Books Update at The New York Times

'The Invisible History of the Human Race' By CHRISTINE KENNEALLY Reviewed by DAVID DOBBS Christine Kenneally explores what DNA can tell us about our ancestors and the rest of human history. Neil Patrick Harris: By the Book The author of "Choose Your Own Autobiography" loved "Gone Girl": "I devoured the acknowledgments, the book cover flaps, the ISBN, you name it. If it had been like a DVD, I could have read the 'making of' the writing of the book. I was that into it." ·         By the Book: Archive 'Spoiled Brats' By SIMON RICH Reviewed by PATTON OSWALT Simon Rich's humorous stories take on the millennial generation. 'Just Mercy' By BRYAN STEVENSON Reviewed by TED CONOVER A lawyer personalizes the struggle against injustice with the story of a man wrongfully convicted of murder. 'Mr. Bones: Twenty Stories' By PAUL THEROUX Reviewed by FRANCINE PROSE Men follow their compulsions, and sometimes receive their comeuppance, in Paul Theroux's stories. 'The Betrayers' By DAVID BEZMOZGIS Reviewed by BORIS FISHMAN Two Soviet Jews - an Israeli politician and a disgraced K.G.B. informer - are reunited decades after a devastating betrayal. 'A Path Appears' By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF and SHERYL WuDUNN Reviewed by PAUL COLLIER Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn show how to make a difference in the lives of the disadvantaged. 'The Wallcreeper' By NELL ZINK Reviewed by ROBIN ROMM The wallcreeper of this novel's title and its protagonist both crave freedom. 'The Sense of Style' By STEVEN PINKER Reviewed by CHARLES McGRATH In his writing guide, the Harvard polymath Steven Pinker favors looser, more easygoing grammatical usage. 'Corruption in America' By ZEPHYR TEACHOUT Reviewed by THOMAS FRANK In Zephyr Teachout's history of American political corruption, the main target is the current money-in-politics doctrine. 'Landslide: LBJ and Ronald Reagan at the Dawn of a New America' By JONATHAN DARMAN Reviewed by SEAN WILENTZ Jonathan Darman's history of the 1960s weaves together accounts of the activities of Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan. Crime Gone to the Dogs By MARILYN STASIO In John Sandford's "Deadline," dogs are being stolen and auctioned off for resale as laboratory animals.