NYT Books

Miguel Salazar of the New York Times Books Review recommends three titles that can help you understand the history of the World Cup.

A new book by the historian Mason B. Williams chronicles the dubious effects of school, housing and police reforms by local politicians on the right.

Rachel Aviv’s essay collection, “You Won’t Get Free of It,” shows the breadth and complexity of matrilineal relationships.

Three authors chronicle the history of the World Cup and of U.S. men’s soccer.

After creative differences led him to step away from the characters that made him famous decades ago, John Byrne calls “Elsewhen” his swan song. He’s not going quietly.

“The Coast of Everything,” by Guillermo Stitch, is structured like a nesting doll, with one story hidden within another.

His 1998 book, “Gotham,” which told the city’s story to 1898, focused on social and economic conflict. It won a Pulitzer Prize and inspired two sequels.

The film “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” works best when it illuminates her work, whose fans include Stephen Colbert and Oprah Winfrey.

New works by Christy Mihaly, Carole Boston Weatherford, Howard W. Reeves and Derrick Barnes show that there is still much to celebrate, rebel against and amend.

He excavated a treasure hoard of manuscripts by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and others that were found in a warehouse in Secaucus, N.J.