The Sea around Us by Rachel Carson.
A revised edition of an award-winning classic. An eminent marine biologist reveals the science and poetry of the sea from its primeval beginnings billions of years ago to scientific probings of its tantalizing mysteries. The most important new findings since the first edition are appended in notes. BR 15487, RC 18521.

The Course of Empire by Bernard Augustine De Voto.
Originally published in 1952. An account of westward conquest and exploration from Balboa to Lewis and Clark. Geography and Indians are included in appraising the Spanish, French, British, and United States' exploits determining the course of empire. RC 33339.

A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton.
A description of the last year of the Civil War when General Grant rebuilt the Union Army into a fighting force and turned defeat into victory. Sequel to Glory Road (RC 40520). Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for history in 1954. Army of the Potomac series, book 3. BR 8309, RC 40521.

The Lion and the Throne by Catherine Drinker Bowen.
Biography of the handsome country gentleman who served as Attorney General under Queen Elizabeth I and as Chief Justice under James I. The colorful Coke, who was English law personified, was the prime author of the great Petition of Right which served as a model for our Revolutionary forefathers. RC 20518.

James Joyce by Richard Ellmann.
Considered by many critics as the definitive biography of Joyce. Ellmann had access to the major sources of Joyce's letters and manuscripts. He visited the cities where the writer lived--Dublin, Zurich, Trieste, Paris--and interviewed Joyce's relatives and friends. The fresh material in this revision deals with most aspects of Joyce's life. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. RC 20790.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer.
An account of the twelve years of Hitler's Germany, including a history of the emergence of national socialism. RC 23342.

The City in History by Lewis Mumford.
Study of the role and development of the city and urban culture from ancient Egypt, through Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages, and up to the present. RC 20571.

Henry James by Leon Edel.
Condensation of Edel's classic, prize-winning, five-volume biography of the American author that includes new material on James's youth and his sexual dilemma. RC 23819.

The Oysters of Locmariaquer by Eleanor Clark.
Account of the oysters of northern France that are considered by gourmets to be among the best in the world. Tells how these oysters are cultivated, with historical background into the myths and legends of Brittany, and describes the robust lives of the people who make the oyster growing possible. BR 4322.

Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain by Justin Kaplan.
Using letters and other unpublished papers, the author demonstrates a duality of identity, outlook, and motivation between the ambitious, acquisitive person, Samuel Clemens, and the writer, Mark Twain. Includes a multitude of details of people, places, and incidents describing the era. RC11096.

An Unfinished Woman by Lillian Hellman.
Autobiography gives intimate glimpses of Hellman's personal experiences and relationships, beginning with her childhood in New Orleans. She records her thirty-year romance with Dashiell Hammett and draws an incisive portrait of the poet Dorothy Parker.RC 25375.

The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas.
A physician-medical researcher reflects upon man, language, health, science, and other subjects in these essays for the layman as well as the specialist. BR 2911.

The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell.
Fussell, a professor of English literature and winner of the 1976 National Book Award for Arts and Letters, explores how historical events and society's record of these events interact. He looks at the British experience during World War I through the eyes of the writers Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, and Edmund Blunden, through the poetry of David Jones, Isaac Rosenberg, and Wilfred Owen and through the amateur memoirs of the men in the trenches. BR 8280, RC 31145.

The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim.
This distinguished child psychologist illuminates the content of great fairy tales and shows specifically how they help children cope with themselves and the world. RC 11970.

The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen.
Account of a journey that began in September, 1973, when the novelist-explorer set out with field biologist George Schaller to the Crystal Mountain across the Himalayas on the Tibetan plateau. Schaller wished to observe the rutting of the blue sheep, and Matthiessen, a student of Zen Buddhism, hoped to find the Lama of Shey. RC 14615.

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe.
Inside view of the early astronauts (Carpenter, Cooper, Glenn, Grissom, Schirra, Shepard, Slayton) strips away the media image of the men and reveals what makes them tick. Also describes the space program, how it functioned in the beginning, and how these seven responded to it. Some strong language. RC 13986.

China Men by Maxine Hong Kingston.
The author of The Woman Warrior (RC 10485) records the stories of her Chinese patriarchal forebears, whose lives she reconstructs out of her imagination. Beginning with her great grandfathers, all of her male relatives journeyed, under unspeakable conditions, to the Golden Mountain (America), where they endured privations and inhuman working situations at the hands of the "white demons." Some strong language. RC 15783.

The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder.
Describes Data General Corporation's race to design and build the Eagle, a brand new "32 super-bit supermini" computer, in a year and a half. A group of brilliant and unusual people work together under extreme pressure to achieve "something unforgettable in their working lives." BR 5049, RC 17316.

China Alive in the Bitter Sea by Fox Butterfield.
A former New York Times Peking correspondent presents an unflattering portrait of life in contemporary China. His personal experiences in China and stories related by his Chinese friends reveal a cynical society, traumatized by Mao's politics and ruled by a repressive and bureaucratic elite. RC 18562.

Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy by Robert V. Remini.
This 3rd volume, which focuses on the second term as chief executive of Andrew Jackson [1767-1845], concludes a major biography of the 7th president. Andrew Jackson biography series, book 3. RC 22360.

Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families by J. Anthony Lukas.
An account of Boston's fight for school integration in the 1960s and 1970s that reads like a novel. Reports the effects of racial tensions on a black family in a Roxbury housing project, an Irish-American family, and a WASP family in the South End. RC 22967.

Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape by Barry Holstun Lopez.
An evocative journey into the awesome wilderness landscape of the arctic. Rich in detail and based on extensive research and travel, this work captures the animals and people who inhabit the harsh region, as well as the exploits of explorers. RC 23024.

