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A Tear at the Edge of Creation

A Tear at the Edge of Creation

A Radical New Vision for Life in an Imperfect Universe

by Marcelo Gleiser

Hardcover, 285 pages, Simon & Schuster, $25, published April 6 2010 | purchase
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  • A Tear at the Edge of Creation
  • A Radical New Vision for Life in an Imperfect Universe
  • Marcelo Gleiser

A physics and philosophy professor challenges modern beliefs about the definable nature of the cosmos, arguing that all things exist because of random imperfections, primordial asymmetries and outright accidents, in a report that also cites the importance of caring for the planet.

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Religion Without God

by Ronald Dworkin

Hardcover, 176 pages, Harvard Univ Pr, $17.95, published October 1 2013 | purchase
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  • Religion Without God
  • Ronald Dworkin
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The Unwinding

The Unwinding

An Inner History of the New America

by George Packer

Hardcover, 434 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, $27, published May 21 2013 | purchase
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  • The Unwinding
  • An Inner History of the New America
  • George Packer

A New Yorker staff writer paints a picture of the last 30 years of life in America by following several citizens, including the son of Southern tobacco farmers, a Washington insider who denies his idealism for riches and a Silicon Valley billionaire.

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Into the Abyss

Into the Abyss

An Extraordinary True Story

by Carol Shaben

Hardcover, 311 pages, Grand Central Pub, $25, published May 21 2013 | purchase
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  • Into the Abyss
  • An Extraordinary True Story
  • Carol Shaben

Four men, including the author's politician father, a pilot, a cop and a handcuffed criminal, fight to stay alive in the northern Alberta wilderness after surviving a commuter plane crash that killed six others.

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Eleven Rings

Eleven Rings

The Soul of Success

by Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty

Hardcover, 356 pages, Penguin Group USA, $27.95, published May 21 2013 | purchase
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  • Eleven Rings
  • The Soul of Success
  • Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty

The head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers traces the life experiences and philosophies that inspired his championship-winning techniques, citing his relationships with such players as Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Kobe Bryant while describing how he forged successful teams by combining talents and promoting trust.

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Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace

Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace

The Private Diary Of A Victorian Lady

by Kate Summerscale

Paperback, 303 pages, St Martins Pr, $17, published May 21 2013 | purchase
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  • Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace
  • The Private Diary Of A Victorian Lady
  • Kate Summerscale

In 1858, Isabella Robinson's husband read her private diary in which she'd recorded her infatuation with another married man, including descriptions of what were either trysts or sexual fantasies. Mr. Robinson petitioned a divorce, which England had just made legal, on the grounds of adultery. Kate Summerscale traces the true story of the scandalous trial that ensued.

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Dinner: A Love Story

Dinner

A Love Story

by Jenny Rosenstrach

Paperback, 336 pages, HarperCollins, $19.99, published May 21 2013 | purchase
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  • Dinner
  • A Love Story
  • Jenny Rosenstrach

Based on her blog, Jenny Rosenstrach's cookbook memoir makes clear that family dinner does not have to be perfect. With recipes for home cooks at any level, she captures the frenetic nature and craziness of dinner and reveals how to break down the meal so that families can enjoy good food and simply be together.

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My First Coup D'Etat

My First Coup D'Etat

And Other True Stories From The Lost Decades Of Africa

by John Dramani Mahama

Paperback, 318 pages, St Martins Pr, $16, published May 14 2013 | purchase
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  • My First Coup D'Etat
  • And Other True Stories From The Lost Decades Of Africa
  • John Dramani Mahama

In 1966, a military coup overthrew Ghana's first president. At the time, John Dramani Mahama was 7 years old and his father, a minister in the government, disappeared and was imprisoned for more than a year. Today, Mahama is the vice president of Ghana. Mahama's memoir recounts his urban life with his father and his rural experiences in his mother's village.

