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Great people do great things, says author Mark Shriver, but they're often not good people. Shriver's new memoir of his father, R. Sargent Shriver, is a loving look at a man he says managed to be both great and good.

The rare daytime astronomical event, in which Venus can be seen as a tiny black dot crossing the sun, won't happen again until 2117. Andrea Wulf, author of Chasing Venus, explains how 18th-century astronomers used the event to calculate the distance between the Earth and the sun.

As Britain celebrates Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years for her as monarch, Newsweek editor Tina Brown recommends readings on the history of the queen's reign and her enduring popularity.

In his new book Electrified Sheep, Alex Boese explores a colorful side of science, filled with bizarre experiments and eccentric scientists, like the surgeon who decided to operate on himself, and Benjamin Franklin, who gave mouth-to-beak resuscitation to a bird.

Jarhead author Anthony Swofford's second memoir recounts a war much closer to home — a private one waged with his father in the years following the success of his book.

Anthony Heilbut's essay collection, The Fan Who Knew Too Much, features reflections on the Queen of Soul, soap operas and Jewish immigrants. The highlight of this sometimes harsh collection, says Michael Schaub, is a history of LGBT contributions to gospel.

In her hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking semi-autobiographical novel, Toronto author Sheila Heti chronicles her struggle to interact with people.

Growing up in the '80s, author Myla Goldberg crafted a survival plan in the event of a nuclear war. But all that changed when she read On the Beach by Nevil Shute. Have you ever read a book that gave you a sobering picture of the world? Tell us in the comments.

All hopeless romantics must at some point face the fact: Relationships are intense. They can be painful. Author Jodi Picoult learned that lesson reading Gone With the Wind. Have you ever read a book that's taught you about what love is really like? Tell us in the comments.

Author Ben Fountain's debut novel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, is the story of what happens to a 19-year-old college dropout after he joins Bravo Company in the early years of the Iraq war.