Books

Cover detail from Chester B. Himes, by Lawrence P. Jackson.

Books
Arts

New Chester Himes Biography Reveals A Life As Wild As Any Detective Story

1:45pm July 26, 2017

by Maureen Corrigan

Lawrence P. Jackson's biography tracks the writer's course from prison to published novelist. Critic Maureen Corrigan says Himes' life story is well worth reading.

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Looking Back At The Most Powerful Earthquake Ever To Strike North America

1:45pm July 26, 2017

Science writer Henry Fountain says the deadly quake that shook Alaska in 1964 was so loud some thought it was the beginning of World War III. His new book is The Great Quake.

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'Strange Practice:' The Doctor Is In

11:08am July 26, 2017

by Jason Sheehan

In Strange Practice, Vivian Shaw kicks off a new series about Dr. Greta Helsing, descendant of the famous Professor Abraham Van Helsing and general practitioner to the ghouls and ghasts of London.

An 1894 engraving depicts chapter 18 of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Books
Arts

The Enduring Legacy Of Jane Austen's 'Truth Universally Acknowledged'

4:52pm July 25, 2017

by Geoff Nunberg

Linguist Geoff Nunberg describes the opening sentence to Pride and Prejudice as a "masterpiece of indirection" that is frequently repurposed, but whose irony is never matched.

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Arts

'The World Broke In Two': Four Writers, One Transformational Year

2:00pm July 25, 2017

by Glen Weldon

Using excerpts from letters and diaries, historian and critic Bill Goldstein follows writers Virginia Woolf, E. M. Forster, D. H. Lawrence and T. S. Eliot through the tumultuous literary year of 1922.

Books

Wesley Snipes' Debut Novel Explores Damnation And Salvation

1:21pm July 25, 2017

The acclaimed actor's new book is fantasy fiction with heavy religious themes.

"I was really hoping for more of an open-plan kitchen.": Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), Yara (Gemma Whelan) and Ellaria (Indira Varma) prepare to go House hunting in "Stormborn."

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'Game Of Thrones' Season 7, Episode 2: 'You're A Dragon. Be A Dragon'

12:16pm July 24, 2017

by Glen Weldon

In "Stormborn," lots of long-hoarded information was finally shared, and in a massive sea battle, buckles got gruesomely swashed.

Books
Arts

A Veteran TV News Anchor Pens A Prescient Novel In 'Amanda Wakes Up'

8:05am July 23, 2017

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Alisyn Camerota's book is about a political newcomer fresh from Hollywood facing off against a female senator. But 2016 similarities aside, the CNN anchor says she wrote it long before the election.

Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us, by Sam Kean.

Books
Arts

'Caesar's Last Breath' Is A Breezy History Of Our Atmosphere

7:00am July 23, 2017

by Jason Heller

Sam Kean's funny, conversational new book reminds us not to take the air we breathe for granted — our atmosphere can tell stories about everything from dinosaurs and Julius Caesar to space flight.

Books

Samantha Hunt On Her Short Stories In 'The Dark Dark'

8:08am July 22, 2017

NPR's Scott Simon talks with acclaimed novelist Samantha Hunt about her first book of short stories, The Dark Dark, which explores the fantastical and the sorrowful in everyday life.