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From pirates to tea to opium, Eric Jay Dolin's new book, When America First Met China, describes the long and complicated history of the trade relationship between the two countries.

Author Dennis Lehane says he has always loved the clothes, cars and movies of the Prohibition era — which might be why he has set his new novel there. Live By Night doesn't tell the usual Prohibition story about whiskey smugglers — instead it heads south to Florida for a gritty tale of rumrunning.

Astrophysicist Adam Frank doesn't usually read self-help books, but something about Walker Percy's existential optimism in Lost In The Cosmos actually changed his outlook on life. Do you have a favorite self-help book? Tell us in the comments below.

A dark and stormy night, an isolated manor house and a knock at the door all play a part in Sadie Jones' delicious romp of a novel. Set in Edwardian England, it tracks a noble but cash-strapped family whose lavish dinner plans go awry when they're asked to shelter a crowd of refugees.

Something about Robert Cormier's I Am the Cheese, made author Ben Marcus worry. It was the first time he had encountered an unreliable narrator — and he found it disconcerting. Do you have a favorite narrator who doesn't quite tell the truth? Tell us who in the comments.

Author Rajiv Chandrasekaran believes the U.S. has made multiple miscalculations in waging war in Afghanistan. In his new book, Little America, he says America should have learned from a largely forgotten U.S. adventure undertaken there a half-century earlier.

Marisa Silver's new novel imagines the meeting of a Depression-era photographer and her now-iconic subject. Giving the characters different names but similar stories to their real-life counterparts, Silver tackles big questions about the morality of art.

The author of Swamplandia! has a new collection of short stories called Vampires in the Lemon Grove. Critic Maureen Corrigan says the stories are daring and devastating, and with them Russell establishes herself as one of the great American writers of our young century.

An incredible diversity of grains, herbs and fruits goes into the world's alcoholic drinks, as writer Amy Stewart explains. Her new book describes the plants behind cocktails and other boozy beverages and features drink recipes and growing instructions.

Maurice Sendak died last May but left behind a final book: a reflection on loss and love written in memory of his brother Jack. Sendak's longtime friend Tony Kushner describes the book's origins and Sendak's literary heroes.