The New York Times Book Review

'A Spy Among Friends' By BEN MACINTYRE Reviewed by WALTER ISAACSON Ben Macintyre's latest nonfiction thriller, "A Spy Among Friends," is about Kim Philby, the high-level British spymaster who turned out to be a Russian mole. Also in the Book Review Undercover Portraits By MARK MAZZETTI Kai Bird tells the story of Robert Ames, an American operative in the Middle East, while Jack Devine's memoir recounts his time helping rebel fighters battle Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Dean Koontz: By the Book The author, most recently, of "The City" is a fan of Marilynne Robinson and Cormac McCarthy: "Both offer voluptuous yet highly controlled language and profound moral purpose." 'The Transcriptionist' By AMY ROWLAND Reviewed by AMANDA EYRE WARD Amy Rowland's solitary heroine is unhinged by a harrowing stream of disembodied words. 'Olivier' By PHILIP ZIEGLER Reviewed by JOHN SIMON A biography of the "strangely hidden" man who, since boyhood, wanted to be "the greatest actor in the world." 'Brando's Smile' By SUSAN L. MIZRUCHI Reviewed by WESLEY MORRIS A biographer of Marlon Brando delves into the archives and tries to demystify her complex subject. 'The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan' Edited by ALBERT J. DEVLIN with MARLENE J. DEVLIN Reviewed by CHARLES ISHERWOOD Elia Kazan's letters underscore his central importance in the maturing of American film and theater at midcentury. 'Eyrie' By TIM WINTON Reviewed by ALISON McCULLOCH Tim Winton's hero, a disgraced and despairing activist in Western Australia, is called to help a childhood friend. 'Lucian Freud: Eyes Wide Open' By PHOEBE HOBAN Reviewed by BARRY SCHWABSKY A biography of the painter who crossed paths with everyone from Kate Moss to the Kray brothers. 'The Golden Age Shtetl' By YOHANAN PETROVSKY-SHTERN Reviewed by JONATHAN ROSEN A history of Jewish life in the villages of Eastern Europe before the period familiar to American Jews. 'All the Rage' By A. L. KENNEDY Reviewed by MOLLY YOUNG Cruelty and lust predominate in A. L. Kennedy's stories. 'Take This Man: A Memoir' By BRANDO SKYHORSE Reviewed by RHODA JANZEN Brando Skyhorse's turbulent childhood was built on myth. 'Supreme City' By DONALD L. MILLER Reviewed by BEVERLY GAGE In the 1920s, Manhattan was transformed into America's entertainment and communications epicenter. 'Next Life Might Be Kinder' By HOWARD NORMAN Reviewed by STEPHANIE ZACHAREK This novel's protagonist cannot surmount his grief over his wife's murder. 'Liberalism: The Life of an Idea' By EDMUND FAWCETT Reviewed by ALAN WOLFE A history of liberalism, told through the lives and ideas of a dynamic group of European and American thinkers. 'The Essential Ellen Willis' Edited by NONA WILLIS ARONOWITZ Reviewed by CARLENE BAUER Ellen Willis, who emerged in the 1960s, asked serious questions about culture and politics. 'Snow in May' By KSENIYA MELNIK Reviewed by MOLLY ANTOPOL These stories portray women's lives in Magadan, Russia, a town known as an entryway to gulag labor camps. 'Closed Doors' By LISA O’DONNELL Reviewed by ANDREW ERVIN A boy in a remote Scottish town tries to understand the terrible thing that has happened to his mother. 'Stuff Matters' By MARK MIODOWNIK Reviewed by ROSE GEORGE Why do paper clips bend? What makes elastic stretchy? A scientist examines the ubiquitous substances we take for granted.