New in Paperback

"The Brooklyn Follies," by Paul Auster (Picador). After a "sad and ridiculous life" in the suburbs, Nathan Glass, the hero of Auster's big-hearted novel, moves to Brooklyn, "looking for a quiet place to die." To pass the time, Nathan -- divorced, alone and alienated -- decides to write a book (not unlike Auster's) about human foolishness. A chance encounter with a long-lost nephew leads Nathan to a host of lively Park Slope characters, whose stories he collects as Auster's novel becomes a paean to the neighborhood's spirit and optimism before Sept. 11, 2001.

"Prayer: A History," by Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski (Mariner/Houghton Mifflin). Defining prayer as an "action that communicates between human and divine realms," the authors trace its long and rich history, from evidence of Neanderthal prayers for the dead to Franny's "Jesus Prayer" in J.D. Salinger's "Franny and Zooey."

"Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for Women Who Are Changing the World," by Holly Morris (Villard). Morris recounts how she chucked the desk life and staked her career on a multimedia pipe dream called "Adventure Divas," a documentary series about inspiring women from other cultures. (Defying the odds, the show ended up on PBS.)

"Mao: The Unknown Story," by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday (Anchor). Based on a decade of interviews and archival research, this biography makes an impassioned case that Mao Zedong was the most monstrous tyrant ever.

"The Turning: Stories," by Tim Winton (Scribner). These linked stories, set in or near the town of Angelus, on the western coast of Australia, mostly focus on working people -- fishermen, prospectors, housecleaners -- returning to their roots, or trying to escape them.

"The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century," by Steven Watts (Vintage). This fine biography portrays Ford (1863-1947) as not just a business genius but also a cultural pioneer who heralded and exploited the mobility, consumerism, leisure and image-making of 20th-century America.

"My Detachment: A Memoir," by Tracy Kidder (Random House). This is Kidder's unsparing account of his tour of duty in Vietnam.

"America (the Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction," by Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin and David Javerbaum (Warner). Irreverent and inspired, this parody of a civics textbook is a direct offshoot of Comedy Central's "Daily Show.

"Don't Get Too Comfortable," by David Rakoff. (Broadway, $12.95.) Rakoff delivers a canny grab bag of observations on excess and narcissism in America.