Brilliant
by Jane Brox
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Fur, Fortune, and Empire
by Eric Jay Dolin
(Norton, $30)
The gruesome business of separating pelts from freshly killed animals was “a surprisingly vital component” in early American history, said David Holahan in TheChristianScienceMonitor.com. Europe’s desire for beaver pelts saved Plymouth Colony and made the continent the site of imperial wars. In a work that “reads like a lively textbook,” Eric Jay Dolin tracks the fur trade across three centuries as it nearly wipes out beaver, buffalo, and entire native tribes. He’s “dispassionate throughout,” yet his story begs for passion.
Losing Our Cool
by Stan Cox
(New Press, $25)
Scientist Stan Cox wants to blame air conditioning “for just about everything wrong with America,” said Eric Felten in The Wall Street Journal. Not only does it account for 15 percent of America’s total energy consumption, it has also encouraged Americans to spread into fragile desert environments, and has led to increased social fragmentation and even obesity. But when Cox argues that A/C has contributed greatly to the growth of Republican power, you wonder if his concern for the environment simply “cloaks a cultural and political agenda.”
Extra Lives
by Tom Bissell
(Penguin, $23)
Memoirist Tom Bissell is not sure whether videogames really matter, said Dan Zigmond in the San Francisco Chronicle. But his meditation on the subject certainly does. Bissell has spent inordinate amounts of time playing videogames, and he realizes that—like novels, paintings, or movies—they reveal their greatest virtues only to their most passionate fans. Reading his book “is like taking a private tour at a very exclusive museum.” You don’t need to be familiar with the work on display to find the experience unforgettable.
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Mermaiding: the underwater subculture on the riseUnder the Radar Cosplay meets fitness in an escapist fin-omenon that's making waves around the world
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Delhi's dogs earn Supreme Court reprieveIN THE SPOTLIGHT After an outcry from the public and animal rights activists, India's Supreme Court walks back a controversial plan to round the city's stray dog population into shelters
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8 hotels with ace tennis courtsThe Week Recommends Bring your A game
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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.”