Several new books about Barack Obama are in the works, in addition to the just-announced Bridge by New Yorker editor David Remnick (Knopf, 4/6/10) — see earlier post.

Coming a few days before Remnick’s bio, is a book by Robert Kuttner, co-founder of the liberal magazine The American Prospect and author of Obama’s Challenge. Libraries we checked are not showing it on order.

A Presidency in Peril: The Inside Story of Obama’s Promise, Wall Street’s Power, and the Struggle to Control our Economic Future Robert Kuttner Retail Price: $25.00 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing – (2010-04-02) ISBN / EAN: 1603582703 / 9781603582704

Newsweek senior editor Jonathan Alter’s The Promise: President Obama, Year One will be published in May (most large libraries have it on order in small quantities). Alter also wrote The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope, 2006, which got a boost in sales when Obama himself said he was reading it prior to taking office.

The Promise: President Obama, Year One Jonathan Alter Retail Price: $28.00 Hardcover: 464 pages Publisher: Simon & Schuster – (2010-05-18) ISBN / EAN: 1439101191 / 9781439101193

S&S Audio; UNABR; 9781442334458; $39.99

According to USA Today, other books by presidential biographers are in the works. David Maraniss, whose account of the early Clinton years, First in his Class, is considered, “a standard text for the early life and political rise of the 42nd president” is at work on a “long-range project” about Obama.

And, Robert Draper, (Dead Certain: The Biography of  George W. Bush) is working on a book that considers Obama “in the context of the civil rights movement.”

Knopf announced late yesterday that a new book about Barack Obama, written by New Yorker editor David Remnick and titled The Bridge, will be published on Apri 6th.

Remnick has already written about the president for the New Yorker including a long essay in Nov., 2008. According to Publishers Weekly the first printing will be 200,000 copies.

Remnick won a Pulitzer in 1994 for his book, Lenin’s Tomb.

The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama David Remnick Retail Price: $29.95 Hardcover: 672 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2010-04-06) ISBN / EAN: 1400043603 / 9781400043606

By now, you may feel that you know everything that is in The Politician by John Edwards’ aide, Andrew Young, but in today’s New York Times, Janet Maslin reviews the book, saying, “this,…like Game Change, is a book worth reading for its larger drama.”

Game Change has been in the top three on Amazon’s sales rankings since January 11th, sometimes occupying the #1 position (it was recently knocked down by Michael Pollan’s Food Rules; speaking of strange bedfellows).

The highest level The Politician has reached is #7; it is currently at #52.

Unabridged audio will be available from Tantor:

Publisher: Tantor, 2/22/10 (UPDATE: see comment; Available Now)
Read by: Kevin Foley
Trade: 9781400116508; 10 CD’s; $34.99
Library: 9781400146505; 10 CD’s; $69.99
MP3: 9781400166503; 1 MP3-CD; $24.99

The scoop-hungry National Enquirer, which is planning to enter the paper’s reporting on John Edwards and Rielle Hunter for the Pulitzer Prize, now claims that Oprah Winfrey is publishing a memoir.

The article reports, “Oprah wrote her memoirs years ago, but shelved the book on the advice of family and friends, sources say. But she’s releasing it now to thwart the impact of Kitty Kelley’s unauthorized book, Oprah: a Biography.”

Back in the mid-nineties, Oprah was indeed close to publishing an autobiography with Knopf, but pulled out at the last minute (there was even a lavish party for the book at the ABA convention; the predecessor to Book Expo America). Knopf told EarlyWord that they know of no plans to publish it now.

Meanwhile, sister imprint, Crown is publishing the Kitty Kelley book in April.

Oprah: A Biography Kitty Kelley Retail Price: $30.00 Hardcover: Publisher: - (2010-04-13) ISBN / EAN: 0307394867 / 9780307394866

Random House Audio; 9780307749246; $50
Crown Large Print; Pbk; 9780739377857; $30

Molly Ivins is often described as courageous and irreverent, so it’s no wonder that she also loved librarians, who share those characteristics. In fact, she began her career working in a newspaper library (see her 2001 interview in Special Libraries).