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Waiting to Be Heard

Waiting To Be Heard

A Memoir

by Amanda Knox

Hardcover, 463 pages, HarperCollins, $28.99, published April 30 2013 | purchase
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  • Waiting To Be Heard
  • A Memoir
  • Amanda Knox

The young exchange student whose conviction and acquittal on murder charges in Italy made headlines worldwide tells the full story of her ordeal.NPR Bestseller

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That's That

That's That

by Colin Broderick

Paperback, 359 pages, Random House Inc, $15, published May 7 2013 | purchase
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  • That's That
  • Colin Broderick

Colin Broderick grew up in Northern Ireland — the heart of rebel country — during the period of heightened tension and violence known as the Troubles. His memoir recounts how he and his brothers struggled to understand the events happening around them.

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Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls

by David Sedaris

Hardcover, 275 pages, Little Brown & Co, $27, published April 23 2013 | purchase
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  • Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls
  • David Sedaris

A collection of essays by the humorist traces his offbeat travel experiences, which involve surreal encounters with everything from French dentistry and Australian kookaburras to Beijing squat toilets and a wilderness Costco in North Carolina.NPR Bestseller

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Cooked

Cooked

A Natural History of Transformation

by Michael Pollan

Hardcover, 468 pages, Penguin Group USA, $27.95, published April 23 2013 | purchase
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  • Cooked
  • A Natural History of Transformation
  • Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen. There, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements — fire, water, air and earth — to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. And he discovers that the cook occupies a special place in the world, standing squarely between nature and culture.NPR Bestseller

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Lean In

Lean In

Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

by Sheryl Sandberg

Hardcover, 228 pages, Random House Inc, $24.95, published March 11 2013 | purchase
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  • Lean In
  • Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
  • Sheryl Sandberg

Facebook's chief operating officer shares provocative, anecdotal advice for women, urging them to take risks and seek new challenges to find work that they can love and engage in passionately.NPR Bestseller

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I Could Pee on This

I Could Pee On This

And Other Poems By Cats

by Francesco Marciuliano

Hardcover, 111 pages, Chronicle Books, $12.95, published August 15 2012 | purchase
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  • I Could Pee On This
  • And Other Poems By Cats
  • Francesco Marciuliano

Francesco Marciuliano, author of the comic strip Sally Forth, gives voice to the thoughts and feelings of cats in this collection of poems attributed to felines.NPR Bestseller

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Mom & Me & Mom

Mom & Me & Mom

by Maya Angelou

Hardcover, 201 pages, Random House Inc, $22, published April 2 2013 | purchase
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  • Mom & Me & Mom
  • Maya Angelou

The celebrated author shares the intimate story of her relationship with her mother, including the events that prompted her mother to send young Angelou to Arkansas to live with her grandmother, and the complicated fallout that shaped their family life.NPR Bestseller

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Gulp

Gulp

Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

by Mary Roach

Hardcover, 336 pages, W W Norton & Co Inc, $26.95, published April 1 2013 | purchase
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  • Gulp
  • Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
  • Mary Roach

The author of Stiff, about corpses, and Spook, about the afterlife, now explores the living human body. Gulp follows the digestive system from the mouth to the ... south, discussing food flavors, rectum uses, flatulence and the functions of saliva, among many other alimentary topics.NPR Bestseller

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Help, Thanks, Wow

Help, Thanks, Wow

The Three Essential Survival Prayers

by Anne Lamott

Hardcover, 102 pages, Penguin Group USA, $17.95, published November 13 2012 | purchase
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  • Help, Thanks, Wow
  • The Three Essential Survival Prayers
  • Anne Lamott

Help, Thanks, Wow describes the three simple prayers — asking for assistance from a higher power, expressing gratitude and feeling awe — that help to deal with the hardships of daily life.NPR Bestseller

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My Beloved World

My Beloved World

A Memoir

by Sonia Sotomayor

Hardcover, 320 pages, Random House Inc, $27.95, published January 15 2013 | purchase
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  • My Beloved World
  • A Memoir
  • Sonia Sotomayor

The first Hispanic-American on the U.S. Supreme Court shares the story of her life before becoming a judge, describing such experiences as her youth in a Bronx housing project, her relationship with a passionately spiritual grandparent, the ambition that fueled her Ivy League education, and the individuals who helped shape her career.NPR Bestseller

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The Drunken Botanist

The Drunken Botanist

The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks

by Amy Stewart

Hardcover, 381 pages, Workman Pub Co, $19.95, published March 19 2013 | purchase
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  • The Drunken Botanist
  • The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks
  • Amy Stewart

