Love Reading Books

Practical Food Microbiology Rutgers University new Brunswick, NJ Date/DeadlineDecember 1-2, 2011

Microbial contamination can occur at almost any stage in the process of food production, storage or preparation.  To prevent it, you need to understand why and how microorganisms develop in food–and how to eliminate them. in this two-day course, you will learn how to avoid microbial contamination and how to produce safe food products.  A team of expert instructors will take you step-by-step through the science and practice of food safety microbiology and show you what environmental factors influence the growth of pathogens and spoilage organisms in food.  you will also learn how to implement a successful, state-of-the-art HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) system to identify points of contamination risk in the manufacturing process, to control and monitor those risks, and how to take corrective actions.more info at cpe.rutgers.edu/courses/current/lf0401ca.html

“Um, I can’t do a handstand… let alone a handstand walk.” And thus began another session at CrossFit.     Challenging exercises are something I have become used to at the gym, because unlike other programmes I have taken part in, there is no place to hide when it comes to CrossFit workouts. I have been introduced to a variety of new movements, from “Superman rocks” to “hand-release push-ups”, and have performed them with varying degrees of success, but it was last week’s obsession with getting me and other classmates upside down that really threw me into the deep end. Handstand walks, handstand push-ups and handstand holds were spread out across the week’s workouts and had me silently begging for a class full of lunges, squats and push-ups… never thought that would happen. So, has there been progress since I began my CrossFit regime? there has indeed and more than I would have expected. Like all gyms, Jobst (who runs the Cape Town branch of CrossFit) and his team are all about results, and encourage you to keep track of your progress in a logbook they provide. since joining the gym in September, I have made massive gains in both my upper body and lower body strength, and while the gymnastic progress has been less evident, I am slowly getting there. the real test will come in December when we complete the “three-more challenge”, but judging by recent classes I am confident I’ll blow my personal best apart. but I did not come to CrossFit to get better at CrossFit, but rather to test its “real-world” benefits, which for me is improving my running. at the beginning of September, I maxed out on a 10km run at 55 minutes on an undulating course. at the end of November, I will run the same course and discover if there is any improvement. Not a diet, but a lifestyle    while I have found the variety of the CrossFit training massively refreshing, I cannot, unfortunately say the same about the diet they promote – the Paleo Diet. this diet focuses on going back to our roots – literally looking back at what Palaeolithic humans ate, and throwing out all the processed foods that we eat today. To be fair, it should not really be called a diet as the thinking behind it has far more than losing weight in mind. Paleo is a lifestyle and you will not look at food the same way once you begin eating it. I have been eating the Paleo way for just over three weeks now and have already lost six kilograms. Incredibly, four of those came in the first week as my body reacted to me dropping a lot of the rubbish I consumed previously, as well as the starchy and carbohydrate-rich foods I consumed on a daily basis. I could not begin to explain everything you need to know about Paleo, but what I can tell you is that there is a wealth of information on the internet – both for and against it – that will not only explain the philosophy behind Paleo, but also help out with meal options. just don’t expect a lot of variety. for example, here’s the list of foods that you are not allowed: dairy, legumes, cereal grains, starchy vegetables, fatty meats, salty foods, soft drinks and fruit juices, sweets and pastas. it goes without saying that alcohol is not an option either. it obviously cuts out a lot of your options and the first week is going to be a shock to the system. for me, the loss of dairy and pasta were tough and eating out can be difficult, particularly if you’re in a relationship. there are restaurants that offer Paleo options (just by chance), but they are few and far between. for the most part my meal plan is as follows: Breakfast: eggs and fruit / nuts Snack: fruit/nuts/cherry tomatoes         Lunch: chicken and vegetables/meat and vegetables/tuna salad (without any dressing) Snack: fruit/nuts/cherry tomatoes Supper: chicken and vegetables/meat and vegetables

Incredibly, apart from boredom, I have not really struggled to maintain and have yet to stumble in the plan. the results have been good as well. My weight is down and my energy is up (although I would be lying if I said mentally I did not have dips). Is it something I could continue for life? no, definitely not. Denying myself the luxury of having dessert here and there or not being able to enjoy a pasta once in a while would be too much for me and I still believe everything in moderation is the key. but I will definitely incorporate part of the Paleo eating into a less stringent, but healthy eating plan going forward. Think of it as a “reset”, getting yourself back on track and taking it from there. Personally, I would recommend giving it a try, because there are certainly benefits and who knows, maybe by the end of this month I will be pro-Paleo indefinitely?

