Our recommended books this week tilt heavily toward investigations and exposés — they include a study of the wellness industry, an account of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, a skeptical history of capitalism and a look at Russia’s private armies. But we also make room for an amiable road trip novel (Kevin Wilson’s “Run for the Hills”) and a German mystery in which the detectives are a flock of curious sheep. Happy reading. — Gregory Cowles
Big Bad Wool
by Leonie Swann
Swann’s exceedingly delightful Sheep Detective series began with “Three Bags Full” (published in 2005 and reissued earlier this year), in which an intrepid flock tries to figure out who killed their shepherd. This follow-up finds the sheep wintering next to a French château, which sounds idyllic, but the disappearance of other sheep, the mounting deaths of deer and, eventually, a human, strike fear in the hearts of the flock, who are worried they or their new shepherd may be next. How the sheep discover the culprit will enchant readers who pay close attention. Read our review.
How to Be Well:
Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time
by Amy Larocca
Larocca, a veteran journalist, dives into the hellscape of stringent food plans, cultish exercise routines and medical quackery that have, over the past decade or so, constituted healthy living in some of the wealthiest enclaves of the United States. Blame social media, political turmoil or the pandemic — no matter how you slice it, the view is dispiriting. But Larocca’s tour is a lively one, full of information and humor. Read our review.
Run for the Hills
by Kevin Wilson
In Wilson’s whimsical new novel four half siblings, previously unaware of one another’s existence, set out on a cross-country road trip together to confront the father who abandoned them each in turn. This fantastic hook begins a mostly jaunty series of cascading episodes that feel tailor-made to be adapted into a limited series; the journey is so swift and delightful that the story never collapses under the weight of implausibility. Read our review.
Death Is Our Business:
Russian Mercenaries and the New Era of Private Warfare
by John Lechner
Lechner’s excellent new book traces the history and shifting fortunes of the Russian mercenary army the Wagner Group, which rose to global prominence after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Wagner, led by an ex-felon named Yevgeny Prigozhin, enjoyed early success — but when Russian military commanders tried to rein Prigozhin in, his troops turned on Moscow, culminating in an abortive assault on the capital and a negotiated retreat. Two months later, Prigozhin’s private jet was blown from the sky above Russia. Lechner blends beautiful first-person writing with granular reporting to show how Wagner became embroiled in foreign wars after the conflict in eastern Ukraine died down. Read our review.
Original Sin:
President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again
by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson
Tapper, an anchor at CNN, served as a moderator for the 2024 presidential debate that highlighted a faltering Joe Biden, starting a cascade of criticism that eventually led Biden to withdraw from the race. Here, Tapper and the Axios political reporter Thompson offer a damning, step-by-step account of how the people closest to a stubborn, aging president enabled his quixotic resolve to run for a second term, laying the blame chiefly on his family and a group of close aides. Read our review.
Capitalism and Its Critics:
A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI
by John Cassidy
In 28 short chapters, beginning in the early days of the Industrial Revolution and ending with some thoughts about the economic upheaval that may be wrought by A.I., Cassidy, a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker, offers an expansive history of capitalism that places less emphasis on economic abstractions like perfectly competitive markets and draws attention instead to how often capitalist systems have fallen short. He shows how capitalism has never gone unchallenged by critics, whether they have wanted to replace the system entirely or simply remake its rules while preserving a core of self-interest. Read our review.
