According to Jeffrey Sachs, poverty is beatable if affluent societies are willing to systematically share the wealth.

Michel Faber does aliens in good stead thanks to Scotland and twist on the flesh trade.

Thomas Keneally's pretend Saddam Hussein novel is heavy-handed and (yes) sublimely ridiculous.

Timothy Garton Ash muses eloquently on the political difference between the U.S., Britain, and continental Europe.

Two economists tackle the hows and whys of an abundance of financial data.

David Sedaris trawls for and finds hilarious anecdotes in family misadventures.

Seattle Henry Moss may have a cure for deadly disease. Ethics are matter. Michael Byers aces this touching novel.

What is it about old men and sex? Probably that aging authors (Márquez) can' t get enough of recalling a virile past.

Joan Didion's memoir of a year-gone-bad is brilliant but at times oddly unaffecting.

Alexandra Fuller provides insight into Africa of the hardscrabble, post-colonial 1970s.

John Buchan's novella is still a benchmark for Hitchcock-style suspense. Don't miss it.