Hardcover Nonfiction

by Christina Applegate · Little, Brown

Christina Applegate came of age on sets and stages, expected to be on time, with lines learned, ready for lights-camera-action. Performing began as a financial necessity and became an emotional escape from a tumultuous home life in the infamous Laurel Canyon scene of the 1970s and 80s. She first gained stardom as an audience favourite playing Kelly Bundy in the sitcom Married...with Children and went on to captivate a vast fandom during her five-decade long career. In You with the Sad Eyes, Applegate will unveil the full story of her years in the public eye, and the painful moments the public didn't see. She writes about gravitating to the grunge that defined the 90s and finding belonging in the legendary scene at The Viper Room; sparkling on set with fellow comedy icons in the soon to be canonized franchise Anchorman; sharing her love of dance on stage in the Broadway revival of Sweet Charity; and returning to the Emmy stage to a standing ovation in 2024 after her diagnosis of MS. She'll dive into the darker moments underpinning her outward success: her relationship with her mother who fought addiction and won, even in the wake of her father's abandonment; the self-doubt and body dysmorphia that have dogged her from a young age; and the abuse and depression that eroded her health. Her path is ever lit though, by lifelong friends, chosen family, and her experience as a mother. By working through her legacy on the page, Applegate invites readers to take her hand and hear a story not even those closest to her know fully. You with the Sad Eyes boldly presents a formidable and iconoclastic woman who has had to let go of her acting career, of her ability to dance, of her sense of physical power, but has always fought to find a new and even more fulfilling way of being. The pain will be matched by the joy, the losses mitigated by the extraordinary, the weight of life lifted by Applegate's signature comedic genius. In her own words, "I truly believe that books can make people feel less alone. That's why I'm doing this. You with the Sad Eyes won't be some big violin scratching for my life. But it will be real. It will be filled with the ups and downs, the humour and grief of life. So here I am. Real me. Lots to say."

by Bunnie Xo · Dey Street

From the trailer parks of Vegas to the mansions of Nashville, Bunnie Xo has lived a lot of lives and seen the darkest sides of humanity. Her memoir, Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic, is cold, clear evidence that no one is irredeemable. With a heavy dose of humor and a refreshing sense of self-awareness, Bunnie pulls no punches as she shares her journey of redemption while offering some homespun wisdom to those who need a little saving themselves. Alisa DeFord, known to her millions of fans as Bunnie Xo, started at the bottom and spent the first part of her life falling even deeper. Now, Bunnie Xo is one of today's most successful podcasters and has paved her way through the entertainment industry as the owner of Dumb Blonde Productions, building an empire with heart and personality at the forefront. Stripped Down is the story of how Bunnie Xo rose to the top, how she used her own wiles to reach her goals, how she knew redemption was up to her--and that no one could hand it to her--and a message to anyone who needs advice on breaking their own cycles. Hilarious, earnest, thought-provoking, and occasionally downright shocking, Stripped Down is a modern-day rag-to-riches story and a message of hope to anyone struggling to redeem themselves.

by Virginia Roberts Giuffre · Knopf

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The unforgettable memoir by the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the woman who dared to take on Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell “Make no mistake: this is a book about power, corruption, industrial-scale sex abuse and the way in which institutions sided with the perpetrator over his victims. . . . But it is also a book about how a young woman becomes a hero. . . . Important [and] courageous.” —The Guardian The world knows Virginia Roberts Giuffre as Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s most outspoken victim: the woman whose decision to speak out helped send both serial abusers to prison, whose photograph with Prince Andrew catalyzed his fall from grace. But her story has never been told in full, in her own words—until now. In April 2025, Giuffre took her own life. She left behind a memoir written in the years preceding her death and stated unequivocally that she wanted it published. Nobody’s Girl is the riveting and powerful story of an ordinary girl who would grow up to confront extraordinary adversity. Here, Giuffre offers an unsparing and definitive account of her time with Epstein and Maxwell, who trafficked her and others to numerous prominent men. She also details the molestation she suffered as a child, as well as her daring escape from Epstein and Maxwell’s grasp at nineteen. Giuffre remade her life from scratch and summoned the courage to not only hold her abusers to account but also advocate for other victims. The pages of Nobody’s Girl preserve her voice—and her legacy—forever. Nobody’s Girl is an astonishing affirmation of Giuffre’s unshakable will—first, to claw her way out of victimhood, and then to shine light on wrongdoing and fight for a safer, fairer world. Equal parts intimate and fierce, it is a remarkable narrative of fortitude in the face of depravity and despair.

