When Kentucky native Laura Bell graduated from college in 1977, she decided to follow her own path in life--and for her that meant moving to Wyoming's Bighorn Basin, where she took a job herding sheep. Thirty years later, Bell is still in Wyoming, though over the years she has been everything from a ranch hand to a masseuse to a housewife. Claiming Ground is her memoir about her transformative years in Wyoming, remarkable not just for the details of Bell's journey of self-discovery but for her astonishing ability to impart a sense of place in her writing. Anyone who enjoys reading about the beauty of the American West won't want to miss Claiming Ground.

Though she's been dead for nearly 200 years, Jane Austen may be hotter than ever; her novels are still widely read, her books are continually made into films, and a host of contemporary novelists are churning out "sequels" to her beloved works. Here, in Jane's Fame, biographer Claire Harman gives a complete biography of Austen, showing her as both a dutiful daughter and a determined feminist who boldly pursued a career in writing. But that's only part of what Harman discusses in this unique book, for she also charts the rise and fall of Austen's popularity over time and her influence on popular culture. According to Booklist, this engaging book is "a must for any serious Austen reader."

While everyone surely knows the name Winston Churchill, many may be surprised to learn that prior to World War II, he did not appear to be headed for greatness, for Churchill's career seemed all but over. Yet, in 1940, he nevertheless became Britain's prime minister and went on to lead his nation to victory against Germany and Japan. In Winston's War, military historian Max Hastings profiles Churchill during 1940-1945, detailing how he managed the war and how he became one of Britain's best war leaders ever. Readers who want to know even more about Churchill's military career should pick up Carlo D'Este's Warlord: A Life of Winston Churchill At War, 1874-1945.

In 1955, the legendary Paul Newman--then an unknown actor--was introduced to playwright A. E. Hotchner when he starred in one of Hotchner's television plays. Newman and Hotchner became friends, and up until the time of Newman's death more than 50 years later, they were still bosom buddies. Paul and Me is Hotchner's account of his friendship with Newman, from their numerous travels to their creation of the Newman's Own product line. For more memoirs about long-lasting friendships involving famous people, check out Jerry Schilling's Me and a Guy Named Elvis: My Lifelong Friendship with Elvis Presley or Bill Russell's Red and Me: My Coach, My Lifelong Friend.

May 8, 1964. During her long career, actress Melissa Gilbert--best known for her role as Laura Ingalls Wilder in the 1970s television series Little House on the Prairie--has appeared in numerous television shows and movies, worked as both a writer and a producer, and been the president of the Screen Actors Guild. In Prairie Tale, Gilbert looks back on her life, from growing up in front of the camera to the ups and downs of her personal life, including her struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. If you want to read another memoir written by a 1970s child star, check out Maureen McCormick's Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice.

May 12, 1925. Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra, one of the greatest baseball players of all time as well as one of the most quoted, has been the star of surprisingly few full-scale biographies. But thanks to author Allen Barra, Yogi gets center-stage treatment in this entertaining portrait. Among the topics that Barra covers are Yogi's childhood in St. Louis, his record-breaking career with the Yankees, and his success as a manager for both the Yankees and the Mets. If you're in the mood for more biographies of baseball greats, check out Richard Cramer's Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life or Jonathan Eig's Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig.

May 24, 1819 (Queen Victoria). Say the phrase "power couple" and names like Barack and Michelle Obama and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie come to mind. But before those famed pairs made headlines, there was England's Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, a wife-and-husband team that biographer Gillian Gill characterizes as a "forerunner of today's power couple." In this engaging dual portrait, Gill analyzes the unique dynamics of their marriage and shows how together they shaped one of England's most well-known eras. For more biographies focusing on power couples, check out Anne Edwards' The Reagans or J. Randy Taraborrelli's Once Upon a Time: Behind the Fairy Tale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier.

May 27, 1912. Only six weeks before his death from cancer in 1982, American novelist and short-story writer John Cheever received the National Medal for Literature at Carnegie Hall. Beginning with that moment, biographer Blake Bailey presents a riveting portrait of this literary icon, painting him as a complex man with a deeply conflicted soul. Bailey examines all aspects of Cheever's life, from his alcoholism to his secret bisexuality to his difficult relationships with his children. Pick up this comprehensive and well-researched biography to learn more about Cheever, one of the most talented writers of the last century.

Five years after Welsh-born Ruth Fowler graduated with honors from Cambridge University, she had yet to begin her professional career; instead, she was taking her clothes off for money in New York City's Times Square. But how did she end up there? In No Man's Land, Ruth Fowler explains how she decided to move to Manhattan to pursue a career in journalism but fell into exotic dancing when she had trouble getting a visa. Fowler's memoir--preceded by her online blog--is full of eye-opening details about what life is really like in strip clubs, and she also describes her relationship with a well-educated British man whom she met while dancing. If you like this book, check out Diablo Cody's Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper.

Not long after Robert Rummel-Hudson's daughter, Schuyler, was born, it became apparent that something wasn't quite right, as she never made any effort to speak. As Rummel-Hudson details in this memoir (which grew out of an online blog he kept at the time), it took three long years before the cause of Schuyler's muteness was determined: polymicrogyria, an extremely rare brain disorder with a grim prognosis. With poignancy and candor, Rummel-Hudson describes how Schuyler nevertheless was a tenacious and joyful child who was eventually able to communicate via sign language and a device called an electronic speech synthesizer. Don't pass up this moving and heartfelt memoir.

In April 2007, professional photographer and new Wyoming resident Shreve Stockton adopted an unlikely pet: a 10-day-old coyote whose parents had been shot for killing sheep. As Shreve raised the coyote, whom she named Charlie, she kept a blog about their life together. That online journal serves as the basis of this fascinating book, which will appeal to readers interested in human-animal relationships. If you like this memoir, check out Malcolm MacPherson's The Cowboy and His Elephant: The Story of a Remarkable Friendship, which also takes place in the American West.

In this charming memoir about her childhood and adult life both in and out of the kitchen, Molly Wizenberg, the creator of the award-winning Orangette blog, says that "everything interesting, everything good, seemed to happen when food was around." Among the varied topics that Wizenberg covers are her father's death from cancer and the chocolate cake she prepared for her wedding. Sprinkled throughout are recipes for such delectable eats as pickled carrots and banana bread with chocolate and ginger. Readers hungry for more foodie reads should check out Ruth Reichl's memoirs or Julie Powell's Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.