A History Of The Mosquito, 'Our Deadliest Predator'
It's been called one of humans' deadliest predators. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to author Timothy C. Winegard about his new book about the mosquito.
Books
Self/Made Makes Questioning Reality a Fun Way To Spend An Afternoon
In Matt Groom's trippy comic, a warrior in a fantasy kingdom discovers she's not a real person — instead, she's an NPC, a non-player character in a video game. But unlike most NPCs, she's self-aware.
How One Anthropologist Reshaped How Social Scientists Think About Race
In the 1900's, Franz Boas revolutionized anthropology by breaking out of racist conventional wisdom. NPR's Michel Martin talks with Charles King about his book about Boas, "Gods of the Upper Air".
The Try Guys Try Interviewing Laura Hillenbrand
The Try Guys are four YouTube stars who'll try almost anything, including Scott Simon's job. Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, Zach Kornfeld and Eugene Lee Yang interview author Laura Hillenbrand.
Growing Up In Appalachia Is 'The Great Riddle Of My Life,' Says 'Marilou' Author
A 14-year-old loner named Cindy finds her own maternal figure in Sarah Elaine Smith's first novel, set in the part of rural Pennsylvania where the author grew up.
Disaster Is On The Horizon In Blood-Soaked 'Dark Age'
The latest installment in Pierce Brown's epic Roman-in-space saga Red Rising finds our hero overthrown and banished from the Republic he founded, and teetering dangerously close to villainy.
'Strange Harvests' Turns Nature's Fairy Tales Inside Out
Edward Posnett's book is more than an impressive add to the modern travelogue: it refuses to accept the landscape at face value as it paints remote terrain in visceral and breathtaking prose.
With These Comics, Learn How to Laugh Like It's 1999 (Hint: Don't)
As part of our summerlong tribute to funny books, we take a look back at the ennui-drenched anti-humor of some of the 1990s, when absurdity and surrealism were the rule — laughs not so much.
'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' Examines What Led To Ferguson And Baltimore Protests
Unlike many academic tomes, Jennifer Cobbina's book doesn't presume prior knowledge; it establishes historical and cultural context for the distrust many African Americans feel toward law enforcement.
Maddening Men Are Strangely Sympathetic In 'This Is Not America'
Jordi Puntí's new short story collection is full of men living on the edge — almost always because they've put themselves there. They're maddening characters, and Puntí regards them with sympathy.