Featured Titles 2002 New titles - selected on the basis of good reviews. Nonfiction, fiction and mystery titles are included on the lists.

September 2002

Nonfiction

  • Seeing in the Dark: How Backyard Stargazers Are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanetary Peril
    Author: Ferris, Timothy
    Publisher: Simon & Schuster $ 26 ISBN: 0684865793
    starKirkusstarLJ
    America's finest science writer describes a major revolution sweeping astronomy, as amateur astronomers, in global networks linked by the Internet, make discoveries that are changing knowledge of the universe. The appendix includes star charts, observing lists, and a guide on how to get involved with the stars.
    Updated 8.28.02
  • Longitudes and Attitudes: The World Longitute and Attitudes coverin the Age of Terrorism
    Author: Friedman, Thomas
    Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux $ 26 ISBN: 0374190666
    starKirkusstarPW
    As the Foreign Affairs columnist for the New York Times, Friedman is in a unique position to interpret the world for American readers. This new book contains Friedman's columns about the most momentous news story of our time, as well as a diary of his experiences and reactions during this period of crisis.
    Updated 8.28.02
  • To Reach the Clouds: My High Wire Walk Between the Two TowersTo Reach the Clouds cover
    Author: Petit, Philippe
    Publisher: North Point $ 30 ISBN: 0865476519
    starKirkusstarPWstarLJ
    In 1974, 100,000 people on the ground watched 24-year-old high wire artist Petit make eight crossings between the World Trade Towers. In this visually and verbally stunning book, Petit tells for the first time the story of his walk, from conception and clandestine planning to the performance and its aftermath.
    Updated 8.28.02

Fiction

  • The Book of Illusions
    Author: Auster, Paul
    Publisher: Holt $ 25 ISBN: 0805054081
    starBookliststarKirkusstarLibrary JournalstarPW
    In this rich and emotionally charged work, a man's obsession with a silent film star sends him on a journey into a shadowy world of lies, illusions, and unexpected love.
    Updated 8.27.02
  • Crimson Petal and WhiteCrimson Petal and White cover
    Author: Faber, Michael
    Publisher: Harcourt $ 26 ISBN: 015100692x
    starKirkusstarBooklist
    Richly textured, this novel is set in 1870s London. Nineteen-year-old prostitute Sugar yearns for escape from a terrifying brothel. Her ascent through Victorian society offers an intimacy with host of unforgettable characters as Sugar tries to lift her body and soul out of the gutter.
    Updated 8.13.02
  • Piano TunerPiano Tuner cover
    Author: Mason, Daniel Philippe
    Publisher: Knopf $ 24 ISBN: 0375414657
    starKirkusstarLibrary Journal
    A hypnotic tale of myth, romance, and self-discovery, this extraordinary fiction debut tells the story of a British piano tuner sent deep into Burma in the 19th century, where he encounters thieves, soldiers, and an enchanting but elusive woman.
    Updated 8.16.02
  • Family Matters
    Author: Mistry, Rohinton
    Publisher: Knopf $ 26 ISBN: 0375403736
    starKirkusstarBookliststarPW
    At once sweeping and intimate, comic and tragic, Family Matters--by the author of A Fine Balance --is the story of a 1990s Bombay family dealing with their elderly patriarch, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease.
    Updated 7.15.02
  • Lullaby: A Novel
    Author: Palahniuck, Chuck
    Publisher: Doubleday $ 24.95 ISBN: 0385504470
    starKirkus
    From the author of The New York Times bestseller Choke and the cult classic Fight Club comes a scintillating, cunningly plotted novel about the ultimate verbal weapon, one that reinvents the apocalyptic thriller for our times.
    Updated 6.29.02
  • The Last GirlsLast Girls cover
    Author: Smith, Lee
    Publisher: Algonquin $ 24.95 ISBN: 1565123638
    starBookliststarKirkusstarPW
    Revered for her powerful female characters, Smith tells a brilliant story of how college pals who grew up in an era when they were still called "girls" have negotiated life as "women."
    Updated 7.31.02

Mystery & Suspense

  • The SmokeSmoke cover
    Author: Broadbent, Tony
    Publisher: Minotaur $ 23.95 ISBN: 0312290276
    starKirkusstarBooklist
    Set in post-World War II London, a young cat burglar is blackmailed by MI5 into helping them with an investigation involving international espionage. A Minotaur First Edition Selection.
    Updated 9.7.02
  • In a True LightIn a True Light cover
    Author: Harvey, John
    Publisher: Carroll & Graf $ 26 ISBN: 0786710535
    starPWstarBooklist
    A master at the top of his form redefines the crime novel with a gripping neo-noir thriller that revisits the bohemian art scene of 1950s New York.
    Updated 8.13.02
  • DecipherDecipher cover
    Author: Pavlou, Stel
    Publisher: Tor $ 24.95 ISBN: 0312280750
    starKirkus
    In this fascinating blend of science, mythology, and language, ancient monuments the world over are being awakened by a signal emanating from deep within the ice of Antarctica. The signal contains secrets that threaten to destroy the world.
    Updated 7.17.02
  • Buck Fever: Blanco County TexasBuck Fever Cover
    Author: Rehder, Ben
    Publisher: Minotaur $ 23.95 ISBN: 0312291140
    starPWstarLibrary Journal
    It's the beginning of a crazy weekend in Blanco County as deer hunting season gets underway--and already a man in a deer suit has been shot. A sidesplittingly funny debut that does for Texas what Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey have done for Florida.
    Updated 9.7.02