Baiev once conducted 67 amputations in 48 hours. This memoir from a doctor who worked on the front lines of the bloodbath in Chechnya will be an eye-opener for Americans unfamiliar with the crisis. In The Oath, he provides a horrifying glimpse at the destructions of war.
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At the end of World War II, Gelb began work at the New York Times as a copyboy. He retired 45 years later as managing editor. City Room tells the extraordinary story of his time at the paper. In the process, the book gives a remarkable historical account of American newspapers in the second half of the 20th century.
Speed Reader
No, Willett's novel didn't actually win the National Book Award, but this black comedy about a bizarre relationship between a pair of twins deserves your respect anyway. Advance readers have called it a sharp, literary page-turner.
Speed Reader
You might not think a novel about a leper colony would make a very good read. Brennert's books, though, about a young Hawaiian lass shipped to the quarantined island of Moloka'i is both true to history and fueled by an empathetic cast of characters.
