Home
archive
The Gateway Arch
A Biography
A surprising history of the spectacular Gateway Arch in St. Louis details the competing agendas of its supporters and the mixed results of their ambitious plan.
News and Reviews
Cockpit Confidential
Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers & Reflections
The author of the online feature Ask the Pilot addresses common passenger questions and concerns.
News and Reviews
The Last of the Doughboys
The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War
Richard Rubin presents interviews with the last remaining World War I veterans, aged 101 to 113, to paint a picture of a time and a generation that, despite memorials and history lessons, is quickly fading away.
News and Reviews
Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls
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
News and Reviews
Lean In
Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
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
News and Reviews
Cooked
A Natural History of Transformation
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
News and Reviews
The Guns at Last Light
The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945
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
News and Reviews
I Could Pee On This
And Other Poems By Cats
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
News and Reviews
Country Girl
A Memoir
The Irish novelist, poet and playwright presents a lyrical narrative of her life that describes her convent school education in Ireland, the scandal that ensued upon the publication of her first novel and the wild 1960s parties that introduced her to people from all walks of life. NPR Bestseller
News and Reviews
Help, Thanks, Wow
The Three Essential Survival Prayers
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
News and Reviews
Gulp
Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
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
News and Reviews
The Drunken Botanist
The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks
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
News and Reviews
Wild
From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
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
News and Reviews
Quiet
The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
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
News and Reviews
Thinking, Fast And Slow
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
News and Reviews
Lots Of Candles, Plenty Of Cake
A Memoir of a Woman's Life
A candid and whimsical memoir that explores what matters to middle-aged women.NPR Bestseller
News and Reviews
Why Does The World Exist?
An Existential Detective Story
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
News and Reviews
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
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
News and Reviews
Bossypants
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
News and Reviews
Escape From Camp 14
One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West
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
News and Reviews
F In Exams
The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers
Humor writer Richard Benson collects hilariously wrong test answers.NPR Bestseller
News and Reviews
The Swerve
How the World Became Modern
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.NPR Bestseller, Literary Award Winner
News and Reviews
Yes, Chef
A Memoir
The Top Chef: Masters winner and James Beard Award-winning proprietor of Harlem's Red Rooster traces his Ethiopian birth, upbringing by an adoptive family in Sweden and rise to a famous New York chef, sharing personal insights into his challenges as a black man in a deeply prejudiced industry.NPR Bestseller
News and Reviews
A Tear at the Edge of Creation
A Radical New Vision for Life in an Imperfect Universe
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.
News and Reviews
Religion Without God
News and Reviews
The Unwinding
An Inner History of the New America
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.
News and Reviews
Into the Abyss
An Extraordinary True Story
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.
News and Reviews
Eleven Rings
The Soul of Success
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.
News and Reviews
Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace
The Private Diary Of A Victorian Lady
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.
News and Reviews
Dinner
A Love Story
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.
News and Reviews
My First Coup D'Etat
And Other True Stories From The Lost Decades Of Africa
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.
News and Reviews
Waiting To Be Heard
A Memoir
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
News and Reviews
That's That
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.
