Books

Tom Brokaw served as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 until 2004.

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Arts

Tom Brokaw Reflects On Cancer, 'Nightly News' And His 'Lucky Life'

4:08pm May 13, 2015

The former NBC anchorman says his multiple myeloma diagnosis two years ago made him "more conscious of the fact that the days are more numbered." His new memoir is A Lucky Life Interrupted.

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Myth, Fantasy And Sci-Fi Dovetail In 'Archivist Wasp'

3:36pm May 13, 2015

by Jason Heller

Nicole Kornher-Stace's new novel follows Wasp, an Archivist tasked with hunting ghosts to scavenge information about the past for her primitive post-apocalyptic society — where all is not as it seems.

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Arts

Remembering A Troubled Brother In 'Lord Fear'

1:05pm May 13, 2015

by Heller McAlpin

Lucas Mann's new memoir pieces together family memories to create a portrait of his heroin-addicted older brother, who died of an overdose. Critic Heller McAlpin calls it difficult but necessary.

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'Zombie Wars' Documents An Apocalypse Of Bad Decisions

12:06pm May 13, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Aleksandar Hemon's darkly hilarious new novel follows a sad-sack Chicago teacher whose screenwriting dreams lead to catastrophe. Critic Michael Schaub calls it "crazy in the best sense of the word."

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Arts

Exclusive First Read: Naomi Novik's 'Uprooted'

6:39pm May 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

Naomi Novik leaves behind the Napoleonic War setting of her previous books for a new stand-alone tale of a village girl, taken by a mysterious magician, who learns she's more than a match for him.

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The Artistry Fails In 'Trompe L'Oeil'

6:15pm May 12, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Even talented artists have trouble creating the illusions known as "trompe l'oeil." Critic Michael Schaub says Nancy Reisman's tragic new novel of the same name never jumps into three dimensions.

Photographer Sally Mann drives with her greyhound, Honey, in the early 2000s.

Books
Arts

Making Art Out Of Bodies: Sally Mann Reflects On Life And Photography

4:30pm May 12, 2015

Mann has published pictures that show her young children naked, her husband's muscular dystrophy and dead bodies decomposing. She reflects on her life and work in a new memoir called Hold Still.

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Chef, cookbook author and owner of Washington, D.C.'s Restaurant Nora, Nora Pouillon, in the restaurant's garden.

In 'Organic Life,' The Making Of America's First Certified Organic Restaurant

12:56pm May 12, 2015

by Lynn Neary

Nora Pouillon writes about her lifelong devotion to food in a new memoir, My Organic Life. Her restaurant has been a fixture in the Washington, D.C., food scene since 1979.

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Jerry Garcia's Advice To Bill Kreutzmann: 'Don't Rush'

8:22am May 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

"You can learn so much from [Jerry Garcia]. Doesn't matter what instrument you play," the Grateful Dead drummer says. He has a new memoir out called Deal.

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New Book Explores Bobby Fuller's Mysterious Death

9:00pm May 11, 2015

by Alex Cohen

A new book tells the story of Bobby Fuller, who was best-known for the song "I Fought the Law." He was a talented guitarist and producer who moved from El Paso, Texas, to LA. He was on the verge of his big break when his body was found in his car doused in gasoline. The Los Angeles police ruled it an accidental death.

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