This compilation of remembrances of former Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley portrays a man who was dedicated to bringing laughter to the lives of others and who cared deeply about his friends, yet who was unable to manage his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Though testimonials come from fellow stars like David Spade, Chris Rock, and John Goodman, there are also pieces from former schoolmates and other "unknowns," revealing multiple sides of a complex man. If you were a fan of the late comedian, you won't want to miss this treasure trove of stories.

After giving up golf in 1973, novelist and Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen makes a less-than-triumphant return to the game that has frustrated thousands, including himself. Never a great player--he still isn't!--he's nevertheless soon back in the swing of things: having bought various golf clubs and gadgets, he plays round after round, remembers playing golf as a kid with his father, and watches his own 5-year-old son hit a few balls. Even if you don't play golf, pick up The Downhill Lie for a fun read; Booklist says it's "hysterically, sublimely, surreally funny."

Benjamin Nugent is a blogger, music critic, and observer of popular culture. He's also dating Mindy Kaling of The Office fame--and he's a self-described nerd (though the jury is out on whether that's a bad thing or a good thing). His exploration of the nerd concept presents the many varied subcultures (fans of Japanese anime, members of the Society for Creative Anachronisms) as he mixes anecdotes from his own awkward childhood with his history of the nerd in the media, literature, and society. "Great fun, whether you're cool or not," says Kirkus Reviews.

Depending on your interests, you may know William Shatner as the egotistic lawyer on the television series Boston Legal, or you may recognize him from his Priceline commercials. But he's undeniably best known for his long-running portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. In Up Till Now, Shatner talks about both his career and his personal life, including his early acting jobs, his many non-Star Trek roles, and how his alter ego, Captain Kirk, has influenced not only pop culture but his own sense of self. He's clearly a man capable of laughing at himself, so you won't want to miss this entertaining memoir. Warp speed to the library, Mr. Sulu!

Tim Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for over 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was NBC News' Washington Bureau Chief and also hosted CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview program Tim Russert. He was a frequent correspondent and guest on NBC's The Today Show and Hardball. Russert covered several presidential elections, and he presented the NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey on the NBC Nightly News during the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Time Magazine declared Russert one of the "100 most influential people in the world" in 2008.

This biography is an intensely personal and charming memoir of American life in the 1950s and the special bond he shares with his father - the irrepressible Big Russ. From the lessons he learned from his father and his Catholic upbringing to his passion for the Buffalo Bills and the New York Yankees to the grace of daily obligations and patriotism, Russert's reflections hit the very epicenter of American values. Includes 16 pages of color and b&w photos.

The Olympic tradition originated in Greece in 776 B.C. and continued until 393 A.D., followed by a 1,500-year hiatus. The Olympics of the modern era officially began in 1896, when the International Olympic Committee organized the Summer Games in Athens. Between then and 1992, when the first edition of this book was published, many aspects of the games changed (for example, women were barred from competing in 1896), but professor Allen Guttmann makes one thing clear--the Olympic Games have always been political. To learn more about the history behind the Games, check out this "timely tome" (Booklist).

When this book was first published in 1985, there was already a sense that amateur sportsmanship had fallen away in favor of endorsed athletes--and this was before the Olympics were opened to America's professional athletes. In The Amateurs, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author David Halberstam focuses on the true amateurs, who train not for fame or financial reward but for the pure desire to be the best in their sport. Profiling four unknown oarsmen as they compete against each other to represent their country at the 1984 Olympic Games in the U.S.'s only one-man scull, this is a "penetrating, fascinating and remarkably suspenseful narrative" (Chicago Tribune).

An account of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome reveals the competition's unexpected influence on the modern world, in a narrative synopsis that evaluates the roles of Cold War propaganda, civil rights, and politics

The first Olympic competitions, which were held more than 2,500 years ago, featured tens of thousands of sweltering-hot spectators watching nude athletes participate in such events as the hoplitodromia (a full-armor sprint) and the pankration (a no-holds-barred lethal brawl in which strangulation was a favorite technique) as well as the more familiar footraces. Chock-full of details about the events, the living quarters, and the context in which these games were held, this book will make you feel like you're actually attending the ancient Olympics--and probably make you grateful for the air conditioning and sanitary bathrooms of today's sporting events.

When Jesse Owens participated in the 1936 Olympic Games in the heart of Nazi Germany, not only did he set three world records in track and field and win four gold medals, but he also squashed Adolf Hitler's claims of Aryan supremacy. In Triumph, ESPN anchor and author Jeremy Schaap (Cinderella Man) draws on previously unpublished interviews and extensive archival research to detail Owens' experiences at "Hitler's Olympics" and to probe the controversies, political machinations, and intrigues that surrounded the 11th Olympiad. Kirkus Reviews says this book "explodes off the blocks and proceeds with grace and fluidity."