May 23, 2011 It may appear that Ashley Judd has led a charmed life. The daughter/sister of famed country duo Naomi and Wynonna Judd, she seemed to appear out of nowhere during the mid-90s, her pixie-like presence lighting up films such as Smoke, Kiss The Girls, and 2004’s De-Lovely. But there’s a dark side to her fame—and to the seemingly wholesome Judd empire itself. In All That Is Bitter & Sweet, Judd documents her lifelong battle with depression and dysfunction, and the discovery of her true calling: social activism. By recognizing herself in the lost children of Africa and Asia, Judd has emerged as one of the most recognizable faces in the international fight for both HIV prevention and gender equality.

May 19, 2011 Because atheists deny the notion of a supreme spiritual authority, they are often derided as amoral, libertine, or, in perhaps the biggest slight of all, moral relativists. In Reasonable Atheism, Vanderbilt philosophy professors Scott F. Aikin and Robert B. Talisse argue just the opposite. Though they clearly believe religion is wrong-headed, even dangerous, the authors’ goal is not to decry religious faith but to show that godlessness deserves the same respect afforded mainstream belief systems.