From the author of "Schindler's List" comes the story of the Keneally family tree--how Irish men and women came to be dispersed all over the world, and what they made of their lives in their new homes. Abridged.

The Constitutional Convention: The Constitution is the most important document in American history. Its ratification in 1788 created a nation. Its interpretation through centuries has determined the body of law under which we live. But the Constitution is not a staid document drafted by legal scholars. It is the vibrant work of American revolutionaries who wished to secure the principles for which they had fought a war, and won.

The Ratification Debates: Some delegates to the Constitutional Convention had refused to send representation. Now the Constitution was being subjected to the harsh process of ratification by the states. Where, many asked, was a bill of rights? And from Virginia, the question resounded: What was the status of slavery?

Expertly narrated by Walter Cronkite, The Constitutional Convention and the Ratification Debates is an enlightening look at America's most important document.  

One of America's most acclaimed novelists turns to nonfiction in this powerful re-creation of the great Hartford circus fire, which took the lives of 167 people and forever changed the city and its people. On July 6, 1944, in Hartford, Connecticut, the big top of Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus caught fire during the middle of the afternoon performance. Nine thousand people were inside. The canvas of the big tent had been waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin and gasoline. In seconds, the big top was burning out of control. Bleacher seats were fronted by steel railings with narrow openings; the main exits were blocked by caged chutes in which leopards and lions, having just performed, raged, maddened by the fire. In re-creating the horrific events of one of America's most cataclysmic civic tragedies, Stewart O'Nan has fashioned both an incomparably gripping narrative and a profound, measured glimpse into the extremes of human behavior under duress. In the madness of the inferno, some like animal trainer May Kovar and the tragic Bill Curlee (who tossed dozens of children to safety over the lion's chute), would act with superhuman bravery. Others, like the sailor who broke a woman's jaw to get past her, would become beasts. The toll of the fire, and its circumstances, haunt Hartford to the present day - the identity of one young victim, known only as Little Miss 1565, remains an enduring mystery and a source of conflict in the city.But it is the intense, detailed narrative - before, after, and especially during the panic under the burning tent - that will remain with readers long after they finish this exceptional book.