Rob Peters will blog his CrossFit experience over the next three months, keeping a weekly log of how it improves/hinders his running. from October, he will also be taking on the Paleo diet and nutrition challenge at the gym as he puts the CrossFit way to the ultimate test.

From 26 November 2011 the three door coupe style GTC versions of the Vauxhall Astra range will be in UK dealer showrooms at prices from £18,494 rising to £22,430. 

There is initially the choice of six engines, three petrol and three diesels, with two levels of trim and equipment – Sport and SRi.  a lower emission 109g/km diesel engine will be added later next year and a VXR high performance petrol version with between 280 and 290PS will join the line-up during the first six months of 2012.

The new three door GTC replaces the previous three door Astra Sports hatch variants and now complete the new generation Vauxhall/Opel Astra line up of five door Sports Hatch and five door Sports Tourer Estate variants.

Vauxhall’s new generation Astra has already laid down successful sales foundations in the UK, the largest market in Europe. In 2010 the Astra range was the UK’s second best-selling car overall, as well as the best-seller in its segment, with sales of 79,330, beating both the Focus (76,892) and the Golf (62,912).

The Astra’s lower medium segment is the second largest in the UK, accounting for 20.9 per cent of the total new car market, and currently coupe and three-door hatch sales make up 11.7 per cent of this segment.

In previous years, the Astra Sport Hatch – GTC’s predecessor – dominated this class. In 2007 and 2008 it out-sold its nearest competitor by three-to-one, and up until last year was still the clear leader with total registrations of 11,451 in 2010 ahead of the Scirocco in second place, Audi A3 in third position and the Megane Coupe was fourth.

Overall in this segment, fleet/business user-chooser and retail sales are split evenly at around 50:50 per cent and the three door GTC is expected to account for around 20 per of all Astra sales, much like its predecessor.  The Sports Tourer estate takes 17 per cent of total Astra sales and the five door Sports Hatch accounts for the remaining 63 per cent of Astra’s UK sales.

Dougie McColm, Vauxhall’s product marketing spokesperson, said at this week’s UK media launch of the GTC that around 2,000 units will be sold in the UK this year and in 2012 between 13,000 and 14,000 sales are expected. he anticipates that 60 per cent of customers will choose the SRi variants in keeping with the trend established by other Astra models.  Initially diesel powered models driven by business user-chooser customers will take around 60 per cent of sales. But this will balance out with an increase to 55 per cent for petrol sales once retail customers place their orders for both the 1.4-litre turbocharged 120PS and 140PS units which will account for 40 per cent of sales and the VXR variant is added. 

The single best selling engine will be the 2.0-litre CDTi 165PS turbodiesel unit with Start/Stop which will take 25 per cent of all registrations.  With the most popular SRi trim and equipment option this variant costs £22,430. With CO2 emissions of 127g/km the VED road tax charge is £0 under the First Year rate and then £95 per annum. for company car drivers the Benefit-in-Kind tax charge for this model will be 18 per cent and the insurance group rating is 20E.  Overall the GTC range has insurance group ratings varying between 13E and 25E.

The only exterior design elements the GTC shares with its siblings are door handles and the roof aerial – even the wheelbase and tracks are different said  ‘Brit’, Mark Adams, Vauxhall’s vice president of design. We have aimed to create a car that looks like it’s been plucked from the class above, with its low, wide stance and simple, yet rakish lines.

“We wanted the Astra GTC to be the ultimate expression of Vauxhall’s design language, and to embody our passion for the motor car, but we didn’t want emotion to get in the way of functionality: the Astra GTC still needed to be clever, practical and affordable” he said.

