Dissident Gardens - Jonathan Lethem

Jonathan Lethem has long used his love of language and his acute sense of history to convey what’s best about the human aptitude for folly. Dissident Gardens (Doubleday, $27.95), his latest novel, spans three generations and their diverse cultural touchstones and political movements. From the Communism of the 1930s to the civil rights era to the post-idealism of the 1970s, this novel juggles shifts of hope and disillusionment, youthful idealism and jaded maturity. Lethem is particularly focused on the far left here, and we get the political scene through colorful family dynamics as the characters saw their way through time and each other’s lives.

Dissident Gardens (Vintage Contemporaries) By Jonathan Lethem Cover Image
$15.95
ISBN: 9780307744494
Availability: Special Order—Subject to Availability
Published: Vintage - June 3rd, 2014

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing - Anya Von Bremzen

 

“Soviet cooking” seems like an oxymoron, considering that during most of the USSR’s existence food was in short supply. Yet in Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking (Crown, $26), award-winning food writer Anya Von Bremzen gives us a fascinating and often surprising look at the history of the USSR and her own family through the lens of food (or the lack thereof). She is a talented memoirist, and the book is much more than just a list of recipes and favorite dishes. Von Bremzen and her mother recreate classic pre-Revolution fare, prepare Stalin’s Deathday Dinner, and devise their own version of Salat Olivier (which Von Bremzen calls a “salady Soviet icon”). This touching memoir is a must-read regardless of your familiarity with Soviet cuisine (and yes, a recipe for borscht is included in the back).

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing By Anya von Bremzen Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780307886828
Availability: Special Order—Subject to Availability
Published: Crown - September 16th, 2014

Vanity Fair 100 Years: From the Jazz Age to Our Age - Graydon Carter

 

The power and grace of Vanity Fair is that it celebrates the iconic beauty and intelligence of the moment while priming us for the next cultural wave to look out for. From jazz-juiced America to a land mourning Camelot, from the first moments of hip hop to the social-media era, Vanity Fair has mapped every trend, personality, and moment of significance in the last century. Combining witty, well crafted narrative and the sweeping, gorgeous images the magazine is known for, editor Graydon Carter has given us a time capsule in book form with Vanity Fair 100 Years (Abrams, $65). Fans of the magazine will delight in the detail of the creative process behind the scenes, while more casual observers will marvel at the scope and depth of what Vanity Fair has captured. Here’s to another century of visual dynamism and fascinating stories.

Vanity Fair 100 Years: From the Jazz Age to Our Age By Graydon Carter Cover Image
$90.00
ISBN: 9781419708633
Availability: Special Order—Subject to Availability
Published: Abrams Books - October 15th, 2013

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