Books

E.T.A. Hoffmann's original story, "Nutcracker and Mouse King," is darker and spookier than the ballet version most people know.

No Sugar Plums Here: The Dark, Romantic Roots Of 'The Nutcracker'

4:20pm December 25, 2012

by NPR Staff

Few people today remember E.T.A. Hoffmann, but most everyone is familiar with his most famous creation: The Nutcracker. NPR's Robert Siegel traces the history of everyone's favorite Christmas ballet all the way back to its much darker original version.

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William Knoedelseder spent 12 years as an investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times. He lives in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Books
Arts

The 'Bitter' Tale Of The Budweiser Family

9:05am December 24, 2012

by Acacia Squires

That trademark brew, Budweiser, is known to the world as the "King of Beers," and the Busch family was once considered practically royalty. Their early success led to a reign that lasted 150 years, but the end, when it came, wasn't so glorious.

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Books
Arts

Self-Publishing: No Longer Just A Vanity Project

5:44am December 20, 2012

by Lynn Neary

It used to be called the "vanity press," a name that carried a sniff of derision. But Lynn Neary reports that self-publishing has become a booming business, spawning best-sellers, and attracting the interest of Amazon and the major publishing houses.

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Arts

In 'Red Pyramid,' Kid Heroes Take On Ancient Egypt

5:43pm December 19, 2012

by NPR Staff

Our latest pick for NPR's Backseat Book Club is The Red Pyramid, a tale of two kids who must rescue the world from Egyptian gods. Author Rick Riordan, a former schoolteacher, combined his obsession with books with his passion for mythology to write this book about ordinary kids doing heroic things.

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Books

Walking Through Life As 'The Pastor'

3:18pm December 17, 2012

Saturday on weekends on All Things Considered, host Guy Raz spoke with Pastor Eugene Peterson about his keeping faith in times of tragedy. Due to an overwhelming response from the audience following that conversation, the show is airing a rebroadcast of his initial interview with host Guy Raz from 2011. In that interview, Peterson talked about his memoir, The Pastor. (This piece initially aired March 6, 2011 on weekends on All Things Considered.)

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In a new memoir, jazz guitarist and son of jazz legend Bucky Pizzarelli tells stories from growing up in a musical household and making a name for himself as a musician.

'World On A String': John Pizzarelli Jazzes It Up

1:13pm December 14, 2012

In his new book, the guitarist, singer and songwriter shares stories from life growing up in a musical household and talks about collaborating and sharing the stage with the likes of Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra and Paul McCartney.

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Books
Arts

10 Books To Help You Recover From A Tense 2012

2:48pm December 13, 2012

by Maureen Corrigan

2012 was a very jittery year — what with the presidential election, extreme weather events and the looming "fiscal cliff." Fresh Air critic Maureen Corrigan found that her favorite fiction and nonfiction this year directly confronted the atmospheric uncertainty of the age.

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Historian David Nasaw's new biography of Joseph P. Kennedy unpacks the patriarch's full story.

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Arts

Joseph Kennedy, 'Patriarch' Of An American Dynasty

4:03pm December 12, 2012

In a new book, biographer David Nasaw profiles the father of Robert, John and Teddy, and unpacks the elder Kennedy's influence on his children. "He told them over and over again, 'I'm making all this money so you don't have to make money, so that you can go into public service,' " Nasaw says.

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Books
Arts

Oprah's Book Club Turns Over A New Page

5:58am December 12, 2012

by Lynn Neary

Oprah Winfrey says her Book Club grew out of a desire to talk to authors after finishing their books. While the original version of the club ended when Winfrey's television show went off the air in 2011, it has now been rebooted online and on the new Oprah Winfrey Network as Book Club 2.0.

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Thomas Ricks argues that the failures of today's military can be traced back to the Vietnam War.

Books

Tracing Military Failures, Holding 'The Generals' Accountable

4:26pm December 11, 2012

In The Generals, Thomas Ricks examines U.S. military leadership from World War Two to the present day. He concludes that the mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan can be traced to the Army's inability to come to terms with all the lessons of Vietnam.

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