Dillard's autobiography is an exuberant account of growing up in 1950s Pittsburgh in a wealthy and accomplished family. Dillard conveys in polished prose the sheer joy of being young, smart, and passionately observant in a world she sees as endlessly fascinating.

Jane Stern, who with her husband Michael has produced numerous books about American food, writes about her longtime struggle with depression, and the way her work as a volunteer emergency medical technician brought her out of it. Candidly detailing her experiences with the desperately ill (and sometimes with corpses) and with the pressures of the job--and with her own ups and downs--she ends with the events with 9/11 and the role of emergency workers in the crisis.

In this 1984 business best seller, Lee Iacocca recounts his rise to the top of the Ford Corporation. The proud son of immigrants, he is proud also of his decision to market the Ford Mustang, which was a stunning success. Iacocca is a staunch advocate of the American auto industry as well as a critic of what he sees as bad business practices, and he takes a few shots at founder Henry Ford's leadership style. Iacocca tells of being unceremoniously dismissed from his presidency at Ford (by Henry Ford II), and of being hired by its rival, the Chrysler Corporation--an ailing company which he quickly resuscitated. Lee Iacocca became something of a popular hero after appearing as a plain-talking spokesperson in television commercials, and he brings those same qualities to IACOCCA.

With his friend Speed Vogel as collaborator, Joseph Heller vividly describes his terrifying battle with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a debilitating (though rare) disease that affects the peripheral nervous system and can lead to paralysis, or even death.

When O'Donnell, the winner of multiple Emmys for her beloved talk-show, contacts a pregnant teen to help her through her ordeal, the experience touches deep-seated personal memories. In this memoir, O'Donnell chronicles the emotional drama.

This self-help bestseller struck a note with readers immediately upon publication in 1989. The simple, succinct formulas for everyday living were reminders of things that they had heard before but had let slip. Fulghum enhances his simple wisdom with essays and, in later editions, new material.