Books update from The New York Times

'The Sixth Extinction'

By ELIZABETH KOLBERT
Reviewed by AL GORE

In "The Sixth Extinction," Elizabeth Kolbert combines scientific analysis and personal narratives to convey the history of earth's previous mass extinctions and to consider what may come next.

Laura Lippman: By the Book

The author, most recently, of "After I'm Gone" likes books steeped in the quotidian. "You can learn how to run a chicken-and-waffle restaurant by reading 'Mildred Pierce.' "

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'Mad as Hell'

By DAVE ITZKOFF
Reviewed by ROB LOWE

Dave Itzkoff analyzes the making of Paddy Chayefsky's classic film "Network."

Women of a Certain Era

By JESSICA KERWIN JENKINS

Two books examine the lives of outrageous female celebrities of the 1920s.

'A Burnable Book'

By BRUCE HOLSINGER
Reviewed by SARAH DUNANT

A stolen manuscript prophesies the assassination of Richard II in Bruce Holsinger's novel.

'Thirty Girls'

By SUSAN MINOT
Reviewed by FIAMMETTA ROCCO

Susan Minot's novel tells converging stories about Joseph Kony's young victims and an American