Books

How 'Dancing In The Street' Became A Protest Anthem

12:37pm July 09, 2013

by NPR Staff

Mark Kurlansky's book Ready for a Brand New Beat is a history of the song "Dancing in the Street." It was the soundtrack for the summer of 1964, when race riots and war protests spread across the United States.

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Books

Book Review: 'Skinner'

12:36pm July 09, 2013

by Alan Cheuse

Critic Alan Cheuse has a review of Charlie Huston's new book, Skinner.

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Portrait of Marie Duplessis by Charles Chaplin (1846)

Books
Arts

The Tragic Story Of 'Traviata' Muse Marie Duplessis

8:12pm July 02, 2013

by NPR Staff

The 19th-century courtesan died at 23 of tuberculosis, but her legacy inspired a successful play, several movies and the great Italian opera La Traviata. In The Girl Who Loved Camellias, Julie Kavanagh tracks her journey from Normandy peasant girl to romantic heroine.

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Novelist Sara Gran also writes for the HBO show Southland.

Books
Arts

American Mystery Finds A New Voice On 'The Bohemian Highway'

3:32pm July 02, 2013

by Maureen Corrigan

This is the second mystery in Sara Gran's series featuring 40-ish bad-girl detective Claire DeWitt. Critic Maureen Corrigan says that reading a noir novel written by a Brooklyn-born author gave her a rush of private-eye, patriotic pride.

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Books
Arts

Steamy Novel An 'Education' In Youth, Love And Mistakes

1:23pm July 02, 2013

by NPR Staff

Susan Choi departs from research-heavy books to write about people and relationships — and winds up writing about love and sex. My Education looks at a graduate student who doesn't learn what she anticipated.

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Books

Book Review: 'The Mehlis Report'

6:15pm July 01, 2013

by Alan Cheuse

Alan Cheuse reviews a thriller The Mehlis Report a novel by Rabee Jaber that was recently translated by Kareem James Abu-Zeid.

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Tomi Ungerer's 1967 book Moon Man follows its lonely protagonist as he visits Earth for the very first time.

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Arts

From Kids' Books To Erotica, Tomi Ungerer's 'Far Out' Life

4:00pm July 01, 2013

The famed author and illustrator broke the rules of American children's literature in the '50s and '60s, but many Americans have never heard of him. A new documentary, Far Out Isn't Far Enough, looks at his life and work.

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An ancient tablet contains records written in Linear B — a script that was discovered in the 19th century and remained undeciphered for decades.

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Arts

How One Woman Nearly Deciphered A Mysterious Script

12:17pm July 01, 2013

by NPR Staff

For decades, no one could crack the code to a mysterious ancient script called Linear B. In her new book, Margalit Fox tells the story of the forgotten woman who almost figured it out.

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From the Toronto Islands, one of many real-life Toronto locales in Robert Rotenberg's legal thrillers, visitors have a clear view of the city's skyline.

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Arts

Rotenberg's Toronto Thrillers Mix Canadian Courtesy With Murder

11:10am July 01, 2013

by Linda Wertheimer

Lawyer turned author Robert Rotenberg takes great pains to re-create the relatively calm atmosphere of Canadian courtrooms in his suspense novels. But not all of his characters play by the rules. "Well, they are murder mysteries," he says.

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For Carole King, Songwriting Is A 'Natural' Talent

10:55am July 01, 2013

Carole King wrote songs for others before becoming a performer and writing for herself. In her memoir, A Natural Woman, she details the stories behind some of her most famous songs and her relationships with songwriters like James Taylor, Gerry Goffin and Paul Simon.

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