From beer to bourbon, and martinis to Manhattans, all the world's alcoholic drinks come from plants. Garden writer Amy Stewart explores the plants behind our favorite cocktails: the fruits and grains that become alcohol; the herbs that add flavor; and the garnishes and mixers that add the finishing touches.NPR Bestseller

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Wild

Wild

From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

by Cheryl Strayed

Paperback, 315 pages, Random House Inc, $15.95, published March 26 2013 | purchase
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  • Wild
  • From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
  • Cheryl Strayed

At 22, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington state — and she would do it alone.NPR Bestseller

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Quiet

Quiet

The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

by Susan Cain

Paperback, 352 pages, Random House Inc, $16, published January 29 2013 | purchase
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  • Quiet
  • The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
  • Susan Cain

Susan Cain demonstrates how introverted people are misunderstood and undervalued in modern culture, charting the rise of extrovert ideology while sharing anecdotal examples of how to use introvert talents to adapt to various situations.NPR Bestseller

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Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake

Lots Of Candles, Plenty Of Cake

A Memoir of a Woman's Life

by Anna Quindlen

Paperback, 182 pages, Random House Inc, $15, published April 23 2013 | purchase
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  • Lots Of Candles, Plenty Of Cake
  • A Memoir of a Woman's Life
  • Anna Quindlen

A candid and whimsical memoir that explores what matters to middle-aged women.NPR Bestseller

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Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast And Slow

by Daniel Kahneman

Paperback, 499 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, $16, published April 2 2013 | purchase
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  • Thinking, Fast And Slow
  • Daniel Kahneman

A psychologist draws on years of research to introduce his "machinery of the mind" model on human decision-making, revealing the faults and capabilities of intuitive versus logical thinking.NPR Bestseller

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What My Mother Gave Me

What My Mother Gave Me

Thirty-One Women on the Gifts That Mattered Most

by Elizabeth Benedict

Paperback, 289 pages, Workman Pub Co, $15.95, published April 2 2013 | purchase
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  • What My Mother Gave Me
  • Thirty-One Women on the Gifts That Mattered Most
  • Elizabeth Benedict

A collection of essays in which daughters remember their relationships with their mothers and the complicated bonds they shared with them, symbolized by gifts or memories of emotional encounters.NPR Bestseller

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Why Does the World Exist?

Why Does The World Exist?

An Existential Detective Story

by Jim Holt

Paperback, 320 pages, W W Norton & Co Inc, $16.95, published April 8 2013 | purchase
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  • Why Does The World Exist?
  • An Existential Detective Story
  • Jim Holt

The search for the origins of the universe extends beyond God and the Big Bang theory; a philosopher explores the bizarre possibilities inspired by physicists, theologians, mathematicians and even novelists.NPR Bestseller

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Escape from Camp 14

Escape From Camp 14

One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West

by Blaine Harden

Paperback, 210 pages, Penguin Group USA, $15, published March 26 2013 | purchase
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  • Escape From Camp 14
  • One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West
  • Blaine Harden

Until his early 20s, the only life Shin Dong-hyuk had ever known was one of constant beatings, near starvation and snitching on others to survive. Born into one of the worst of North Korea's system of prison camps, Shin was doomed to a life of hard labor and an early death. But when he was 23, he managed to elude the guards and escape. Reporter Blaine Harden tells the tale of Shin's imprisonment and astounding getaway.NPR Bestseller

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Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

by Mindy Kaling

Paperback, 222 pages, Three Rivers Press, $14, published September 18 2012 | purchase
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  • Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
  • Mindy Kaling

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.NPR Bestseller

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Bossypants

Bossypants

by Tina Fey

Paperback, 275 pages, Little Brown & Co, $15.99, published January 3 2012 | purchase
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  • Bossypants
  • Tina Fey

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.NPR Bestseller

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Darwin's Ghosts

Darwin's Ghosts

The Secret History of Evolution

by Rebecca Stott

Hardcover, 396 pages, Random House Inc, $27, published June 12 2012 | purchase
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  • Darwin's Ghosts
  • The Secret History of Evolution
  • Rebecca Stott

Evolution was not discovered single-handedly, Rebecca Stott argues, contrary to what has become standard lore, but is an idea that emerged over many centuries, advanced by daring individuals across the globe who had the imagination to speculate on nature's extraordinary ways, and who had the courage to articulate such speculations at a time when to do so was often considered heresy.

