Just a century ago, women were warned that regular bathing might impair fertility and cause depression, hair was cleaned with a perfumed comb (if at all), and beef suet was lightly applied to conceal wrinkles. Such tidbits abound in this well-illustrated romp through the annals of gorgeousness, as documented in film, advertising and photography. Although the six authors–all fashion writers and editors from France–concentrate on the past 100 years, some of the book's best details crop up in a 50-page section on earlier times. The beauty regimen of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, for example, included lime-water baths; body rubs with clay from the Nile; massages with herb-perfumed walnut, olive or palm oil; ostrich egg-based masks; skin coated by a yellow ocher preparation, with red ocher accents about the cheeks. No wonder she is still remembered. (Universe, $29.99)
Bottom Line: Fascinating eyeful
Memories of a Rural Boyhood
by Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter's account of his Depression-era Georgia youth makes clear that despite a few goofs–accidentally freeing a mess of freshly caught fish and losing his hunting gun–the 39th President of the United States, now 76, was the sort of eager-to-please boy any parent would be proud to call son. Oh, darn. Those looking for tales of a scapegrace must look elsewhere. It's not that Carter (called Hot Shot by his beloved father, Earl) paints a rosy picture of life on the family farm. He pulls no punches about the hard work, primitive conditions and segregationist attitudes that were simply part of the landscape. He tells of traveling and going to the movies with his black boon companion, Alonzo Davis (nicknamed A.D.), and of their sitting in different sections of the train and theater. "I don't remember," he writes, "ever questioning the mandatory separation, which we accepted like breathing or waking up in Archery [Ga.] every morning."
There's plenty of warmth in Carter's account, but one can't help feeling there is too little here about young Jimmy and too much about agricultural procedures and prices, tenant farming and the more troublesome aspects of the New Deal. And too often, An Hour Before Daylight feels generic, as likely written by Opie Taylor of Mayberry as Jimmy Carter of Plains. (Simon & Schuster, $26)
Bottom Line: Pleasant reminiscence of a presidential childhood
by Nevada Barr
Bored with patrolling the Natchez Trace Parkway, District Ranger Anna Pigeon gets herself reassigned to Montana's Glacier National Park to help take a census of the park's grizzly bear population. There, she expects to take long off-trail hikes and set new traps with a foul-smelling brew that entices grizzlies to roll around in it, leaving bits of hair containing their DNA.
But readers familiar with any of the previous eight books in Barr's entertaining national park mystery series–which includes Deep South and Liberty Falling–know that Anna rarely finds tranquility in God's country. On her second night out, Anna's tent is mauled (while she's in it) by a huge bear thought to exist only in Alaska, and the next day the body of a woman, knifed and hideously mutilated, is discovered in a small clearing. Anna can handle violence in nature, but when humans are the cause of it, she gets cranky. Throughout this fast-paced thriller, as Anna relentlessly tracks down the murderer and the mysterious bear, readers can take pleasure in Barr's descriptions of the natural setting and the working lives of park rangers. Her fans can only be grateful that there are still plenty of national parks left for Anna Pigeon to visit. (Putnam, $24.95)
Bottom Line: Well-baited suspense
by Jayne Ann Krentz
When Cady Briggs's great-aunt Vesta dies suddenly, shortly after postponing a merger between her own successful art gallery and an elite San Francisco competitor, Cady suspects foul play. She hires Mack Easton, a specialist in tracking stolen art and a man with whom she once shared a night of passion, to help solve the mystery of Vesta's death. With Mack posing as her fiancé, Cady digs behind the scenes of her family business, uncovering a ring of furniture counterfeiters that threatens to destroy Vesta's legacy.
Set in an rarefied milieu, Lost & Found offers a mini-education in such esoteric subjects as the market value of 16th-century Italian armor or 13th-century jewelry. But it's the lusty ambition of grasping art-world insiders that propels this well-crafted tale, so we don't mind the occasional didactic detour. And while the romance between Cady and Mack proceeds predictably, it is juicy and appealing enough to carry the story beyond the dubious dealings of the gallery owners.
Over time, as Cady and Mack uncover Vesta's deeply held secrets, Cady is forced to re-examine all that she holds dear. Was it a shadowy con man who killed Vesta, or someone Cady has known and loved for most of her life? A surprise ending caps this delightful mystery from a seasoned pro. (Putnam, $23.95)
Bottom Line: Welcome escape into art-world intrigue
by Diane Farr
How can you tell, over that first restaurant dinner, how he's going to behave down the road? Diane Farr, a former host of MTV's Loveline, knows. "Watch how he treats the waitress," she writes. "Because in six months, this is exactly how he will treat you." Though a tad trite–this pocket-size handbook is hardly substantive enough to fill an afternoon–The Girl Code is stacked with clever observations about relationships and cutely packaged advice. For instance, Farr redefines DWI as Dialing While Intoxicated (when you may be prone to blurting out embarrassing confessions) and says it must be avoided at all costs. And the Recycling Bin refers to those exes in your address book you sometimes turn to in desperation. From types of dates to wedding-party politics, the laughs are plentiful here. Some sage advice from celebrities is also sprinkled throughout. "It's not the having," Elizabeth Taylor once confessed. "It's the getting." (Little, Brown, $14.95) Bottom Line: Lively lexicon of love
by Thomas Perry
Page-turner of the week
Best known for his Jane Whitefield thrillers, Edgar Award winner Perry (Blood Money, The Butcher's Boy) has created two equally compelling characters in his latest outing. John Walker, a 24-year-old data analyst at an old-line San Francisco insurance firm, is the kind of numbers cruncher who adds up the weight of people crowding onto an elevator, with an eye on the posted limit. Max Stillman, a fraud investigator who taps Walker as his protégé, is more of a savvy veteran. He helps the neophyte loosen up, introducing him to what he calls the "old-fashioned kind" of mai tai. "Walker tasted his," Perry writes, "and guessed that 'old-fashioned kind' must mean that the quantity of rum was up to the standard in force when driving drunk was still legal in Los Angeles."
Perry, too, is a deft mixologist: The hardboiled dialogue, quirky characters and careful pacing deliver some chilling fun. He takes a single case of swindling and skillfully spins from it a labyrinthine tale of murder, conspiracy and romance. Insurance fraud was at the heart of James M. Cain's classic '40s murder mystery (later a movie) Double Indemnity. Perry's Death Benefits is a worthy successor. (Random House, $24.95)
Bottom Line: Thrills well-insured
- Contributors:
- Andrea Higbie,
- Joanne Kaufman,
- Jean Reynolds,
- Diane Simon,
- Jennifer Wulff,
- Edward Karam.
CELINE’S INFERTILITY STRUGGLE: MY PRIVATE HEARTBREAK
Daily injections, painful tests and four failed IVF attempts: The singer, 41, reveal her dreams for a second baby. ‘I’ll try until it works’