Much of the fine tuning of the chassis, suspension and steering settings  were undertaken at Vauxhall’s Engineering Centre at Millbrook, Bedfordshire and the UK’s unique and variable road surfaces, winding roads with unique types of cambers have been unbeatable real-life conditions for producing the final settings for the UK’s Astra GTC and potentially Europe’s Opel Astra GTC versions.

First drive impressions.Although the Vauxhall Astra GTC three door, which goes into UK showrooms from 26 November, is the third member of the new generation family after the five door Sports Hatch and Sports Tourer models, it is significantly different styling wise although the powertrains are all shared by its stablemates. a high performance VXR version will be added in the first six months of next year.

In a full year between 13,000 and 14,000 GTCs will grace UK roads and this country is the largest market in the World for all Astra sales with traditionally nearly 80,000 annual sales outpacing the Focus and Golf ranges.

The GTC will sell against the VW Scirocco, Audi A3, Renault Meganne Coupe, Volvo C30 and even the BMW 1 Series Coupe.

Vauxhall at this week’s UK media launch were keen to point out that priced from £18,495 the GTC is nearly £1,350 less than the basic VW Scirocco.  There is at launch a choice of three petrol and three diesel engines with two trim levels, Sport and the best selling SRi.

The Astra GTC three door shares no body panels with either the Astra Hatch or Sports Tourer, only the front door handles and the aerial are carried over, so it has a unique appearance and the aim was to retain functionality but make it clever, practical and affordable.

In profile, the design team wanted to create ‘tension’ in the GTC’s shape by minimising the lines running along the body. Vauxhall’s signature ‘blade’, a crisp line that sweeps up from the front of the door, is now similar to the Insignia’s, but runs the opposite way to other Astras. a second line strikes through the door handle, stretching to the rear, while a third line follows the roof’s profile, guiding the eye to the sharply integrated spoiler.

At the front of the car, a centreline crease is complemented by slim, ‘eagle-eye’-style headlamps featuring wing-shaped daytime running light graphics. a chrome emblem bar running across the trapezoidal grille – mounted lower than on other Astras – completes the picture from the front.

Equally dramatic is the GTC’s rear treatment. The line from the rear quarter C-pillar wraps around the tail and the rear spoiler, which in turn integrates with the roofline. LED rear lighting – optional across the GTC range – highlights the stretched ‘wing’ motif created by the tail lamps.  The long wheelbase, rising waistline and wide lower section body, enhanced by the flared wheelarches, gives the GTC a really dynamic stance on the road.  On the down-side the relatively small rear side windows do nothing to help rear quarter visibility for the driver.  The headroom in the rear is just about sufficient for taller passengers but the ‘nipped-in’ dimensions from the shoulder up reduce the space for rear seat passengers.  To say it is a five seater is optimistic unless the rear seats are used by three children. thanks to the long wheelbase there is lots of legroom in the front and just about enough for adults in the rear.  Access to the rear, being a three door, is not that easy for adults.  however there is a good sized boot with 380-litres of space with the three seats in position and 1,165-litres with the rear seats folded.

Completing the exterior styling standard on both Sport and SRi trims are 18-inch alloy wheels, with each getting a unique design. for the first time on a Vauxhall coupe in this class, 20-inch rims are available as an option on SRi models, with 19-inch wheels a further cost option on both trims.

On the upper-spec SRi model, tinted glass is standard, while the latest generation AFL (Adaptive  forward Lighting) is optional across the GTC range.  I think a must for all buyers is to go for FlexRide, Vauxhall’s adaptive damping system, costing an extra £790 and is available across the GTC range. FlexRide automatically adapts to prevailing road surfaces and driving styles, providing drivers with fully optimised handling, even in the event of an emergency situation.  During the media test drive it became clear to me that models with this system handled the undulating Worcestershire and Shropshire roads better by absorbing the patched road surfaces far more easily than the standard suspension. The ride was more comfortable and the car more settled driven at speeds over rippled and adversely cambered roads. 

