Here are some books that have crossed our desks recently.

HARDBACKS

"ANCESTORS AND OTHERS: New and Selected Stories," by Fred Chappell, St. Martin's Press, $27.99 (f)

A range of genres are explored here in folk fables in the Twain tradition, realistic stories of growing up in remote Appalachia, stories of family, kin and community, and tales of the fantastic and spooky.

More hardbacks recently released:

"Stuff to Spy For," by Don Bruns (f); "The Edge of Eden," by Helen Benedict (f); "Tear Down This Wall: A City, a President, and the Speech That Ended the Cold War," by Romesh Ratnesar (nf); "The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy With Ideas From Mathematics, Economics, and Physics," by Steven E. Landsburg (nf); "The Art of a Beautiful Game: The Thinking Fan's Tour of the NBA," by Chris Ballard (nf); "The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the Birth of Modern China," by Hannah Pakula (nf); "The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika" edited by Robert B. Strassler (nf); "The We Generation: Raising Socially Responsible Kids," by Michael Ungar (nf); "A Rainbow in the Night: The Tumultuous Birth of South America," by Dominique Lapierre (nf); "Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court," by Roy Williams with Tim Crothers (nf); "There Is No Freedom Without Bread! 1989 and the Civil War That Brought Down Communism," by Constantine Pleshakov (nf); "My Delicious Life With Paula Deen: A Memoir," by Michael Groover with Sherry Suib Cohen (nf); "The Sources of Miracles: 7 Steps to Transforming Your Life Through the Lord's Prayer," by Kathleen McCowan (nf); "Beyond America's Grasp: A Century of Failed Diplomacy in the Middle East," by Stephen P. Cohen (nf)

PAPERBACKS

"HEROES AND VILLAINS: Essays on Music, Movies, Comics, and Culture," by David Hajdu, DaCapo Press, $17.95 (nf)