Complete books coverage for March 15, 2009

In the adventures of p.i. Bernie Gunther, Philip Kerr applies noir techniques to Hitler’s Germany.

The fifth annual Tournament of Books has begun online - be prepared for surprises.

This name-dropping, event-hopping fictional memoir of a Nazi tries very hard but fails in many respects.

The photographer’s stark, unvarnished photos depicting life in the U.S. are at the National Gallery of Art.

Beyond Eden, Adam and Eve and their children struggle in the author’s lyrical imagining of humanity’s first family.

The author makes a strong case for crediting Handy with creating the blues.

In his latest adventure, Manny Rupert goes undercover in San Quentin to find out whether a 97-year-old prisoner is really Josef Mengele, the Nazi “Angel of Death.”

Also: ‘Notes from No Man’s Land: American Essays,’ by Eula Bliss

Fiction weeks on list1.Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney(Amulet: $12.95) Greg’s dad enlists him in organized sports in order to toughen him up.7 2.Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality.31 3.Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. 34 4.The Associate by John Grisham (Doubleday : $27.95) Sinister forces use a law-school grad’s dark secret to blackmail him into working as a spy at his new firm, putting his life in danger.55.Promises in Death by J.D.

Fiction 1. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink ($13.95) 2. The Shack by William P. Young ($14.99) 3.

Author and literary events