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'The Impudent Ones' Shows Signs Of Future Greatness

9:42am March 14, 2021

by Martha Anne Toll

Marguerite Duras' never-before-translated debut novel The Impudent Ones, first published in 1943, isn't a pleasant read — but it is a signpost to what she would later achieve with The Lover.

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CNN's Don Lemon Gets Personal In New Book 'This Is The Fire'

7:52am March 14, 2021

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to CNN anchor Don Lemon about his new book, This is the Fire — What I say To My Friends About Racism.

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'Silence Is A Sense' Works To Dispel The Terrible Abstractions Of Syria's Civil War

12:16pm March 13, 2021

by Scott Simon

Layla Alammar's new novel is about a journalist who's fled the Syrian civil war for a new life in London — but can only tell anonymous stories about her neighbors because trauma has left her silent.

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'The Lost Apothecary' Is A Poisonously Good Read

7:00am March 13, 2021

by Denny S. Bryce

Sarah Penner's new novel, set both now and in 18th century London, follows a woman who uncovers a mystery involving an apothecary shop that helped women get rid of troublesome or abusive men.

Men Who Hate Women: From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth about Extreme Misogyny and How it Affects Us All, by Laura Bates

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Manosphere, World Of Incels Exposed In Laura Bates Book 'Men Who Hate Women'

6:00am March 13, 2021

by David Futrelle

The author's latest book is an often harrowing read; an uncompromising guide to the misogynistic backlash of the past decade. Bates says the movement's members "are men we all pass on the street."

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Immigration Is An Ongoing Process In Patricia Engel's 'Infinite Country'

4:19pm March 12, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Patricia Engel about her new novel, Infinite Country, about a family with one foot in Colombia and one in the U.S.

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'Wilmington's Lie' Author Traces The Rise Of White Supremacy In A Southern City

1:36pm March 12, 2021

by Dave Davies

David Zucchino says Wilmington, N.C., was once a mixed-race community with a thriving Black middle class. Then, in 1898, white supremacists staged a murderous coup. Originally broadcast Jan. 13, 2020.

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Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain, by Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler

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'Useful Delusions' Examines How Beliefs Can Be Powerful In Positive And Negative Ways

1:14pm March 12, 2021

by Steve Inskeep

In a new book, former NPR reporter Shankar Vedantam suggests attaining "a deeper psychological understanding of why people believe what they believe," being empathetic and considering costs involved.

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Maniac: The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer, by Harold Schechter

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'Maniac' Recounts Deadliest School Mass Murder In American History

3:29pm March 11, 2021

by Michael Schaub

Author Harold Schechter details the 1927 school bombing in Bath Township, Mich., which killed 38 children and six adults. Days later, Charles Lindbergh's famous trans-Atlantic flight made headlines.

Reality and Other Stories, by John Lanchester

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The Stories In 'Reality' Have Some Bite

7:00am March 11, 2021

by Michael Schaub

John Lanchester's sharp new story collection considers the dark side of technology, from smartphones to selfie sticks. But you don't have to be a Luddite to appreciate this smart, scary book.