The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.
A comprehensive account for the general reader of the world-shattering discoveries of nuclear physics. Focuses on the people behind the microscopes and in front of the blackboards, beginning with Ernest Rutherford and proceeding through such legendary scientists as Bohr and Oppenheimer. BR 7283, RC 25626.

A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan.
Sheehan tells of America's involvement in Vietnam, and of his friendship with the controversial Lt. Colonel John Paul Vann, who criticized the way the war was waged and leaked his pessimistic assessments to the press. RC 28014.

From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman.
For about ten years, Friedman, an American Jew, lived in the Middle East. He provides a brief historical background, then writes of Beirut, drawing portraits of such persons as Yasir Arafat and Lebanese President Amin Gemayel. He also describes Jerusalem, discusses Israeli politics in the 1980s, and analyzes Israeli policies toward the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. An account of how the past cripples the present and confounds the future. RC 30222.

The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow.
A look at the most powerful family of banks in America, and the influence they have had on Western economy from the late eighteenth century through the late 1980s, with emphasis on the twentieth century. The author discusses the firms that comprise the House of Morgan, the bank's dealings with governments and individuals, and prominent family members. RC 31305.

Freedom by Orlando Patterson.
A sociologist explores the history of the concept of freedom, which has become the single most valued principle in the Western world. He suggests that the roots of freedom are found in slavery in the ancient world. As he develops the paths of these roots, he distinguishes between personal, civic, and sovereign freedoms, and focuses on the status of women, foreigners, and prisoners of war. RC 34101.

Becoming a Man by Paul Monette.
Author of Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir (RC 41663) explains in this sequel how he wasted years of his life before he came out of the closet. Monette's self-portrait depicts his resentment of the duplicity in his life, his struggle to come to terms with his homosexuality, and the relief he felt once he met Roger, his longtime companion. Paul Monette autobiography series, book 2. BR 9742, RC 41664.

United States: Essays 1952-1992 by Gore Vidal.
Selected literary, political, and personal essays published over forty years. The title refers to Vidal's assessment of the state of the art of writing, the state of the union, and the state of his opinions about life in general. Nothing is immune. Not even the bestseller list can escape his observations, and his work has appeared on it more than once. He writes about sex and the American public and a myriad of topics in between. RC 35938.

We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter by Sherwin B. Nuland.
In hopes of removing mystery from dying and making it less frightening, a Yale medical professor explains the biological and clinical aspects of death. He describes six causes of death he asserts to be representative of universal processes, portrays patients, and muses about care and dignity. The examples are heart attack, Alzheimer's disease, murder, AIDS, cancer, and old age. BR 9461, RC 37812.

The Haunted Land: Facing Europe's Ghosts after Communism by Tina Rosenberg.
A survey of issues faced by new democracies of Eastern Europe as they address the impact of crime under communist rule. The author discusses such incidents as an East German Border Guard's shooting of Berlin Wall escapees, a Czech dissident's apparent collaboration with the Soviets, and General Juruzelksi's use of martial law in Poland in 1981. RC 45311.

An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War that Came Between by James Carroll.
Memoir by a former priest and Vietnam war resister of his conflict with his father, a general in the military, during the 1960s. Recounts the events, struggles of conscience, and decisions that would divide his family and alter their lives forever. BR 10880

American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis.
A portrait of the drafter of the Declaration of Independence, third president, and enduring American icon. Traces his life through five major periods, including his service as diplomat and president. Limns Jefferson as a diverse character whose ideals and behavior were sometimes at odds. RC 44729.

Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball.
A history of a South Carolina homestead from 1698 to 1865, told through interviews with descendants of plantation slaves. Inspired by a family reunion to learn about the past, the author traveled across the United States and to Africa. Among the timeworn recollections are portrayals of slaves and slaveholders working side by side over generations. Harleston Family History series, book 1. RC 46018.

Embracing Defeat by John W. Dower.
In this companion to War without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War (RC 25306) the author chronicles life in Japan during the American occupation, as seen through the eyes of the defeated. Focuses on social and cultural developments as an entire people had to start over. RC 49484.

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick.
Relying mainly on the cabin boy's journal discovered in 1960, the author recounts the disastrous 1819 voyage of the whaling ship Essex. He describes the attack of an eighty-five-foot bull sperm whale, and the ensuing starvation, dehydration, and cannibalism that befell the shipwrecked survivors. RC 50271.

The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon.
Examines the mental illness depression from cultural, personal, and scientific viewpoints. Explores medical treatments and alternatives, addiction, suicide, and related topics refracted through the author's own experiences and the struggles of fellow sufferers whom he interviewed. Some violence and some strong language. RC 53027.

Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro.
The third volume of a biographical study of the thirty-sixth president, following The Path to Power (RC 18676) and Means of Ascent (RC 30837). Explains how Lyndon Johnson, elected to the Senate in 1949, mastered the legislative system and maneuvered himself into the vice-presidency in 1960. Some strong language. Lyndon B. Johnson biography series, book 3. RC 54174.

Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos M.N. Eire.
A Yale historian recalls his privileged childhood in Cuba, where his eccentric father was a Havana judge. Author describes living through the revolution, losing everything, and escaping with his brother in 1962 to exile in Miami. Some violence and some strong language. RC 57745.

Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle.
Historian Boyle uses the 1925 case of African American doctor Ossian Sweet, who shot a white man while defending his house against a racist mob, to explore race relations in jazz-era America. Portrays the sensationalized murder trial and Clarence Darrow's legal tactics. Strong language. RC 59602.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.
Writer reflects on her emotional response to the unexpected death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne, after a visit to their comatose daughter. Discusses the shock of suddenly facing a crisis, the memory of their time together as a family, and the meaning of marriage. RC 61740.