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Books > All Booked Up

Check out our pick of the page-turners.

words by > Michael J. Bandler

Mary Poppins, She Wrote

Valerie Lawson

Eighty years ago this November 13, the Christchurch Sun published a short story by P.L. Travers titled Mary Poppins and the Match Man, unveiling the most famous nanny in literature (who also arrives on Broadway this month). It marked a new direction for the stage ingénue-turned-journalist-turned-author, whose own peripatetic childhood sparked the imagination refl ected in the characters and episodes of her stories. Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P.L. Travers, by Valerie Lawson, is a rich trove of information about the steely, little-known creator of the magical helpmate. Lawson’s description of Travers’ challenges as a young adult trying to fi nd her way in the world, and of her confrontation in later life with Walt Disney over script, symbolism and sensibility, are themselves worth the price of the book. (Simon & Schuster, $25, illustrated)

On Her Trail:
My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News’ First Woman Star

John Dickerson

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that when Katie Couric was a young teen in Arlington, VA, she might have been inspired by a woman who was making her mark as a trailblazer in TV journalism, becoming CBS’ fi rst female correspondent in 1960. Nancy Hanschman Dickerson could have been her role model.

In any event, the late correspondent’s son, John Dickerson, who has made his own mark in TV news, has written On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News’ First Woman Star. It’s a revealing portrait of his ambitious, cheeky, irrepressible parent—warts and all—with many names named. Her legendary fl irtatiousness and craftiness to gain sources and scoops was not always admired by her peers, but it certainly was effective—up to the highest rungs of government. Filled with illuminating insights and asides on the interweaving of politics, society and reportage, the author’s frequently critical perspective portrays a woman wrestling with her various roles at the dawn of the women’s movement, and not always fi nding resolution. (Simon & Schuster, $24.95)

Echo Park

Michael Connelly

LA police detective Harry Bosch messes up several times in the course of his latest case. The recovery is problematic and painful—and invariably complicates his life. It’s a common happening in most of Michael Connelly’s Bosch police procedurals, of which there are an even dozen now with the arrival of Echo Park. Harry is in the Open-Unsolved Unit this time, obsessed with a still-open fi le on the disappearance of a young woman 13 years earlier. Then an accused murderer comes clean on the cold case. Because Harry and his partner missed clues at the time, the killer was able to murder nine more people before getting caught. Full of surprises galore, Echo Park is right up there with the best of Bosch, ensuring fans an all-night, nonstop read. (Little, Brown, $26.99)