2011.8.9 new arrivals

The Emerald Atlas

AUTHOR : John Stephens

PUBLISHER : Knopf

GENRE : Fiction

Kate, Michael and Emma have been in one orphanage after another for the last 10 years, passed along like lost baggage. Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about. Until now. Before long, Kate, Michael and Emma are on a journey to dangerous and secret corners of the world .?.?. a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem. And - if an ancient prophesy is correct - what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.

Mr. Peanut

AUTHOR : Adam Ross

PUBLISHER : Vintage

GENRE : Fiction

David Pepin has been in love with his wife, Alice, since the moment they met in a university seminar on Alfred Hitchcock. After thirteen years of marriage, he still can’t imagine a remotely happy life without her - yet he obsessively contemplates her demise. Soon she is dead, and David is both deeply distraught and the prime suspect. Like the Escher drawings that inspire the computer games David designs for a living, the complex, interlocking dramas in the book are emotionally intense, subtle and intriguing; they brilliantly explore the warring impulses of affection and hatred.

On China

AUTHOR : Henry Kissinger

PUBLISHER : Penguin Press

GENRE : History

In “On China,” Kissinger examines key episodes in Chinese foreign policy from the classical era to the present day, with a particular emphasis on the decades since the rise of Mao Zedong. He illuminates the inner workings of Chinese diplomacy during such pivotal events as the initial encounters between China and modern European powers, the formation and breakdown of the Sino-Soviet alliance, the Korean War, Richard Nixon’s historic trip to Beijing, and three crises in the Taiwan Straits. Drawing on his extensive personal experience with four generations of Chinese leaders, he brings to life towering figures such as Mao, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, revealing how their different visions have shaped China’s modern destiny.

Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure

AUTHOR : Tim Harford

PUBLISHER : Farrar, Straus and Giroux

GENRE : Self-Help

In this groundbreaking book, Tim Harford shows us a new and inspiring approach to solving the most pressing problems in our lives. When faced with complex situations, we have all become accustomed to looking to our leaders to set out a plan of action and blaze a path to success. Harford argues that today’s challenges simply cannot be tackled with ready-made solutions and expert opinion; the world has become far too unpredictable and profoundly complex. Instead, we must adapt.

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

AUTHOR : Sam Kean

PUBLISHER : Back Bay

GENRE : History & Philosophy

Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie’s reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters?*

The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it’s also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.

*Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a moldable metal that melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. A classic science prank is to mold gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch guests recoil as their utensils disappear.