Book buyers can 'vote' for upright or corrupt

Associated Press Writer

Whether you prefer reading about politicians who are upright and ethical or downright corrupt, one of two new books profiles your kind of guy.

In "Lincoln's Virtues" (Knopf), William Lee Miller offers "an ethical biography" of Abraham Lincoln, focusing on the moral and intellectual development that made the 16th president "a great man who was also a good man."

While in "Roscoe" (Viking) by William Kennedy, the subject is the fictional Roscoe Conway, a lawyer who, on V-J Day 1945, decides to retire after years as the "fixer" for New York State's Democratic Party. He looks back on his past while he considers the stormy present: The governor wants to expose his party's years of corruption and put Roscoe in jail, a longtime colleague dies suspiciously, and scandal threatens the woman he loves.

"Lincoln's Virtues" and "Roscoe" are among the latest hardcover books, which include novels by Doris Lessing, Olivia Goldsmith and James McBride; and nonfiction by Caleb Carr, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Tom Clancy.

Social and political upheaval in 1960s London sets the stage for Lessing's "The Sweetest Dream" (HarperCollins). Actress, writer and single mother Frances Lennox contends with a house full of rebellious teens while maintaining an uneasy peace with the house's owner, her upright mother-in-law. Then, Frances' ex, an outspoken communist, dumps his troubled young stepdaughter on the household.

More troubled females -- a prisonful -- are found in Goldsmith's "Pen Pals" (Dutton). The author of "The First Wives Club" tells the story of Jennifer, a smart, successful Wall Streeter who thinks it's a wise career move to take the fall when her boss is accused of insider trading. But Jennifer's lawyer-fiance can't keep her out of prison as planned. So while she waits to be rescued from behind bars, she plots revenge for herself and her cellmates.

"Miracle at St. Anna" (Riverhead) is a first novel by McBride, whose "The Color of Water" (1996), a memoir and tribute to his mother, was a huge best seller. "Miracle" is inspired by a historic event, a massacre that occurred in the Italian village of St. Anna di Stazzema during World War II. Characters include four soldiers from the all-black 92nd Buffalo Division who are cut off from their unit; the villagers who give them refuge; a band of partisans; and a 6-year-old boy.

Historian and novelist Carr examines terrorism throughout history and the roots of the current crisis, in "The Lessons of Terror" (Random House). Carr chronicles terrorism, from ancient times through the Middle Ages and into modern history, and shows that it has always failed as a military and political tactic. He predicts that terrorism will continue to fail because it is self-defeating and strengthens its victims' resolve.

Before she sat on the bench, O'Connor, first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, spent some time sitting on horses. She tells the story of growing up on the family ranch in Arizona, in "Lazy B" (Random House). O'Connor and co-author H. Alan Day, her brother, write about three generations of the Day family and of the lessons they learned as youngsters. They recall their daily adventures, the cows and the cowboys, breaking horses and fixing fences, and the frequent praying for much-needed rain.

In "Shadow Warriors" (Putnam), Clancy takes readers inside the U.S. military's Special Forces, whose soldiers are called upon when conventional equipment and movements won't do. He and his co-author, retired Gen. Carl Stiner, trace the development of the Special Forces from the 1950s to today. Included in its history are tales of counterterrorism, raids, hostage rescues, reconnaissance and psychological operations.

Catherine Cookson died in 1998, but she left behind several unpublished novels, including "The Silent Lady" (Simon & Schuster). The title character is ragged and dirty and barely able to speak when she appears at the office of a respectable London law firm. Her request to see the firm's senior partner is denied and she is about to be shown the door. Then, she finally gets the attention of the senior partner, who recognizes her as a key to a mystery that has puzzled him for years.

In "Communion: The Female Search for Love" (Morrow), Bell Hooks explores the role love has played in the lives of American women during the past 50 years. She reveals how ideas about women and love were influenced by the feminist movement, women's fuller participation in the work force and the self-help culture, and offers lessons from other writings and studies.

Other new fiction

Reunions occur in "The Stone Flower Garden" (Little, Brown) by Deborah Smith, about two friends who meet 25 years after a murder in their small Southern town sent one's family fleeing; in "The Vine of Desire" (Doubleday), Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's story of two women from Calcutta whose friendship is rekindled in America; and in "Rapture" (Knopf), Susan Minot's story of two former lovers who recall the paths that brought them together again.

Love goes awry in "Me Times Three" (Knopf), Alex Witchel's tale of a successful young woman who has to start from scratch after her fiance betrays her; and in "The Secret Ingredient" (St. Martin's) by Jane Heller, about a woman who gets more than she bargained for after she slips her inattentive husband a "magic" elixir.

An artist raising her orphaned nieces suspects their parents' death at sea was not an accident, in "Safe Harbor" (Bantam) by Luanne Rice; and an art history professor escapes her failing marriage by researching the life of enigmatic 17th-century French painter Georges de la Tour, in "La Tour Dreams of the Wolf Girl" (Houghton Mifflin) by David Huddle.

When her husband dies, a con artist finds a new partner-in-crime in her son, in Gary Indiana's "Depraved Indifference" (HarperCollins); and Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Ford offers nine short stories and a novella in "A Multitude of Sins" (Knopf).

Other new nonfiction

Former presidents are topics in "America's First Dynasty" (Free Press), Richard Brookhiser's biography of four generations of the Adams family, beginning with John Adams; and in "Bill Clinton and Black America" (Ballantine), DeWayne Wickham's series of interviews with black Americans who discuss Clinton's relationship with the black community.

Writers are written about in "Sinclair Lewis" (Random House), Richard Lingeman's biography of the American novelist ("Main Street," "Babbitt"); and in "Lonesome Rangers" (New Press), in which John Leonard discusses Philip Roth, Barbara Kingsolver, Salman Rushdie, Mary McCarthy and others.

For scientific minds, consider "Genes, Girls and Gamow" (Knopf) by James D. Watson, who describes the aftermath of his co-discovery of DNA's structure in 1953; and "Wondrous Contrivances" (Potter), Merritt Ierley's pop history of technology and its affect on American life.

Travel to "A House in Corfu" (Henry Holt), Emma Tennant's memoir of her 1960s childhood in the family home on the Greek island; or to China, in "Sounds of the River" (HarperCollins) by Da Chen, who recalls his years studying English in 1980s Beijing.