ALA's 2009 Best Lists

Notable Books, 2009

[From Booklist, March 15, 2009]

Nonfiction
TITLE	AUTHOR	DESCRIPTION
American Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work	Nick Taylor	A monumental appraisal of the Works Progress Administration recounts how the program permently changed U.S. social policies and its physical and cultural landscape.
The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century	Steve Coll	An intimate look at this large, influential Saudi family of which Osama is but one member reveals the complexity of the modern Arab world.
The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals	Jane Mayer	This harrowing account of post-9/11 counter-terrorism is an indictment of the Bush administration's endorsement of torture as a legitimate interrogation tool.
Defying Dixie: The Radical Roots of Civil Rights, 1919-1950	Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore	This groundbreaking history follows an early-twentieth-century movement for social justice in the South that evolved into the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
Forever War	Dexter Filkins	Eyewitness reporting of military engagements and civilian life in war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq is visceral yet measured, avoiding simplistic conclusions.
Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family	Annette Gordon-Reed	A comprehensive history of a family and their owners, including Thomas Jefferson, reveals the complex nature of slave relations in America.
In defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto	Michael Pollan	This extended essay considers generations of human experience and research to explicate a simple mantra: eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood	Mark Harris	The 1967 best-picture nominees provide a framework for examining pivotal changes in the film industry reflecting radical shifts in American society.
Suicide Index: Putting My Father's Death in Order	Joan Wickersham	Brave and unflinching in its honesty, this memoir examines the effects of suicide on those left behind.
This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War	Drew Gilpin Faust	A unique explication from many perspectives illuminates the profound social and political consequences of the unpreceden ted number of soldiers who died during the American Civil War.
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)	Tom Vanderbilt	Balancing meticulous research with an approachable style, this captivating and enlightening read lends new insight into a nearly universal activity.
A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscov ering the New World	Tony Horwitz	What starts as a fact-finding travelogue transforms into a diverting romp through the history and mythology surrounding the early explorers of the Americas.
Fiction
Atmospheric Disturbances	Rivka Galchen	Love and meteorology converge as Dr. Leo Lieberstein searches for his wife, unaccountably replaced by a simulacrum, or so he believes.
City of Theives	David Benioff	In this darkly comedic novel, set during the siege of Leningrad, two young prisoners are sent on an absurd errand by a Russian colonel.
Dangerous Laughter: Thirteen Stories	Stephen Millhauser	These inventive and fantastic stories range in subject from counting fir-tree needles to teenage laughter parties to building a tower to heaven.
Ginseng Hunter	Jeff Talarigo	Refugees fleeing political oppression and famine disrupt a Chinese man's solitude in this spare, tender portrait of life on the North Korean border.
The Hakawati	Rabin Alameddine	Interweaving memory and fable, this dazzling epic tale of a modern Lebanese family's vigil for a dying patriarch unveils the magical power of storytelling.
Olive Kitteridge	Elizabeth Strout	Interlinked stories of life in a small coastal town focus on retired schoolteacher Olive Kitteridge's difficult nature, ultimately revealing her humanity despite her imperfections.
Peach	Richard Bausch	This taut, stark novel in which three GIs confront the moral dilemmas of combat renders a powerful meditation on the themes of trust, war, and redemption.
Plague of Doves	Louise Erdrich	Ojibwe and white characters narrate a tense, complex story of murder, love, and shared history in a dying North Dakota town.
Resistance	Owen Sheers	In this haunting, alternative history, after the men disappear from a remote Welsh village, the women variously respond to invading German soldiers.
Unaccustomed Earth	Jhumpa Lahiri	These luminous stories give the reader a glimpse of the lives, loves, and malaise of Bengali Americans.
Wasted Vigil	Aslam Nadeem	This haunting, poetic novel weaves a paradoxically beaudiful tale of love, loss, hope, and despair in Afghanistan.

Best Adult Genre Fiction
GENRE	TITLE	AUTHOR	DESCRIPTION
Adrenaline	Blue Heaven	C.J. Box	In this relentlessly paced story, two children witness a murder, elude crooked ex-cops, and find refuge with a taciturn rancher. The evocative landscape and emotional depth, along with the engaging characters and provocative story line, combine to create an unforgettable novel.
Historical Fiction	The Steel Wave	Jeff Shaara	In this riveting tale of D-Day and its aftermath, Shaara closely follows events through the lives of common soldiers and generals, Allies and Axis alike. A journalistic style underscores the drama of events, and the engaging warts-and-all portrayals add to the immediacy of the novel.
Horror	Sharp Teeth	Toby Barlow	The insiders' perspective and lyrical language of this haunting free-verse novel offer a sympathetic glimpse into the lives of urban werewolves, showcasing a nightmarish noir world where violence and heartbreak go hand in hand.
Mystery	The Garden of Evil	David Hewson	In contemporary Rome, an unknown lascivious painting by Caravaggio, a series of grisly murders, and a heart-stopping chase mark series detective Nic Costa's return. The perfidious villains can only be outwitted by inventive police work and unexpected ally in the masterfully crafted puzzler.
Science Fiction	Hunter's Run	George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, and Daniel Abraham	On a dangerous backwater planet, a criminal outcast stumbles across an alien race in this relentless and gritty adventure. Forced into a life threatening hunt, he is irrevocably changed and learns what it means to be truly human.
Women's Fiction	Every Last Cuckoo	Kate Maloy	Set against the richly textured landscape of rural Vermont, Maloy's optimistic and heartwarming novel chronicles one woman's experience of widowhood as she remembers the pains and pleasures of her long marriage and moves into a new phase of her life.
Updated May 7, 2009