Beyond '50 Shades of Grey,' fine books of 2012

Beyond '50 Shades of Grey,' fine books of 2012

'Dancers Among Us' captures some amazing moves.

So who doesn’t already know about “50 Shades of Grey,” “Wild” or “Gone Girl”? The year’s big books have been duly noted on the best-seller lists. But there were other titles in 2012 that escaped attention and deserve to be brought back to mind.

It’s an eclectic bunch.

“Fairy Tale Interrupted: A Memoir of Life, Love and Loss,” by RoseMarie Terenzio, shouldn’t have been a good book. She was executive assistant to John Kennedy Jr. at George magazine. Usually memoirs by anyone close to any Kennedy leave a bad taste. Not this one.

Terenzio manages to be fiercely protective of both her boss and his wife, Carolyn Bessette, while revealing the daily selves of two people struggling to make a life together in a cauldron of celebrity. Somehow, even Kennedy kin often manage to strike a note of sycophancy when writing about the family. Not Terenzio.

“Enemies: A History of the FBI,” by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tim Weiner, is a gangbuster account of the bureau’s mission, which is in fact secret intelligence, and how it has been used and misused by Presidents. In this formidable telling, we learn the FBI has long been at war with terrorists and spies, while the truth in other controversial matters is laid bare. For instance, J. Edgar Hoover never slept with his companion, Clyde Tolson.

As Weiner writes: “Not a shred of evidence supports the notion that Hoover ever had sex with Tolson or any other human being.”

Speaking of terrorism, Nelson DeMille’s “The Panther” did make the best-seller list, but it’s also notable for how gripping this series featuring former NYPD detective John Corey still is. DeMille just gets better as the world gets scarier. Assigned to a federal anti-terrorism agency, Corey earns a top spot on Al Qaeda’s assassination list after he slips into Yemen to hunt down one of the masterminds of the bombing of the USS Cole.

“The Wisdom of Psychopaths : What Saints, Spies and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success,” by Cambridge research psychologist Kevin Dutton, is actually charming, if also chilling. According to the highly regarded author, there are actual psychopaths and those who “psychopathize”. It can be the difference between a Ted Bundy and the guy with bulletproof confidence who sprints up the corporate ladder. Even if you don’t aspire to unleash your own monstrous ego, you’ll come away with particular insight into certain politicians, celebrities and, yes, bosses. A U.K. study determined that the top psychopathic professions are CEO, media, law and sales. Both chefs and, oddly, clergy rank high too.

“Five Lieutenants: The Story of Five Harvard Men Who Led America to Victory in World War I,” by James Carl Nelson, lives up to its title. It is heartbreaking. In detail, Nelson follows the five as they move through a hurried training in Plattsburgh, N.Y., to meet the voracious need for officers in battle. Each wrote copious letters home, describing their real training in combat in the trenches in France. They were friends and included an undergraduate, a journalist, a Quaker, a historian and a wealthy football hero. Only two made it home. The others died in the Battle of Cantigny in May 1918.