Whales, Diamonds, Baseball, and Italy

The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea by Philip Hoare
From his childhood fascination with the gigantic Natural History Museum model of a blue whale to his adult encounters with the living animals in the Atlantic Ocean, writer Philip Hoare has been obsessed with whales. Journeying through human and natural history, The Whale is the result of his voyage of discovery into the heart of this obsession and the book that inspired it: Herman Melville's Moby-Dick.

Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell
The Antwerp Diamond Center was one of the most secure buildings in the world. With hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of diamonds stored in its subterranean vault, it had to be. Located in the heart of Belgium's ultra-secure Diamond District, it benefited from two police stations, armed patrols, extensive video surveillance, and vehicle barriers securing an area where 80 percent of the world's diamonds traded hands. But on February 15, 2003, a band of skilled Italian thieves... subverted every one of the Diamond Center's defenses and made off with a record amount of loot.

The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, & Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America's pastime by Jason Turbow
Everyone knows that baseball is a game of intricate regulations, but it turns out to be even more complicated than we realize. What truly governs the Major League game is a set of unwritten rules, some of which are openly discussed (don't steal a base with a big lead late in the game), and some of which only a minority of players are even aware of (don't cross between the catcher and the pitcher on the way to the batter's box). In this book. old-timers and all-time greats share their insights into the game's most hallowed and least known traditions.

Keeping the Feast: One Couple's Story of Love, Food, and Healing in Italy by Paula Butturini
When the author's husband, New York Times reporter John Tagliabue, was shot and nearly killed twenty-three days after their midlife wedding, it marked the abrupt end of what the couple had known together, and the beginning of a phase of life neither had planned for. The couple responded by doing the only thing that felt right. They returned to the place where they had met and fallen in love, hoping that Rome's natural splendor, simple bounty, and happy memories would hasten John's recovery.

All summaries were taken from the descriptions on the actual books.
Images were found on publisher's websites.