Adult

Ancient Rome was an imposing city even by modern standards, a sprawling imperial metropolis of more than a million inhabitants that served as the seat of power for an empire that spanned from Spain to Syria. Yet how did all this emerge from what was once an insignificant village in central Italy? In SPQR, world-renowned classicist Mary Beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even 2,000 years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury and beauty.

In 2010's FRANK: THE VOICE, James Kaplan told the story of Frank Sinatra's meteoric rise to fame, subsequent failures, and reinvention as a star of live performance and screen. The story of "Ol' Blue Eyes" continues with SINATRA: THE CHAIRMAN, picking up the day after Frank claimed his Academy Award in 1954. In between recording albums and singles, he often shot four or five movies a year; did TV show and nightclub appearances; started his own label, Reprise; and juggled his considerable commercial ventures alongside his famous and sometimes notorious social activities and commitments.

HUNGER MAKES ME A MODERN GIRL is an intimate and revealing narrative of Carrie Brownstein’s escape from a turbulent family life into a world where music was the means toward self-invention, community and rescue. Along the way, Brownstein chronicles the excitement and contradictions within the era’s flourishing and fiercely independent music subculture, including experiences that sowed the seeds for the observational satire of the popular television series “Portlandia” years later.

When Diana Nyad arrived on the shore of Key West after 53 hours of grueling swimming across an epic ocean, she not only set a world record --- becoming the first person to swim the shark-infested waters between Cuba and Florida with no cage for protection --- she also succeeded in fulfilling a dream she first chased at age 28 and at long last achieved when she was 64. Now, in a riveting memoir, Diana shares a spirited account of what it takes to face one’s fears, engage one’s passions, and never ever give up.

As the Mediterranean shaped the classical world, and the Atlantic connected Europe to the New World, the Pacific Ocean defines our tomorrow. With China on the rise, so, too, are the American cities of the West coast. Today, the Pacific is ascendant. Its geological history has long transformed us --- tremendous earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis --- but its human history, from a Western perspective, is quite young, beginning with Magellan’s 16th-century circumnavigation. It is a natural wonder whose most fascinating history is currently being made.

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are perhaps the two greatest quarterbacks of all time. But what do they actually think of each other? What are they like behind closed doors and in the locker room, and how does that influence their careers? Veteran NFL correspondent Gary Myers tackles this subject from every angle and with unprecedented access and insight, drawing on a huge number of never-before-heard interviews with Brady and Manning, their coaches, their families, and those who have played with them and against them.

Chronicling General Lafayette’s years in Washington’s army, Sarah Vowell reflects on the ideals of the American Revolution versus the reality of the Revolutionary War. Riding shotgun with Lafayette, Vowell swerves from the high-minded debates of Independence Hall to the frozen wasteland of Valley Forge, from bloody battlefields to the Palace of Versailles, bumping into John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Lord Cornwallis, Benjamin Franklin, Marie Antoinette, and various kings, Quakers and redcoats along the way.

When former “Good Morning America” host Joan Lunden was diagnosed with breast cancer, she set out to learn everything about it to help her survive. With seven children counting on her, giving up was not an option. After announcing her diagnosis on “GMA,” people all over the country rallied around Joan as she went into Warrior mode. HAD I KNOWN is a chronicle of Joan’s experience and the plan she formulated and followed to battle with her disease and treatment. As Joan reveals, while her journey was not easy, it profoundly changed her in unexpected ways.

The spirit of our times can appear to be one of joyless urgency. As a culture, we have become less interested in the exploration of the glorious mind and more interested in creating and mastering technologies that will yield material well-being. But while cultural pessimism is always fashionable, there is still much to give us hope. In THE GIVENNESS OF THINGS, Marilynne Robinson delivers an impassioned critique of our contemporary society while arguing that reverence must be given to who we are and what we are: creatures of singular interest and value, despite our errors and depredations.