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In The Secret History of the War on Cancer, environmental-health expert Devra Davis warns that we're ignoring dozens of cancer-causing chemicals, like asbestos, benzene, vinyl chloride, and dioxin. She writes that, like the tobacco companies, the chemical industry has managed to obfuscate the carcinogenic dangers of chemical and other toxic waste.

The noted travel writer has been to many of the Earth's more exotic places. But he returns to familiar territory with a new memoir. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid takes a warm look at Bryson's formative years in 1950s Des Moines, Iowa.

Episcopalian minister Barbara Brown Taylor's new book, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith, describes her decision to leave her job after 15 years as a full-time minister. Taylor was named one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world by Baylor University. After her ministry, she went to teach religion at Piedmont College in Georgia. She is also an editor-at-large and columnist for The Christian Century.

Gordon Corera, security correspondent for the BBC, warns in his new book that we may be entering a new era of accelerated weapons proliferation. In Shopping for Bombs, Corera writes about the challenges of halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and about A.Q. Khan, the man described by a former CIA director as at least as dangerous as Osama bin Laden.

Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards has edited a book, Home, in which both public figures and lesser-known professionals reflect on the places where they grew up. The former senator currently lives in Chapel Hill, N.C., and campaigned for Democrats in advance of last week's midterm elections. He talks about the Kerry-Edwards campaign and his thoughts on his own possible presidential bid in 2008.

How did Louis the XIV manage all of his kingly duties — from invading the Spanish Netherlands to engineering the extraordinary gardens at Versailles — when he was always in the bedroom?

Isabel Allende's novel, Ines of My Soul, is a fictionalized account of the life of Ines Suarez, a seamstress who helped found Chile. The story led Allende to empathize with both sides of a centuries-old conflict.

In his new biography, Kirby: King of Comics, TV and comics writer Mark Evanier details the life and career of noted comic artist Jack Kirby, the co-creator of the Marvel Comics characters the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk and X-Men.

Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan presents her nonfiction summer reading list — three true tales, plus one book of fiction she just couldn't resist.

For six decades, Bertie Bowman has worked on Capitol Hill. He began as a 13-year-old sweeping the steps, and now he is the hearing scheduler for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In between, he forged friendships with some of the most prominent members of the Senate. Step by Step is his new memoir.