by Lloyd Blankfein · Penguin Press

From the long-tenured head of an institution legendary for its culture of success comes a candid memoir of global leadership in an age of extreme turbulence. “Lloyd Blankfein is scary smart about people, markets, and life generally. His 10,000 Small Businesses idea proved to be a huge winner, and I personally witnessed the time and effort he devoted to its success. During the 2008–2009 financial crisis, Lloyd acted decisively, and he tells the story of what happened with unique insights.” —Warren Buffett When Lloyd Blankfein was attacked as a Wall Street fat cat, he had to smile, thinking of his precarious childhood in the notorious public housing projects of East New York, Brooklyn, and attending a high school so chaotic he didn’t feel safe leaving class to go to the bathroom in his time there. Harvard University was a total moonshot, and his outsider status never wore off, there or at Harvard Law. When he struck people as street-y, it wasn’t Wall Street they were thinking of. But if the chip never quite left Blankfein's shoulder, neither did a wry, resilient spirit and a lucid, democratic intelligence that saw through airs and found talent and ideas in unlikely places. Streetwise is a delightfully honest, sharp and often very funny reckoning with the author’s education—in finance, human nature, and the workings of the world. It abounds with lessons about leading teams of brilliant, aggressive, competitive people and harmonizing them around shared goals; changing when times are hard and when they’re good; managing risk; and knowing a crisis is at hand before it swamps you so you can guide your team to the further shore. Blankfein is famed for his calm hand on Goldman Sachs’s tiller during the global financial crisis, and that story is told in full here, among many other decisive episodes. Suffusing Streetwise is the author’s deep and abiding respect for the partnership culture of Goldman Sachs. We follow the never-ending work to protect and preserve that culture through all sorts of tumult—the challenge behind every other challenge. He is open about when he and the firm got it wrong, which was often enough, but the creative, risk-taking spirit was never snuffed—even as the fail-safes put in place to protect the firm and its clients held when they were needed the most. A powerful blueprint for the wise stewardship of a cause that is larger than yourself, Streetwise will inspire and inform readers throughout the global business community and beyond.

by Michael Pollan · Penguin Press

The Instant New York Times Bestseller "Pollan’s real genius—the word is not too strong—remains intact. That is his uncanny ability to scent the direction in which the culture is headed. He did it with food and psychedelics, and now, though A World Appears focuses on AI only intermittently, he has done it again." —Charles Finch, The Atlantic From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind, a panoptic exploration of consciousness—what it is, who has it, and why—and a meditation on the essence of our humanity When it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one point on which scientists, philosophers, and artists all agree: it feels like something to be us. Yet the fact that we have subjective experience of the world remains one of nature’s greatest mysteries. How is it that our mental operations are accompanied by feelings, thoughts, and a sense of self? What would a scientific investigation of our inner life look like, when we have as little distance and perspective on it as fish do of the sea? In A World Appears, Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness, bringing radically different perspectives—scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual and psychedelic—to see what each can teach us about this central fact of life. When neuroscientists began studying consciousness in the early 1990s, they sought to explain how and why three pounds of spongy gray matter could generate a subjective point of view—assuming that the brain is the source of our perceived reality. Pollan takes us to the cutting edge of the field, where scientists are entertaining more radical (and less materialist) theories of consciousness. He introduces us to “plant neurobiologists” searching for the first flicker of consciousness in plants, scientists striving to engineer feelings into AI, and psychologists and novelists seeking to capture the felt experience of our slippery stream of consciousness. In Pollan’s dazzling exploration of consciousness, he discovers a world far deeper and stranger than our everyday reality. Eye-opening and mind-expanding, A World Appears takes us into the laboratories of our own minds, ultimately showing us how we might make better use of the gift of awareness to more meaningfully connect with the world and our deepest selves.

