Yes Man / Danny Wallace
Like a modern-day Tom Jones, when Danny Wallace naively decides one day to start answering "yes" to every question he's asked, he takes a hilarious and enlightening journey to a destination he could never have imagined at the start of his trip.  He goes from depressed, dumped, and dully employed to optimistic, engaged, and a dream job. This book not only keeps you laughing, it also makes you want to say "yes" a lot more often!

Alone: the Classic Polar Adventure / Richard E. Byrd
Although Admiral Byrd was no stranger to peril, his dangerous experiment to spend six bleak winter months completely alone at the bottom of the world was nearly his last.  His plan to gather weather data and fully explore the idea of unreachable solitude began to disintegrate into paranoia, sickness, and the fear that he would die before rescue.  Byrd's moment-by-moment account and his eventual discovery of the cause of his distress make for a nail-biting chronicle.

Stiff: the Curious Life of Human Cadavers / Mary Roach
This eye-opening exploration of the numerous uses for human cadavers and how we came to use them proves that people can be helpful in both life and death.  From stories of Victorian grave-robbers to the use of corpses as crash-test dummies, Roach's highly-readable style combines respect and humor to give her readers a new appreciation for all that cadavers do for the still-living.

Switching Time: a Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities / Richard K. Baer
"Harrowing" captures the tone of this true-life mystery perfectly, as a psychologist struggles with a strangely helpless patient.  As odd behaviors and chilling details emerge over the course of therapy, Dr. Baer begins to suspect that multiple personalities lie beneath his client's still surface.  His dedication to plumbing these depths begins to affect his personal life, but he refuses to abandon the woman.  They work together through the horror and the heartbreak to a satisfyingly hopeful resolution.

In a Sunburned Country / Bill Bryson
Bryson's talent as a humorist shines in this laugh-out-loud examination of his trip across Australia; but it is his unflinching look at the culture and subculture, especially in regard to the whites' treatment of the native aboriginals that sticks with you. Australia's history and national character parallels our own in several ways, it appears.

Krueger's Men: the Secret Nazi Counterfeit Plot and the Prisoners of Block 19 / Lawrence Malkin
Spy thriller meets real-world history in this incredible story of a Nazi plan to wreak havoc on the world's economy by introducing millions of counterfeit British bills into circulation—a plan that the Jewish prisoners of Sachsenhausen concentration camp, forced to work on the project, attempt to foil.  This little-known chapter from World War II brings to light another brazen scheme by the Nazis and another example of the courage of the oppressed.

The Dog Who Wouldn't Be / Farley Mowat
This classic by one of Canada's most beloved writers describes with affection and much humor the author's memories of growing up in a small Saskatchewan prairie town during the Depression, the sharply-sketched human characters in and around his family, and the strongest, most eccentric character of all, the mutt that owned them.  Mowat's deep knowledge of animals and his fondness for them comes through loud and clear in this remembrance.

The Hot Zone / Richard Preston
A virulent and lethal virus from Central Africa appears in Washington, D.C., and biohazard teams are charged with stopping it from developing into a major outbreak.  With no known cure, a lightning fast development, and high mortality rate, the virus' fright factor is off the charts.

Ivy Briefs: True Tales of a Neurotic Law Student / Martha Kimes
A lighthearted companion piece to Scott Turow's One L, this look at a first year law student's emotional roller coaster ride ranges from the first notification of acceptance by the Columbia University law school to the satisfying conclusion of the year.  The self-doubts, the mind games, the hierarchies, and the casualties experienced and examined by Kimes lead her to a stronger belief in herself and her abilities.

A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn—the Last Great Battle of the American West / James Donovan
"Custer's Last Stand," a phrase and event permanently burned into American culture, gets a re-examination in this fascinating look at a time when the Sioux and Cheyenne destroyed Custer and all 210 soldiers under his command.  New information unearthed in the last quarter of a century and Donovan's careful research sheds new light on the Battle of Little Bighorn and all the major players involved.