FEATURE Q & A: Oliver Sacks In Oliver Sacks's recently released memoir, "Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood" (the title is a tribute to his mother's brother Dave, who manufactured light bulbs), he recounts his early childhood in London, spent almost entirely in a chemistry lab.

Theodore Rex  The Feast of the Goat  My Story As Told by Water  Falling Angels  Esther Stories  The Professional  Death in Paradise  The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God  Iris Murdoch: A Life  The Aztec Treasure House Fiction Nonfiction Paperback fiction Paper nonfiction Short Takes – Quick summaries of books Literary Life Magazine cover stories and more Recommendations Selected from books reviewed by the Globe Tickets on sale Movies now playing Cheap eats New on disc EVENT SEARCH Detailed search

THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS New meaning of 'homeland' for post-diaspora Jews Jews outside the state of Israel see themselves as comfortably settled in a diaspora of a permanent character, similar to the Irish, the Armenians, and other groups.

Fatherless Women  The Warrior Elite  The Age of Homespun  At the Altar of Speed

SPECIAL FEATURES Unwinding the mystery Mystery stories are always a great form of escapism but are especially wonderful during trying times. After all, not only are listeners invited to figure out who done it, but they can also bring the criminal to justice, at least vicariously.  Reading Life: Portis's potent Southern comfort  Short Takes: Quick descriptions of hot reads

LITERARY LIFE A controversial confession in fast Co. It starts off pretty juicy: Tom Peters, co-author of the influential '80s management manual "In Search of Excellence," writes in the December Fast Company that "we faked the data" used for selecting the 43 "excellent" companies cited in the book.

NEWS The unfinished poet Here amid the windblown dunes held together with grass, gumption, and a few trees, Alan Dugan works. His plain wood desk is in the middle of his study, with books and papers all around, in the house above Pamet Harbor he shares with his wife.  Banner days: Whitney Smith and the flag  Chip Kidd finds a new way to draw readers in  Trade Center books at top of best-seller lists