Books

Claudia Rankine was nominated for a National Book Award for Citizen.

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Arts

Black Bodies In White Words, Or: Why We Need Claudia Rankine

12:55pm March 04, 2015

by Syreeta McFadden

Writer and photographer Syreeta McFadden says that when she's challenged to prove the existence of everyday racism, she directs friends, allies and enemies to Claudia Rankine's powerful Citizen.

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Arts

A Vivid Portrait Of Tudor Turmoil In 'Lamentation'

10:03am March 04, 2015

by Nishant Dahiya

The sixth volume of C.J. Sansom's Shardlake mysteries is set during the last days of England's King Henry VIII, as a potentially explosive religious manuscript written by his queen has gone missing.

The Vatican Bank is "essentially an offshore bank in the middle of a foreign country," says Gerald Posner. Above is an aerial view of St. Peter's basilica in Vatican City.

From Laundering To Profiteering, A Multitude Of Sins At The Vatican Bank

9:27am March 04, 2015

by NPR Staff

In God's Bankers Gerald Posner explores the history of money, power and the church. During World War II, he says, the Vatican made money off of the life insurance policies of Jews sent to death camps.

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A Life Examined — And Examined And Examined In 'Ongoingness'

8:09pm March 03, 2015

by Heller McAlpin

Writer Sarah Manguso has been a compulsive diarist since childhood; her new memoir documents the ways motherhood has changed her writing. Critic Heller McAlpin says it's full of lovely observations.

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Arts

'The Devil's Detective' Is A Grim Tour Through A Noirish Hell

7:38pm March 03, 2015

by Jason Heller

Hell is actually a bureaucracy in Simon Kurt Unsworth's debut novel. Reviewer Jason Heller says the tale of a demonic murder investigation starts strong but gets mired in the details of infernal life.

Charles Darrow sold Monopoly to Parker Bros. in the 1930s.

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Arts

Ever Cheat At Monopoly? So Did Its Creator: He Stole The Idea From A Woman

5:00pm March 03, 2015

by NPR Staff

The game Charles Darrow sold in the 1930s bore a striking resemblance to a game Lizzie Magie patented in 1904. In The Monopolists, Mary Pilon tells Monopoly's origin story.

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Kevin Carey's writing has appeared in The New York Times, Slate and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Prepare For 'The End Of College': Here's What Free Higher Ed Looks Like

4:58pm March 03, 2015

In his new book, Kevin Carey envisions a future in which online education programs solve two of colleges' biggest problems: costs and admissions.

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This Weekend, Experience The Enduring Power Of 'The Millstone'

3:07pm March 03, 2015

by NPR Staff

Margaret Drabble's The Millstone, set in the 1960s, tells the story of a young, unmarried woman who finds herself pregnant. Author Tessa Hadley says this 50-year-old novel is a weekend must-read.

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'Welcome To Braggsville' Isn't Quite 'Invisible Man,' But It's Close

2:19pm March 03, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

T. Geronimo Johnson's latest follows four Berkeley students who take an American history class that leads to disaster. It's an ambitious book about race that wants to say something big about America.

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Arts

'Beholder' Has An Eye For The Absurd, And A Smirk Beneath Its Beard

4:18pm March 02, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Francis Falbo, sad sack hero of Know Your Beholder, hasn't shaved in weeks. His wife's left him, his mom's died, his band's fallen apart. Good thing his author, Adam Rapp, has kept his sense of humor.