s. As Peter Guralnick shows in this comprehensive biography, Phillips believed that The records he made helped America become a freer and more equal place. — charles hughes
projection room : family photos by alan lightman (pantheon)
This brilliantly observed and poignantly written memoir by the author of “Einstein’s Dreams” is about what really defines the South: the real common denominator in our little squabbling matrix of black and white, Jew and Gentile: family. — jack hitt
shaky ground: the strange saga of the us. mortgage giants by bethany mclean (columbia global reporting)
Writing in a free, easy, and incisive style, McLean debunks three myths: that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac caused the 2008 financial crisis, that these government-sponsored companies are forces only for good, and that government guarantees are free and easy. — simon johnson
showdown: thurgood marshall and the supreme court nomination that changed the united states by wil haygood (knopf)
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With energy, humor and flair, Haygood recounts how Thurgood Marshall won confirmation as the Supreme Court’s first African-American justice, facing a Senate Judiciary Committee made up of staunch segregationists determined to thwart his appointment. —annette gordon-reed
sinatra: the president of james kaplan (doubleday)
Toward the end of this second and final volume of James Kaplan’s masterful biography of Frank Sinatra, I guarantee you’ll begin to mourn the death of a massive and unforgettable talent whose lifestyle helped define post-war America. and for an America that no longer exists. — sibbie o’sullivan
sisters-in-law: how sandra day o’connor and ruth bader ginsburg went to the supreme court and changed the world by linda hirshman (harper)
In this joint biography written with wit and the ability to explain the law succinctly, Hirshman’s stories of the first two women on the Supreme Court illustrate how the court went from condoning and engaging in sex discrimination to treating it as constitutionally prohibited. . —cary franklin
Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: One Family, One Virginia Town, A Civil Rights Battle , by Kristen Green (Harper)
In 1959, Prince Edward County, Va., was ordered to desegregate its public schools, closed them for five years, and used tax dollars to fund a private academy for whites. Green, a journalist who attended that academy, was drawn to write about the episode, finding lingering bitterness, but not much guilt, among white residents. — glenn frankel
The Speechwriter: A Brief Education in Politics by Barton Swain (S&S)
“the speechwriter” feels like “veep” meets “all the king’s men”: an entertaining and fascinating book that is not only about the absurdities of working in a state governor’s press office south, but also about the meaning of words in public life. — c.l.
stalin’s daughter: the extraordinary and tumultuous life of svetlana alliluyeva by rosemary sullivan (harper)
Among the many follies and suffocating tragedies in the life of Svetlana Alliluyeva, Sullivan reveals a seductive and complex character: a woman who possesses deep compassion and a creative intellect, as well as “something of the tyrant” that her murderous father was in dough. —g.d.g.
stoned: a doctor’s case for medical marijuana by david casarett (current)
Does medical marijuana work? That question, posed in this illuminating new book by David Casarett, a hospice physician and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, sounds simple and turns out to be quite the opposite. — susan okie
Underground in Berlin: A young woman’s extraordinary story of survival in the heart of Nazi Germany by Marie Jalowicz Simon (petite, brunette)
As a Jew under the Nazis in Berlin, Marie Jalowicz realized that her best hope of survival was to go underground, to disappear. Her extraordinary World War II memoirs provide fascinating insight into the psychology of those who were willing to help her: Nazi and anti-Semite sympathizers and others who were addicted to the endorphin rush that comes from charity. — gdg
cheating music & disappearing ink by elvis costello (blue rider)
Amidst the litter of disparate (and largely ghost) celebrity memoirs, Costello’s is a revelation. We welcome the artist when she’s old enough to get perspective, but still young enough to remember every detail, and she’s presented with adult drama, humor and humility. — geoff edgers
unfinished business: women men work family by anne-marie sacrifice (random house)
following her controversial magazine article “why women still can’t have it all”, the slaughter book is a radical manifesto. her central thesis: “the discussion needs to move from being about work-life balance to discrimination against caregiving and caregiving.” —jill abramson
the witches: salem, 1692 , by stacy schiff (small, brunette)
Schiff’s contribution to the well-known story of the Salem Witch Trials is his penetrating evocation of the milieu that spawned them: a Puritan society so bleak, colorless, and cruel that children abducted by Indians often choose to stay with their parents. captors. — elaine showalter
the wright brothers , by david mcullough (s&s)
mccullough’s magical account of the early adventures of wilbur and orville wright, enhanced by family correspondence, written records, and his own intimate knowledge of the times, shows like never before how two ohio boys from an extraordinary family taught to the world to fly. —reeve lindbergh
young eliot: from st. louis to the wasteland , by robert crawford (fsg)
Previous biographies have a t.s. something scarce. eliot’s american childhood and youth, which is one of the reasons this book is so valuable. robert crawford follows the poet’s young life in fascinating and exhaustive detail and almost always connects his discoveries with poetry. — m.d.
read more:
the 10 best books of 2015
Featured Fiction Books of 2015
notable nonfiction from 2015
best audiobooks of 2015
best graphic novels of 2015
the best mystery and thriller books of 2015
best poetry collections of 2015
the best romance novels of 2015
the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2015
book news 2015: nostalgia, blockbusters and controversy
best children’s books of 2015
kwame alexander picks his five best children’s books
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