Sunday, December 7, 2008

The best book lists

Holiday books and best book lists are featured in the book pages this weekend. The big legal history winner? Annette Gordon-Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello, winner of the National Book Award. Reed's book is listed as one of the top five books of the year in nonfiction by the Washington Post, one of the 50 best books by the Los Angeles Times, and one of 100 notable books of the year by the New York Times.

Also highlighted:


Claim of Privilege: A Mysterious Plane Crash, a Landmark Supreme Court Case, and the Rise of State Secrets by Barry Siegel

Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America by Rick Perlstein

This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust


THE DARK SIDE: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals by Jane Mayer

This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust


AMERICAN LION: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
ANGLER: The Cheney Vice Presidency by Barton Gellman
CAPITOL MEN: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen by Philip Dray
THE CHALLENGE: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the Fight Over Presidential Power by Jonathan Mahler
CHASING THE FLAME: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World by Samantha Power
CONDOLEEZZA RICE: An American Life: A Biography by Elisabeth Bumiller
FREEDOM’S BATTLE: The Origins of Humanitarian Intervention by Gary J. Bass
NIXONLAND: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America by Rick Perlstein
THE RACE CARD: How Bluffing About Bias Makes Race Relations Worse by Richard Thompson Ford
WAKING GIANT: America in the Age of Jackson by David S. Reynolds

For more, see Jennifer Schuessler, "The Top Ten Top-Ten Lists," in the NY Times book blog, Paper Cuts, and largehearted boy, who, according to Ralph Luker, "indiscriminately aggregates end-of-the-year best-book-lists -- everything from the Abilene Reporter-News's Best Texas Books to Wizard Magazine's Best Comics." Hat tip.

And of course, don't forget about the Legal History Blog book news from the year. To find this year's LHB books, click on the "scholarship -- books" label on the left side of the blog. When you get to the bottom of the page, click on "older posts" for more.

Happy book shopping!