NONFICTION - April 21, 1991

BIOSPHERE 2: The Human Experiment by John Allen (Penguin: $16.95). Beginning this month, eight scientists will inhabit a self-contained Earth-simulated glass dome; the preparations are revealed here.

PASSION AND PREJUDICE: A Family Memoir by Sallie Bingham (Applause: $12.95). Avowed feminist has never backed down from the claim that her public auctioning of family’s Pulitzer Prize-winning stock and airing of feuds, frauds and secrets were instrumental in the Louisville Courier-Journal’s demise.

ASIAN AMERICA: Chinese and Japanese in the United States Since 1850, by Roger Daniels (University of Washington: $17.50). Study of the socioeconomic and political development of these two distinct cultures over almost two centuries in their primary adopted land.

IN THE ARENA: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat and Renewal by Richard Nixon (Pocket: $5.95). Former President redefines his roles in Watergate and Vietnam and also takes strong positions on U.S. relationships with China and the Soviet Union.

FICTION

FAMILY PICTURES by Sue Miller (Harper: $5.95). Four decades of the impact that an autistic child has on his parents’ marriage and siblings’ relationships.

LONDON FIELDS by Martin Amis (Vintage: $11). Acerbic author envisions a London that deteriorates under the weight of its own economic, political, social and gender divisiveness.

THE FLOATING WORLD by Cynthia Kadohata (Ballentine: $4.95). Olivia, a 12-year-old Japanese-American, recounts what it was like for her migrant extended family in the 1950s.

CAPTAIN BUTTERFLY by Bob Leuci (Signet: $4.50). Veteran Marjorie Butera is NYPD’s new head of Internal Affairs, but she still has to work through a male subordinate to discipline one of her precinct commanders.