NEW & NOTABLE

Anne Stephenson
Arizona Republic 

The Mountains of My Life 
By Walter Bonatti 
Modern Library 
   How strange it is that political intrigue finds its way even onto the highest and most majestic places in the world. Walter Bonatti, one of the greatest mountain climbers of all time, makes this clear in his account of the Italian attempt on K2 in 1954, during which, he says, he and a porter were abandoned by two companions, who made the summit while Bonatti and the porter slept tentless in a storm at 26,000 feet, without sleeping bags or food. They survived, but afterward Bonatti was mysteriously vilified by his fellow climbers, and became a source of controversy in the European climbing community. More important, he became a solitary mountaineer who trusted only himself. Alone, he took difficult routes up the most difficult peaks, often in appalling weather. He set new standards for achievement, and knew his share of tragedy. Now in English for the first time, his memoir recounts the highlights of his career, and offers his reflections on his difficult history with other climbers. 

Facing the Wind 
By Julie Salamon 
Random House 
   Bob and Mary Rowe’s second son, Christopher, was born in 1965, blind, deaf, and brain-damaged.  His sorrowful parents rallied, deciding to keep him at home and raise him as normally as possible. It was difficult, but they talked out their problems and set new standards for success. They even had a third child so that their oldest son would not be alone with Christopher when they were gone. Because of their dedication, the Rowes became an inspiration to other parents of handicapped children. Then, on Feb. 21, 1978, Bob Rowe took a baseball bat and bludgeoned his wife and children to death. Salamon traces Rowe’s trial and acquittal on an insanity defense, his psychiatric treatment and remarriage. She also looks at how his actions affected people who knew his family. Her disturbing but thought-provoking book raises questions: What separates mental illness from evil? How do we balance forgiveness with responsibility? Can we suspend judgment, and understand that there but for the grace of God go any of us? 

Hollywood Moms 
By Joyce Ostin 
Abrams 
   Sure, scoff, but let’s see you walk by this book without peeking. It’s a fluffy premise, but Ostin, who has survived breast cancer, is donating all of her proceeds to breast and ovarian cancer research, so we felt free to pore over her celebrity photographs before returning to our ninth reading of “War and Peace.” We can tell you right now that Madonna is going to have big trouble someday (and who deserves it more?), because her little daughter, Lourdes, will not have to wear strange outfits to attract the boys. Her eyebrows alone will reel them in. Other subjects include Susan Sarandon and daughter Eva; Melanie Griffith (who looks her age, and pretty) and daughter Stella; Candice Bergen with mom Frances and daughter Chloe Malle; k.d. lang and mother Audrey Lang; the ever-protective Rosie O’Donnell and the back of daughter Chelsea’s head; Jennifer Lopez and mom Guadelupe; and Kelly Preston and infant daughter Ella Bleu Travolta, who resembles her father, a sobering thought indeed.