The New York Times October 3, 2014 Books Update

'The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher' By HILARY MANTEL Reviewed by TERRY CASTLE The stories in Hilary Mantel's new collection are designed to frighten readers and make them laugh. Book Excerpt Also in the Book Review James M. McPherson: By the Book The author, most recently, of "Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief" says that coming of age in Minnesota in the '50s, he saw the South as "a mysterious, almost foreign land." By the Book: Archive 'Boy on Ice' By JOHN BRANCH Reviewed by STEVE ALMOND Derek Boogaard gave everything he had to a sport that ultimately destroyed his life. 'Nora Webster' By COLM TOIBIN Reviewed by JENNIFER EGAN A woman struggles toward independence after her husband's unexpected death in Colm Toibin's novel. 'Lila' By MARILYNNE ROBINSON Reviewed by DIANE JOHNSON A young woman with a past of hardship and suffering makes a new start in Gilead, Iowa. 'The Innovators' By WALTER ISAACSON Reviewed by BRENDAN I. KOERNER A history of the digital age, and of the collaborators and lone tinkerers who helped usher it in. 'Fire Shut Up in My Bones' By CHARLES M. BLOW Reviewed by PATRICIA J. WILLIAMS In this memoir, the Times columnist Charles M. Blow describes how he surmounted his rage at childhood mistreatment. 'The Zone of Interest' By MARTIN AMIS Reviewed by RUTH FRANKLIN Auschwitz serves as the backdrop to Martin Amis's novel of intimacy and moral collapse. 'Women in Clothes' By SHEILA HETI, HEIDI JULAVITS, LEANNE SHAPTON and 639 Others Reviewed by SASHA WEISS More than 600 women respond to a survey about how they present themselves. In Their Fashion By VANESSA FRIEDMAN Biographies of Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli highlight their similarities and their differences. 'I'll Drink To That' By BETTY HALBREICH with REBECCA PALEY Reviewed by ALEXANDRA JACOBS A report on a career of advising Bergdorf Goodman's clients. 'Flirting With French' By WILLIAM ALEXANDER Reviewed by JAN BENZEL Can you learn a new language and culture in middle age? 'On Immunity' By EULA BISS Reviewed by PARUL SEHGAL Eula Biss examines the myth and metaphor surrounding immunization, as well as her personal choices as a mother. 'The Impulse Society' By PAUL ROBERTS Reviewed by DAVID BROMWICH What happens when instant gratification becomes the guiding force in our social, political and economic lives? 'The Half Has Never Been Told' By EDWARD E. BAPTIST Reviewed by ERIC FONER A historian argues that the slave states were not a world apart but were crucial to American development. 'Lovely, Dark, Deep' By JOYCE CAROL OATES Reviewed by CHARLES FINCH Thirteen stories explore the realities of advancing age and vitality on the decline. Crime Dirty Secrets By MARILYN STASIO Archer Mayor's "Proof Positive" is about the death of a reclusive hoarder, a photojournalist who had suffered a brain injury in Vietnam.