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The British monarch ruled at a time of civil war — and was blamed for much of the bloodshed. In Killers of the King, Charles Spencer tells the story of the men who signed the king's death warrant.

In God's Bankers Gerald Posner explores the history of money, power and the church. During World War II, he says, the Vatican made money off of the life insurance policies of Jews sent to death camps.

In the 1960s, Lynn Povich was part of a revolution at Newsweek that changed women's roles in news organizations. Her new book, The Good Girls Revolt, describes how she recruited women in bathrooms to sue management. She tells NPR that even today, "vigilance is necessary."

Mickey Spillane was the best-selling mystery writer of the 20th century. He created Mike Hammer after returning from World War II, and though Spillane died in 2006, writer Max Allan Collins is keeping Hammer's story alive by completing the manuscripts Spillane left behind.

From food scientists who study the human palate to maximize consumer bliss, to marketing campaigns that target teens to hook them for life on a brand, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Moss' new book goes inside the world of processed, packaged goods.

Dr. Sam Parnia researches the experiences of cardiac arrest patients in the time between when their hearts stop and when they are brought back to life. Parnia thinks of these experiences as actual-death experiences as opposed to near-death experiences.

Journalist Lawrence Wright's new book, Going Clear, is a penetrating look at Scientology and its famous practitioners. The book centers on Crash and Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis, who famously left the church over its support for an anti-gay marriage initiative in California.

In his new memoir, Here Comes Trouble, the filmmaker behind Roger & Me shares vignettes from throughout his life, including his early interest in becoming a Catholic priest and his days as a young supporter of Richard Nixon.

Criminologist David M. Kennedy's strategy for reducing gang violence has dramatically reduced youth homicide rates nationwide. In his new memoir, Don't Shoot, Kennedy outlines how community meetings and interventions have worked to curb youth violence in more than 70 cities.

John Paul Stevens' new memoir is framed as a discussion about the office of the chief justice; it includes a brief history of the nation's first 12 chief justices, followed by thorough descriptions of the five he knew well. Stevens, now 91, retired in 2010 after nearly 35 years on the Supreme Court.