The Third Horseman
Climate Change and the Great Famine of the 14th Century
by William Rosen (Viking)
The “Winter is coming” refrain from HBO’s “Game of Thrones” fits this story of medieval Europe’s great famine to a T. In the early 14th century, Rosen writes, Europe saw a seven-year span of record-cold weather. Crops were destroyed not only by the coldest winters in a millennium, but by epidemic and warfare. By the time this desolate period was over, the region’s population — built up during several decades of temperate climes — would be diminished by one-eighth.
Eating Wildly
Foraging for Life, Love and the Perfect Meal
by Ava Chin (Simon & Schuster)
There’s a haven for wild herbs and mushrooms, and it’s New York City. Chin, a Queens native and food blogger, twines the story of urban food foraging — burdock root in Brooklyn, mushrooms in Manhattan — with memories of loving grandparents, an estranged father and the search for true love. While there’s no recipe for how to find the love of your life in this book, there is one for a wild mushroom, fig and goat-cheese tart that just might feed your soul.
The Poisoner
The Life and Crimes of Victorian England’s Most Notorious Doctor
by Stephen Bates (The Overlook Press)
Before England had Jack the Ripper, there was the “Prince of Poisoners.” Bates recaps the story of the lesser-known mass murderer, Dr. William Palmer. Described by Charles Dickens as “the greatest villain who ever stood trial at the Old Bailey,” Palmer was a charming 1850s-era physician with a penchant for strychnine. Convicted only for one 1855 murder, Palmer was suspected of poisoning more than a dozen other people, including his wife, children, brother and mother-in-law — cashing in on their life insurance to pay of his massive gambling debts.
Rescuing Julia Twice
AMother’s Tale of Russian Adoption and Overcoming Reactive Attachment Disorder
by Tina Traster (Chicago Review Press)
Journalist Traster was 40 when she and her husband adopted an 8-month-old girl from a Siberian orphanage — the first rescue. But when they got her home, to Manhattan, something wasn’t quite right. Little Julia wouldn’t make eye contact or accept physical contact. As she got older, she wouldn’t make friends or cry or listen to her parents. She was in her own world. Diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder, Julia’s parents set about rescuing her again.
Girls Standing on Lawns
by Maira Kalman and Daniel Handler (MoMA)
Artist Kalman and writer Handler’s newest work (they previously collaborated on “Why We Broke Up”) is a slender volume that’s both delightful and quirky. It consists mostly of found black-and-white photos of, yes, girls standing on lawns — all from the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. Handler’s written brief, straight-faced captions, with Kalman adding colorful illustrations inspired by the photos.