by Gavin Newsom · Penguin Press

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2026 by The New York Times From California Governor Gavin Newsom comes an intimate and poignant account of identity, belonging, and the defining moments that inspired a life in politics “Go slow,” his political elders advised him, but Gavin Newsom has never known such a speed. For Newsom, the California Dream is what lured his father’s family from County Cork, Ireland, six generations ago. His great-great-grandfather, a cop, walked a beat in San Francisco, where almost 150 years later, Newsom would be elected as mayor, running on the values instilled in him by his family history: that California’s open arms must continue to extend to each new generation. Newsom has never lived anywhere but California. Born in San Francisco, his parents divorced at a young age, and his childhood was spent being tugged between two worlds: his mother worked three jobs in order to care for her children while his father, a close friend of the Getty family, brought Newsom into San Francisco society, a world of wealth and connections. The dissonance was frustrating, and made all the more difficult because of undiagnosed dyslexia, but the vantage point was valuable: he inherited his mother’s perseverance and his father’s reverence of California, not only its wildness, but its opportunity. In Young Man in a Hurry, Newsom traces the forces that have defined his ambitions as a politician and have pushed him to outpace the nation on myriad cutting-edge social issues that have since entered the mainstream. As mayor of San Francisco, he made waves when he violated state law in order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, more than ten years before the Supreme Court made such unions legal. He launched bold efforts to counter climate change, improve mental health care, and enhance gun safety, and worked to preserve the California Dream for his constituents. Elected as governor on the eve of unprecedented wildfires and entering office into immediate hyper-partisan headwinds from Washington, DC, Newsom has constantly and consistently stuck his neck out. Here for the first time, he reflects on the long personal journey that ultimately shaped him into one of the most recognizable and accomplished elected officials in America. Filled with intimate family history and written with candor and remarkable personal insight, here is a deeply resilient California story of identity, belonging, and the defining moments that inspired a life in politics.

by Jonathan Haidt · Penguin Press

THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A Wall Street Journal Top 10 Book of 2024 • A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book • One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2024 • A TIME 100 Must-Read Book of 2024 • Named a Best Book of 2024 by the Economist, the New York Post, and Town & Country • The Goodreads Choice Award Nonfiction Book of the Year • Finalist for the PEN Literary Awards A must-read for all parents: the generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood. “With tenacity and candor, Haidt lays out the consequences that have come with allowing kids to drift further into the virtual world . . . While also offering suggestions and solutions that could help protect a new generation of kids.” —Shannon Carlin, TIME, 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why? In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (pronounced "height") lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the “play-based childhood” began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the “phone-based childhood” in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this “great rewiring of childhood” has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies. Most important, Haidt issues a clear call to action. He diagnoses the “collective action problems” that trap us, and then proposes four simple rules that might set us free. He describes steps that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments can take to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood. Haidt has spent his career speaking truth backed by data in the most difficult landscapes—communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the public health emergency faced by Gen Z. We cannot afford to ignore his findings about protecting our children—and ourselves—from the psychological damage of a phone-based life.

by Belle Burden · Dial Press

A gorgeous memoir about the sudden end to a seemingly happy marriage—an aching, love-filled, and transcendent account of surviving betrayal and discovering joy "Riveting...examines the very nature of intimacy."—Joyce Carol Oates It was a great love story, one for the ages. The speed of our beginning and the speed of our ending felt like matching bookends. They both came out of nowhere. He wanted it, he wanted me. And then he didn’t. In March 2020, Belle Burden was safe and secure with her family at their house on Martha's Vineyard, navigating the early days of the pandemic together—building fires in the late afternoons, drinking whisky sours, making roast chicken. Then, with no warning or explanation, her husband of twenty years announced that he was leaving her. Overnight, her caring, steady partner became a man she hardly recognized. He exited his life with her like an actor shrugging off a costume. In Strangers, Belle revisits her marriage, searching for clues that her husband was not who she always thought he was. As she examines her relationship through a new lens, she reckons with her own family history and the lessons she intuited about how a woman is expected to behave in the face of betrayal. Through all of it, she is transformed. The discreet, compliant woman she once was—someone whose nickname was “Belle the Good”—gives way to someone braver, someone determined to use her voice. With unflinching honesty and profound grace, Burden charts a path through heartbreak to show the power of a woman who refuses to give up on love and rediscovers trust in herself. Strangers is a stunning, deeply moving, compulsively readable memoir heralding the arrival of a thrilling new literary talent.

