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FICTION
The Outcasts
Kathleen Kent
Hachette Australia, A$29.99
This historical fiction is full of the usual tropes of the American Western: outlaws, horses, saloons, guns, whorehouses - even buried treasure. Set in post-civil war Texas, The Outcasts has two different narratives that only collide towards the end. There's Lucinda Carter, an escaped prostitute, and her lover; and Nate Cannon, a policeman on the hunt for a serial killer.



<p></p>BIOGRAPHY
Christophe Loviny
Hardie Grant, A$29.95
This hardback covers Aung San Suu Kyi in words and photos in straight chronological order: her birth in Rangoon/Yangon in 1945, the assassination of her hero father General Aung San when she was just two, and then her gradual entry into and career in Myanmar politics. It's a general rather than comprehensive biography, but for admirers it's a good opportunity to cast an eye over this extraordinary woman.




 SCIENCE
Game of Knowns
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki
Pan Macmillan, A$32.99
Dr Karl is a household brand known simply by his first name. His latest book offers snippet-sized information about all matter of random facts, like the evolutionary advantage of having your fingers and toes wrinkle when they soak in water; how a rum with diet cola will get you drunker than a rum with regular cola and how psychopaths share seven characteristics with great athletes. A fascinating collection of miscellaneous facts, backed up by scientific reasoning.
THE BOOK THAT CHANGED ME: MARK DAPIN
<p></p>The Naked and the DeadNorman Mailer
I was 26 years old, backpacking through south-east Asia, and this was the first novel I'd read by a big American writer (or possibly any American writer at all). I was astonished at its breadth and vigour, its anger and control.
Mark Dapin is the editor of From the Trenches: The Best ANZAC Writing of World War One (Penguin). His most recent novel, Spirit House, was shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year and long-listed for the Miles Franklin Literary Award.