The best-selling author of Devil in the White City documents the efforts of William E. Dodd, the first American ambassador to Hitler's Germany, to acclimate to a residence in an increasingly violent city where he is forced to associate with the Nazis while his daughter pursues a relationship with Gestapo chief Rudolf Diels.

The breakout star of Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock gives a humorous account of her life, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from her hit shows.

A re-creation of Hiram Bingham III's discovery of the ancient citadel of Machu Picchu, in the Andes Mountains of Peru. Describes Bingham's struggles with rudimentary survival tools and his experiences at the sides of local guides.

The best-selling author of 1776 tells the story of the generations of American artists, writers and doctors who traveled to Paris — the intellectual, scientific and artistic capital of the Western world — fell in love with the city and its people, and changed America through what they learned there.

Humor writer Richard Benson collects hilariously wrong test answers.

A collection of stories about animals that have forged unlikely, abiding bonds with other animals of different species, from Koko the gorilla and All Ball the kitten to Owen the hippo and the tortoise Mzee.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling numerous medical and scientific discoveries.

Traces how the author's investigation into an alleged hoax unexpectedly drew him into the mental-health industry, explaining how an influential psychologist revealed the psychopathic profiles of top CEOs and politicians while imparting strategies for recognizing psychopathic behavior. By the author of The Men Who Stare at Goats.

In 1945, a sightseeing trip over Shangri-La turned deadly when the plane crashed, leaving only three survivors who, battling for their survival, were caught between man-eating headhunters and the enemy Japanese. A real-life adventure drawn from personal interviews, declassified Army documents and personal photos and mementos.

Elizabeth Letts traces the story of a champion equine jumper and the Dutch farmer who rescued him from the slaughterhouse, recounting the way the farmer discovered the horse's jumping talents and trained him to compete against the world's most expensive thoroughbreds.

The Happiness Project chronicles the author's year spent testing the edicts of conventional wisdom to assess their potential for improving life, describing various activities ranging from getting more sleep and singing to her children to starting a blog and imitating a spiritual master.

Traces the parallel stories of 19th century art patron Charles Ephrussi and his unique collection of 264 miniature netsuke — Japanese ivory carvings — documenting Ephrussi's relationship with Marcel Proust and the impact of the Holocaust on his cosmopolitan family.

A full-length account based on an admired New Yorker article that traces the experiences of classmates Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, who in 1916 left their affluent New York lives to teach school on the Western frontier.

The story of a Nebraska pastor's 4-year-old son, who loses consciousness during surgery, sees a vision of heaven and meets Jesus' special horse.

Joan Didion shares frank observations about the death of her daughter, about her own thoughts and fears about having children and growing old, and about her feelings of failure as a parent.