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.

A humanities professor describes the impact of the translation of the last remaining manuscript of On the Nature of Things by Roman philosopher Lucretius, which fueled the Renaissance and inspired artists, great thinkers and scientists.

Spanning four remarkable decades, this collection includes the best-selling author's early writings on civil rights and international incidents, as well as his inflammatory — and now infamous — columns on the Clintons, the Catholic Church, Mother Teresa and radical Islam.

Half the Sky discusses the oppression of women in the developing world and shares stories of victims and survivors who are working to raise awareness, counter abuse and campaign for women's rights.

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 Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Peter the Great presents a reconstruction of the 18th century empress's life that covers such topics as her efforts to engage Russia in the cultural life of Europe, her creation of the Hermitage art collection and her numerous scandal-free romantic affairs.

The writer and actor best known for her role on The Office shares observations on everything from favorite male archetypes and her hatred of dieting to her relationship with her mother and the haphazard creative process of The Office's writers' room.

The Almanac returns with weather predictions; astronomical data; gardening advice; and ideas, hints and charts that provide simple solutions for everyday challenges.

Piecing together common-sense observations with scenes from her own life, a major media personality in the U.K. sheds new light on feminism, discussing the reasons why female rights and empowerment are essential issues for both women and society itself.

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 author of The Big Short describes the effect that the bubble of cheap credit — readily available to almost anyone from 2002 to 2008 — had on countries besides the U.S., including Iceland, Greece and Germany.

F for Effort! presents a collection of incorrect yet humorous test answers from real students, from an elementary student claiming that "two halves make a whale" to a high schooler who credits Galileo with inventing the solar system.

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.

A collection of advice on everything from infidelity and grief to marital boredom and financial hardships from Cheryl Strayed's popular "Dear Sugar" column in the online magazine The Rumpus.

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.