THE UNKNOWN MATISSE: A Life of Henri Matisse–The Early Years, 1869–1908. By Hilary Spurling. Knopf. 480 pp. $40.
THE AMATEUR: An Independent Life of Letters. By Wendy Lesser. Pantheon. 274 pp. $24
PREEMPTING THE HOLOCAUST. By Lawrence L. Langer. Yale Univ. Press. 207 pp. $27.50
GRAY DAWN: How the Coming Age Wave Will Transform America—and the World. By Peter G. Peterson. Times Books. 280 pp. $23
LUXURY FEVER: Why Money Fails to Satisfy in an Era of Excess. By Robert H. Frank. Free Press. 336 pp. $25
VIRTUAL REALISM. By Michael Heim. Oxford Univ. Press. 264 pp. $26
CHILDREN OF PROMETHEUS: The Accelerating Pace of Human Evolution. By Christopher Wills. Perseus Books. 288 pp. $25
SURVIVAL OF THE PRETTIEST: The Science of Beauty. By Nancy Etcoff. Doubleday. 325 pp. $23.95
As President Nelson Mandela prepares to step down, critics charge that he leaves South Africa bound on a course to disaster. But the problems that remain pale beside the magnitude of Mandela's accomplishments.