Sunday Books: coverage for March 13, 2011

This wide-ranging exploration of humanity’s struggle to make sense and maintain order of its ever-growing store of ideas and knowledge is a dense but engaging read.

The British Egyptologist goes beyond the myths and monuments to look at the world’s first nation-state. Underscored throughout is the contemporary relevance of a ruling system with ancient origins.

Deb Olin Unferth writes of her own voyage of discovery — a 1987 visit to turbulent Central America.

Three titles explore Elizabeth Bishop through her poetry and prose and her correspondence with the New Yorker.

A gifted young girl finds herself in the middle of intrigue amid an Ottoman Empire setting in this enticing debut novel.

Brandon Mull reinvigorates the quest genre in ‘Beyonders: A World Without Heroes,’ the first book of his new fantasy trilogy, in which an American teen is deposited in the medieval-ish land of Lyria.

Also reviewed: ‘Day of the Oprichnik’ by Vladimir Sorokin (translated by Jamey Gambrell) and ‘Fair Play’ by Tove Jansson (translated by Thomas Teal).

This collection of 32 essays about the French city has too much about the authors and not enough about the area and its people.