Ian Morris, "Seeds, Germs and Slaves," NYT, 19 August, reviews Charles C. Mann's 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created.

Dalya Alberge, "Twenty-year global project is the last word on Ben Jonson," Guardian, 21 August, anticipates publication of a new edition of Jonson's works.

James Zug, "Green Guerilla," Boston Globe, 22 August, and Robert K. Landers, "Founding Father (of Vermont)," WSJ, 22 August, review Willard Sterne Randall's Ethan Allen: His Life and Times.

Richard Rayner reviews Howard Markel's An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine for the LA Times, 21 August.

Jonathan Yardley reviews Jay Feldman's Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating, Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America for the Washington Post, 19 August.

Monica Osborne, "Springtime for Hitler," the Book, 22 August, reviews Rudolf Herzog's Dead Funny: Humor in Hitler's Germany.

Marie Arana reviews Hal Vaughn's Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War for the Washington Post, 19 August. See also: Andy Walker, "Coco Chanel: Nazi agent?" BBC Today, 20 August.

Manan Ahmed, "All is well… or is it?" Dawn, 21 August, reviews Maleeha Lodhi, ed., Pakistan: Beyond the ‘Crisis State'.