Reader's Corner

We all know we’re in wild animal habitat when we enter the campground. Leave food unattended and you might find yourself in a battle with a bear. But what if the battleground was your own backyard?

History books are full of stories about the dangers and deprivations endured by soldiers who fought in the Civil War. What may be less well known are the challenges faced by journalists of the day who risked everything to get to the front lines of battle.

Many of us can probably recall maps of the solar system from our school days that showed nine planets, from Mercury to Pluto, orbiting around the sun. All that changed in 2006, when the International Astronomical Association voted to demote Pluto from a real planet to the newly coined category of “dwarf planet,” a move that stirred controversy around the world.

China has long been described as “inscrutable” – a country that is both exotic and difficult to understand. Today, the world’s most populous nation is a major player on the international stage. Yet, at times, China’s actions continue to baffle outsiders unfamiliar with the country’s long and rich history and its impact on all aspects of Chinese life.

National Book Award-winner and Author of "Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution"

Author of "Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage and Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan"

Author of "Agent Garbo: The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent who Tricked Hitler and Saved D-Day"

Author of "Automate This: How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World"

Author of " The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches From the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam"

Author of "Blackett's War: The Men Who Defeated the Nazi U-Boats and Brought Science to the Art of Warfare"

Author of "China in the 21st Century"

Author of "Wise Beyond Your Field: How Creative Leaders Out Innovate to Out Perform"

Author of "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character"

Author of "In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin"

Author of "Nature Wars"

Author of "Mr Hornaday's War: How a Peculiar Victorian Zookeeper Waged a Lonely Crusade for Wildlife that Changed the World."

Author of "The Spine of the Continent: The Most Ambitious Wildlife Conservation Project Ever Undertaken"

Astronomer and Author of "How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had it Coming"

Author of "Lions of the West"

Author of "The Vatican Diaries: a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church"

Author of "The Inventor and the Tycoon: A Gilded Age Murder and the Birth of Moving Pictures"

Author or "The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation"

A baby seal abandoned on a remote beach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, is an unlikely champion for endangered marine mammals worldwide. But tiny KP2 quickly captured the hearts of admirers across the islands, and the world, with his love for all things human and his playful and inquisitive personality.

Author of "Superman, the High Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero"

Author of "Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia's Underground Railroad"