She died three years ago Sunday. You can help celebrate her life by tweeting your favorite Mollyisms, stories and memories using the hashtag #MollyIvins, in progress now.

The celebration is organized by Public Affairs, the publisher of the recent biography Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life; The Texas Observer, Molly’s former paper; and Vintage/Anchor, the publisher of Ivins’s books such as Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She? and Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush.

Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life Bill Minutaglio, W. Michael Smith Retail Price: $26.95 Hardcover: 360 pages Publisher: PublicAffairs – (2009-11-10) ISBN / EAN: 1586487175 / 9781586487171

Alison Weir’s bio of Anne Boleyn, The Lady in the Tower is recommended as a companion book for Americans who need historical background to enjoy Hilary Mantel’s Booker-winning novel, Wolf Hall.

Now we come full circle; Hilary Mantel reviews The Lady in the Tower for the NYT Book Review.

The Lady in the Tower rose to #93 (from #283) on Amazon sales rankings after the review and a fascinating story on NPR’s All Things Considered (listen here). Holds are as high as 10:1 in several libraries.

Why are people fascinated with Anne Boleyn? Mantel says,

It is because her character has archetypal force…She is the young fertile beauty who displaces the menopausal wife. She is the mistress whose calculating methods beguile the married man; but in time he sees through her tricks and turns against her.

The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn Alison Weir Retail Price: $28.00 Hardcover: 464 pages Publisher: Ballantine Books – (2010-01-05) ISBN / EAN: 0345453212 / 9780345453211

Audio; Recorded Books; Anticipated Release: Feb 13, 2010

• Unabridged CD; $123.75
• Unabridged Cassette; $113.75

eBook available from OverDrive

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Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel Retail Price: $27.00 Hardcover: 560 pages Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. – (2009-10-13) ISBN / EAN: 0805080686 / 9780805080681

UNABR Audio from MacMillan Audio, 9781427210166; $49.99
Audio and eBook available from OverDrive

Kitty Kelley, who looks for people who are “lightning rods” as subjects of her biographies has found her next one; Oprah.

Entertainment Weekly’s blog Shelf Life reports that Crown is planning a 500,000 copy first printing. The publisher is mum on details other than “[the book] will reveal Oprah as she has never been seen before.”

Years ago, Oprah was set to write her autobiography, but backed out.

Oprah: A Biography Kitty Kelley Retail Price: $30.00 Hardcover: Publisher: - (2010-04-13) ISBN / EAN: 0307394867 / 9780307394866

Random House Audio; 9780307749246; $50
Crown Large Print; Pbk; 9780739377857; $30

The first big memoirs of the year arrive – with bestseller Elizabeth Gilbert at the forefront.

Gilbert’s much anticipated Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage arrives after some delay. PW found her voice “clear and winning,” but declared that her hybrid of her own travelogue and the history of marriage “doesn’t work.” It’s a big year for Gilbert: in August, the film version of her international bestseller Eat, Pray, Love arrives, directed by Glee creator and producer Ryan Murphy, and starring Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, James Franco and Billy Crudup.

NOTE: Gilbert is the MidWinter Sunrise Speaker on Sat., Jan. 17, 8–9 a.m.

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage Elizabeth Gilbert Retail Price: $26.95 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Viking Adult – (2010-01-05) ISBN / EAN: 0670021652 / 9780670021659

Audio from Penguin Audiobooks

• CD: $29.95; ISBN 9780143145752

Audio also available from OverDrive

• OverDrive WMA Audiobook

Large Print from Thorndike Press

• $34.95; ISBN: 9781410422767

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Baby, Let’s Play House: Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him by Alanna Nash was reviewed recently by Janet Maslin in the New York Times – who called it “long, repetitive and dirt-digging” and also ”embarrassingly tempting.”

Baby, Let’s Play House: Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him Alanna Nash Retail Price: $27.99 Hardcover: 704 pages Publisher: It Books – (2010-01-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061699845 / 9780061699849

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Two memoirs by media-genic authors are also starting to pick up some online buzz. Mika Brzezinski’s All Things at Once is an account by the co-host on CNBC’s “Morning Joe” about the difficulty of balancing her career and being the mother of two young daughters.

