JUST IN TIME FOR THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY, a well-researched oral history of Woodstock spotlights performers, fans. SOLID B

BACK TO THE GARDEN: THE STORY OF WOODSTOCK
Touchstone
2009

DRYLY FUNNY, SERIOUSLY CURMUDGEONLY memoir offers off-beat perspective on teaching, mothering, loving, and living. SOLID B

I’M SORRY YOU FEEL THAT WAY: THE ASTONISHING BUT TRUE STORY OF A DAUGHTER, SISTER, SLUT, WIFE, MOTHER, ANDFRIEND TO MAN AND DOG
Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
2009

WORLD WAR TWO MYSTERY from John Gardner has intriguing plot, spunky heroine, but seems a bit hasty in places. SOLID B

NO HUMAN ENEMY (SUZIE MOUNTFORD MYSTERIES)
Minotaur Books
2008

ENGAGING, CANDID MEMOIR about divorce, teaching, recovery from drug abuse, and growing up with Mr. Spock for a dad. SOLID B

MY INCREDIBLY WONDERFUL, MISERABLE LIFE: AN ANTI-MEMOIR
Pocket
2009

SMALL-TOWN TEXAS SHERIFF Dan Rhodes returns in this well-plotted mystery with dry humor and barbershop harmony. SOLID B

MURDER IN FOUR PARTS (DAN RHODES SERIES #16)
St. Martin’s Press
2009

THE ORIGINAL ANTARCTICA MARATHON’S human story, from a journalist who ran the mind-boggling polar race in 2005. SOLID B

THE COOLEST RACE ON EARTH: MUD, MADMEN, GLACIERS, AND GRANNIES AT THE ANTARCTICA MARATHON
Chicago Review Press
2009

INTERESTING LOOK by Sherry Turkle and other MIT social scientists at the impact of computer simulation on design. SOLID B

SIMULATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS (SIMPLICITY: DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS, LIFE)
The MIT Press
2009

RACY 1920s ARISTOCRAT SLEUTH Phryne Fisher returns in a very bohemian mystery. Period cozy with a bit of sizzle. SOLID B

MURDER IN THE DARK (PHRYNE FISHER SERIES #16)
Poisoned Pen Press
2009

IMPRESSIVELY RESEARCHED, if a bit dry, bio of the Sundance Kid sheds light on 19th-century West, outlaw culture. SOLID B

THE SUNDANCE KID: THE LIFE OF HARRY ALONZO LONGABAUGH
University of Oklahoma Press
2009

ENGAGING MEMOIR by boho punk-rock former stripper married to US Army officer works best when personal. SOLID B #beachread

I LOVE A MAN IN UNIFORM: A MEMOIR OF LOVE, WAR, AND OTHER BATTLES
Weinstein Books
2009