Books

Thrity Umrigar has authored six novels and is a professor of English at Case Western Reserve University.

Books
Arts

An Unlikely Psychologist-Patient Friendship Unfolds In 'The Story Hour'

8:28am August 16, 2014

by NPR Staff

Thrity Umrigar's new novel is about two women with "a mystical connection." Lakshmi is stuck in a loveless marriage. Dr. Maggie Bose decides Lakshmi doesn't need a shrink — she needs an escape.

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Arts

In A Funny New Novel, A Weary Professor Writes To 'Dear Committee Members'

11:31am August 15, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

Julie Schumacher's anti-hero pens recommendations for junior colleagues, lackluster students and former lovers. The novel deftly mixes comedy with social criticism and righteous outrage.

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The Titan II intercontinental-range missile, pictured in 1965, sits ready for launch on its 150-feet-deep underground launchpad. "The one warhead on a Titan II had three times the explosive force of all the bombs used by all the armies in the second world

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Arts

Nuclear 'Command And Control': A History Of False Alarms And Near Catastrophes

11:39am August 13, 2014

Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, spent six years researching America's nuclear weapons. In Command and Control, he details explosions, false attack alerts and accidentally dropped bombs.

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Brothers and aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright walk together in 1910.

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Arts

When It Comes To Creativity, Are Two Heads Better Than One?

8:14am August 11, 2014

by NPR Staff

Joshua Wolf Shenk says it's time to debunk the myth of the lone genius. His new book explores creative partnerships — and explains how Emily Dickinson wasn't actually as much of a loner as we think.

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Visitors look at an exhibit at the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass.

Effort To Preserve Yiddish Works Not 'Bupkes'

11:40am August 09, 2014

by Jon Kalish

The preservation of Yiddish as a spoken language gets more attention, but Yiddish once had a vibrant written tradition as well, filled with plays, poetry, novels and political tracts.

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Books
Arts

For Novelist Jonathan Lethem, Radicalism Runs In The Family

2:44pm August 08, 2014

His new book, Dissident Gardens, follows three generations of an activist family. The book is fiction, but its characters were inspired by Lethem's own story. Originally broadcast Sept. 9, 2013.

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Arts

With Magic And Fables, 'Angel Of Losses' Breathes Life Into History

9:47am August 06, 2014

by Ellah Allfrey

Stephanie Feldman's debut novel is about Jewish folk tales and family history. It's also an exploration of the inheritance of loss and the guilt of survival as it is passed down through generations.

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Author Rick Perlstein also wrote the well-regarded books Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus and Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America.

How Ronald Reagan Used An 'Invisible Bridge' To Win Over Americans

4:50pm August 05, 2014

Rick Perlstein's new book describes how Reagan emerged as the leader of a potent political movement during the turbulent mid-'70s. He says the soul of Reagan's appeal was how he made people feel good.

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A student works on a laptop on a college quad.

Books
Arts

Amid Rising College Costs, A Defense Of The Liberal Arts

9:18am August 04, 2014

by NPR Staff

Wesleyan University President Michael Roth, author of the new book Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters, says that the debate over the value of a college education is hardly new.

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Sounds Intriguing: The World's Most Interesting Noises

8:53am August 01, 2014

by NPR Staff

As an acoustic engineer, Trevor Cox has spent most of his career getting rid of bizarre, unwanted sounds. But in The Sound Book, Cox turns up the volume on those sonic oddities. The book explores weird echoes and unexpected noises from around the globe — including "whisper galleries" and a chirping pyramid.

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