Daughter of Empire
by Lady Pamela Hicks (Simon & Schuster, $26)
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Crazy Rich
by Jerry Oppenheimer (St. Martin’s, $28)
By rights, a history of the family behind Johnson & Johnson “should make for juicy reading,” said The Economist. The health-products dynasty doesn’t want for compelling characters, whether a reader cares most about shrewd business moves, drug abuse, or lesbian lovers. But Jerry Oppenheimer’s prose ranges “from sloppy to preposterous.” He often compares the Johnson story to Greek drama, but his hackneyed account “arouses few feelings other than the desire for it to end.”
Alone Together
by Teddy Getty Gaston (Ecco, $27)
J. Paul Getty’s fifth wife has created the “kindest, most understanding” portrait of a narcissist you’ll ever read, said Judith Newman in The New York Times. And still the portrait is appalling. Teddy Getty Gaston, a former nightclub singer who’s now 99, works overtime here to present a rosy view of her late oil-magnate husband. Yet even in her “very whitewashed” account, we see a cold, penny-pinching man—one who even bemoans having to pay for his young son’s cancer treatments.
Empty Mansions
by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr. (Ballantine, $28)
The philanthropist Huguette Clark lived such a hermetic life that “she made Howard Hughes seem like a Kardashian,” said Curt Schleier in The Seattle Times. This “blood-boiling exposé, written by a reporter and a relative of the late copper heiress, describes how a generous recluse was betrayed by the people entrusted to look after her. The story will make you both angry and sad. “Huguette deserved far better.”
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Helsinki's year of zero road fatalitiesUnder the Radar Finland's 'Vision Zero' safety strategy 'shifts responsibility for crashes from road users to the designers of the road system'
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Critics' choice: Outstanding new Japanese restaurantsFeature An all-women sushi team, a 15-seat listening bar, and more
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Why do Dana White and Donald Trump keep pushing for a White House UFC match?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The president and the sports mogul each have their own reasons for wanting a White House spectacle
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Also of interest...in picture books for grown-upsfeature How About Never—Is Never Good for You?; The Undertaking of Lily Chen; Meanwhile, in San Francisco; The Portlandia Activity Book
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Author of the week: Karen Russell
feature Karen Russell could use a rest.
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The Double Life of Paul de Man by Evelyn Barish
feature Evelyn Barish “has an amazing tale to tell” about the Belgian-born intellectual who enthralled a generation of students and academic colleagues.
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Book of the week: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
feature Michael Lewis's description of how high-frequency traders use lightning-fast computers to their advantage is “guaranteed to make blood boil.”
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Also of interest...in creative rebellion
feature A Man Called Destruction; Rebel Music; American Fun; The Scarlet Sisters
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Author of the week: Susanna Kaysen
feature For a famous memoirist, Susanna Kaysen is highly ambivalent about sharing details about her life.
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You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age by Robert Wagner
feature Robert Wagner “seems to have known anybody who was anybody in Hollywood.”
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Book of the week: Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire by Peter Stark
feature The tale of Astoria’s rise and fall turns out to be “as exciting as anything in American history.”