BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN BIO of Pulitzer-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein is hampered by its subject’s reserve.

FASCINATING REAL-LIFE ADVENTURE follows conservation biologists fighting invasive species on remote islands.

A WRITER’S LOVE LETTER to the psychiatrist who saved her life is quirkily touching, if a bit chaotic.

SEARING AND ELOQUENT memoir of child sexual abuse, family dysfunction, and the healing power of nature.

IMPECCABLY REPORTED HISTORY of Scientology gives airtime to both adherents and opponents of the faith.

MASTERFUL RETELLING OF a murder case that grabbed headlines in 1897 New York is rich in detail and drama.

FRANK MEMOIR OF a horrific bout of Crohn’s Disease is most affecting when talking about the author’s children.

A NATURE WRITER LOOKS at the social and historical impact of weeds, and offers a defense of their complexity.

PUBLIC HEALTH VISIONARY Paul Farmer’s wrenching look at Haiti’s progress, challenges since 2010’s earthquake.

INSIDE THE ANTIQUITIES-LOOTING scandal that rocked the Getty Museum and the art world. Detailed but absorbing.