Women around the world...

The Secretary: A Journey with Hillary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power by Kim Ghattas (2013)

Very few people have access to the Secretary of State on her travels around the globe.  Kim Ghattas was part of the press corps that traveled with Secretary Clinton and gives us an inside look not only at HRC, but the intricate web of diplomacy, the United States on the world stage and her own life.  Ghattas has a unique perspective on U.S. diplomacy, having been born and raised in the Middle East and later working on the other side, seeing that the delicate dance America has to do is not as cut and dried as people believe it to be.

Also explored are Clinton's relationships with the world leaders as well as the people of their countries, how she dealt with wikileaks, round the clock preparation for talks in the Middle East and elsewhere, reclaiming our former status with other nations and negotiating during the Arab Spring.

This one is a wealth of information about diplomacy and if you like HRC, that is icing on the cake.
 

Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court by Sandra Day O' Connor (2013)

From the inception of the Court through the modern day, this book gives a behind the scenes look at the institution that almost had no role and then grew into one of the most respected bodies of government in the United States.  History, anecdotes and photos fill out this book about the evolution of the Court.


Wave by Sonali Deranyigala (2013)

Disaster strikes.  How do you go on after tsunami takes your husband, children and parents from you?  This is what the author tries to convey and almost can't even a decade later.  While on Sri Lanka with her family, the waves rage at the hotel where Deranyigala and her family are and minutes later they are fleeing in a jeep which is soon taken over by water.

Catatonic, she leaves the town and stays with relatives awaiting word of survivors or more likely found bodies.

Years go by and she seeks a reason to keep going.  But reminders lurk at home and abroad.  All because of that wave.