McNally Robinson NYC

by Michael Chabon
(McSweeney’s, $24.00)
Some of these essays are mere autobiographical fillips; some are semi-sinister trickster tales that mix truth and lies; some are heady considerations of the successes and failings of contemporary literature. All are written with Chabon’s unparalleled wit and richness of language and engage his favorite themes of genre fiction and Jewishness. Buy it now, if only to posesses the astonishingly complex and beautiful book design by cartoonist Jordan Crane; once this print run is gone it’ll be a plain old book again, like magic ending after the stroke of midnight..

by Marguerite Duras
(W.W. Norton, $14.95)
Duras can lacerate with her words, even when she’s writing about love, so imagine how she writes about war, occupation, Holocaust and treachery. This is an account of her personal experiences, including waiting, almost dead with anxiety, to see if her husband would come home from a concentration camp. It is harrowing and, because it’s by Marguerite Duras, beautiful and unsettling..

by Jonathan Trouern-Trend
(Sierra Club Books, $9.95)
Trouern-Trend, an avid birdwatcher, went to Iraq as part of the US invasion and took his binoculars with him. This fascinating little book blends birding, war, and sociological observations with sharp little illustrations. Birds and war. A bee-eater on barbed wire. It’s both unsettling and hopeful..

by Les Beletsky
(Chronicle, $45.00)
Spring is here, and the birds are - ahem - bonking. This book lets you listen to recordings of them singing. It’s like a feathered World Music compilation. Find your nearest immigrant, play her a birdsong from her native land, and watch her swoon with nostalgia. The racket-tailed drongo had that effect on me. With this book, you get to look
at great pictures, listen to the sounds of the planet, and push nifty buttons. It’s perfect..

by David Graeber
(University of Chicago Press, $12.95)
This is one of the greatest pieces of radical thought that I have ever come across. I can’t get over how much amazing stuff is in this little read. If anarchy, anthropology, egalitarianism, or direct democracy have any interest to you, then you’ll love this..

by Richard Wolin
(Routledge, $24.95)
While useful as an introduction to and critique of the work of the Frankfurt school of thinkers, Wolin’s true project over the course of these essays is an examination of the continuing validity of the social-democratic project, post-Enlightenment thought and, by extension, an indictment of many un-reflexively radicalized trends in current philosophy. A deft and engaging treatment of difficult and divisive topics..

by Guy Debord
(MIT, $16.95)
In the short amount of time I’ve had on this earth, I’ve seen some political, artistic and philosophical movements come and go. The Situationists are one group of philosophers and artists whose work has stood the test of time in an impressive way. This is the most well-known piece of theory to come out of that movement, and its critique of our society has influenced everyone from academics to architects to directors to bandits. Fun for the whole family!!

by Barack Obama
(Random House, $14.95)
Some say it’s hope. Some say it’s fever. Some, a movement. This man is going to be our next president. He is solid and gifted, a superb writer, and someone you should take a little time to get to know..

by Janisse Ray
(Milkweed Editions, $14.95)
“These are my people; our legacy is ruination.” Janisse Ray grew up in rural Georgia, literally dirt-poor. In this riveting memoir, she talks with great matter-of-factness and great poetry about the land, the forests, being part of a white family with a mentally ill father, and growing up in a junkyard. By the end of it, you can smell both the pine trees and the decomposing trash that were the landscapes of her youth. America is so much bigger than provincial little Manhattan..

by Fidel Castro
(Simon & Schuster, $40.00)
Castro’s recent resignation arrived on the heels of the U.S. release of this account of his life and times which he communicated to a reporter over the span of two years. I found it fascinating to read about his youth and a Cuba relegated to history now that things will inevitably change–maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of our lives..