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The Mark Inside
A Perfect Swindle, A Cunning Revenge, And A Small History Of The Big Con
A narrative history of con artistry in America documents the early twentieth-century efforts of J. Frank Norfleet to track down a gang of confidence men who swindled him out of everything he had.
News and Reviews
The Storytelling Animal
How Stories Make Us Human
Explores the latest beliefs about why people tell stories and what stories reveal about human nature, offering insights into such related topics as universal themes and what it means to have a storytelling brain.
News and Reviews
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
Traces the author's lifelong search for happiness as the adopted daughter of Pentecostal parents who raised her through practices of fierce control and paranoia, an experience that prompted her to search for her biological mother.NPR Bestseller
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In the Garden Of Beasts
Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
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.NPR Bestseller
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The Greater Journey
Americans in Paris
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.NPR Bestseller
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Nothing Daunted
The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West
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.NPR Bestseller
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Talking Back to Facebook
The Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age
The founder of Common Sense Media counsels parents and teachers on how to protect children from vulnerabilities in today's online and social technology outlets, providing coverage of such topics as content filters, unhealthy media messages, ADD and privacy.
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A Wilderness of Error
The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald
Writer, filmmaker and former private detective Errol Morris suggests that Jeffrey MacDonald, the Army doctor and infamous "Green Beret killer," might not be guilty after all. MacDonald was convicted more than 30 years ago of murdering his family, despite his claim that his loved ones were slaughtered by four hippies.
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Johnny Appleseed
The Man, the Myth, the American Story
Provided by publisher.
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Bunch of Amateurs
A Search for the American Character
Journalist Jack Hitt examines how the amateur status of everyday Americans is helping to drive the nation's success and sense of identity, documenting his visits to garages throughout the country where he has surveyed promising innovations.
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Born To Run
A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
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.NPR Bestseller
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Popular Crime
Reflections on the Celebration of Violence
The author of Baseball Abstracts presents a cultural analysis of sensational crime in America that profiles such infamous cases as the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, the Black Dahlia murder and O.J. Simpson's trial to offer insight into topics ranging from crime rats and evidence practices to prison reform and radicalism. 100,000 first printing.
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Breasts
A Natural and Unnatural History
Draws from the fields of anthropology, biology, and medicine to describe the life cycle of the human female breast, from puberty to pregnancy to menopause, and discusses the organ's modern susceptibility to toxins and disease.
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Notes On A Century
Reflections of a Middle East Historian
Presents the life and career of the Middle East specialist, from his professional relationships with world leaders to his accomplishments in world politics, and offers the author's analysis of the political transformation of the region.
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Mr. Hornaday's War
How a Peculiar Victorian Zookeeper Waged a Lonely Crusade for Wildlife That Changed the World
Recounts the life of the conservationist, who spent his life protecting wildlife as a taxidermist and museum collector; as the founder and first director of the National Zoo; as director of the Bronx Zoo; and as an author.
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My Father's Name
A Black Virginia Family after the Civil War
Lawrence P. Jackson goes on a quest from Baltimore to Pittsylvania County, Va., to find the home that once belonged to his late grandfather. Part detective story, part memoir, Jackson traces his family's roots back to his grandfather's grandfather who was born or sold into slavery. My Father's Name is a detailed, historical portrait of an African-American Virginian family and a meditation on slavery and the struggles of postbellum freedom.
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Guest of Honor
Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner That Shocked a Nation
Traces the story of the 1901 White House dinner shared by the slave-turned-African-American-political-leader and the 26th President, documenting the ensuing scandal and the ways in which the event reflected period politics and race relations.
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City of Scoundrels
The Twelve Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago
Documents the harrowing twelve-day period in Chicago in 1919 during which a blimp crash, a race riot, a crippling transit strike, and a sensational child murder case challenged the city's modernization efforts.
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A Rich Spot of Earth
Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello
Peter Hatch traces the history of Thomas Jefferson's vegetable garden, which has been painstakingly restored by the author, from the artichokes and asparagus first planted in 1770 through the horticultural experiments of Jefferson's retirement years.
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The Devil in the White City
Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
An account of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 relates the stories of two men who shaped the history of the event — architect Daniel H. Burnham, who coordinated its construction, and serial killer Herman Mudgett.NPR Bestseller, Literary Award Winner
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The Passage Of Power
The Years Of Lyndon Johnson
Examines Lyndon Johnson's volatile relationships with John and Robert Kennedy, describes JFK's assassination from Johnson's viewpoint and recounts his accomplishments as president before they were overshadowed by the Vietnam War.NPR Bestseller
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Drift
The Unmooring Of American Military Power
Identifying what the author believes to be a battle between the priorities of civilian life and war, the host of the critically acclaimed The Rachel Maddow Show explains that today's focus on national security is actually compromising national stability and traces the historical events and contributing factors that have promoted a deeply militarized American culture.NPR Bestseller
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Prague Winter
A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948
The former secretary of state paints a portrait of her early life from 1937 to 1948 during which she witnessed the Nazi invasion of her native Prague, the Holocaust, the defeat of fascism, the rise of communism, and the onset of the Cold War.NPR Bestseller
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Imagine
How Creativity Works
An examination of the new science of creativity explains how it involves distinct thought processes that can be tapped by anyone, revealing the practices of successful companies and creative individuals while considering how to use scientific principles to increase creativity.NPR Bestseller
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Manhunt
The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden From 9/11 to Abbottabad
The author of the best-selling Holy War, Inc. presents a definitive account of the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden, sharing coverage of such topics as the CIA analyst team that gathered critical intelligence and what bin Laden's demise means for al-Qaida.NPR Bestseller
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Fug You
An Informal History of the Peace Eye Bookstore, the Fuck You Press, The Fugs, and Counterculture in the Lower East Side
Former Fug Ed Sanders' memoir of his wild life on New York's Lower East Side in the 1960s.
