by Renée Fleming. (Viking; $24.95)

Classical-music insiders are not the only audience for this book, a kind of professional autobiography that mixes Letters to a Young Singer-style technical advice (“Taking a vague vocal concept from another singer is a little bit like sinking your life’s savings into a stock tip you overhear at a cocktail party”) with day-in-the-life bits that show how difficult it is to attain—and sustain—the life of a superstar. Occasional touches of writerly flair suggest the hand of Fleming’s friend and collaborator Ann Patchett, but some of the best passages (such as a moment-by-moment account of singing the role of Violetta in a performance of Verdi’s “La Traviata” at the Met) have a no-nonsense appeal that fits the image of Fleming as an unpretentious but deeply ambitious artist, driven forward by a sense of inadequacy yet buoyed by a keen awareness of her gifts.♦