Growing Up NASCAR

By Humpy Wheeler & Peter Golenbock

Hardcover, 304 pages ($25)

Wheeler, a true NASCAR insider for almost his entire life, helped expand the once-regional sport to a multi-billion-dollar, international industry through his outrageous, large-scale promotional stunts. Racetrack fans will relish his colorful, first-person tale, which begins with little Humpy hitchhiking (at 9 years old!) to his first NASCAR event. It continues through an increasingly wild ride of exploits, encounters and engrossing anecdotes about working in a variety of jobs in the pit, on the track and at the helm of one of the racing world’s crown jewels, the Lowe’s Motor Speedway in North Carolina. 

—Neil Pond, American Profile

The Fourth Kind

DVD ($29.98)

Strange things are going on in Alaska. Could it be close encounters of the “fourth kind”—abduction by space aliens? The prologue of this 2009 sci-fi thriller, which stars former supermodel Milla Jovovich as what must surely be Nome’s hottest psychiatrist, states it’s “based on actual case studies.” Hmmm… Provocatively staged and innovatively presented with a mix of “real” and “re-inacted” footage, it leaves you with something to think about—even if that’s only just how difficult it is to shake what you’ve just seen.

—Neil Pond, American Profile

Grace Kelly Style

By Kristina Haugland

Hardcover, 122 pages ($35)

A 1950s Philadelphia-born Hollywood starlet who became the Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly epitomized class, elegance and style—the embodiment, in the eyes of the world, of feminine perfection. This photo-packed look at her life, carefully cultivated image and era-spanning wardrobe is a treat for movie fans, royalty buffs, fashion watchers and anyone else interested in the life, career and impact of a one-of-a-kind actress, princess and intercontinental icon. 

—Neil Pond, American Profile

The Gospel According to Lost

By Chris Seay

Softcover, 199 pages ($14.99)

The hit TV series about a most mysterious island is wrapping up its final season. As its many riddles get whipped into a concluding swirl of science, philosophy, history and religion, the author examines the show’s characters, recurrent themes and head-spinning time-travel conundrums in a spiritual context. You may never have thought of “Lost” as one sprawling, six-year Sunday School lesson, but Seay finds plenty of food for thought in the show’s underlying tug-of-war between good and evil.   

—Neil Pond, American Profile

College in a Nutskull

Compiled by Professor Anders Hendriksson

Softcover, 136 pages ($8.95)

Need a good laugh? You’ll find it in this riotous roundup of bloopers, blunders and hopelessly bumbled attempts to bluff, culled from actual exam books of college students. A brief introduction offers a steadying reassurance: These bone-headed essay comments, wildly wrong test answers and preposterously filled-in blanks represent the undergraduate exception, not the rule. Thank goodness!

—Neil Pond, American Profile