Author Interviews

Author Rick Perlstein also wrote the well-regarded books Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus and Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America.

How Ronald Reagan Used An 'Invisible Bridge' To Win Over Americans

4:50pm August 05, 2014

Rick Perlstein's new book describes how Reagan emerged as the leader of a potent political movement during the turbulent mid-'70s. He says the soul of Reagan's appeal was how he made people feel good.

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A student works on a laptop on a college quad.

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Amid Rising College Costs, A Defense Of The Liberal Arts

9:18am August 04, 2014

by NPR Staff

Wesleyan University President Michael Roth, author of the new book Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters, says that the debate over the value of a college education is hardly new.

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Sounds Intriguing: The World's Most Interesting Noises

8:53am August 01, 2014

by NPR Staff

As an acoustic engineer, Trevor Cox has spent most of his career getting rid of bizarre, unwanted sounds. But in The Sound Book, Cox turns up the volume on those sonic oddities. The book explores weird echoes and unexpected noises from around the globe — including "whisper galleries" and a chirping pyramid.

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In 'Blue Eyed Boy,' Author Reveals Long Recovery From Facial Burns

2:02pm July 29, 2014

Robert Timberg, who was disfigured by a land mine as a Marine in Vietnam, went on to become a successful journalist. His new memoir Blue Eyed Boy charts his struggle to recover from his wounds.

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Tiphanie Yanique is also the author of the short story collection How To Escape From A Leper Colony and a picture book called I Am the Virgin Islands.

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'Love And Drowning' In The U.S. Virgin Islands

6:52pm July 27, 2014

by NPR Staff

In the Land of Love and Drowning, the islands are a magical setting for three generations of one family living through the modern history of the territory as it passes from Danish to American hands.

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'Back Channel' Turns Up White House Intrigue

1:32pm July 26, 2014

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Stephen L. Carter about his new novel, Back Channel. It's a political thriller set during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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The Fantastic Laboratory of Dr. Weigl cover

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How Scientists Created A Typhus Vaccine In A 'Fantastic Laboratory'

5:23pm July 22, 2014

Arthur Allen's new book, The Fantastic Laboratory of Dr. Weigl, describes how a WWII scientist in Poland smuggled the typhus vaccine to Jews — while his team made a weakened version for the Nazis.

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On 'Tomlinson Hill,' Journalist Seeks Truth And Reconciliation

4:36pm July 21, 2014

Chris Tomlinson covered conflict, including apartheid in Africa, for 11 years. Then the great-great-grandson of Texas slaveholders realized he needed to write a book about his family's history.

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Jennifer Finney Boylan, who wrote the introduction, is the author of several books, including Stuck in the Middle with You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders.

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'Trans Bodies, Trans Selves': A Modern Manual By And For Trans People

3:18pm July 17, 2014

Modeled after the groundbreaking feminist health manual Our Bodies, Ourselves, the book details the social, political and medical issues faced by transgender people.

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Angela Ricketts, whose husband deployed eight times over 22 years, says she had to get over resentment around parenting their three kids alone while he was gone.

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An Army Wife Charts Her Struggles In 'No Man's War'

3:52pm July 15, 2014

In her new book, Angela Ricketts writes about raising three kids while her husband deployed eight times over 22 years. Each separation "kind of blackens your soul," she says.

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