A journey in pictures and verse from an unexplored beach to a busy music-filled family room and into a tranquil, moonlit night.

A pop-up romp through cubism and futurism, and a lesson in early-­20th-century modernist formalism.

This beautifully illustrated retelling of the classic fable has only seven words, all sound effects.

A book imagining trucks as dinosaurs, and other explorations of the primal place of machines in the lives of small children.

This illustrated collection of surreal tales features water buffalo, stick figures and rivers of unread poetry.

Two young adult histories and a graphic novel about the worst ecological disaster in American history.

This lovely picture book tells a true story about Masai villagers who bestow a heartfelt gift after 9/11.

A tightly paced young adult novel set in a steampunk version of the First World War.

An argument that can-do optimism has hardened into a suffocating force that bears little relation to genuine happiness.

Top 5 at a Glance
1. FREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
2. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
3. I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL, by Tucker Max
4. THE GLASS CASTLE, by Jeannette Walls
5. BLINK, by Malcolm Gladwell

Top 5 at a Glance
1. THE BOOK OF BASKETBALL, by Bill Simmons
2. SUPERFREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
3. HAVE A LITTLE FAITH, by Mitch Albom
4. WHAT THE DOG SAW, by Malcolm Gladwell
5. ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, written and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and others

Give the king of the legal thriller credit for expanding his literary range. Today, Ford County, John Grisham's first collection ...

Antony Beevor's Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege sold more than a million copies. His absorbing D-Day: The Battle for Normandy could ...

An American climber recounts some of the most dramatic attempts on the peak of K2.

To the Editor:.

An exchange between Mark Danner and George Packer.

Paperback books of particular interest.

James Parker has written on everything from slasher films to SpongeBob SquarePants.

E-mail and cellphone novels may be making the language easier — even for the Japanese.

A guide to using game theory to divine and shape the future, based on the premise that people do what’s best for them.