'Back Channel' Turns Up White House Intrigue
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Stephen L. Carter about his new novel, Back Channel. It's a political thriller set during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Books
Book Review: 'Angels Make Their Hope Here'
Alan Cheuse reviews Angels Make Their Hope Here, by Breena Clarke.
How Scientists Created A Typhus Vaccine In A 'Fantastic Laboratory'
Arthur Allen's new book, The Fantastic Laboratory of Dr. Weigl, describes how a WWII scientist in Poland smuggled the typhus vaccine to Jews — while his team made a weakened version for the Nazis.
On 'Tomlinson Hill,' Journalist Seeks Truth And Reconciliation
Chris Tomlinson covered conflict, including apartheid in Africa, for 11 years. Then the great-great-grandson of Texas slaveholders realized he needed to write a book about his family's history.
Surviving An Adult World In Fairy Tales, And Real Life
Since October thousands of children attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border have been taken into custody. Author Kate Bernheimer recommends a book to help reflect on the lives of these children.
William T. Vollmann's Ghost Stories Are Frighteningly Self-Indulgent
William T. Vollmann's 2005 novel Europe Central was a masterpiece. His latest work, a collection of ghost stories entitled "Last Stories and Other Stories" is flabby and cliched.
'Trans Bodies, Trans Selves': A Modern Manual By And For Trans People
Modeled after the groundbreaking feminist health manual Our Bodies, Ourselves, the book details the social, political and medical issues faced by transgender people.
An Army Wife Charts Her Struggles In 'No Man's War'
In her new book, Angela Ricketts writes about raising three kids while her husband deployed eight times over 22 years. Each separation "kind of blackens your soul," she says.
'Mockingbird Next Door': A Genteel Peek Into Harper Lee's Quiet Life
After Harper Lee wrote To Kill A Mockingbird, she became a recluse and lived with her sister, Alice, in Alabama. Reporter Marja Mills uses rich detail to provides glimpses into their twilight years.
Writer Nadine Gordimer Captured Apartheid's Contradictions
The South African Nobel laureate was an associate of Nelson Mandela's, and while she was never imprisoned, several of her books were banned by the government. She died Sunday at the age of 90.