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Looking for Leroy

Looking for Leroy

Illegible Black Masculinities

by Mark Anthony Neal

Paperback, 207 pages, New York Univ Pr, $22, published April 22 2013 | purchase
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  • Looking for Leroy
  • Illegible Black Masculinities
  • Mark Anthony Neal
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Make Good Art

Make Good Art

by Neil Gaiman and Chip Kidd

Hardcover, p. cm., HarperCollins, $12.99, published May 14 2013 | purchase
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  • Make Good Art
  • Neil Gaiman and Chip Kidd

Presents the full text of the author's commencement address at Philadelphia's University of the Arts in 2012, in which he offered his thoughts on creativity, bravery, and strength and urged the graduates to break rules and make good art.

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The Savior Generals

The Savior Generals

How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost-From Ancient Greece to Iraq

by Victor Davis Hanson

Hardcover, 305 pages, St Martins Pr, $28, published May 14 2013 | purchase
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  • The Savior Generals
  • How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost-From Ancient Greece to Iraq
  • Victor Davis Hanson

Traces the stories of Themistocles, Belisarius, William Tecumseh Sherman, Matthew Ridgway, and David Petraeus, evaluating their pivotal military roles and the controversies that marked their careers.

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Tiger Babies Strike Back

Tiger Babies Strike Back

How I Was Raised by a Tiger Mom but Could Not Be Turned to the Dark Side

by Kim Wong Keltner

Paperback, 254 pages, HarperCollins, $13.99, published April 30 2013 | purchase
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  • Tiger Babies Strike Back
  • How I Was Raised by a Tiger Mom but Could Not Be Turned to the Dark Side
  • Kim Wong Keltner

The author examines her family history and upbringing to expose the harmful effects of a Chinese style of parenting which emphasizes perfection and overachievement and advocates that parents instead give their children unconditional love and acceptance.

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Impossible Odds

Impossible Odds

The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by Seal Team Six

by Jessica Buchanan, Erik Landemalm and Anthony Flacco

Hardcover, 310 pages, Pocket Books, $26, published May 14 2013 | purchase
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  • Impossible Odds
  • The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by Seal Team Six
  • Jessica Buchanan, Erik Landemalm, et al

In January 2012, aid worker Jessica Buchanan, a co-author of this book, was rescued from kidnappers in Somalia. She was saved by members of a Navy SEAL Team Six unit that was also responsible for the demise of Osama bin Laden, and this account of her capture and rescue offers insight into the effective use of targeted U.S. military missions.

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The Guns at Last Light

The Guns at Last Light

The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945

by Rick Atkinson

Hardcover, 877 pages, Henry Holt & Co, $40, published May 14 2013 | purchase
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  • The Guns at Last Light
  • The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945
  • Rick Atkinson

The final volume of the World War II trilogy brings to life the Allies' brutal struggles in Normandy and at the Battle of the Bulge, as well as the freeing of Paris as experienced by participants from every level of the military.NPR Bestseller

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Algerian Chronicles

Algerian Chronicles

by Albert Camus

Hardcover, 224 pages, Harvard Univ Pr, $21.95, published May 6 2013 | purchase
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  • Algerian Chronicles
  • Albert Camus

Author Albert Camus' agonized reflections on Algeria and the dead end of terrorism are gathered here in English for the first time. Translated by Arthur Goldhammer.

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The Passage of Power

The Passage Of Power

The Years Of Lyndon Johnson

by Robert A. Caro

Paperback, 768 pages, Vintage, $18.95, published May 7 2013 | purchase
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  • The Passage Of Power
  • The Years Of Lyndon Johnson
  • Robert A. Caro

Robert Caro has spent decades researching Lyndon Johnson's life; previous books in his massive biography of Johnson told the story of Johnson's rise to national prominence. In this fourth volume, Caro takes up Johnson's dismal years as vice president and his sudden presidency, which he used to shepherd the 1964 Civil Rights Act through Congress.

NPR Bestseller

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