For more extreme driving the media test session also took in two hillclimb sections, one at famous Shelsley Walsh – the World’s longest serving motorsport venue and in continuous use since 1905  and Loton Park. this was not the everyday driving experience customers will experience but it was where the new GTC’s agility and cornering grip were welcome, especially in the wet. 

The GTC has undergone steering, chassis and suspension tuning in the UK on our roads by Vauxhall’s Engineering Centre staff from Millbrook Bedfordshire so Vauxhall versions are specifically set-up for our poorer roads than most of those found in mainland Europe although the settings can be adopted for the Opel Astra GTC variants if required.

The GTC is certainly sharper and more involving to drive thanks to this UK tuning and the adoption of a new HiPerStruts front suspension which has been derived from the 325PS Insignia VXR.  The suspension is also lowered by 15mm over that used for the Astra Hatch, the wheelbase is 10mm longer and the tracks are 40mm wider at the front and 30mm at the rear. The result is a flat and level ride and the FlexRide option significantly smooths out the quality of ride and makes it more settled at higher speeds.  much improved by the new front suspension is the GTC’s turn-in ability for high speed accurate cornering and there seems to be considerably more cornering grip from the front wheels.  The GTC seems very agile and responsive and that will certainly appeal to keen drivers attracted by the sporty styling.

Inside the GTC, in line with the current Astra, storage volume in the cabin has also been improved by 50 per cent versus the old Sport Hatch, with items like the electronic park brake liberating space around the console in SRi models.

High quality materials feature in all GTCs, as do chrome-edged instruments in deep-set binnacles that give drivers clear and well laid-out information. Standard on all GTCs are DAB stereo and USB functionality, while SRi drivers get an onboard computer and leather-rimmed steering wheel, among many other standard items.

Two new colours – Seashell and Flaming Yellow – and a selection of new materials, bespoke to the GTC, set the car apart from others in the Astra range.  Morello Red, and a new premium leather trim, are also available as an option and bring with it a six-way adjustable driver’s seat.

There is a wide choice of engines, 1.4 and 1.6 turbocharged petrol units with power outputs of 120, 140 and 180PS plus 1.7 and 2.0-litre CDTi turbodiesel units with 110, 130 and 165PS outputs.

Probably the best choice for most average mileage retail buyers, bearing in mind the sporty nature of the GTC, will be the 1.4-litre 140PS (138bhp) turbocharged petrol unit with Start/Stop function and 20 per cent of all customers are expected to choose this engine. 

Kept on the boil this unit is responsive and fun to drive.  let the revs fall away in the mid range and the capacity of the engine shows as the response can become sluggish for overtaking slower traffic despite its 200Nm of torque. Compared to other smaller capacity new generation turbocharged direct injection petrol engines, maximum torque is developed from 4,900rpm, when competitor units develop their grunt from 2,000rpm or less, hence the lack of response from low to medium speeds unless the engine is worked hard.  Officially this unit will propel the GTC to a top speed of 125mph and zero to 62mph takes 9.0 seconds.  Fuel economy is officially 47.1g/km with 140g/km of CO2 emissions.  The price of the GTC with this engine with the best selling SRi specification is £20,345 and the insurance rating is 16E.

Pick of the bunch for performance, responsiveness and fuel economy though is the expected single best selling unit, the 2.0-litre CDTi turbodiesel with Start/Stop function as standard. this unit has 165PS (163bhp) of power and 350Nm of torque from 1,750rpm. top speed is 131mph, zero to 62mph takes 8.4 seconds, Combined Cycle fuel consumption is 58.9mpg but my test driving, in a spirited manner, reduced this to 43mpg.  The CO2 emissions are 127g/km so road tax will be £0 cost under the First Year rate and then £95 per annum after that. Company car drivers will pay 18 per cent BIK tax. The insurance rating is 20E.  Price of the Astra GTC with this engine and the SRi specification is £22,430 but if you are wise add in the extra £790 FlexRide suspension option it makes a very stylish coupe even better.