by John Kennedy · Broadside

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One of the most distinctive and funny politicians, Senator John Kennedy (the one from Louisiana)—hailed by Politico as “America’s most quotable Senator”—offers his perceptive (and hilarious) takes on the ridiculousness of political life in this scathingly witty takedown of Washington and its elite denizens. How to Test Negative for Stupid offers the Senator’s tongue-in-cheek guidebook through Washington, punctuated by his thoughts on various issues and humorous stories about life from Louisiana politics and inside the Senate. From the mind—and mouth—of "America's Most Quotable Senator": “Always be yourself . . . unless you suck.” “I say this gently: This is why the aliens won’t talk to us.” “If you trust government, you obviously failed history class.” “I believe that our country was founded by geniuses, but it’s being run by idiots.” “Always follow your heart . . . but take your brain with you.” “I’m not going to Bubble Wrap it: The water in Washington, D.C., won’t clear up until you get the pigs out of the creek.” “I have the right to remain silent but not the ability.” “Common sense is illegal in Washington, D.C., I know. I’ve seen it firsthand.” “I believe that we are going to have to get some new conspiracy theories. All the old ones turned out to be true.”

by 2 Chainz with Derrick Harriell · Black Privilege

Before he was 2 Chainz, he was Tauheed Epps--an only child growing up in College Park, Georgia, raised by a single mother while his father served time in prison. Though he excelled in school and earned a basketball scholarship, the streets were never far behind, and by fifteen, he had been arrested and was hustling to survive. He faced doubt and self-destruction, but even then, something told him there had to be more. In The Voice in My Head is God, 2 Chainz tells the story of how he walked away from the trap and found his purpose: not by fame or fear, but by faith. With his unmistakable voice and unflinching honesty, he reflects on the hardest moments of his life and the quiet revelations that shaped him. From the spiritual alarms he couldn't ignore to the mentors who showed up at the right time, he explores how his music and verses poured out when he finally listened to the voice that had been there all along. From hanging with Lil Wayne to getting early help from Ludacris, 2 Chainz brings us into the defining moments of his life and career while delivering a powerful message about discipline, divine timing, and self-belief. Along the way, he offers more than a memoir. He shares a way of thinking, of trusting yourself, and of listening to the voice that never steers you wrong.

by Lisa Rinna · Dey Street

From the New York Times bestselling author and breakout star of The Traitors comes the first memoir from beloved actress, Housewife, and pop culture icon, Lisa Rinna. From her career, to her personal life, she's spilling ALL the tea! If she's experienced it... you better believe she's gonna talk about it! "This mouth has gotten me in so much trouble." --Lisa Rinna For decades, Lisa Rinna has been captivating audiences--whether as a soap opera icon, reality TV powerhouse, fearless social media provocateur or slaying in haute couture down the catwalks of Paris. But even though she's always said it like she means it, there's still so much more to the woman whose lips launched a thousand memes. In You Better Believe I'm Gonna Talk About It, Lisa peels back the curtain on her rollercoaster career and her unapologetic approach to life, dishing on the highs, the lows, and the "did-she-really-just-say-that?" moments that made her a household name. Yes, she's spilling all the tea from the soundstages of Days of Our Lives to the drama of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but she's also opening up about what it means to grow older in an industry obsessed with youth, the lessons she's learned about reinvention, parenting a daughter with a chronic illness, keeping her well-documented marriage alive and healthy, and being forced to grieve in public after the loss of her mother and beloved Beverly Hills fan favorite, Lois. Bold, brash, refreshingly honest, and told with her signature wit and candor, You Better Believe I'm Gonna Talk About It is the story of a woman who understands that you go the furthest by playing by your own rules. It's the story of a woman who realizes aging is just a chance at a new chapter. It's the story of a Hollywood icon who refuses to let the world script her story for her. And she's owning every bit of it, baby!

