Author Interviews

Patricia Marx is also the author of two novels, Starting from Happy and Him Her Him Again the End of Him.

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Arts

Fearing Her Mind's Decline, Patricia Marx Scrambles To Get 'Less Stupid'

9:35pm July 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

The first woman to write for The Harvard Lampoon, now a New Yorker staffer, Marx still felt like she was getting forgetful with age. So, she put her head to work, doing every brain game she could.

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Winning Is For Losers: The Great Stories Of The Guys Who Finish Last

10:38am July 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Author Max Leonard says that, when it comes to the Tour de France, the riders in the back often have far more interesting stories than the riders in the front. His new book is called Lanterne Rouge.

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In 'New World,' Former British Poet Laureate Returns To 'Treasure Island'

10:38am July 11, 2015

Andrew Motion's new book was inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island. NPR's Wade Goodwyn speaks with Motion about his novel The New World.

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Prolific Crime Novelist Turns Talents To Dissecting 'Forensics'

1:37am July 11, 2015

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with crime novelist Val McDermid about her new book, Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime.

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Rich Housewives Go Under The Microscope In 'Primates Of Park Avenue'

1:23am July 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

In her new book, social researcher Wednesday Martin examines the sometimes puzzling culture of motherhood in that most exotic of locales — Manhattan's Upper East Side.

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The Man Behind Wonder Woman Was Inspired By Both Suffragists And Centerfolds

3:09pm July 10, 2015

Wonder Woman's creator had a few secrets of his own. Historian Jill Lepore describes William Moulton Marstothe's unusual life in The Secret History of Wonder Woman. Originally broadcast Oct. 27, 2014.

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Daniel Silva On 'Double-Edged Sword' Of Writing An Israeli Spy Protagonist

2:09pm July 10, 2015

by NPR Staff

"Israel is extremely unpopular in the world right now," Silva says, and he doesn't always share his characters' opinions. The English Spy is Silva's 15th novel starring operative Gabriel Allon.

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Before distilleries used glass bottles, many of them offered liquor stores branded ceramic jugs that could be filled and sold to customers. This pair of George Dickel jugs was used around 1900. From The Art of American Whiskey by Noah Rothbaum.

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From Medicine To Modern Revival: A History Of American Whiskey, In Labels

11:57am July 09, 2015

by Tove Danovich

During Prohibition, booze was banned, but "medicinal" spirits weren't, a loophole whiskey makers exploited. That's just one of the tidbits a new book tracing the history of whiskey labels reveals.

The New Science Behind Our 'Unfair' Criminal Justice System

10:03am July 07, 2015

"Good people with the best of intentions ... can get things terribly, terribly wrong," says legal scholar Adam Benforado. His book, Unfair, explores the intrinsic flaws of the American justice system.

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'Vendetta' Recalls The Ruthless Rivalry Between Bobby Kennedy, Jimmy Hoffa

9:02pm July 06, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with James Neff about his new book Vendetta: Bobby Kennedy versus Jimmy Hoffa.

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