MILESTONES. Vauxhall Astra GTC 2.0 CDTi Start/Stop manual. Price: £22,430 (Plus £790 for the highly recommended FlexRide option). Engine/transmission; 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbodiesel, 165PS (163bhp), 350Nm (258lb ft) from 1,750rpm, 6-speed manual. Performance: 131mph, 0-62mph8.4 seconds, 58.9mpg (43mpg on test), CO2 127g/km, VED £0 First Year rate then £95 per annum, BIK company car tax 18%. Insurance group: 20E. Dimensions/capacity: L 4,466mm, W 2,020mm, H 1,482mm, boot/load space: 380 to 1,165-litres. For: Very stylish, high road presence,  sharp handling, immense front end cornering grip, involving to drive, settled and comfortable ride with the FlexRide option but unsettled at speed without it, roomy in the front, well equipped and competitively priced in its sector. Against: Poor rear quarter visibility, rear shoulder room is tight, confusing layout on SRi models of the centrally positioned controls and switches, I’m no fan of electronic parking brakes. 

Miles Better News Agency  

Worth Checking – Motoring news – Road Tests

!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved.”

On August 11th, a vehicle hit one of Norfolk’s newly installed light rail trains at second Street and Brambleton Avenue.  this crash was captured on camera as the train headed towards Eastern Virginia Medical School.

“It shows the LRV going down the tracks. the video shows that we had the proper signal to go across this intersection at second Street,” says Ron Edwards of HRT Safety and Security.

It also shows the car sailing right through and the crash. one specific camera angle shows the driver turning around and driving away. no passengers were on the train since light rail was still being tested.  the driver of the car was found, but it’s still not clear that person is or whether any charges were filed.

“If the operator of automobile had followed the traffic laws there, this incident would have been prevented,” says Edwards.  

Two months later, the intersection now has a functioning traffic light.  An illuminated sign says no turns on red.  on the day of the crash, the traffic lights flashed red but drivers could still turn unless a train was coming. the driver of the Toyota Camry clearly didn’t pay attention to that. 

“When it was blinking, I knew I could creep up, listen, and look and go.  Now I got a green light,” says Edwina Gorman of Norfolk.

Both HRT and the city are hoping the new traffic light at this intersection will keep people more aware, and keep crash like this from happening again. 

Ask a child if they like sweets and the answer is almost universally a resounding “Yes!” It’s no surprise to most parents that kids love candy, cookies, sweetened drinks, and some kids have even been known to add sugar to a bowl of Frosted Flakes. But don’t blame the kids, say researchers: It’s biology.

Scientific evidence shows that children not only have a stronger preference for sugar than adults – but that sweet-tooth is hardwired from Day one.

“We know that the newborn can detect sweet and will actually prefer sweeter solutions to less sweet ones. The basic biology of the child is that they don’t have to learn to like sweet or salt. It’s there from before birth,” explains Julie Mennella of the Monell Chemical Senses Center.

Unlike adults, who often find overly sugary things unpleasant, Mennella says kids are actually living in different sensory worlds than adults when it comes to basic tastes.

“They prefer much more intense sweetness and saltiness than the adult, and it doesn’t decrease until late adolescence. And we have some evidence they may be more sensitive to bitter taste,” Mennella says.

A reason for this may be that a preference for sweet, caloric substances during rapid growth may have given children as an evolutionary advantage when calories were scarce. That notion is supported by the fact that sugar doesn’t just taste good to children -– it actually makes them feel good, too.

Mennella’s research has shown that sugar is a natural pain reliever in children, and many hospitals even put a sweet-tasting liquid in a baby’s mouth during circumcisions or heel stick procedures to help lessen the pain.

When researchers gave adults and children water mixed with various amounts of sugar, adults preferred sugar concentrations similar to that of a can of soda, while finding higher concentrations too sweet. by comparison, children preferred at least twice that concentration, and younger children had virtually no limit.

