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A growing number of war-time memoirs have begun to be unearthed by discerning French and British publishers.

The Library of America's "H.L. Mencken: Prejudices" shows that the Sage of Baltimore was not always sagacious. R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. reviews.

The big books of fall, from Ken Follett, Nicole Krauss and more.

ESPN's "Sport Science" host John Brenkus calculates the ultimate achievable athletic feats in "The Perfection Point." David M. Shribman reviews.

In "A Journey," Tony Blair, Britain's former prime minister, describes his political rise, his attempts to transform the Labour Party and his stalwart support of America—with troops and eloquence—during the Iraq war. Martin Rubin reviews.

In "The Company Town," Hardy Green surveys towns from Hershey, Pa., to Gary, Ind., where a single business or industry once controlled nearly every aspect of life—sometimes to the good, sometimes not. Bill Kauffman reviews.

In "Crisis on Campus," Mark C. Taylor urges bold reforms for universities—for example, eliminating tenure. Naomi Schaefer Riley reviews.

The film company who bought the rights to Nicholas Sparks's new novel, "Safe Haven," on sale Sept. 14, is launching online and print promotions for the story--a year ahead of the movie version's release.

In "The Great Silence," Juliet Nicolson describes how the British tried to reorient themselves and start again after the carnage of World War I. Elizabeth Lowry reviews.

Suzanne Collins ends her Hunger Games trilogy with "Mockingjay," a novel eagerly awaited by fans of the futuristic saga about young rebels fighting against an evil government. Meghan Cox Gurdon reviews.

In "The Lost Art of Real Cooking," Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger champion the pleasures of "traditional food." Aram Bakshian Jr. reviews.

"Beowulf," Raymond Chandler, Henry James—they've all suffered the satirist's needle. John Gross compiles some of the best examples in "The Oxford Book of Parodies."

After remaining mostly out of view and silent on policy debates since leaving office, George W. Bush is about to promote his memoir, to be published a week after the Nov. 2 elections.

In World War I, it was the trenches that captured the imagination of poets. In World War II, it was aerial combat. A review of Daniel Swift's "Bomber County."

Whenever the Senate must consider a Supreme Court nominee, originalists and believers in the "living Constitution" vie for supremacy. In "Constitutional Illusions & Anchoring Truths," Hadley Arkes suggests a third way—letting natural law guide the members of either camp

"Preaching With Sacred Fire," edited by Martha Simmons and Frank A. Thomas, presents an anthology of African-American sermons, from the slave era to the modern day. Eric J. Sundquist reviews.

Book lovers have long worried that technology would lead to the demise of long-form reading. But research shows that owners of e-readers may be reading more than ever before.

Five years, 300,000 words, 370,000 translations: It all adds up to the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary ever put together.

In "Interstate 69," Matt Dellinger traces the story of an attempt to build a highway extension that shows no sign of finding an on ramp.

In "Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other," Scott Simons writes about a process that is expensive, baffling, arduous—and miraculous.

Before World War I, Germany tried to build a railway from Berlin to the heart of the Ottoman Empire. During the war, it tried to foment a Grand Jihad in Muslim lands. Sean McMeekin tells the story in "The Berlin-Baghdad Express." David Pryce-Jones reviews.

With "Why We Fight" editor Simon Van Booy enlists the help of Sophocles, Dickens, the Bible and a host of other sources in pondering mankind's taste for aggression. Dave Shiflett reviews.

In "The Pain Chronicles," Melanie Thernstrom traces the history of pain as a medical and cultural phenomenon. Wes Davis reviews.

In "Exploring Happiness: From Aristotle to Brain Science," Sissela Bok traces the history of how we have defined happiness. Paul Beston reviews.

Jonathan Franzen's novel "Freedom" offers a portrait of suburban life where everyone's fighting for happiness—at the expense of others. Sam Sacks reviews.

New York author Peter Quinn talks with the Journal about his new historic novel and his years as a speechwriter for two New York governors.

A Confederate general refuses to quit fighting after Appomattox, heads into Mexico to defend the French, and ends up back in the U.S., renouncing his pro-slavery views and becoming a model citizen. Anthony Arthur tells the story in "General Jo Shelby's March." Stuart Ferguson reviews.

In "A Grand and Bold Thing," Ann Finkbeiner recounts how the wide-field telescope of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey produced a remarkable guide to the universe. Timothy Ferris reviews.

Although Lauren Weisberger has never stayed overnight at the Chateau Marmont, she still decided to stage her latest novel "Last Night at Chateau Marmont," at the infamous Hollywood hotel.

In "Still Surprised," Warren Bennis—the leadership guru and management scholar—tells his own rags-to-riches story. Adrian Wooldridge reviews.