Editors" Choice - List - NYTimes.com POPS: A Life of Louis Armstrong, by Terry Teachout (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $30.) Teachout's biography maintains that discomfort with Armstrong's public persona has led detractors to minimize his enormous contributions to music and civilization. POSING BEAUTY: African American Images From the 1890s to the Present, by Deborah Willis (Norton, $49.95.) More than 200 arresting photographs convey the complexity and scope of black beauty. JAZZ, by Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux (Norton, $39.95.) This entertaining history emphasizes the sociological forces that have shaped the music and offers detailed analyses of 78 representative recordings. Edited by Sonu Shamdasani. Translated by Mark Kyburz, John Peck and Sonu Shamdasani (Norton, $195.) A facsimile and translation of the personal volume in which Carl Jung recorded and illuminated his own visions. CLEAVING: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession, by Julie Powell (Little, Brown, $24.99.) The "Julie & Julia" author explores butchery and her darker side. THE GREAT AND ONLY BARNUM: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P. T. Barnum, by Candace Fleming. Illustrated by Ray Fenwick (Schwartz & Wade, $18.99; ages 8 to 12.) A vivid biography with sidebars and fascinating period photos. Dear James:Letters to a Young Illustrator, by R. O. Blechman. Simon & Schuster, $21. With these plainspoken, charming "letters," the renowned illustrator counsels an imaginary pen pal in his trade. THE GASTRONOMY OF MARRIAGE: A Memoir of Food and Love, by Michelle Maisto (Random House, paper, $15.) An engaged couple in the kitchen. Illustrated by Yoko Tanaka (Candlewick, $16.99; ages 8 to 13.) A magician makes a comic and sinister mistake. More Articles in Books " A version of this article appeared in print on December 13, 2009, on page BR26 of the New York edition.