Best books of 2012
(Fulcrum Publishing / FULCRUM PUBLISHING)
PHOTOS | As the end of the year approaches, we’ve chosen our favorite fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels from 2012.
Sunday reviews
The Jews who avoided the concentration camps
In “Isaac’s Army” Matthew Brzezinski uncovers stories of Jews who resisted in the Warsaw Ghetto.
History’s most versatile instrument
In “The Violin,” David Schoenbaum has written a grand, epical survey of the instrument.
The most perilous year of the Civil War
In “Rise to Greatness,” David Von Drehle tells a gripping tale of Lincoln’s challenges in 1862.
Portraits of Jewish sports figures
David Remnick, Steven Pinker and others give their take on 50 Jewish sports figures
Why did James Joyce go nearly blind and Emily Bronte stick to routines?
In “Shakespeare’s Tremor and Orwell’s Cought, John Ross explains famous writers’ maladies.
Frontier justice in 20th Century Virginia
“Shotgun Justice” follows Virginia lawman Crandal Mackey’s campaign to clean up old time Alexandria
Adventures in America’s family farms
In “Harvest” Richard Horan works on 10 farms from Maine to California and paints modern agrarian life.
A chief justice’s crusade
Book review: “The Partisan: The Life of William Rehnquist” by John A. Jenkins
Lifelong activist and intellectual
In “Howard Zinn,” Martin Duberman traces the life and work of the civil rights activist and radical historian.
A Marine’s heroic story
In ‘Into the Fire,’ Dakota Meyer recounts his actions in battle that earned him high distinction.
The admiral who made the modern Navy
In ‘Zumwalt,’ Larry Berman explores Adm. Elmo Zumwalt, who guided the Navy during the final days of Vietnam.
The best books of the year
Washington Post book critic Jonathan Yardley gives his best reads of the year.
The author who couldn’t say no
“Thornton Wilder: A Life” explores why the Pulitzer-winning novelist and playwright sought solitude out West.
The mother behind the author
REVIEW | “Marmee and Louisa” explores how Louisa May Alcott’s mother influenced her work.
Wine’s journey through history
“Divine Vintage” and “Inventing Wine” tell the vintage story from biblical days to the latest fads.
Recent Reviews
‘Diary of a Stage Mother’s Daughter’
Terrible things occur in this superb memoir by Fox Business Network anchor Melissa Francis.
The desert and the oasis
“In the House of the Interpreter” is the second volume of Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s memoir of his life in Kenya.
Titian: A portrait of the artist
Sheila Hale’s new book on the incomparable Venetian is the best biography of the year.
Oprah’s latest pick is ‘The Twelve Tribes of Hattie,’ by Ayana Mathis
A moving debut novel about a struggling mother and her family in Philadelphia.
Hot romance reads for cold weather
New novels from Theresa Romain, Julie Anne Long, Sarah Morgan, Thea Harrison and Lauren Dane.
Between reality and a nightmare
Stories in Elizabeth Hand’s new collection, “Errantry,” inspire wonder or horror — or both.
David Baldacci’s latest thriller
In “The Forgotten,” the eerily Jack Reacher-like John Puller battles the international slave trade.
Exploring ‘Heaven’ and history
REVIEW | End of trilogy about black community reminds us that lives are shaped by time together.
American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s
REVIEW | The Library of America publishes a handsome two-volume set of nine novels.
Drawn into a circle of poetry giants
REVIEW | In ‘With Robert Lowell and His Circle,’ Kathleen Spivack recalls time among poetry’s greats.
The fan is mightier than the sword in ‘The Stockholm Octavo’
In Karen Engelmann’s 18th-century costume drama, a compelling story slowly unfolds.
After “Madame Butterfly”
David Rain’s first novel, “The Heat of the Sun,” chronicles the life of Cio-Cio-San’s son.
‘Sleep Like a Tiger’
A magical picture book about going to bed — or not, by Mary Logue and Pamela Zagarenski.
‘Starry River of the Sky’
Grace Lin returns to the old, fantastical China of her Newbery Honor book.
Washington Post Bestsellers Dec. 16
The books Washington has been reading
Ron Charles
Oprah’s latest pick is ‘The Twelve Tribes of Hattie,’ by Ayana Mathis
A moving debut novel about a struggling mother and her family in Philadelphia.
Ron Charles
The fan is mightier than the sword in ‘The Stockholm Octavo’
In Karen Engelmann’s 18th-century costume drama, a compelling story slowly unfolds.
Ron Charles
Larger, sexier and richer than life
REVIEW | In Bill Roorbach’s new novel, a young man gets drawn into the deadly lives of celebrities.
Michael Dirda
Titian: A portrait of the artist
Sheila Hale’s new book on the incomparable Venetian is the best biography of the year.
Michael Dirda
Drawn into a circle of poetry giants
REVIEW | In ‘With Robert Lowell and His Circle,’ Kathleen Spivack recalls time among poetry’s greats.
Michael Dirda
Spanish lessons for modern America
In “History in the Making,” Sir John Elliot looks back on his career as a Hispanist.
Jonathan Yardley
The best books of the year
Washington Post book critic Jonathan Yardley gives his best reads of the year.
Jonathan Yardley
“A Wicked War”
Amy S. Greenberg examines how the Mexican War altered the livesof Henry Clay, James K. Polk and Abraham Lincoln
Literary Calendar
Going Out Guide: Upcoming events
Get the latest on readings, signings and author appearances in the D.C. area.
Best books of 2011
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