Nonfiction: This year's offerings are diverse, fascinating

A Voyage Long and Strange

Tony Horwitz was staring at Plymouth Rock, wondering why it looked so small, when it occurred to him that he knew very little about American history between Columbus' discovery and the arrival of the Pilgrims. So he set out on one of his inimitable journeys ("Confederates in the Attic," "Bagdad Without a Map") to fill in the gaps. Somehow, beneath the freeways and strip malls, he finds evidence of the early explorers. You'll remember these names from fifth grade -- Ponce de Leon, Hernando de Soto -- but you might not remember how brutal that time was. There's much to cringe about (and little to feel proud about), but Horwitz's humor, meticulous research and ability to tell engaging stories make it palatable. (Laurie Hertzel)

The Hemingses of Monticello

Annette Gordon-Reed has located mountains of information about the family of slave Sally Hemings. She also has mined the life of Thomas Jefferson, woven informed speculation into the narrative, and produced a compelling book. For many readers, the book's greatest value will derive from the themes that Gordon-Reed establishes. What is the dynamic of a human being enslaving other human beings? How does that dynamic change across race lines? Winner of this year's National Book Award. (Steve Weinberg)

Thames: The Biography

It's just a short little river after all, a mere 215 miles, not anything grand like the Nile or the Amazon. But the Thames has a fame all its own, flowing right through London, and having a place in most aspects of English history. In this companion to "London: The Biography," Peter Ackroyd tells the story of this remarkable river -- battles, commerce, boating, and kings and queens sailing up and down, flags fluttering in the breeze. It's hard to believe that the fog-enshrouded corpse-haulers of Dickens' "Our Mutual Friend" and Ratty and Mole with their luscious picnic hamper ("The Wind in the Willows") were on the same river. (Laurie Hertzel)

Fred Astaire

Grace, elegance, exquisite manners -- and the ability to make the most complicated dance routine seem effortless. That was Fred Astaire, whom the celebrated essayist Joseph Epstein gives us in this equally elegant portrait rich with anecdotes. From Astaire's boyhood in Omaha to his early years onstage with his outspoken sister, Adele, and on through the glory years in films, Epstein takes us on a journey that can be described only as magical. The book is enticingly slim because there isn't a wasted word, and the chapter on charm alone is worth the price. (Michael J. Bonafield)

The Reagan I Knew

There are few things more revealing than private correspondence, especially when the letters are clearly not meant for other eyes. Such is the case with this book, a remembrance of a friendship that spanned 43 years. It is made all the more poignant by the death this year of the author, William Buckley, whose long list of books was capped by this elegant volume -- his 55th. Both of these men were passionate letter writers, a quaint virtue in this impersonal electronic age, and both were genuinely devoted to each other -- at first intellectually, then as "brothers in arms" in the conservative movement, and ultimately as dear friends. Many of us knew of that friendship, but what shines in these pages is its depth. They knew each other as Ron and Bill, and we shall not know their likes again. (Michael J. Bonafield)

Reading Dance

This fat 4-pounder isn't easy to hold or carry, but dance lovers won't be able to put it down. A savvy collection of memoirs, reviews, profiles, interviews and remembrances, it manages to cover just about every 20th-century dance subject, and then some. The boilerplate choices (Balanchine, Graham, Nijinsky, Pavlova, Astaire, Barishnikov) are all here, and Robert Gottlieb's sharp eye finds works that illuminate them in seldom-seen ways. But this quirky one-volume encyclopedia really shines when it turns its attention to the less conspicuous (Edwin Denby's triple take on "Agon," a revealing 1997 Q&A with Allegra Kent, a penetrating essay on "Lilac Garden") and the downright arcane (excerpts from Tanaquil LeClercq's enchanting "Ballet Cookbook"). No photos, but when the writing is this riveting, who needs them? (Rick Nelson)

Traitor to His Class

Franklin Roosevelt was born into wealth and privilege. Indulged and coddled, he traveled abroad eight times before he was 15. But during his presidency he became a tireless advocate of the working man. In this sweeping, readable biography, historian H.W. Brands takes us into Roosevelt's world of privilege, and shows us how his leadership and vision evolved in a direction nobody who knew him as a young man could have predicted. (Laurie Hertzel)