View more March Biography & Autobiography releases

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead Books, paperback, $16.00)

In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded first Cuba, then the Philippines, becoming an international superpower practically overnight. Vowell considers the Americanization of Hawaii the most intriguing. From the arrival of New England missionaries in 1820, to the coup d'état of the missionaries' sons in 1893, which overthrew the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling, and often appealing or tragic, characters. 

View more March History releases

Moby-Duck by Donovan Hohn (Penguin Books, paperback, $16.00)

When Donovan Hohn heard of the mysterious loss of thousands of bath toys at sea, he figured he would interview a few oceanographers, talk to a few beachcombers, and read up on Arctic science and geography. But questions can be like ocean currents: wade in too far, and they carry you away. Hohn's accidental odyssey pulls him into the secretive world of shipping conglomerates, the daring work of Arctic researchers, the lunatic risks of maverick sailors, and the shadowy world of Chinese toy factories.

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer (Penguin Books, paperback, $16.00)

Moonwalking with Einstein recounts Joshua Foer's yearlong quest to improve his memory under the tutelage of top "mental athletes". He draws on cutting-edge research, a surprising cultural history of remembering, and venerable tricks of the mentalist's trade to transform our understanding of human memory. From the United States Memory Championship to deep within the author's own mind, this is an electrifying work of journalism that reminds us that, in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories.

View more March Science releases

Londoners by Craig Taylor (Ecco, hardcover, $29.99)

Craig Taylor has spent years traversing every corner of London, getting to know the most interesting Londoners. With candor and humor, this diverse cast - rich and poor, old and young, native and immigrant, men and women (and even a Sarah who used to be a George) - shares indelible tales that capture the city as never before. Together, these voices paint a vivid, epic, and wholly original portrait of 21st-century London in all its breadth. Londoners is the autobiography of one of the world's greatest cities.

View more March Travel releases

Anatomy of Injustice by Raymond Bonner (Alfred A. Knopf, hardcover, $26.95)

In January 1982, an elderly white widow was found brutally murdered in the small town of Greenwood, South Carolina. Police immediately arrested Edward Lee Elmore, a semiliterate, mentally retarded black man with no previous felony record. His only connection to the victim was having cleaned her gutters and windows, but barely 90 days after the victim's body was found, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. Eleven years later, it required little scrutiny for Diana Holt, a young attorney eager to help the disenfranchised and voiceless, to discern that Elmore's case - plagued by incompetent court-appointed defense attorneys, a virulent prosecution, and both misplaced and contaminated evidence - reeked of injustice. Holt would spend more than a decade fighting on Elmore's behalf.

View more March True Crime releases

City of Bohane by Kevin Barry (Graywolf Press, hardcover, $25.00, on sale 3/13/12)

Thirty or so years in the future, the once-great city of Bohane on the west coast of Ireland is infested by vice and split along tribal lines. It is in the slums and backstreets of Smoketown, the tower blocks of the North Rises, and the eerie bogs of the Big Nothin' that the city really lives. For years it has all been under the control of Logan Hartnett, the dapper godfather of the Hartnett Fancy gang. But they say Hartnett's old nemesis is back in town; his trusted henchmen are getting ambitious; and his missus wants him to give it all up and go straight.

Dancing on Broken Glass by Ka Hancock (Gallery Books, paperback, $15.00, on sale 3/13/12)

Lucy Houston and Mickey Chandler probably shouldn't have fallen in love, let alone gotten married. He has bipolar disorder; she, a ravaging family history of breast cancer. Cautious every step of the way, they are determined to make their relationship work - and they put their commitment in writing. Mickey will take his medication. Lucy won't blame him for what is beyond his control. They make the heartbreaking decision not to have children. But when Lucy gets pregnant despite precautions, all their rules are thrown out the window, and the two of them must redefine what love really is.

This Burns My Heart by Samuel Park (Simon & Schuster, paperback, $15.00)

On the eve of her marriage, beautiful and strong-willed Soo-Ja Choi receives a passionate proposal from a young medical student. But caught up in her desire to pursue a career in Seoul, she turns him away, having impetuously chosen another man who she believes will let her fulfill her dreams. Instead, she finds herself tightly bound by tradition and trapped in a suffocating marriage, her ambition reduced to carving out a successful future for her only daughter. Through it all, she longs for the man she truly loves, whose path she seems destined to cross again and again. A March 2012 Indie Next Pick. 

The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer (River Head Books, paperback, $15.00)

When the elliptical new drama teacher at Stellar Plains High School chooses Lysistrata as the school play - the comedy by Aristophanes in which women stop having sex with men in order to end a war - the perfectly healthy, normal women and teenage girls at the school turn away from their husbands and boyfriends in the bedroom, for reasons they don't really understand. As the women worry over their loss of passion and the men become by turns unhappy, offended, and above all, confused, both sides are forced to look at their shared history, and at their sexual selves in a new light. 

