Leisure reading

'Spoiled Rotten America'

By Larry Miller

Regan, $25.95

Larry Miller is not the same Larry Miller known to most Utahns. This Larry Miller is a comedian and occasional actor.

In "Pretty Woman" he was the obnoxious clothing salesman Richard Gere paid off to treat Julia Roberts royally. Miller has also popped up in supporting roles in several other films as well.

On TV, he is best-known for his appearances on "Seinfeld" and "Law and Order."

Now he has turned his interests to being a cultural commentator — and the result is the 17 comic essays in this book, which is subtitled "Outrages of Everyday Life." He is funny, but he often sets a serious tone. — Dennis Lythgoe

'The Hidden Assassins'

By Robert Wilson

Harcourt, $25

British writer Robert Wilson has written eight highly acclaimed novels, including a detective series starring Inspector Jefe Javier Falcon, who first appeared in "The Blind Man of Seville" (2003) and emerged again in "The Vanished Hands" (2004). Falcon is a superbly drawn character who fascinates.

In this novel, he is called to investigate a mutilated, faceless corpse unearthed from the Saville city dump. Meanwhile, terrorism is thought to be at the heart of a bomb explosion, and panic quickly takes over the city. This is suspenseful storytelling at its best. — Dennis Lythgoe

'Lincoln's Sword'

By Douglas Wilson

Knopf, $26.95

This is a scholarly book about the power of words in the presidency of the United States, as best illustrated by Abraham Lincoln's talent for eloquence and wit.

Written by Douglas Wilson, a respected Lincoln historian, this book lays out the case not only for Lincoln's writing skills but explains how they served him for a time as a hidden asset — then turned into a formidable literary talent.

According to Wilson, by the time Lincoln gave the hallowed "Gettysburg Address" and later his second inaugural address, he was consciously trying to interpret the Civil War for contemporaries as well as "the vast future." — Dennis Lythgoe