Putnam

The sibling effect; what the bonds among brothers and sisters reveal about us.

Beginning with anecdotes about growing up with three brothers, Kluger, a Time magazine editor and writer, examines the special bond of siblings. In a book developed from his stories in 2006 and 2007 on burgeoning research on siblings, Kluger explores this complex relationship, drawing on animal and human studies, and examples of siblings in famous families. He also discusses the effects of birth order, parental divorce and remarriage, brother- sister relationships on relations with the opposite sex, and being sibling-less or having a twin. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Slinging mud; rude nicknames, scurrilous slogans, and insulting slang from two centuries of American politics.

Ostler provides a timely reminder that "mudslinging" or negative campaigning rather than civility has been a tradition in American presidential politics since the nation's founding. Organized by era, from the Jacksonian (1824-1848), to the "latte liberals and wingnuts" of recent times (1992-2008), the book concludes with a summary of presidential hopefuls by type of charges leveled against them (e.g., elitism, ignorant, too radical, problematic war record, wrong religion, romantic troubles). (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)