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New Nonfiction Releases May 2017
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Are You Anybody?
by Jeffrey Tambor
An anthology of riotous autobiographical essays by the beloved Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor and star of Transparent and Arrested Development discusses such topics as his formative childhood years, his relationship with his depressive father and his enduring creative process.
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The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell
by W. Kamau Bell
A memoir and manifesto by the comedian, hit podcast host and star of United Shades of America shares intersectional progressive views on forefront issues ranging from race relations and law enforcement to right-wing politics and parenthood.
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Being a Dad Is Weird: Lessons in Fatherhood from My Family to Yours
by Ben Falcone
A lighthearted and intimate look at fatherhood from the director, writer and actor from The Boss and Tammy combines stories about his own larger-than-life dad and how his experiences raising two daughters with wife Melissa McCarthy have been shaped by his childhood.
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Between Them: Remembering My Parents
by Richard Ford
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the "Bascombe" novels presents a memoir in two parts on the lives of his parents in the Depression-era South that explores their motivations and dreams, his traveling salesman father's early death and the family's transient lives in a series of hotels.
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Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom
by Thomas E. Ricks
A dual portrait of Winston Churchill and George Orwell focuses on the pivotal years from the mid-1930s through the 1940s, describing how both suffered nearly fatal injuries before their vision and campaigns inspired action to preserve democracy throughout the world.
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Ernest Hemingway: A Biography
by Mary V. Dearborn
A full biography of Ernest Hemingway draws on a wide range of previously untapped material and offers particular insight into the private demons that both inspired and tormented his literary achievements.
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Goethe: Life as a Work of Art
by Rüdiger Safranski
A philosopher and popular biographer highlights the life of the man considered to be the Shakespeare of German literature, relying on his published works, primary sources, and the author’s correspondence with contemporaries to create an illuminating portrait.
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Jane Austen, the Secret Radical
by Helena Kelly
A reassessment of the life and work of Jane Austen the author makes clear how Austen has been misread for the past two centuries and shows us how Austen intended her books to be read, revealing, as well, how subversive and daring--how truly radical--a writer she was.
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Jimmy Buffett: A Good Life All the Way
by Ryan White
The acclaimed music critic explores the life, achievements and legacy of the iconic music artist and writer, tracing the experiences that shaped Buffett's career while celebrating the enduring culture he inspired.
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The Mighty Franks: A Memoir
by Michael Frank
A Los Angeles Times book critic chronicles his upbringing and education in an insular family of Hollywood screenwriters, describing how his once-beloved aunt's psychological illness forced him to reconstruct his senses of self and family.
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Mockingbird Songs: Harper Lee: A Friendship
by Wayne Flynt
A portrait of one of America's most beloved authors is presented through reminiscences and letters exchanged with one of her closest friends, describing how their respective experiences with the violent racism of the mid-20th-century American South shaped their families, careers and values.
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My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir
by Mark Lukach
A memoir of a young marriage that is defined by mental illness describes how the author's wife suffered mysterious psychotic breaks on either side of having a child, examining how the challenges of mental illness raise profound questions about love and responsibility.
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Two Paths: America Divided or United
by John Kasich
The Ohio governor, and vocal Republican critic of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, answers the burning question of our time: "Where do Americans go from here?" Do we head down the right path ... or the garden path?
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The Age of the Horse: An Equine Journey Through Human History
by Susanna Forrest
An evolutionary chronicle of the horse from its origins 56 million years ago to the present examines its prominent role in diverse societies throughout history, sharing anthropological details, personal anecdotes and archival materials to illustrate the parallel development of humans and horses.
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The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For
by David G. McCullough
A timely collection of speeches by one of the most honored historians in the United States—winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Book Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom—aims to remind readers of fundamental American principles.
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Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon
by Jeffrey Kluger
Citing the space race, Cold War and 1967 Apollo 1 tragedy, a riveting account of the harried mission to use an untested rocket to secure America's position as the first nation to reach the moon reveals the dangers endured by its crew and the ways the mission brought inspiration and renewal to an America ravaged by assassinations and war.
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Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
by Neil deGrasse Tyson
The notable host of StarTalk reveals just what people need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe.
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Careful: A User's Guide to Our Injury-Prone Minds
by Steve Casner
A research psychologist and NASA scientist reveals the psychological traps that can lead us into an accident and explains how the odds are the same whether we are a pilot, an acrobat, a parent, or a homeowner attempting to do repairs.
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Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom
by Condoleezza Rice
The controversial former Secretary of State traces her witness to key events throughout the past half century while assessing the evolution of global democracy and how it is under attack in all world regions.
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Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently
by Beau Lotto
The world-renowned neuroscientist, entrepreneur and two-time TED speaker explores how understandings about how the world is perceived can expand humanity's ability to create and innovate.
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The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir
by Alexandria Marzano-lesnevich
A National Endowment for the Arts fellow documents the story of how a summer job at a Louisiana law firm and the case of a convicted murderer and child molester changed her views about the death penalty and forced her to confront traumatic secrets in her own family.
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Falstaff: Give Me Life
by Harold Bloom
An award-winning author, beloved professor and one of the world’s foremost experts on Shakespeare provides an intimate and compelling portrait of the comic and tragic figure of Falstaff, a character in all three “Henry” plays.
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The Great Unknown: Seven Journeys to the Frontiers of Science
by Marcus Du Sautoy
The award-winning author of The Music of the Primes and popular presenter of Netflix's "The Story of Math" explores the once-ridiculed theories of history's greatest innovators and the outer reaches of human knowledge to consider what discoveries may lie beyond the predictive powers of science.
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On Edge: A Journey Through Anxiety
by Andrea Petersen
A compassionate account of living with anxiety, complemented by deep reportage on the science of anxiety disorders, traces the author's personal journey of trying to understand and manage her own case from neuroscientific, spiritual and genetic perspectives.
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Penguins of America
by James Patterson
A lavishly illustrated, humorous send-up of daily life by the award-winning writer and his son features riotous illustrations that show penguins formally dressed and satirizing routine human activities, from a relaxing day at the beach to a stressful morning commute.
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The Road to Camelot: Inside JFK’s Five-Year Campaign
by Thomas Oliphant
A behind-the-scenes account of the 35th President's journey to the White House includes coverage of his failed vice presidential nomination in 1956, the ways his Catholic faith challenged his campaigns and the successful efforts of his team of young advisors to reinvent the traditional party.
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Somebody with a Little Hammer: Essays
by Mary Gaitskill
This collection of essays from the author of Veronica, a National Book Award nominee, spans the past 20 years and offers literary, social, cultural and personal commentary on subjects as diverse as Anton Chekhov and Celine Dion.
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Spirit of the Horse: A Celebration in Face and Fableby William ShatnerAn anthology of personal and historical anecdotes collected by the Emmy Award-winning actor best known as Star Trek's Captain Kirk explores the remarkable impact of horses on human culture while reflecting on the work of his annual Hollywood Charity Horse Show.
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Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002
by David Sedaris
An anthology of personal favorite diary entries by the best-selling author of Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls features excerpts that have inspired his famed autobiographical essays and shares insights into the intimate arenas of his life.
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We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe
by Jorge Cham
The creator of PHD Comics and a University of California particle physicist blend infographics, cartoons and lighthearted scientific explanations to fill in gaps in layperson cosmological knowledge, offering coverage of topics ranging from quarks and neutrinos to gravitational wave and exploding black holes.
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Yawn: Adventures in Boredom
by Mary Mann
An incisive and often hilarious story of one of our most interesting cultural phenomena: boredom.
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