From the bear attack in Siberia (Nastassja Martin's "In the Eye of the Wild") to the coup in Guatemala (Mario Vargas Llosa's "Harsh Times") to the genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Mondiant Dogon's "Those We Throw Away") Are Diamonds"), the books recommended this week show that writers face a world full of chaos, violence and uncertainty with varying degrees of courage and calmness. There is also art here, whether it is the elegant setting of Edith Schloss's "Attic Generation", or Douglas Wolk's "All of Miracles" and Jeremy Dauber (Jeremy Dauber). The pop culture vibrancy of comic books in "American Comics" by Dauber). Moreover, in "Fire Box", James Andrew Miller (James Andrew Miller) tells the oral history of HBO, which contains a lot of chaotic violence and its own uncertainty. (After all, this is the channel that brought us "The Sopranos" and "Game of Thrones".)

Elsewhere: Howard W. French (Howard W. French) presents a compelling case in which Africa has played a vital but underrated role in the rise of Western powers, crime writer Stephen Spouts Stephen Spotswood continued a quirky series of private investigators. The Times columnist Ross Douthat reviewed his experience of frail illness and Canadian writer Miriam Toews. ) There is a new bittersweet novel about a young girl forced to grow up too fast.

Gregory Cowles Senior Book Editor Twitter: @GregoryCowles

TINDERBOX: HBO's ruthless pursuit of a new frontier, by James Andrew Miller. (Henry Holt & Company, $50.) This new oral history of HBO tells the channel from 1972 to its transformative "Sopranos" era to the present. In addition to detailed information on shows such as "Sex and the City", "Six Feet Under", "Girls" and "Game of Thrones", it also includes the overwhelming advantages of the company's history. Our critic Dwight Garner wrote: "The book is full of hatred, jealousy, scoring and killing gossip," "enough to fill the Elizabethan drama."

In the eyes of the wild, by Nastassja Martin. Translated from French by Sophie R. Lewis. (New York Review, $14.95.) In 2015, the anthropologist Nastassja Martin was almost spared when he was attacked by a bear in the eastern mountains of Eastern Siberia. This unforgettable and subversive memoir tells the physical and philosophical influence of the following year. Our critic Jennifer Szalai wrote: “What Martin describes in this book is not so much searching for meaning as accepting its destruction.”

The Loft Generation: From the De Koonings to Twombly: Portraits and Sketches from 1942 to 2011 by Edith Schloss. Edited by Marie Venturini. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $32.) The memoir of German-American author and artist Edith Schloss was discovered in draft form after his death in 2011, and it has now been polished into a gleaming book Gems. It tells of an era full of creativity and energy, and the time Schloss spent with Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Merce Cunningham, Leo Castelli and others. Our critic Alexandra Jacobs wrote: “If nostalgia is the sixth and often confusing feeling, then even when describing the past, it feels obvious, clear and There is no such feeling in living books."

All miracles: the journey to the end of the biggest story ever written by Douglas Wolk. (Penguin Press, $28.) In order to track the innovations and strange experiments that made Marvel Magic work, Volcker did what seemed impossible: read all the 27,000 copies that the company has published from 1961 to the present. comic book. What is impressive is that he never gets lost in the maze. The result, in the words of Junot Díaz's comment, was "brilliant, weird, touching, and completely beautiful attempt to distill everything into a coherent narrative... Wolk clarified The significance of our weird variant of Marvel Century."

American Comics: A History, by Jeremy Dober. (Norton, $35.) Dober's academic survey of comic history is stubborn and often interesting. Starting with the political cartoons of Thomas Nast in the 19th century, it traced the boom of newspaper comics, comic books, underground comics, fan culture, and finally graphic novels and web comics. "Dauber is particularly nuanced in dealing with the many controversies that plague comics in the past and present, from the debate on comic code and the description of sex and violence, to the issues of diversity, representativeness and authority,'expanded through the expansion of spandex. '," Michael Tisseland wrote in his comment. "Dober subtly proved that comics are as many as any other art or literary work, or even more, to deal with the most serious topics, including one of the most serious topics: our ability to laugh at ourselves."

The murder is under her skin, by Stephen Spotswood. (Two-day ticket, $27.) In the wonderful sequel to Spotswood's quirky old-school mystery series, private detective Lillian Pantcost and her young assistant Willowjean “Will” Parker try to uncover who killed in the traveling circus Died where "the magical tattoo woman" Parker once worked. Parker’s former mentor was the main suspect—but, as Sarah Weinman wrote in her latest crime column, “Of course, Pentecost and Parker know better. It’s great to watch Until they get this knowledge after sifting the red herring like an onion layer and peeling off the secrets, while showing more of themselves without guilt or shame."

Night of Battle, written by Miriam Toews. (Bloomsbury Press, $24.) The eighth novel of Toys tells the story of three generations of women. The youngest of them is a 9-year-old girl named Swift. The grandmother combed her hair and distributed heart medicine. Toews is a master of dialogue. She uses Swiv's imperfect ventriloquism to rotate the perspective of adults, just like she is mixing paint. "Readers are drawn into the close relationship of a dysfunctional family, and their unconditional love will make any truly dysfunctional family jealous," Nadja Spiegelman wrote in her comment. "These three women stand alone, against the universe, with the jagged edges of each other shaped so tightly that their personal contours are blurred."

The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery, by Ross Douthat. (Convergent, $26.) Soon after purchasing a farmhouse in Connecticut, the New York Times columnist struggled with a confusing tick-borne disease in this thoughtful memoir, trying to deal with restlessness, uncertainty, and dissatisfaction The answer is peaceful. "Douthat can see symbols everywhere; he is not only telling his own illness, but also telling stories we tell ourselves, secular and religious, to understand illness," Sarah Austin wrote in her comment. "Worrying painfully on the bathroom floor, breaking down in the middle of a speech, or staggering into the empty church to pray for relief, Dussat left himself naked in a way that might have an impact."

"Harsh Times" by Mario Vargas Llosa. Translated by Adrian Nathan West. (Fara, Straus, and Giroud, $28.) Vargas Llosa’s new novel sets its sights on Guatemala, exploring the 1954 coup d’état supported by the United States and its devastating misinformation campaigns, as well as potential conspiracy and Bullying the network. "Vargas Llosa has created a fascinating and exhilarating literary thriller inspired by his experience as a public intellectual and practical politician," Hari Kunzru ) Wrote in his comment. "In "Tough Times", Vargas Llosala opened the curtain on the terrible world of cynical real politics. In a sense, he has the final say, showing that no matter how powerful the dictator is, his legacy is ultimately All will be shaped by writers."

Born in black: Africa, Africans, and the formation of the modern world, from 1471 to World War II, by Howard W. French. (Liveright, US$35.) This elegant history of the rise of the West, written by a former African reporter of The Times, puts this continent-rich in natural and human resources-at the center of the story. "'Born in the dark' is full of pain, but also full of pride: pride in the patience of millions of people, the numerous slave uprisings and rebellions caused by the Haitian revolution, and the cultural wealth of the African diaspora," Nigel Cliff ( Nigel Cliff) wrote in his comment. "I found this book to be hot, humble and essential reading."

The ones we throw away are diamonds: refugee homes, Mondiant Dogon and Jenna Krajeski. (Penguin Press, $28.) As a member of the Tutsi minority in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dogon escaped the genocide of the 1990s as a child. However, his memoirs are full of fascinating spiritual charm. Commenting on the book, Michela Wrong wrote: “Floating objects and rubbish in the modern world, refugees are fighting an uphill battle to give a little dignity to their almost uncontrollable lives.” “Dogong is more than most of us. Can meet this challenge."