Dogs in Art, Birds of the World, Romance Scammers and More
Thomas W Laqueur’s dog’s gazeRobert McFarlane and Jackie Morris book of birdsAnd of Carlos Barragán yahoo boys These are all among the best-reviewed non-fiction titles of the month.
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1. The Dog’s Gaze: A Visual History By Thomas W. Laqueur
(Penguin Press)
7 rev • 3 positive • 1 mixed
read an excerpt from dog’s gaze Here
“A clever and beautiful survey of dogs in painting, with a brilliant explanation of their role at its center… Luminous… Laqueur takes us on a wonderful illustrated tour of dogs in art… By the end of this clever, beautiful book, Laqueur has firmly made his point that the function of the dog in Western art is to provide an entry-point or alter ego for viewers who might otherwise feel overwhelmed or insulted.”
-Katherine Hughes (Guardian)
2. The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert McFarlane and Jackie Morris
(WW Norton & Company)
7 rave • 1 positive
“Another beautiful, extremely giftable, clarion call to pay attention to the wonders of the natural world… book of birds is not merely a list of endangered species… The full-length prose poems highlight the habitats, habits, and character traits that make birds come alive in a way that more traditional field guides do not… I had never read a field guide from cover to cover before, but after marveling at the wonders book of birds, “I can well understand the writers’ deep admiration for their subjects.”
-Heller McAlpin (Christian Science Monitor)
3. The Traveller: One Man’s Quest for Humanity from the South Seas to Revolutionary Paris by Andrea Wolf
(knopf)
7 rev •1 mixed
read an excerpt from tourist Here
“George Forster is one of the most fascinating personalities you’ve probably never heard of… Forster is the living subject of Andrea Wolf tourist, A vibrant new book that hums with its own distinctive enthusiasm…especially now, it is refreshing to read it observing, thinking and getting excited on the page.’
-Jennifer Szalai (the new York Times)
4. Stolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran By Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafeddin
(Doubleday)
6 rave
“Bozorgmehr Sharafeddin and Yeganeh Torbati’s powerful history of the Islamic Republic is in great need of improvement because it is a gripping story and a balanced, carefully researched primer on modern Iran (the clearest I have ever read). And it is dramatic, personal, and often heartbreaking… revolution of theft It is a careful and unflinching account of the absurdities and crimes of the regime. It should be required reading for anyone who cares about human rights or justice in the Middle East.
-Dina Nayeri (Guardian)
5. Yahoo Boys: Love, Cheating, and the Real Lives of Nigeria’s Romance Scammers by Carlos Barragán
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
5 rave • 1 positive
“Barragán brings a surprising depth and empathy yahoo boysFrom the tin roofs and traffic jams of Lagos, to the SIM cards and Apple IDs that support this edifice of deception. He has fallen into the bottomless pit that surrounds desire. The result is a compassionate, elegant, disturbing book about some very shabby people. However, at least they’re still people.
-Dan Piepenbring (Harper’s)
