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In her new book, Andrea Stuart explores the intersection of sugar, slavery, settlement, migration and survival in the Americas. Stuart's personal history was shaped by these forces — she is descended from a slave owner who had relations with an unknown slave.

For the book A History of the World in 100 Objects, the director of the British Museum chose 100 objects from his institution's collection of thousands to tell a surprisingly comprehensive history of the world.

Thor Hanson's new book looks at the evolutionary significance of feathers in birds. Hanson tells Fresh Air that he's amazed by birds' magnitude of feathers, how feathers grow and how they're the "most efficient insulation known."

Henry Folger once spent nearly a year's salary on a William Shakespeare first folio. In The Millionaire and the Bard, Andrea Mays chronicles his obsession with collecting the playwright's work.

In his new collection Etgar Keret recounts bittersweet and often humorous vignettes of life in the seven years between the birth of his son and the death of his father.

When a CEO blamed "distressed babies" for cuts to benefits last year, Deanna Fei discovered her infant was national news. She reflects on how she coped with a baby on life support — and in headlines.

Garth Risk Hallberg's massive debut novel is a headlong rush through New York in the 1970s; critic Jason Sheehan says Hallberg writes "like he's not sure anyone will ever give him a second chance."

Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera's new book of poems melds the political with the personal. Critic Craig Morgan Teicher says it makes for deep yet accessible reading.

Lloyd's journey to success was long and hard-fought. In her new memoir, she describes how she nearly quit playing soccer and reveals painful details about her strained relationship with her parents.

John Kaag extracts ideas from Nietzsche and his followers — but also from his own experience — in this stimulating book about combating despair and complacency with searching reflection.