Even one by Willie Nelson!

Here are the latest picks from Publishers Lunch Weekly, and they're certainly all worthy books:

Fiction:

Michael Thomas's MAN GONE DOWN, about a four-day journey of a nameless narrator who is desperately trying to reconcile his past while he finds himself broke and living in the bedroom of a friend's six-year-old child, to Elisabeth Schmitz at Grove Atlantic, by Eileen Cope at Trident Media Group (NA).

Mystery/Crime:

Ted Botha's THE GIRL WITH THE CROOKED NOSE, about an artist and renowned forensics expert whose specialty is reconstructing what murder victims, however decomposed, looked like when alive, who is brought in by Mexican authorities to help solve the murders of almost 400 women, which occurred over the period of a decade, to Will Murphy at Random House, by Luke Janklow at Janklow & Nesbit (world).

Non-Fiction:

Former Director of the Forensic Biology Department of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City Robert C. Shaler's WHO THEY WERE: Inside the World Trade Center DNA Story: The Unprecedented Effort to Identify the Missing, which resulted in the identification of 1,591 victims of the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attack, to Elizabeth Stein at Free Press, for publication in October 2005 (world).

ER doctor, historian and professor of bioethics at Tulane Medical School, Robert Martensen's SOMEWHERE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH, using stories from author's practice to address the new moral and existential questions patients, their families and the culture now face because of recent advances in medical technology, to Eric Chinski at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, in a pre-empt, by Susan Arellano at Susan Rabiner Literary Agency (world). susanarellano@yahoo.com

History/Politics/Current Affairs:

J.R. Norton's SAVING GENERAL WASHINGTON: Why Everything the Right Wing Tells You About Your Country's Founders is Wrong, examines how those on the right have appropriated America's Founding Fathers and reclaims their progressive legacy, to Ashley Shelby at Tarcher/Penguin, in a nice deal (world). Ashley.Shelby@us.penguingroup.com

Former Dean of Harvard College Harry R. Lewis's EXCELLENCE WITHOUT A SOUL, explains how our great universities lost sight of the essential purpose of education, to Lindsay Jones at Public Affairs, by John Taylor Williams of Kneerim & Williams at Fish & Richardson (world).

Bill Yenne's RISING SONS: The Remarkable Story of the Japanese-American GIs of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team In World War II, the untold story of 'Nisei' Japanse-American troops fighting in Europe, overcoming prejudice at home to become the most decorated unit in US Army history, to Sean Desmond of Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, by Jake Elwell at Wieser & Elwell (world, except Japan). jelwell8@earthlink.net

MemoirWillie Nelson's THE TAO OF WILLIE, to William Shinker at Gotham, with Lauren Marino editing, for publication in May 2006, by David Vigliano of Vigliano Associates (world English).

Film:

FilmDoctoral candidate at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University Daniel H. Wilson's HOW TO SURVIVE A ROBOT UPRISING, tips on defending yourself against the coming rebellion, to Paramount, on behalf Michael Deluca Productions, based on a pitch by Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant (RENO 911!), in a major deal, by Justin Manask at Intellectual Property Group, on behalf of Laurie Fox at the Linda Chester Literary Agency.justin@ipglm.com
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