Sunday books for July 4, 2010.

John, Paul, George and Ringo split in 1970, but they were still in business together. It wasn’t harmonious.

The author delves into shogun-era Japan. It’s a fiasco of missed signals and worse misunderstandings, although not a total flop — it features some of Mitchell’s most luscious writing yet.

With ‘Hailey’s War,’ Jodi Compton makes a comeback — of sorts.

The origins and applications of steam power is told lovingly and with playfulness.

Essays, interviews, feedback and obituaries from the literary provocateur.

Want to catch up on your reading without cracking open a book? Here are some offerings just for you.

Splendid but esoteric, sketches by the Swiss modernist touch on a wide array of topics and focus on the strange behavior of his characters.

‘Deep Blue Home: An Intimate Ecology of Our Wild Ocean’ by Julia Whitty, and more