Author Interviews

Arthur Fiala, shown here in 1918 and 2005, was a private in the 26th Company of the 20th Engineers Regiment during World War I.

Books
Arts

A Race Against Time To Find WWI's Last 'Doughboys'

6:27am May 25, 2013

by NPR Staff

In 2003, Richard Rubin set out to talk to every American veteran of World War I he could find. With help from the French, he tracked down dozens of centenarian vets and recorded their stories in a new book called The Last of the Doughboys.

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Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process

4:38pm May 22, 2013

After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.

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Climate Change Takes Flight in New Novel

3:11pm May 21, 2013

Writer Barbara Kingsolver is one of a handful of novelists with a science background, and she puts it to use in her new novel Flight Behavior. Kingsolver discusses the book and why she chose to look at the the issue of climate change in a fictional work set in rural Tennessee. This interview was originally broadcast on November 9, 2012.

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Oliver Sacks: Hallucinations

3:11pm May 21, 2013

In his latest book Hallucinations, neurologist Oliver Sacks collects stories of individuals who can see, hear and smell things that aren't really there--such as strange voices, or collages of unrecognizable faces--and explores the disorders and drugs that can produce such illusions. This interview was originally broadcast on November 9, 2012.

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Courtside Chemistry: How NBA's Phil Jackson Won 'Eleven Rings'

11:13am May 21, 2013

by NPR Staff

Jackson is famous for his philosophical take on basketball and for the many stars he led to championship triumphs. He taught his players yoga and gave them assigned reading — but also pushed them to intensely practice fundamental skills. His new book looks back on a legendary coaching career.

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After Crashing In Canadian 'Abyss,' Four Men Fight To Survive

11:13am May 21, 2013

by NPR Staff

On an icy night in 1984, a commuter plane crashed in the wilderness. Six passengers died, but four survived: the pilot, a politician, a policeman and a prisoner. Carol Shaben's Into the Abyss describes their fight to make it through that frigid night alive.

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Unacceptable Anger From 'The Woman Upstairs'

6:18pm May 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

"Women's anger is very scary to people," author Claire Messud says. Her new novel, The Woman Upstairs, features a seething main character, a young woman whose anger is unsettling.

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Decades Later And Across An Ocean, A Novel Gets Its Due

6:18pm May 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

John Williams' Stoner sold just 2,000 copies when it was originally published in 1965. It's now acknowledged as a classic work, is a best-seller across Europe and the No. 1 novel in the Netherlands.

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'Waiting To Be Heard' No More, Amanda Knox Speaks Out

7:47pm May 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

Less than two months into her study abroad program in Italy, Amanda Knox was accused and eventually convicted of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher. After her conviction was overturned, Knox returned home to Seattle — and now faces a potential retrial. Knox tells her story in a new memoir.

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Insects May Be The Taste Of The Next Generation, Report Says

11:23am May 17, 2013

A report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says insects offer a huge potential for improving the world's food security. Peter Menzel, co-author of Man Eating Bugs, describes some insect-based cuisine and the western aversion to creepy-crawly snacks.

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