Book Reviews

Cambridge's Needham, Nudist China Explorer, Extolled in New Bio In ``The Man Who Loved China,'' Simon Winchester tells the fantastic story of Joseph Needham, the eccentric scientist who fell in love with his Chinese lab assistant, learned Chinese and then flitted off to the middle kingdom during World War II.

Historian Likes Reagan, Loathes Bush, Roils Ideologues: Review Whether you think the history of the United States since the fall of Richard Nixon has been a triumph or a disaster probably depends on whether you view it from the right or from the left. Yet the Princeton historian Sean Wilentz -- a ``dyed-in-the-wool Democrat,'' in his own words -- believes it's possible to write a ``dispassionate history'' of the era, which is what he's attempted in ``The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008.''

Greer Calls Stratford `a Dump,' Gives Shakespeare's Wife a Lift As a child growing up in Australia, feminist Germaine Greer was drawn to William Shakespeare by the saucy engravings in a family edition of his works. As a graduate student at the University of Cambridge, she became curious about his representation of marriage.

Naipaul Bio Is Finalist in 30,000-Pound Samuel Johnson Prize An authorized biography of V.S. Naipaul and Alex Ross's history of 20th-century music are two of the six finalists for Britain's Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction.

Haunting Letters Recall Jewish Teen's Stay in Nazi Labor Camp In 1997, a Dutch demolition expert found two bundles of long-hidden mail in the bathroom ceiling of a home in East Amsterdam.

Pension Monster Guts GM, Halts NYC Subways, Bleeds San Diego Pensions resemble a reverse neutron bomb: They gut cities and factories, yet leave armies of retirees standing, unscathed and ready for that Caribbean cruise.

McEwan Says Thank You to North Pole's Idealists, Madame Bovary No stranger to moral ambiguity, Ian McEwan is at it again, this time taking on global warming as the subject of his next book.

Jobs Screams, Sows Terror to Make Apple Magic: Author Interview Steve Jobs is a narcissistic perfectionist with a volcanic temper who considers most people to be ``bozos.'' Apple Inc.'s chief executive officer is also among the greatest business leaders of all time.

Post-Oprah, Disgraced Memoirist Frey Turns to Fiction: Review A young couple who lift $20,000 from a biker gang. A predatory gay superstar whose latest fixation is a football hero. An adorable Chicana with thighs the size of tree trunks. A homeless wino who wants to save a meth-addled teenage girl.

U.K. Historians Slam `Human Smoke' as `Mendacious, Fraudulent' A friend who admires Nicholson Baker's fiction took me to task last month for being too harsh in my review of ``Human Smoke,'' the novelist's pacifist take on the outbreak of World War II.