Girl Scouts, Kidnapping, and Romney

First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliette Gordon Low by Ginger Wadsworth
When Juliette Gordon was growing up in the late 1800s, she climbed trees, swam in rivers, and hiked on tall cliffs. With her cousins and friends, she sewed costumes and put on plays, sketched and painted, and reached out to help other kids who were less fortunate. Juliette, or Daisy, as her friends and family called her--knew that most girls her age weren't so lucky; they didn't have the opportunities to play, create, and enjoy outdoor activities the way she did. And when Daisy became an adult, she out to do something to change that.

We Is Got Him: The Kidnapping that Changed America by Carrie Hagen
in 1874, a little boy named Charley Ross was snatched from his family's front yard in Philadelphia. A ransom note arrived the next day, demanding $20,000 for Charley's return. The city was about to host America's centennial celebration, and the mass panic surrounding the Charley Ross case jeopardized city politics and plunged the nation into hysteria. The desperate search led the Philadelphia and New York police departments to inspect every building in Philadelphia, set up saloon surveillance in New York's notorious Five Points neighborhood, and elicit citizens' participation in a national manhunt.

The Real Romney by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman
Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he's become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind the sweep of dark hair, distinguished white sideburns, and high-wattage smile? He often seems to be two people at once: a savvy politician, and someone who will simply say anything to win. A business visionary, and a calculating dealmaker. A man comfortable in his faith and with family, and one who can have trouble connecting with average voters.

True Crime and Hairdressing

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale
It is midnight on 30th June 1860 and all is quiet in the Kent family's elegant house in Road, Wiltshire. The next morning, however, they wake to find that their youngest son has been the victim of an unimaginably gruesome murder. Even worse, the guilty party is surely one of their number--the house was bolted from the inside. As Jack Whicher, the most celebrated detective of his day, arrives at Road to track down the killer, the murder provokes national hysteria at the thought of what might be festering behind the closed doors of respectable middle-class home--scheming servants, rebellious children, insanity, jealousy, loneliness and loathing.

Upper Cut: Highlights of My Hollywood Life by Carrie White
Behind the scenes of every Hollywood photo shoot, TV appearance, and party in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, there was Carrie White. As the "First Lady of Hairdressing," Carrie collaborated with Richard Avedon on shoots for Vogue, partied with Jim Morrison, styled Sharon Tate's hair before her wedding to Roman Polanski, and got high with Jimi Hendrix. But behind the glamorous facade, Carrie's world was in perpetual disarray and always had been.