Author Interviews

As President Jimmy Carter looks on, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (left) shakes hands with former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David on Sept. 6, 1978.

Books
Arts

13 Days Of High Emotion That Led To The Egypt-Israel Peace

6:13pm September 16, 2014

Lawrence Wright's new book examines the 1978 peace deal President Carter brokered between Egypt and Israel. During the tense summit, Carter had "never been angrier," Wright says.

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Wendy Davis Tells Of Her Own Difficult Abortions In 'Forgetting'

1:21pm September 15, 2014

by NPR Staff

A champion of abortion rights, the Texas gubernatorial candidate reveals she terminated two of her pregnancies — once because her life was endangered.

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Books
Arts

Fact Meets Fiction In Tale Of A Slave, Explorer And Survivor

4:56pm September 12, 2014

by NPR Staff

A Moroccan slave named Estebanico was one of only four men to survive a 1528 expedition to America from Spain. The Moor's Account, a fictional memoir by Laila Lalami, tells the story through his eyes.

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A first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was displayed at the London International Antiquarian Book Fair in 2013. Book critic Maureen Corrigan — who calls the cover "striking" — says she likes to think that if it landed on her porch t

Books
Arts

How 'Gatsby' Went From A Moldering Flop To A Great American Novel

2:53pm September 09, 2014

In So We Read On, Maureen Corrigan looks at the story behind The Great Gatsby, from F. Scott Fitzgerald's life to the era in which it's set. She says it's her favorite novel, but it wasn't always.

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Books
Arts

Stars Line Up To Reimagine Laura Nyro

11:28am September 06, 2014

The late Laura Nyro penned hits, including "And When I Die" and "Save the Country." NPR's Scott Simon speaks with composer Billy Childs about his new album of tributes, Reimagining Laura Nyro.

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A Sri Lankan beachgoer walks during sunset in Colombo on Jan. 30, 2014.

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Arts

'A Thousand Mirrors' Shows Two Views Of One Long, Brutal War

7:19pm August 31, 2014

by NPR Staff

In her new novel, Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Sri Lankan-American author Nayomi Munaweera shows the decades-long Sri Lankan civil war from the perspective of two girls who witness the horror.

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Singer Ian Curtis on stage in 1980 with Joy Division, whose song "Transmission" is among those explored in Greil Marcus' book The History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten Songs.

The Other Rock History

3:54pm August 31, 2014

by NPR Staff

What makes an essential rock song? Music journalist Greil Marcus argues that it's not the stature of the performer, but the degree to which a song tells the story of rock 'n' roll itself.

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Books
Arts

John Waters Hitchhikes Across America, And Lives To Write About It

1:14pm August 29, 2014

The 68-year-old film director hitchhiked from Baltimore to San Francisco for his book Carsick. He says hitchhiking is "the worst beauty regimen ever." Originally broadcast June 10.

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Books
Arts

Florida-Grown Fiction: Hiaasen Satirizes The Sunshine State

1:14pm August 29, 2014

Novelist and Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen writes with passion about the state he loves. His book, Bad Monkey, is an offbeat murder mystery set in Key West. Originally broadcast June 13, 2013.

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Christ In Context: 'Zealot' Explores The Life Of Jesus

2:48pm August 27, 2014

Reza Aslan converted to Christianity when he was a teenager, but became more interested in Jesus than as a Messiah. His book, Zealot, considers Jesus in the context of the time and place he lived in.

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