"Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered."
—Wystan Hugh Auden (1907-73) British-born American writer, critic
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- Info
'Picture Cook': Drawings Are The Key Ingredients In These Recipes
Fri, 17 May 2013 14:45:00 -0400
Designer Katie Shelly's upcoming cookbook offers 50 illustrated recipe "blueprints" for basic meals — from simple snacks to more hefty dishes like eggplant Parmesan. She hopes they'll inspire any level of cook to improvise in the kitchen.
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Resetting the Theory of Time
Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 -0400
Generations of physicists have claimed that time is an illusion. But not all agree. In his book Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe, theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that time exists--and he says time is key to understanding the evolution of the universe.
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Insects May Be The Taste Of The Next Generation, Report Says
Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 -0400
A report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says insects offer a huge potential for improving the world's food security. Peter Menzel, co-author of Man Eating Bugs, describes some insect-based cuisine and the western aversion to creepy-crawly snacks.
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When Great Scientists Got It Wrong
Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 -0400
In Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein, astrophysicist Mario Livio explores the colossal errors committed by scientific greats, from chemist Linus Pauling's botched model of DNA, to Charles Darwin's failure to understand genetics--the very mechanism of natural selection.
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Neil Gaiman Turns His Grad Speech Into 'Good Art'
Tue, 14 May 2013 13:00:00 -0400
Neil Gaiman's new book is based on a speech he delivered to graduates of Philadelphia's University of the Arts. When life gets tough, he told them, "make good art." It's advice that served him well when he turned a failed '90s TV series into the "much-loved" novel Neverwhere.
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In Somalia, Surviving A Kidnapping Against 'Impossible Odds'
Tue, 14 May 2013 03:28:00 -0400
In 2011, Jessica Buchanan, an aid worker in Somalia, was kidnapped by land pirates. For 93 days she fought off despair while her husband, Erik Landemalm, wondered if he'd ever see her again. In a two-part interview, Buchanan and Landemalm recall Buchanan's capture and her dramatic rescue by Navy SEALs.
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'Guns At Last Light' Illuminates Final Months Of World War II
Tue, 14 May 2013 03:26:00 -0400
Historian Rick Atkinson's new book completes his trilogy on the second world war. He tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that the events of the war may be 70 years in the past, but they're still very much a part of American culture.
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In 'Passage,' Caro Mines LBJ's Changing Political Roles
Mon, 13 May 2013 13:38:00 -0400
The fourth volume in Robert Caro's monumental biography of Lyndon Johnson is The Passage of Power; it explores the period between 1958 and 1964 during which Johnson went from powerful Senate majority leader to powerless vice president to — suddenly — president of the United States.
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Why You Should Give A $*%! About Words That Offend
Mon, 13 May 2013 05:20:00 -0400
Curse words change over time — back in the ninth century you could say the "s" word and no one would be offended. But we always need a set of words that are off-limits, and in her new book, author Melissa Mohr explains how the words that shock us reveal a lot about society's values.
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'Impossible Odds' Details Aid Worker's Rescue From Somalia
Mon, 13 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400
David Greene speaks with Jessica Buchanan and her husband Erik Landemalm about their book Impossible Odds. It's the story of Jessica's abduction, along with a fellow aid worker, by Somali pirates in 2011. In the first of the two-part interview, we hear how Jessica was abducted, and how she refused to fall into despair while in captivity.
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After Leaving Senate, Snowe Is Still 'Fighting For Common Ground'
Mon, 13 May 2013 02:59:00 -0400
In a new book, former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe explores how to fix the gridlock in Congress. Earlier this year, the Republican from Maine left the Senate out of frustration with the partisan stalemate. "It has to change, for the country," she says. "People deserve ... better representation."
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After Long Wait, Novelist James Salter Shares 'All That Is'
Sun, 12 May 2013 15:40:00 -0400
Salter's first book, in 1957, won the admiration of writers and critics alike. But he hadn't written a novel since 1979, until now. All That Is sets out to give a sweeping portrait of human experience, with a main character who appears suspiciously similar to Salter himself.
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Chasing A Dream, Speeding Down 'The Emerald Mile'
Sun, 12 May 2013 08:00:00 -0400
Host Rachel Martin talks to writer Kevin Fedarko about his new book, The Emerald Mile, which tells the harrowing story of three men who ride the flooded Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.
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A 'Cooked Seed' Sprouts After All, In America
Sun, 12 May 2013 05:34:00 -0400
Anchee Min's new book, The Cooked Seed, picks up 20 years after the end of her bestselling memoir Red Azalea, as Min arrives in America with little money and no English. After persecution in China, Min describes art school in America as "a strange environment, very surreal."
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The 'Curious' Story Of Robert 'Believe It Or Not!' Ripley
Sat, 11 May 2013 16:54:53 -0400
Neal Thompson's new biography traces the life of the newspaper cartoonist who became an international celebrity and media superstar. Ripley's pioneering mix of the strange, the shocking and the barely believable shaped the way Americans saw the world.
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