A City on Mars

In "Ancient Law," Sir Henry James Sumner Maine, a towering figure in comparative jurisprudence and history, lays out his groundbreaking thesis: the evolution of law and society "from status to contract." Journey back to the ancient world, where individuals were bound by tradition and group status, and witness the transformation into modernity, where autonomous beings forge their own paths through contracts and associations.

A cornerstone of modern sociology of law, Maine's work draws upon Roman law and a vast range of observations, offering insights that resonate across cultures. Discover the roots of our legal systems and social structures in this classic work, as relevant today as it was upon its original publication in 1861.

In Merced, California, a Hmong refugee family and a county hospital collide over the care of Lia Lee, a child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. Her parents, refugees from the "Quiet War" in Laos, attribute her condition—qaug dab peg, "the spirit catches you and you fall down"—to a wandering soul, favoring traditional healing practices. Lia's American doctors, grounded in Western medicine, fight her seizures with anticonvulsants.

Anne Fadiman's National Book Critics Circle Award-winning narrative explores this tragic cultural impasse. Both sides want what is best for Lia, but their profound lack of understanding sets in motion a chain of events from which neither Lia, her family, nor her doctors will ever recover. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a compassionate and compelling account of a medical tragedy, and a profound exploration of culture, illness, and the tragic consequences of miscommunication.

America's history: a sugarcoated legend written by white men. Now, acclaimed columnist Michael Harriot delivers a searingly smart and hilariously Black AF corrective. Unapologetically provocative and meticulously researched, Black AF History reclaims the narrative, placing Black voices squarely at the center. From pre-1619 arrivals to the bandit who inspired America's first police force, Harriot dismantles whitewashed mythology with incisive wit, revealing the uncomfortable, essential truths of our past. Prepare to have your understanding of American history irrevocably transformed.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits. “Thrilling . . . heartbreaking . . . uplifting . . . the fast-paced, emotionally charged story of one ambitious young woman, finding both her voice and her passion.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Women “NASA? Space missions? The ’80s? This is a collection of all the things I love.”—Andy Weir, author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space. Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane. As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant. Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting listeners to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love—this time among the stars.