“You can keep putting sugar in to the point where you can’t dissolve it in the water anymore and they still like it,” says Sue Coldwell, a researcher at the University of Washington who has studied kids and sweets.

But there seems to be an age limit on the super-sized sugar preference.

Coldwell and her colleagues suspected that sugar preferences changed during adolescence. They checked a bunch of indicators, like body image and hormones, and then they checked bone growth. They gave the sugar-water test to adolescents while simultaneously measuring a marker of bone growth in their urine. What they found was that kids who were still growing preferred sweets. Those whose growth had already stopped –- around age 15 or 16 — had taste preferences similar to adults.

Exactly how this all works is still somewhat of a mystery, but Coldwell says that one important clue lies in the discovery that growing bones actually secrete hormones that can influence metabolism. other well-known metabolic hormones like leptin and insulin have been shown to act on brain areas that control cravings and appetites, and even directly bind to the tongue, where they affect the preference for sweet tastes. Coldwell suspects that hormones from growing bones may be doing the same thing. in other words, it’s not your kid’s fault he raided the cookie jar – the hormones from his growing bones made him do it.

“I don’t know for sure, but I am very suspicious that the bones are somehow telling either the brain or the tongue that there is energy needed for their growth and signaling for that preference to increase,” says Coldwell.

That’s not to say a kid can’t overdo it. in a modern world of calorie overload and childhood obesity, cravings for sugar are no longer the evolutionary advantage they once might have once been. But if the goal is to get children to reduce their intake of sugar, researchers say understanding the biology behind their cravings is the first step.

Published: September 8, 2011 3:32 PM By MARION WINIK. Special to Newsday  

after the attacks on the World Trade Center, some novelists reported feeling stunned into silence. Even more than other occupations, spinning yarns about imaginary people and predicaments seemed beside the point. Eventually, some returned to their desks to invent stories about the attack itself. If, in 10 years, none of these books has been the Book — even the efforts of heavy hitters like Don DeLillo and John Updike were deemed wanting — they do tell a story about how we Americans have come to understand what happened to us that day.

Perhaps because it was written so soon after the event, the first literary fiction to take on 9/11 seems unaware of its global context. the traditional domestic dramas written by Claire Messud, Julia Glass and Jay McInerney all follow a similar pattern: They set up an ensemble of upscale Manhattan characters living their lives and pursuing their intrigues when out of the blue come the planes, changing everything.

In Messud’s “The Emperor’s Children” and Glass’ “The Whole World over,” the attacks come very late in the game, followed by hasty denouements that trace the characters in the succeeding months. In “The Good Life,” McInerney unleashes his disaster early so he can focus on love in the ruins, or at least at the soup kitchen serving the ruins.

At the time, these books were groundbreaking: when “the unthinkable” becomes a plot device, it is, if nothing else, thinkable. But the focus on missing-persons posters and blizzards of ashes, with no mention of al-Qaida or Islam, now seems slightly naive. the attack might as well have been a tsunami or a wildfire.

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” focuses even more intently on individual loss. Jonathan Safran Foer’s avant-garde novel is narrated by a precocious 9-year-old boy who has lost his father in the towers. it contains photos and other graphics, most notably a flip book that reverses the descent of a man who jumped from the tower.

Two genre novels, a satire by Ken Kalfus and a noir thriller by Jess Walter, move beyond shock, grief and discombobulation. Kalfus’ “A Disorder Peculiar to the Country,” essentially about hatred, starts from an evilly hilarious premise. though their marriage has crumbled, Joyce and Marshall have remained in the same apartment. he works in one of the towers; she is scheduled to travel on United flight 93 on Sept. 11. for at least part of that day, each is jumping for joy, thinking the other dead.

Jess Walter’s “The Zero,” a National Book Award finalist, focuses on a cop who was one of the first responders and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder so severe that he keeps blacking out, then waking up in bizarre situations. A gun is in his hand and he is bleeding — has he attempted suicide? He’s speeding away on a boat with a torture victim — to help him or to set him up?

