Books

German troops march towards Paris' Arc de Triomphe in 1943.

Books
Arts

'Chameleon' Has Cabaret, Spies And A Plot Fit For Lifetime

4:20pm May 21, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

Francine Prose's latest novel was inspired by a 1932 photo of two lesbians, one of whom was in the Gestapo. Critic Maureen Corrigan says it's an ingenious excursion into the Parisian demimonde.

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Edward St. Aubyn's 2006 novel Mother's Milk was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

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Arts

In Life And Fiction, Edward St. Aubyn Sheds The Weight Of His Past

6:39pm May 20, 2014

The writer is best known for his semi-autobiographical novels about an Englishman from a posh but monstrous family. St. Aubyn's new book marks a departure.

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Taxis speed past the headquarters of the New York Times.

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Arts

A 'New York Times' Shake-Up, But Not The One You're Thinking Of

11:51am May 19, 2014

by Kevin Roose

The New York Times made news this week when it announced Jill Abramson's departure. For a deeper understanding of the paper's history, author Kevin Roose recommends Hard News by Seth Mnookin.

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Books
Arts

Mark Twain's Famous Outcasts Float Through Three Centuries

11:29am May 17, 2014

Huck Finn and his friend Jim float down the Mississippi through the Jim Crow South and Hurricane Katrina in a new book called The Boy in His Winter. NPR's Scott Simon talks with author Norman Lock.

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Books
Arts

'Wynne's War,' A Modern Take On The Classic 'Mideastern'

11:29am May 17, 2014

Wynne's War is part western, part war novel. NPR's Scott Simon talks with author Aaron Gwyn about the book that follows a U.S. Special Forces unit on horseback through Afghanistan.

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Arts

In Mona Simpson's 'Casebook,' A Holden Caulfield For Our Time

12:18pm May 16, 2014

by Julia Keller

The teenage protagonist in Simpson's novel spies on his parents and learns their secrets. It's a haunting cross between Harriet the Spy and The Catcher in the Rye.

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Greenwald On NSA Leaks: 'We've Erred On The Side Of Excess Caution'

4:24pm May 14, 2014

Journalist Glenn Greenwald says he and his team weighed the public's interest against the potential harm to innocent people when deciding how many of Edward Snowden's leaked documents to make public.

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'Good Doctor' Puts Past Medical Practices Under An Ethical Microscope

5:49pm May 13, 2014

In a new book, bioethicist and internist Barron Lerner recalls how he came to question some of his father's medical practices — practices that were common among many doctors of that generation.

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Then-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in 2012. He says he struggled with communicating why he had to help the banks during the financial crisis.

For Geithner, Financial Crisis Was Like Landing A Burning Plane

8:27pm May 12, 2014

by NPR Staff

Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner received mixed reviews of his performance during the financial crisis. In his new book, he says he did what was required to "keep the lights on."

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Books
Arts

In A Changing Climate, Science Fiction Starts To Feel Real

4:17pm May 12, 2014

by Lev Grossman

In response to The White House's new report on climate change, author Lev Grossman has some recommended reading. It's a novel called The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.

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