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What if the rapture actually occurred? That's the plot of Tom Perrotta's new novel The Leftovers, which examines the aftermath of an unexplained rapturelike event in which millions of people around the globe inexplicably disappear into thin air.

The African Union hopes to raise funds and awareness of the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa, especially in Somalia, with a "pledging conference" Thursday. The U.N. is appealing for more than $1.5 billion in donations, as refugees from the war-ravaged country continue to stream into Kenya.

While many hoped Barack Obama's presidency would usher in a post-racial period in America, Randall Kennedy says the reality hasn't lived up to that expectation. In The Persistence of the Color Line, Kennedy explores the racial issues still at play in the presidency and throughout the country.

The A&P changed the way Americans do their grocery shopping, but it did so at a cost — thousands of mom-and-pop corner stores closed as the chain grew. Economic historian Marc Levinson chronicles the rise and fall of the grocery giant in The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America.

The Syrian city of Hama has been a center of anti-government protests. It was recently the site of what activists are calling the Ramadan massacre, in which 100 protesters were reportedly killed. NPR's Kelly McEvers was part of a government-sponsored tour.

Terrified of flying? Join the club. Author Chris Bohjalian is, too, but he encourages you to confront those fears and indulge in these three books that share the tale of moments high in the sky and the tension when something goes terribly wrong.

Stereotypes about middle children are hardly flattering; they're seen as confused underachievers who are overshadowed and overlooked. But in The Secret Power of Middle Children, Catherine Salmon and Katrin Schumann argue that there are hidden benefits to being a middle child.

Waters founded her Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, long before "organic" or "locally grown" entered the vernacular. In 40 Years at Chez Panisse, Waters looks back on the sustainable food movement and the momentum it has built in recent years.

The "World's Most Wanted Hacker" broke into scores of big phone and tech companies and evaded the FBI for several years. Now Mitnick is out of prison and hacking again, but this time, it's different.

Citing cases from Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. to Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, psychiatrist Nassir Ghaemi argues in a new book that the struggles that accompany some mental illness — particularly mania and depression — make for better leaders in times of crisis.