REQUIRED READING
Lafayette in the Somewhat United States
by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead Books)
In 1777, daredevil teen nobleman Marquis de Lafayette crossed the Atlantic to help America win its revolution. Vowell (“Assassination Vacation,” “The Partly Cloudy Patriot”) tells his story, and weighs in on contemporaries like George Washington, John Adams and Marie Antoinette. But this is not an academic treatise, as evidenced by the priceless moment when the author chats with a Lafayette impersonator in historic Williamsburg, Va.
The Mark and the Void
by Paul Murray (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
The new satire from Murray (“Skippy Dies”) finds trouble for Dublin financial analyst/narrator Claude, whose Bank of Torobundo (named for a fictional island/tax haven) is into some dodgy derivatives deals. The trouble swells exponentially when Claude meets Paul, a nefarious novelist involved in some slimy schemes of his own — such as the selfexplanatory myhotwaitress.com. Paul drags Claude into a hot mess of dirty money, sexy servers and very little novel writing.
Magna Carta
The Birth of Liberty
by Dan Jones (Viking)
It means “great charter,” and it turns 800 this year. But the Magna Carta is no mere medieval matter, Jones (“The Wars of the Roses”) writes in his latest tome. In the early 1200s, England was not a happy place. King John charged excessive taxes that impoverished rich and poor alike. (The nation’s barons may also have been furious that the king was seducing their wives and daughters.) A group nobles forced the king to sign the document, which reined in the monarch’s powers. The early origins of Western liberty.
The Tea Party Divided The Hidden Diversity of a Maturing Movement
by Heath Brown (Praeger)
From the outside, the Tea Party appears to be a homogenous group of likeminded people. But City University of New York professor Brown argues that’s not the case, citing Tea Party conservative Republicans, Libertarians and even Democrats. Interestingly, Brown equates the Tea Party with the early feminist movement, which began as a fringe group and gained wider support.
Cats on the Job 50 Fabulous Felines Who Purr, Mouse, and Even Sing for Their Supper
by Lisa Rogak (Thomas Dunne Books)
In the purrfect book for feline fans feeling that dogs are hogging the limelight, Rogak shows us that cats do a lot more than scratch at posts and arch their backs. She introduces the likes of Exercise Trainer Cat (from California, of course), Model Cat (on the catwalk), Police Cat (really!) and other out of the ordinary pets. A come with fun photos.