winphp 6 New Books We Recommend This Week
Our recommended books this week take you to the top of the world (via Daniel Light’s history of mountaineering) and into the trenches of world politics (via Angela Merkel’s memoir and Rahul Bhatia’s study of India), with detours to Broadwaywinphp, the megamall and an apocalyptic take on “King Lear.” Happy reading. — Gregory Cowles
THE WHITE LADDER:Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of MountaineeringDaniel LightWhen asked by a reporter why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, George Mallory famously replied: “Because it is there.” In “The White Ladder,” an engaging and agreeably ornate history of earlier mountaineering, the British author Light paints a vivid picture of this seemingly innate need and those who first heeded its call.
Credit...“What unifies Light’s heroes is … a desperate, almost pathological urge to climb for climbing’s sake. One of the earliest primal urges observed in toddlers on a playground is for ascent — to climb the highest point on the jungle gym. Because, why not?”
From Charles Curkin’s review
Norton | $32.50
AMERICAN BULK:Essays on ExcessEmily MesterIn this unsettling and eye-opening debut, a collection of personal essays about consumption, Mester considers why she, and we, seek satisfaction by obsessively choosing, buying and rating the objects we desire.
Credit...“Excels at restoring texture to the smooth banalities of our consumer existence. … Mester’s confessional, her sustained examination of the shame of shopping more than you need to, has dash and daring.”
From Alexandra Jacobs’s review
Norton | Paperback, $17.99
FREEDOM:Memoirs 1954-2021Angela Merkel with Beate BaumannIn her candid memoir, the former German chancellor reflects on her political rise and defends her record as the outlook for her country turns grim.
Credit...“Exhaustive yet surprisingly fast-paced. … Conveys an unwavering commitment to the convictions by which she governed: the universality and inviolability of individual human dignity, and the boon of an open, interconnected world, built on shared prosperity.”
From Elisabeth Zerofsky’s review
St. Martin’s | $40
THE NEW INDIA:The Unmaking of the World’s Largest DemocracyRahul BhatiaBhatia’s study of modern-day India explores how the world’s largest democracy slid toward authoritarianism, combining personal history and investigative journalism to account for his country’s turn to militant Hindu nationalism.
Credit...“Considering the urgency of Bhatia’s subject, it’s only appropriate that he brings a multitude of methods to bear. … The book showcases his skills as an investigative journalist and memoirist, an intellectual and storyteller.”
From Jennifer Szalai’s review
PublicAffairs | $32
PRIVATE RITESJulia ArmfieldIn this apocalyptic updating of “King Lear,” a visionary architect’s death leaves his three queer adult daughters to grapple with his legacy, his divisive will and his “easy cruelty” in a London drenched by catastrophic flooding.
Credit....“What is salvageable in a dissolving world? In this probing novel, the question is both political and personal. … Armfield forgoes sentimental scenes and simple answers for suspense and horror.”
From Allegra Goodman’s review
Flatiron | $27.99
HOW SONDHEIM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFERichard SchochThis incisive and heartwarming essay collection by a professor of drama at Queen’s University Belfast and a former New York theater director offers a show-by-show analysis to examine the extraordinary career of the master of the musical and, at least notionally, to extract usable takeaways from the Sondheim canon.
Credit...“What a joy the author’s take on it all is. I was happy simply to be in Schoch’s company, wallowing in Sondheim trivia and enjoying a series of smart, close reads that sent me down at least one YouTube wormhole per chapter.”
From Emma Brockes’s review
Atria | $28.99winphp