by Norah O'Donnell with Kate Andersen Brower · Ballantine

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A vivid portrait of the unsung American women from 1776 to today who changed the course of history in their fight for freedom and helped shape a more perfect union “This terrific book reveals the central, though often hidden role that women have played at every stage of our country’s history.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin Over a decades-long, distinguished career, award-winning journalist Norah O’Donnell has made it her mission to shed light on untold wom­en’s stories. Now, in honor of America’s 250th birthday, O’Donnell focuses that passion on the American heroines who helped change the course of history. We the Women presents a fresh look at American his­tory through the eyes of women, introducing us to inspiring patriots who demanded that the country live up to the prom­ises made 250 years ago in the Declaration of Independence: “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Since the signing of that document, the pressing question from women has been: Why don’t those unalienable rights apply to us? Through extensive research and interviews, as well as historical documents and old photos, O’Donnell curates a compelling portrait of these fierce fighters for freedom. From Mary Katherine Goddard, who printed the first signed Declaration of Independence, to the Forten family women, who were active in the abolition and suffrage movements and were considered the “Black Founders” of Philadelphia, to the first women who served in the armed forces even before they had the right to vote, O’Donnell brings these extraordinary women together for the first time, and in doing so writes the American story anew.

by Keith O'Brien · Atria

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the New York Times bestselling author of Charlie Hustle and Fly Girls comes one of America’s greatest sports stories: the improbable rise of Larry Bird and the Indiana State Sycamores. In the fall 1974, Larry Bird—one of the greatest players to ever pick up a basketball—was lost, and in danger of slipping away. He had dropped out of Indiana University, spurning legendary Hoosiers head coach Bobby Knight. He returned home to French Lick, a tiny town in the second poorest county in Indiana, and he got a job hauling trash. It could have ended right there for Bird, were it not for two men: Bob King, an old coach with bad knees, and Bill Hodges, a man who knew what it was like to be poor and overlooked. In the spring of 1975, during one of the darkest chapters of Bird’s life, King and Hodges convinced Bird to leave French Lick and play basketball at Indiana State University, a college that couldn’t even fill its arena, much less compete with Bobby Knight. Then, while no one was watching, King and Hodges built a team of players around Bird who were just like him: they were castoffs and leftovers, ready to work. Four years later, in March 1979, this unheralded team would put together one of the greatest seasons in American sports history. By the time it was over, more than 50 million people would tune in to watch the Indiana State Sycamores play in the NCAA finals against Magic Johnson and Michigan State. What happened that night would change college basketball and the NBA. Perhaps more importantly, it would change the members of this hardscrabble team, binding them together forever. In some ways, their one shining moment would never end. Drawing on exclusive, in-depth interviews with players, coaches, and staffers, New York Times bestselling author and PEN American award–winning biographer Keith O’Brien offers a stirring account of the mighty Indiana State Sycamores. With its unforgettable ensemble cast, Heartland is more than just a sports book. It’s the story of a group of young men who achieved the greatest feat of all: immortality.

by Michael Harriot · Dey Street

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE * AMAZON'S TOP 20 HISTORY BOOKS OF 2023 * B&N BEST OF EDUCATIONAL HISTORY * THE ROOT'S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023 From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans. America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It is the story of the pilgrims on the Mayflower building a new nation. It is George Washington’s cherry tree and Abraham Lincoln’s log cabin. It is the fantastic tale of slaves that spontaneously teleported themselves here with nothing but strong backs and negro spirituals. It is a sugarcoated legend based on an almost true story. It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie. In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history. Combining unapologetically provocative storytelling with meticulous research based on primary sources as well as the work of pioneering Black historians, scholars, and journalists, Harriot removes the white sugarcoating from the American story, placing Black people squarely at the center. With incisive wit, Harriot speaks hilarious truth to oppressive power, subverting conventional historical narratives with little-known stories about the experiences of Black Americans. From the African Americans who arrived before 1619 to the unenslavable bandit who inspired America’s first police force, this long overdue corrective provides a revealing look into our past that is as urgent as it is necessary. For too long, we have refused to acknowledge that American history is white history. Not this one. This history is Black AF.