books

WOLF: THE LIVES OF JACK LONDON

By James L. Haley (Basic Books, 364 pages, $29.95).

Few Americans know much about Jack London, master and star of the early-20th-century naturalistic literature movement, beyond the fact that he wrote "The Call of the Wild," "White Fang" and the immortal short story "To Build a Fire." Over the past century, many biographies have explored the enigmatic author's colorful, often troubled private life, which ended in 1916 at age 40. Texas historian James L. Haley's highly readable look at all aspects of London's life especially emphasizes his passionate socialism and desire for revolutionary change, views that were quickly rejected or ignored in the jingoistic America of his day. London was a complex and often contradictory character who communed with other fascinating, often even more troubled, souls during an especially interesting time. This is an absorbing examination of a writer who we hope will continue to influence and seduce each generation of Americans.

PAMELA MILLER, NIGHT METRO EDITOR

DIMITER

By William Peter Blatty (Forge, $24.99, 302 pages)

It's nice to see that William Peter Blatty is still writing at age 82. It's been nearly 40 years since the publication of his masterpiece, "The Exorcist," a book that became a mega-bestseller and a very popular movie. (Blatty earned an Oscar for the movie's screenplay.) I see no such happy fate for his latest effort, however. This mundane, by-the-numbers religious thriller features a cast of bland characters trying to discover the reasons for a series of deaths in Jerusalem. One of those dead might be Paul Dimiter, an American spy so deadly he was known as the "agent from hell." Dimiter's possible demise draws the attention of U.S. and Israeli officials, but it probably won't engage many readers.

MILFORD REID, SPORTS DESIGNER