We may love books, but do we know what lies behind them? In THE BOOK, Keith Houston reveals that the paper, ink, thread, glue and board from which a book is made tell as rich a story as the words on its pages --- of civilizations, empires, human ingenuity and madness. In an invitingly tactile history of this 2,000-year-old medium, Houston follows the development of writing, printing, the art of illustrations and binding to show how we have moved from cuneiform tablets and papyrus scrolls to the hardcovers and paperbacks of today.

In 1953, a 27-year-old factory worker named Henry Molaison --- who suffered from severe epilepsy --- received a radical new version of the then-common lobotomy, targeting the most mysterious structures in the brain. The operation failed to eliminate Henry’s seizures, but it did have an unintended effect: Henry was left profoundly amnesic, unable to create long-term memories. Over the next 60 years, Patient H.M., as Henry was known, became the most studied individual in the history of neuroscience, a human guinea pig who would teach us much of what we know about memory today. Luke Dittrich’s investigation into the dark roots of modern memory science ultimately forces him to confront unsettling secrets in his own family history.

While in the midst of the Great Depression, Big Sam sees himself as a righteous, truth-seeking patriot, defending the American way against a rising tide of left-wing unionism, strikes and disruption that plague his home town. At the same time, he makes monthly, secret overnight trips on behalf of Cousin Joseph, a mysterious man on the phone he has never laid eyes on, to pay off Hollywood producers to ensure that they will film only upbeat movies that idealize a mythic America. But Sam himself is not in for a happy ending, as step by step the secret of his unseen mentor's duplicity is revealed to him.

When Hisham Matar was a 19-year-old university student in England, his father was kidnapped. One of the Qaddafi regime’s most prominent opponents in exile, he was held in a secret prison in Libya. Hisham would never see him again. But he never gave up hope that his father might still be alive. Twenty-two years later, after the fall of Qaddafi, the prison cells are empty and there is no sign of Jaballa Matar. Hisham returns with his mother and wife to the homeland he never thought he’d go back to again. THE RETURN is the story of what he found there.

Thirty-year-old Barbara Weaver was content to live as the Amish have for centuries, but her husband, Eli, wanted a life beyond horses and buggies. When Barbara was found dead, shot in the chest at close range, all eyes were on Eli…and his mistress, a Conservative Mennonite named Barb Raber. The Weaver case marked only the third time an Amish man was suspected of killing his wife in more than 200 years in America. But the investigation raised almost as many questions as it answered: Was Barb Raber the one who fired the fatal shot? Or was Barbara Weaver dead before someone entered the house? What did Eli’s friends, family and church really know about him? And will life among the “Plain People” ever be the same?

Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock? Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. Structured around one ordinary day, A MILLION YEARS IN A DAY reveals the astonishing origins and development of the daily practices we take for granted. In this entertaining romp through human history, Greg Jenner explores the gradual --- and often unexpected --- evolution of our daily routines.

Every president has had some experience as a parent. Of the 43 men who have served in the nation's highest office, 38 have fathered biological children and the other five adopted children. Each president's parenting style reveals much about his beliefs as well as his psychological make-up. In FIRST DADS, which is based on research in archives around the country, Joshua Kendall shows presidential character in action. Readers will learn which type of parent might be best suited to leading the American people and how the fathering experiences of our presidents have forever changed the course of American history.

Former professional golfer Nathaniel Crosby introduces us to the Bing Crosby he and his family knew --- not the beloved singer who played golf, but a golfer who sang to pay his country club dues. Nathaniel shares exclusive stories about this American icon golfing, working and playing with some of the most famous people in history. At the book’s heart is an intimate account of a father and a son --- how a mutual love of golf formed an exceptional emotional bond.

After the Nuremberg trials and the start of the Cold War, most of the victors in World War II lost interest in prosecuting Nazi war criminals. Many of the lower-ranking perpetrators quickly blended in with the millions who were seeking to rebuild their lives in a new Europe, while those who felt most at risk fled the continent. THE NAZI HUNTERS focuses on the small band of men and women who refused to allow their crimes to be forgotten --- and who were determined to track them down to the farthest corners of the earth.

Multinationals and nations compete for the oil and gas reserves of the Caspian Sea and for control of the pipelines. Yet “Stanland” is still, to many, a terra incognita, a geographical blank. Beginning in the mid-1990s, academic and journalist David Mould’s career took him to the region on Fulbright Fellowships and contracts as a media trainer and consultant for UNESCO and USAID, among others. In POSTCARDS FROM STANLAND, he takes readers along with him on his encounters with the people, landscapes and customs of the diverse countries --- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan --- he came to love.