Books

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini holds his son, Romano, on his shoulders in 1935. After his father died, Romano went on to become a jazz musician.

What's It Like To Be A Dictator's Kid? 'They're All Marked,' Author Says

7:43am September 26, 2015

by NPR Staff

In Children of Monsters, Jay Nordlinger looks at the lives of, among others, Romano Mussolini, Saif Al-Islam Gadhafi and one man who claimed to be Hitler's son.

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Share 'The Social Sex' With One Of Your Bosom Buddies

7:03am September 26, 2015

by Genevieve Valentine

In ancient Greece, philosophers denied that women were capable of friendship. Marilyn Yalom and Theresa Donovan Brown trace the way those perceptions changed over the years in this engaging history.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of September 24, 2015

4:03pm September 25, 2015

The lists are compiled from weekly surveys of close to 500 independent bookstores nationwide.

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NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of September 24, 2015

4:03pm September 25, 2015

Debuting at No. 6, Lauren Groff's Fates and Furies uses a split narrative to tell the story of a long marriage.

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NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Fiction, Week Of September 24, 2015

4:03pm September 25, 2015

At No. 11, David Baldacci's Memory Man follows a detective as he struggles with memories of finding his family brutally murdered.

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NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Nonfiction, Week Of September 24, 2015

4:03pm September 25, 2015

Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and writer Martin Dugard reconstruct the final days of a president's life in Killing Lincoln, which appears at No. 14.

Wendell Pierce is known for his roles on HBO's The Wire and Treme.

From 'Godot' To HBO, Wendell Pierce Says, Art Aided Post-Katrina Healing

2:19pm September 25, 2015

by NPR Staff

The star of The Wire and Treme remembers fleeing the storm — and returning to devastation. As his community coped with "post-traumatic stress," he says, Treme "became a group therapy in New Orleans."

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Pulling Back The Curtain On DARPA, The Pentagon's 'Brain'

2:15pm September 25, 2015

From stealth technology to GPS to vaccines, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — or DARPA — has developed some of the most consequential weapons and technology through the ages. Annie Jacobsen, author of the new book "The Pentagon's Brain," talks with Steve Inskeep about the agency's storied past and its intriguing future.

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L - R: Sodium benzoate, Azodicarbonamide, Shellac. The images are from <em>Ingredients: A Visual Exploration of 75 Additives & 25 Food Products.</em>

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'Ingredients': An Eye-Opening Look At The Additives In Our Food

12:09pm September 25, 2015

by Tove Danovich

What does diacetyl look like? And what's it doing in our food? A new book seeks to demystify 75 common food additives with striking photos of these ingredients and details on their uses and history.

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Arts

'What We Salvage' Is A Difficult, Rewarding Punk Odyssey

7:03am September 25, 2015

by Jason Heller

If you didn't grow up in the punk subcultures of the 1980s and '90s, you might have a little trouble with David Baillie's new novel — but stick with it; the book reveals a vicious grace and honesty.