Author Interviews

Viet Cong soldiers going into battle near Hue during the Vietnam War, circa 1968. Years later, the war shaped how Ocean Vuong grew up.

Books
Arts

In The Lines Of Ocean Vuong, Echoes Of His Family's Past In Vietnam

9:01am April 25, 2016

by NPR Staff

Award-winning poet Ocean Vuong speaks about his new book Night Sky with Exit Wounds, which weaves growing up in America with his family's memories of a war-torn Vietnam.

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Warhead Constriction, a group of high-schoolers from Lagos, is one of many rock bands of the 1960s and '70s featured in the new book series Wake Up You! The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock, 1972-1977.

'Wake Up You!' Explores The Transitional, Post-War Rock 'N' Roll Of Nigeria

7:07pm April 24, 2016

by NPR Staff

In the 1970s, a crop of young rock bands with "a new sense of fury and fuzz" arose in the aftermath of the country's civil war, says historian Uchenna Ikonne.

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Jessica Gray was widowed at age 26 when her husband, Staff Sgt. Yance Gray, was killed in Baghdad in 2007 while serving with the 82nd Airborne Division. He was also survived by a 5-month-old daughter, Ava Madison Gray. North Carolina, 2008.

World News

In 'Service,' A Celebrated Photographer Turns His Lens On U.S. Troops

12:41pm April 24, 2016

by Hannah Bloch

Platon, best known for his portraits of leaders and celebrities, focuses on U.S. troops and their loved ones in his new book, Service. "It's time to celebrate a new set of cultural heroes," he says.

Handout picture dated 1997 and released in 2012 by the UN shows ancient manuscripts displayed at the library in the city of Timbuktu. Al-Qaeda has destroyed ancient texts it considers idolatrous.

Timbuktu's 'Badass Librarians': Checking Out Books Under Al-Qaida's Nose

5:30pm April 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

Librarian Abdel Kader Haidara organized a smuggling operation to keep centuries-old manuscripts out of the hands of al-Qaida. Joshua Hammer wrote about it in The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu.

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Books
Arts

Activist, Professor, Historian — Now A Poetry Pulitzer Prize Winner

9:36am April 23, 2016

Peter Balakian is the author of "Ozone Journal," winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Scott Simon talks with Balakian about how the collection has changed since he began writing decades ago.

George Plimpton Reissues Books That Took Us Inside The Game

9:36am April 23, 2016

Seven of the the late George Plimpton's sports books are being re-released. NPR's Scott Simon talks with sportscaster Bob Costas about the collection.

Books
Arts

Flights Of Fancy: Exploring The Songs And Pathways Of 'The Living Bird'

1:31pm April 22, 2016

Wildlife photographer Gerrit Vyn and essayist Scott Weidensaul share bird calls and discuss some of the remarkable abilities of birds. Originally broadcast Oct. 20, 2015.

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Electric Currents And An 'Emotional Awakening' For One Man With Autism

11:27am April 22, 2016

Switched On author John Elder Robison says the emotional empathy he gained after receiving transcranial magnetic stimulation was intense. "It's like I lost a protective shield," he says.

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A Baby Boomer With Parkinson's Reports Back From Front Lines Of Aging

6:50pm April 21, 2016

by NPR Staff

Journalist Michael Kinsley was diagnosed when he was in his 40s. Now in his 60s, he says he feels like he's "a scout for his generation." His new book is Old Age: A Beginner's Guide.

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Books
Arts

'You Belong To The Universe' Explores Visionary Spirit Of Buckminster Fuller

5:03pm April 20, 2016

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with author Jonathon Keats on his book, You Belong to the Universe, which looks at famed inventor Buckminster Fuller.

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