Dave Davies

When Confidential magazine launched in 1952, it feasted on the type of juicy gossip that could launch -- or ruin -- a career. Journalist Henry Scott details the rise and fall of the gossip rag in his book, Shocking True Story -- and explains how Hollywood reacted.

Ewan McGregor has played a heroin addict in Trainspotting, a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in three Star Wars films, and a poet in Moulin Rouge. In his latest film, Roman Polanski's Ghost Writer, McGregor plays an unnamed writer uncovering a political scandal. He recounts his favorite acting roles — and how he prepared for them.

William Halsted is credited with creating the United States' first surgical residency program and transforming the way operating rooms are sterilized. He was also a morphine addict. Plastic surgeon Gerald Imber details Halsted's dual lives in the new biography Genius on the Edge.