New York Times: New & Noteworthy, From R. Kelly to White House Corruption

DEEP RIVER, by Karl Marlantes. (Grove, $30.) Marlantes, best known for the immersive Vietnam War novel “Matterhorn,” here offers a historical family epic about Finnish brothers working as loggers in the Pacific Northwest and their labor organizer sister.

SLIME: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us, by Ruth Kassinger. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26.) Algae are among the earth’s oldest life-forms, pervasive in everything from pond scum to crude oil. Kassinger explains their history and biology, and makes a persuasive case for their future importance.

THE MAN WHO SOLD AMERICA: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story, by Joy-Ann Reid. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $27.99.) The political analyst and host of “AM Joy” on MSNBC argues that President Trump’s administration is characterized by grift and venality that demeans the office and diminishes America.

SOULLESS: The Case Against R. Kelly, by Jim DeRogatis. (Abrams, $26.) DeRogatis, a noted music journalist, broke the first stories accusing the R&B star R. Kelly of sexual abuse — two decades ago. This book tracks the case and asks why the culture was so slow to catch up.