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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Recounts the author's experiences with the reclusive Tarahumara Indians, whose techniques allow them to run long distances with ease, and describes his training for a 50-mile race with the tribe and a number of ultramarathoners.

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.

This narrative account of President James Garfield's political career offers insight into his background as a scholar and Civil War hero; his battles against the corrupt establishment; and Alexander Graham Bell's failed attempt to save him from an assassin's bullet.

The author of Blink identifies the qualities of successful people, posing theories about the cultural, family and idiosyncratic factors that shape high achievers, in a resource that covers such topics as the secrets of software billionaires, why certain cultures are associated with better academic performance, and why The Beatles earned their fame.

Austin Kleon offers advice and encouragement to help readers foster creativity and be artistically productive in a wide variety of endeavors.

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.

Having achieved the seemingly unachievable — becoming a U.S. memory champion — Foer shows how anyone with enough training and determination can achieve mastery of his memory.