March 1 (Bloomberg) -- Middle-class millionaires, a porn star turned sleuth and a Chicago gang leader named J.T. jostled for attention in the most-read Bloomberg book reviews for the month of February. The top 10 were:

1. Middle-Class Millionaires Never Quit, Copy Machiavelli (2/26)
2. The Devil Wears Nada as Porn Star Turns Sleuth: Mystery (2/07)
3. Oversexed Scientists Drive Wheels of Commerce, Growth (2/21)
4. How Black Kings Crack Dealers Went Corporate in Chicago (2/08)
5. UN Envoy, Blown Up in Iraq, Worked Too Well With Thugs (2/25)
6. Bhutto Predicted Own Death, Warned Musharraf in Letter (2/12)
7. CIA Operative Gives Glimpses of Why Bin Laden Escaped (2/18)
8. Werewolves Rule Los Angeles in Blood-Soaked Fantasy (2/14)
9. Poker Junkie Recalls Quirky Family's Gambling Tips (2/19)
10. Nazis Triumph, Welsh Farmers Resist in War Thriller (2/27)

**Ranking based on daily statistics through Feb. 28.

Middle-Class Millionaires Never Quit, Network: James Pressley

Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- If you think the timing is rotten for a book called ``The Middle-Class Millionaire,'' you may lack the drive to become one. We're talking about Americans who worked hard and overcame adversity to amass a net worth of $1 million to $10 million, as Russ Alan Prince and Lewis Schiff show.

The Devil Wears Nada as Porn Star Turns Sleuth: Charles Taylor

Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- It's only February, but Christa Faust's ``Money Shot'' must be an early contender for mystery debut of the year. Faust tells the story of Angel Dare, a retired porn star who finds herself on the run after the promise of a final bow before the cameras leaves her shot and left for dead.

Oversexed Scientists Drive Wheels of Commerce: James Pressley

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Scientists, it turns out, are as oversexed as Wall Street traders. Good thing, too: Without their libidos, we wouldn't have transistors let alone Viagra, judging from ``Sex, Science and Profits,'' Terence Kealey's cheeky look at how people ``evolved to make money.''

How the Black Kings Crack Dealers Went Corporate: Leon Lazaroff

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- With the presidential contest in full swing, it's a good time to publish a book on race, poverty, crime and young black men. Sudhir Venkatesh's ``Gang Leader for a Day'' describes a Chicago high-rise public housing project all but controlled by a charismatic Black Kings gang leader named J.T.

UN Envoy, Blown Up in Iraq, Was Close to Thugs: Craig Seligman

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- United Nations officials are often derided for putting Band-Aids on the gaping wounds of the world's trouble spots. In ``Chasing the Flame,'' Samantha Power recounts the all-too-brief life of one of those diplomats: Sergio Vieira de Mello, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who died in 2003 in an al-Qaeda bombing in Baghdad.

Bhutto Predicted Her Own Death, Warned Musharraf: George Walden

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Before Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in October 2007, she seemed to predict her own death. In a letter to General Pervez Musharraf, she warned him that if she were killed it would be with the help of his regime.

CIA Agent Gives Look at Why Bin Laden Escaped: George Walden

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- One pleasure in reading books by former intelligence operatives is the glimpse you get of the characters our spy agencies employ. They often turn out to be mavericks, eggheads, cowboys or the mildly touched. We find a little of each in ``Marching Toward Hell'' by Michael Scheuer.

Werewolves Rule L.A. in Blood-Soaked Fantasy: Craig Seligman

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The lycanthropes in Toby Barlow's ``Sharp Teeth'' don't need a full moon to morph out of human form -- and when they do, they don't become the furry bipeds of ancient Universal Pictures, either. Instead they turn into big, powerful dogs. They race, they bite.

Poker Junkie Recalls Family's Gambling Tips: Robin D. Schatz

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Martha Frankel was just four when her father whispered three pieces of sage advice in her ear during a poker game: ``If you don't have anything, get out. If you're second best, get out. But if you've got the goods, make them pay.'' She had no idea what this meant, Frankel writes in her candid, funny memoir, ``Hats & Eyeglasses.''

Nazis Triumph, Welsh Farmers Resist in Thriller: Craig Seligman

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Leningrad and Moscow have fallen. The D-Day surprise attack has failed. Now Britain is bracing for the German invasion. One morning in 1944, the women of a rural Welsh valley wake up to find their husbands gone. Owen Sheers's ``Resistance,'' though a literary novel, is also a page turner.

(The columns were written by Bloomberg critics. The opinions expressed are their own.)

To contact the reporter on this story: James Pressley in Brussels at jpressley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 29, 2008 22:48 EST