Hardcover Nonfiction

by Thomas L. Friedman · Farrar, Straus & Giroux

by Joan Didion · Knopf

by John Berendt · Penguin

by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner · Morrow

The New York Times best-selling Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling over four million copies in thirty-five languages and changing the way we look at the world. Now, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner return with SuperFreakonomics, and fans and newcomers alike will find that the freakquel is even bolder, funnier, and more surprising than the first. Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What's more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it's so ineffective? Can a sex change boost your salary? SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as: How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa? Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands? How much good do car seats do? What's the best way to catch a terrorist? Did TV cause a rise in crime? What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common? Are people hard-wired for altruism or selfishness? Can eating kangaroo save the planet? Which adds more value: a pimp or a Realtor? Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling like no one else, whether investigating a solution to global warming or explaining why the price of oral sex has fallen so drastically. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it really is – good, bad, ugly, and, in the final analysis, super freaky. Freakonomics has been imitated many times over – but only now, with SuperFreakonomics, has it met its match.

by Louis J. Freeh with Howard Means · St. Martin’s Press

A spectacular New York Times and Washington Post bestseller, My FBI is the definitive account of American law enforcement during the Clinton years and in the run-up to September 11. Louis Freeh is clear eyed, frank, the ultimate realist, and he offers resolute vision for the struggles ahead. Bill Clinton called Freeh a "law enforcement legend" when he nominated him as the Federal Bureau of Investigation Director. The good feelings would not last. Going toe-to-toe with his boss during the scandal-plagued '90s, Freeh fought hard to defend his agency from political interference and to protect America from the growing threat of international terrorism. When Clinton later called that appointment the worst one he had made as president, Freeh considered it "a badge of honor." This is Freeh's entire story, from his Catholic upbringing in New Jersey to law school, the FBI training academy, his career as a US District attorney and as a federal judge, and finally his eight years as the nation's top cop. This is the definitive account of American law enforcement in the run-up to September 11. Freeh is clear-eyed, frank, the ultimate realist, and he offers resolute vision for the struggles ahead. "[Freeh] comes off as the real deal, an honorable, hard-working man, a devoted public servant and father, a gifted lawyer and onetime federal prosecutor."--- The New York Times

by David McCullough · Simon & Schuster

America's most acclaimed historian presents the intricate story of the year of the birth of the United States of America. 1776 tells two gripping stories: how a group of squabbling, disparate colonies became the United States, and how the British Empire tried to stop them. This book destroys many popular myths about the wars of independence and reveals in fact how many Americans wished to remain British, and how many British had profound doubts about a military solution to the revolt. It shows that many of those fighting knew those on the other side well, and as the great decisions and battles of 1776 unfolded and attitudes hardened, the truly fratricidal nature of the conflict became clear. A must read. This exhilarating book is one of the great peices of historical narrative.

by Malcolm Gladwell · Little, Brown

Kennen Sie die kurzen Momente, in denen wir blitzartige Entscheidungen treffen - Momente, in denen wir denken, ohne zu denken?

by Carole Radziwill · Scribner

A glittery fairy tale stitched with unthinkable tragedy, this "New York Times" bestseller is the true American story about a girl from a small town who becomes an award-winning television producer and marries a prince, Anthony Radziwill, nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy.

by Kurt Vonnegut · Seven Stories

by John Grogan · Morrow

The story of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.--From publisher description.

by Christopher Kennedy Lawford · Morrow

At last, the first memoir from a Kennedy family member—an inspirational, candid, and explosive personal story sure to be one of the most sensational bestsellers of the year Christopher Kennedy Lawson was born to enormous privilege. But with fame, money, and power came tragedy and heartbreak. In this clear-eyed, sensitive, and compulsively readable autobiography, he breaks his family's long-held silence to a rare glimpse into the exclusive worlds of both Washington politicos and the Hollywood elite during the socially turbulent 1960s and 1970s. As the first born child of famed Rat Pack actor, Peter Lawford, and John F. Kennedy's sister, Patricia, Christopher Lawford was raised in Malibu and Martha's Vineyard with movie stars and presidents as close family members and friends. But this little boy who learned the twist thanks to private lessons from Marilyn Monroe would grow up to become a spoiled adolescent with a near-fatal jones for heroin and alcohol. With deep sincerity, Kennedy sets the record straight, sharing many never-before-told stories about the good, the bad, and the ugly in his life, including the deaths of his uncles, his parents' divorce and its effect, his hard-fought struggle to overcome addiction, his long-lasting sobriety, his acting career, and his relationships with his famous cousins and his own children. Surprisingly frank, Kennedy pulls no punches as he tells us what it's really like to be a member of America's first family.

by Alan Alda · Random House

One of America's most recognizable and acclaimed actors, the only person to ever win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing, Alda has written a memoir as elegant, funny, and affecting as his greatest performances. The son of a popular actor and a loving but mentally ill mother, he spent his early childhood backstage in the erotic and comic world of burlesque and went on, after early struggles, to achieve extraordinary success in his profession. Yet this is not a memoir of show-business ups and downs. It is a story of a boy growing into a man who then realizes he has only just begun to grow. Alda learns the hard way that change, uncertainty, and transformation are what life is made of, and true happiness is found in embracing them.--From publisher description.

by Bill Romanowski with Adam Schefter and Phil Towle · Morrow

Off the field, Bill Romanowski was a caring father and devoted husband. On the field, Romo was unstoppable, terrorizing the NFL for sixteen brutal years. Some players called him a throwback, some called him mean, some called him dirty. But they all respected him and would much rather have played with him than against him. Coaches loved Romo for the heart and soul he gave to the game. He was rewarded with two Pro Bowl appearances and four Super Bowl rings, but it all came at a heavy price: dozens of concussions that have led to dizzy spells, memory lapses...and questionable choices that undermined his integrity. Would he do it all over again? Romo the intimidating linebacker would in a heartbeat. Bill Romanowski, however, would do things differently today.

by Neil Strauss · ReganBooks/HarperCollins

THE 2.5 MILLION COPY SELLING WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON MEN WILL DENY IT, WOMEN WILL DOUBT IT. I BEG YOU FOR YOUR FORGIVENESS IN ADVANCE . . . The Game recounts the incredible adventures of an everyday man who transforms himself from a shy, awkward writer into the quick-witted, smooth-talking Style, a character irresistible to women. But just when life is better than he could ever have dreamed, he falls head over heels for a woman who can beat him at his own game. Jaw-dropping and hilarious, The Game reveals the naked truth about sex, love, relationships - and getting exactly what you want.

by Sylvia Browne with Lindsay Harrison · Dutton

by Simon Winchester · HarperCollins

An informative exploration of earthquakes places a particular focus on the San Francisco disaster of 1906, describing how it affected more than 200 miles of California, triggered a vast firestorm, and destroyed the gold-rush capital, in an account that reveals the geological underpinnings that caused the earthquake. (History)