The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America Erik Larson, 2003

Erik Larson intertwines the true story of the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the sadistic serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death.

Traveling Mercies Annie Lamott, 1999

In this collection of tough, personal, wise, affectionate, and very funny essays, Lamott describes her reluctant journey into faith.

Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II Robert Kurson, 2004

This riveting page-turner is the true tale of two divers determined to solve the mystery of a German U-boat they find in 1991 off the New Jersey coast.

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith John Krakauer, 2003

Jon Krakauer examines the extremes of religious belief found within our borders in this compelling work of nonfiction that focuses on a double murder committed by two brothers who are Mormon fundamentalists.

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America Barbara Ehrenreich, 2001

From first-hand experience, social critic and political essayist Barbara Ehrenreich tells what’s it like to be an unskilled worker trying to live on wages of $6-7 an hour.

In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and its Consequences Truman Capote, 1994

Truman Capote's reconstruction of the 1959 murder of a farm family in Holcomb, Kansas, and the investigation that led to the arrest and execution of the killers five years later in the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing is considered a masterpiece.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil John Berendt, 1994

Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981.  Was it murder or self-defense?  For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares.  Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou, 1993

Poet Maya Angelou's memoir of her childhood in a small, rural community during the 1930s is filled with images and recollections that point to the dignity and courage of black men and women. Angelou paints a sometimes disquieting, but always affecting picture of the people--and the times--that touched her life.