'THE FRENCH CHEF IN AMERICA: Julia Child's Second Act' by Alex Prud'Homme. Child's enchanting memoir, "My Life in France," told only half the story. Her great-nephew and co-author on that bestseller picks up Julia's story back stateside in the late 1960s and '70s, as the "French Chef" rediscovered her American roots and expanded her culinary repertoire. (Alfred A. Knopf, $27.95)
'NAPOLEON'S LAST ISLAND' by Thomas Keneally. The Australian author of "Schindler's List" imagines the unlikely association between Napoleon and a British teenager named Betsy Balcome, who actually existed. The story takes place on the remote Atlantic Ocean island of St. Helena, where the French emperor was exiled after his 1815 defeat at Waterloo. (Atria, $30)
'HOW TO GET RUN OVER BY A TRUCK' by Katie McKenna. Fair warning: The title is literal. In 2007, Manhasset native McKenna was riding her bike in Brooklyn when she was run over by eight wheels of an 18-wheeler. This memoir recounts the experience and her long recovery, including rehab at Glen Cove Hospital. McKenna, a stand-up comic and blogger, brings terrific humor and soul to her story. (Inkshares, $15.99 paper)