Five Bells by Gail Jones (Picador, paperback, $15.00)

  

Chasing Midnight by Randy Wayne White (Putnam, hardcover, $25.95)

Doc Ford uses darkness as cover to get an underwater look at a notorious Russian black marketeer's yacht. When Ford surfaces, environmental extremists - or perhaps thugs hired by competitors - have taken control of the island. They've herded everyone together and threatened to kill one hostage every hour until midnight unless their demands are met - at which point they will just blow everybody up. Electronic jammers make communications with the outside world impossible. But the militants do not know Ford's capabilities, or that he is still on the loose. But that situation won't last for long.

  

Blue Monday by Nicci French (Pamela Dorman Books, hardcover, $26.95)

The abduction of five-year-old Matthew Farraday provokes a national outcry and a desperate police hunt. When his face is splashed over the newspapers, psychotherapist Frieda Klein cannot ignore the coincidence. Her patient, Alan Dekker, has been having dreams in which he has a hunger for a child: a red-haired, freckled child he can describe in perfect detail. A child the spitting image of Matthew. Before long, Frieda is at the center of the desperate race to find the kidnapper.

  

Restless in the Grave by Dana Stabenow (Minotaur Books, hardcover, $25.99)

Someone sabotaged Finn Grant's engine, and virtually everyone in southwestern Alaska has a motive, including Liam Campbell's wife. With few places to turn, Kate Shugak is quickly brought onto the case. Working undercover as a waitress, Kate learns over beer and burgers that Grant's business had expanded meteorically over the last two years. After buying the closed Air Force base south of town, he became a fixed-base operator running his fishing, hunting, and flight-seeing business, servicing planes flying through the area, and most interestingly and lucratively, getting into the air freight business. But what kind of freight was he moving, and where?

  

View more March Mystery & Detective releases

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Children's & Young Adult

  

Piggy Bunny by Rachel Vail (Feiwel & Friends, hardcover, $14.99)

Most piglets want to be pigs when they grow up. Not Liam. He wants to be a bunny. Even if it takes a lot of practice to learn how to hop . . . and to eat salad. Even if no one believes that a piggy can be a bunny. With a lot of determination, and a little help from his grandma, Liam is determined to make his dream come true. For children who put on a cape or a tutu, who dream of being someone or something different, Piggy Bunny offers a reassuring and fun opportunity to believe in themselves.

  

And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano (Roaring Brook Press, hardcover, $16.99)

Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they've had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way. Julie Fogliano's tender story of anticipation is brought to life by the distinctive illustrations of Erin E. Stead, recipient of the 2011 Caldecott Medal.

  

The Lorax Pop-up! by Dr. Seuss (Robin Corey Books, hardcover, $29.99)

Dr. Seuss's well-known and well-loved The Lorax is as timely now as it was when it was first published in 1971 - perhaps even more so. This bestselling ecological warning is now available in an elaborate pop-up book, published in conjunction with the release of The Lorax feature film on March 2, 2012 - Ted Geisel's birthday. David Carter has transformed Seuss's powerful message and has brought to life the Lorax, the Bar-ba-loots, the Truffula Tree Tufts - and more - in eight dynamic pop-up spreads.

  

The Velveteen Rabbit and the Boy by Maria S. Barbo (Square Fish, paperback, $3.99)

When a young boy and his toy rabbit go outside to play, their imagination takes them on all sorts of adventures. But then the boy disappears. A storm is rapidly approaching, and the Velveteen Rabbit is all alone under the darkening sky. Will the boy return to find his rabbit before the rain comes?

  

No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko (Puffin, paperback, $6.99)

Three siblings - India, Finn, and Mouse - have less than 48 hours to pack up all their belongings and fly, without Mom, to their uncle Red's in Colorado, after they lose their house to foreclosure. But when they land, a mysterious driver meets them at the airport, and he's never heard of Uncle Red. Like Dorothy in Oz, they find themselves in a place they've never heard of, with no idea of how to get home, and time is running out. Sharp dialogue, high stakes, and taut action make this a book that will stick with you long after you read the incredible ending.

  

View more March Juvenile Fiction releases
View more March Juvenile Nonfiction releases  

  

  

Graphic Novels

 

The Hunger Pains by Stefan Petrucha (Papercutz, paperback, $6.99)

The hit science fiction novel series gets the Papercutz Slices parody treatment, right before the release of the big-budget film adaptation!  All three books from "The Hunger Games" trilogy get sliced up by parody team Rick Parker and Stefan Petrucha, who refuse to pull any punches in this comedic romp.

 

View more March Comic & Graphic Novel releases