All Things at Once Mika Brzezinski Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Weinstein Books – (2010-01-05) ISBN / EAN: 1602861110 / 9781602861114

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Andrea Lyon’s Angel of Death Row: My Life as a Death Penalty Defense Lawyer is a lawyer’s story of how she helped 19 clients found guilty of capital murder avoid the death penalty, and also an Indie Next pick for January.

Angel of Death Row: My Life as a Death Penalty Defense Lawyer Andrea Lyon Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Kaplan Publishing – (2010-01-05) ISBN / EAN: 1607144344 / 9781607144342

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Also to be released next week:

• Suze Orman’s Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny (Spiegel & Grau)

In the final week of the year, NPR’s Morning Edition is featuring the stories of various American lives.

Today, T. J. Stiles, author of the National Book Award winner for The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, talked about the man who controlled 5% of the U.S. economy in his time, despite his lack of education.

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The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt T.J. Stiles Retail Price: $37.50 Hardcover: 736 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2009-04-21) ISBN / EAN: 0375415424 / 9780375415425

Books on Tape; UnAbr; 9781415965917; $100
Audiobook and eBook downloadable from OverDrive
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Tomorrow, the show will feature boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.

Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson Wil Haygood Retail Price: $27.95 Hardcover: 480 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2009-10-13) ISBN / EAN: 1400044979 / 9781400044979

eBook downloadable from OverDrive.

THE biography catching reviewers’ attention this month is Joan Schenkar’s The Talented Miss Highsmith.

Highsmith’s books have had an enduring appeal, but were brought to a greater audience through recent movies based on the Ripliad, five novels featuring the charming sociopath Tom Ripley.

In the Washington Post, Jonatham Lethem’s review of the bio. is not as laudatory as others have been. Instead, he encourages readers to turn to the novels themselves.

As Lethem says, “The antidote to literary biography is literature.”

The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith Joan Schenkar Retail Price: $40.00 Hardcover: 704 pages Publisher: St. Martin’s Press – (2009-12-08) ISBN / EAN: 0312303750 / 9780312303754

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The following are the Highsmith titles that Lethem recommends.

The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley’s Game (Everyman’s Library) Patricia Highsmith Retail Price: $27.50 Hardcover: 880 pages Publisher: Everyman’s Library – (1999-10-12) ISBN / EAN: 0375407928 / 9780375407925

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The Cry of the Owl Patricia Highsmith Retail Price: $12.00 Paperback: 272 pages Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press – (1994-01-18) ISBN / EAN: 0871132907 / 9780871132901

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The Blunderer Patricia Highsmith Retail Price: $11.95 Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. – (2001-11) ISBN / EAN: 0393322440 / 9780393322446

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This Sweet Sickness Patricia Highsmith Retail Price: $13.95 Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. – (2002-10) ISBN / EAN: 0393323676 / 9780393323672

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The Tremor of Forgery Patricia Highsmith Retail Price: $12.00 Paperback: 264 pages Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press – (1994-01-14) ISBN / EAN: 0871132583 / 9780871132581

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Deep Water Patricia Highsmith Retail Price: $13.95 Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. – (2003-07) ISBN / EAN: 0393324559 / 9780393324556

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A Dog’s Ransom Patricia Highsmith Retail Price: $12.95 Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. – (2002-08-17) ISBN / EAN: 0393323366 / 9780393323368

If one of the functions of book awards is to bring attention to books that may not have received it otherwise, then the National Book Awards achieved that goal with one of the nonfiction nominees, The Poison King. In the Washington Post, Carolyn See reviewed it, saying,

I read this biography as a layperson, not a scholar, but I can say without reservation that it’s a wonderful reading experience, as bracing as a tonic, the perfect holiday gift for adventure-loving men and women…it’s drenched in imaginative violence and disaster, but it also wears the blameless vestments of culture and antiquity.

Put that in your nonfiction readers advisory bag.

The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy Adrienne Mayor Retail Price: $29.95 Hardcover: 472 pages Publisher: Princeton University Press – (2009-10-18) ISBN / EAN: 0691126836 / 9780691126838

BookForum’s Omnivore blog (not to be confused with Amazon’s Omnivoracious blog) says Ayn Rand is currently “so in vogue that even designers such as Ralph Lauren are finding inspiration in her writing” and links to the stunning number of recent articles about her, fueled, in part, by two new biographies.

Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right Jennifer Burns Retail Price: $27.95 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA – (2009-10-19) ISBN / EAN: 0195324870 / 9780195324877

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Ayn Rand and the World She Made Anne C. Heller Retail Price: $35.00 Hardcover: 592 pages Publisher: Nan A. Talese – (2009-10-27) ISBN / EAN: 0385513992 / 9780385513999

Jon Stewart asks the author of a new book on Ayn Rand whether members of the right, who often tout her, have noticed that she was an atheist and an intellectual.

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Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right Jennifer Burns Retail Price: $27.95 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA – (2009-10-19) ISBN / EAN: 0195324870 / 9780195324877

The book rose to #232 on Amazon sales rankings after the show aired.

However, it didn’t rise as high as two books by the Daily Show staff, that Stewart pitched at the end of the show:

#179 (from #3,520)

I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President Josh Lieb Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Razorbill – (2009-10-13) ISBN / EAN: 1595142401 / 9781595142405

Penguin Audio: 9780143145066; $29.95

Audio downloadable from OverDrive

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#181 (from #291)

What to Expect When You’re Expected: A Fetus’s Guide to the First Three Trimesters David Javerbaum Retail Price: $15.00 Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Spiegel & Grau – (2009-10-13) ISBN / EAN: 0385526474 / 9780385526470

Though demand for Michael Jackson books languished in the aftermath of his death, that’s likely to change with today’s release of The Michael Jackson Tapes, a collection of candid conversations between the pop star and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach that were recorded for publication in book form before Jackson’s death. The book is at #147 on Amazon, but none of the libraries we checked had copies of the embargoed book, which isn’t yet listed on WorldCat.

According to the widely syndicated Associated Press story, The Michael Jackson Tapes “don’t break much new ground, but author Shmuley Boteach provides firsthand detail in Jackson’s voice about the excesses and obsessions the world glimpsed through the entertainer’s public facade.”

An interview with Rabbi Boteach is available on the Today Show website, along with an excerpt from the book. Boteach will also appear on NBC’s Dateline tonight.

The book delves into what Jackson describes as his lasting pain over having been robbed of his childhood by an abusive father who forced him to devote himself to his recording career from the age of  5. Jackson alleges that his father not only oiled his skin before whipping him, but told the young Jackson that he would drop him like “a hot potato” if he didn’t succeed as a singer. Jackson also talks about the resulting pressure he felt to maintain his success or risk losing his entire sense of worthiness. As a result, Jackson explains, his worldwide fame was overshadowed by profound loneliness that was relieved mainly by friendships with children, who were the only ones who accepted him as just another person.

According to Boteach, Jackson’s tragic tale holds many important lessons for parents about the dangers of neglecting and abusing children in our celebrity-oriented culture.

The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation   Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Vanguard Press – (2009-09-25) ISBN / EAN: 1593156022 / 9781593156022

The movie, Coco Before Chanel is opening only in L.A. And New York this Friday, but its influence may be more wide-ranging. As you can guess from the title, the movie focuses on Chanel’s life before she became famous.

Today’s NYT “Style” section calls the movie a “gauzy film…that reconstructs Chanel’s early years as a Pretty Woman saga” and then proceeds to use it as a jumping-off point to write about the decidedly non-gauzy aspects of her lif as described in a new biography, Coco Chanel, by Justine Picardie, coming later this fall. An affair with a Nazi officer during the occupation of Paris, says the NYT, was “one in a series of morally compromising choices she made to ensure that even in wartime, with her competitors shuttering all around her, her business would continue to thrive.”

Coco Chanel
Justine Picardie
Retail Price: $40.00
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: It Books/HarperCollins – (2009-11-01)
ISBN / EAN: 0061963852 / 9780061963858

Also mentioned in the article is “a self-help guide masquerading as an irreverent biography”:

The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World’s Most Elegant Woman Karen Karbo Retail Price: $19.95 Hardcover: 225 pages Publisher: skirt! – (2009-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 1599215233 / 9781599215235

Neither appear to be on order in libraries.