In suggesting that his protagonist’s inability to make sense of what is happening is “some kind of cultural illness,” Walter gets at the problem facing 9/11 fiction as a whole. what happened to us is neither a natural disaster nor a psychic disorder but part of an ongoing international political crisis.

Three novels from international writers offer a somewhat wider perspective on the situation. Ian McEwan’s “Saturday” and Joseph O’Neill’s “Netherland,” both published to acclaim, take on 9/11 as it is reflected in the warped experiences of their protagonists — a British neurosurgeon and a Dutch-born equities trader.

Mohsin Hamid’s Booker-nominated but lesser-known contribution, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” is a slim allegory with a large ambition — it wants to make you understand something about the experience of Muslims in the Middle East and in the United States. Like Hamid, its narrator is a Pakistani who has lived in the U.S. but is now back in Lahore. he relates his experiences as a scholarship student at Princeton and as a financial analyst in New York. he is as shocked as everyone else by 9/11 — but shocked also by his reaction to it. the story draws him down a disturbing path from there, and to our surprise, we readers go along with him.

In an article published before “The Good Life” came out, McInerney commented that “when I told [Norman] Mailer that my new novel took place in the autumn of 2001, he shook his head skeptically. ‘Wait 10 years,’ he said. ‘It will take that long for you to make sense of it.’” Now it has been that long. This year we see Amy Waldman’s “The Submission,” a novel about the building of a Ground Zero memorial that faces up to prejudice, ignorance and jingoism. This is a start, though longtime journalist Waldman does not manage to breathe life into her characters and plot as a great novelist can.

If there is great 9/11 novel to come, it probably will begin before 2001 and end well after. it will have settings outside New York City and characters of several nationalities. They will be terrorists and victims, patriots and fanatics, leaders and minions. Rather than cut the event down to size, it will sound its reaches.

If there is an American author who can write this book, that, in itself, will be a good sign.

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE, by Jonathan Safran Foer (Mariner, 2005, $14.95)

SATURDAY, by Ian McEwan (Anchor, 2005, $15.95)

THE EMPEROR’S CHILDREN, by Claire Messud (Vintage, 2006, $15)

THE WHOLE WORLD OVER, by Julia Glass (Anchor, 2006, $15)

THE GOOD LIFE, by Jay McInerney (Vintage, 2006, $15)

A DISORDER PECULIAR TO THE COUNTRY, Ken Kalfus (HarperPerennial, 2006, $13.95)

THE ZERO, by Jess Walter (HarperPerennial, 2006, $14.95)

THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, by Mohsin Hamid (Harvest, 2007, $14)

NETHERLAND, by Joseph O’Neill (Vintage, 2008, $14.95)

THE SUBMISSION, by Amy Waldman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011, $26)

9/11 books: New in nonfiction

The 10th anniversary brings a wealth of new nonfiction titles on 9/11. some standouts:

UNMEASURED STRENGTH, by Lauren Manning (Henry Holt, $25)

A woman engulfed by a fireball in one World Trade Center — and burned over 80 percent of her body — recounts her remarkable recovery.

THUNDER DOG, by Nicahel Hingson with Susy Flory (Thomas Nelson, $22.99)

A blind man recalls his escape from the north tower with the help of his guide dog, Roselle.

WHERE YOU LEFT ME, by Jennifer Gardner Trulson (Gallery, $25)

A 9/11 widow’s memoir of grief and unexpected new love.

A DECADE OF HOPE, by Dennis Smith with Deirdre Smith (Viking, $26.95)

A former firefighter, and author of “Report From Ground Zero,” interviews first responders and their families.

THE ELEVENTH DAY, by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan (Ballantine, $30)

A blow-by-blow account of the events on 9/11, written with access to newly released documents and a decade of research and interviews.

ONE NATION, from the editors of Life (Little, Brown, $29.99)

An updated edition of Life magazine’s photographic chronicle of events in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

A PLACE OF REMEMBRANCE, by Allison Blais and Lynn Rasic (National Geographic, $19.95)

The official book of the National September 11 Memorial.

Be the first to rate: 0 Click to rate