Barnes & Noble Recommends Ethan Canin's America America

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, announced today that Ethan Canin’s America America (Random House) is the next selection in the Barnes & Noble Recommends program. The book goes on sale tomorrow, June 24, and can be purchased at any Barnes & Noble store or online at Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com/recommends).

“The newest novel from the acclaimed author of Emperor of the Air and The Palace Thief, America America is a classic American story,” said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. “This powerful tale will resonate with readers as it tackles the timely issues of truth, politics and family.”

Starting in the Nixon era, America America follows Corey Sifter’s progress from his modest roots in western New York to a glittering world of money, ambition, and politics. Corey’s entrée into this realm of promise is the patronage of Liam Metarey, son of a ruthless social baron who amassed a fortune in the early 1900s. Through Corey’s narration, we are drawn into the triumphs and trials of the Metarey family as Liam attempts to orchestrate a presidential nomination for Senator Henry Bonwiller. Tracing the rise and fall of a politician and a family, and the passing of an idealistic era, Canin’s novel moves between the present and the past as Corey chronicles his growth to middle age, his marriage to one of Liam’s daughters, and his career as publisher of his hometown newspaper. Layered with Corey’s poignant recognition of what it means to be flawed and fallible, Canin’s masterfully crafted plot lines converge to bring this complex tale to its startling, inescapable conclusion.

One of Barnes & Noble’s booksellers who voted for this selection said, “Sweeping in scope, Canin’s novel is an intricate portrait of the coming-of-age of a boy and the nation around him.” Another bookseller called America America “relevant and incredibly satisfying.”

The Barnes & Noble Recommends program includes:

• Barnes & Noble store events. Reading group discussions of America America will be held in Barnes & Noble stores across the country.
• Author appearances. Meet Ethan Canin at Barnes & Noble stores. Visit www.bn.com/recommends for information on his in-store events.
• An online book club. Join Ethan Canin in the Barnes & Noble.com online book club, and discuss America America with him and other readers. Log on to www.bn.com/bookclubs throughout August.
• A free reading group guide. Ask any Barnes & Noble bookseller for a copy of our free guide to starting your own reading group. The guide can also be found online at www.bn.com/recommends.

Selections for Barnes & Noble Recommends are chosen by the company’s booksellers from across the country. Each selection is a book that Barnes & Noble recommends unconditionally, believes is “unputdownable” and is especially appropriate for book discussion groups.

The previous eight Barnes & Noble Recommends selections were:

• Diane Setterfield’s debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale (Atria Books)
• Chris Bohjalian’s The Double Bind (Shaye Areheart Books)
• Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Harcourt)
• Paulette Jiles’ Stormy Weather (William Morrow)
• Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells (Bantam Books)
• Maggie O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (Harcourt)
• Marisa de los Santos’ Belong to Me (William Morrow)
• Tom Rob Smith’s Child 44 (Grand Central Publishing).

Each of these novels, including America America, qualify as riveting reads, books of exceptional quality, worthy of stimulating discussion.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 800 bookstores in 50 states. The company is the nation’s top bookseller in quality, and for the fifth year in a row, the top bookseller brand, as determined by a combination of the brand’s performance on familiarity, quality, and purchase intent, according to the EquiTrend^® Brand Study by Harris Interactive^®. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company’s corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.