Author Interviews

Resetting the Theory of Time

11:23am May 17, 2013

Generations of physicists have claimed that time is an illusion. But not all agree. In his book Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe, theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that time exists--and he says time is key to understanding the evolution of the universe.

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Rick Atkinson worked as a reporter, correspondent and editor at The Washington Post for over 20 years. This is his sixth book of military history.

Books
Arts

'Guns At Last Light' Illuminates Final Months Of World War II

1:19pm May 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

Historian Rick Atkinson's new book completes his trilogy on the second world war. He tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that the events of the war may be 70 years in the past, but they're still very much a part of American culture.

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Books
Arts

In Somalia, Surviving A Kidnapping Against 'Impossible Odds'

1:19pm May 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

In 2011, Jessica Buchanan, an aid worker in Somalia, was kidnapped by land pirates. For 93 days she fought off despair while her husband, Erik Landemalm, wondered if he'd ever see her again. In a two-part interview, Buchanan and Landemalm recall Buchanan's capture and her dramatic rescue by Navy SEALs.

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Vice President Spiro Agnew (right) and former President Lyndon Johnson view the liftoff of Apollo 11 from the stands at the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969.

In 'Passage,' Caro Mines LBJ's Changing Political Roles

3:39pm May 13, 2013

The fourth volume in Robert Caro's monumental biography of Lyndon Johnson is The Passage of Power; it explores the period between 1958 and 1964 during which Johnson went from powerful Senate majority leader to powerless vice president to — suddenly — president of the United States.

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Books

'Impossible Odds' Details Aid Worker's Rescue From Somalia

12:59pm May 13, 2013

David Greene speaks with Jessica Buchanan and her husband Erik Landemalm about their book Impossible Odds. It's the story of Jessica's abduction, along with a fellow aid worker, by Somali pirates in 2011. In the first of the two-part interview, we hear how Jessica was abducted, and how she refused to fall into despair while in captivity.

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After Leaving Senate, Snowe Is Still 'Fighting For Common Ground'

9:18am May 13, 2013

by NPR Staff

In a new book, former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe explores how to fix the gridlock in Congress. Earlier this year, the Republican from Maine left the Senate out of frustration with the partisan stalemate. "It has to change, for the country," she says. "People deserve ... better representation."

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Books
Arts

Why You Should Give A $*%! About Words That Offend

8:41am May 13, 2013

by NPR Staff

Curse words change over time — back in the ninth century you could say the "s" word and no one would be offended. But we always need a set of words that are off-limits, and in her new book, author Melissa Mohr explains how the words that shock us reveal a lot about society's values.

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Robert Ripley traveled the world collecting souvenirs like this Balinese lion mask.

Books
Arts

The 'Curious' Story Of Robert 'Believe It Or Not!' Ripley

6:26pm May 11, 2013

by NPR Staff

Neal Thompson's new biography traces the life of the newspaper cartoonist who became an international celebrity and media superstar. Ripley's pioneering mix of the strange, the shocking and the barely believable shaped the way Americans saw the world.

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Swedish-born guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen has released more than two dozen albums.

Yngwie Malmsteen: 'I've Always Been A Little Bit Of An Extremist'

10:11am May 11, 2013

by NPR Staff

Malmsteen is the king of the neoclassical shred guitar. The Swedish musician and composer has somehow bridged centuries, from Paganini to his own arpeggiated acrobatics. Here, the guitarist speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about being a family man and growing up on Bach and Jimi Hendrix.

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Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on July 20, 1969.

Buzz Aldrin's Case For A 'Mission To Mars'

2:40pm May 10, 2013

In Mission To Mars, astronaut Buzz Aldrin lays out his plans for getting Americans on Mars by 2035.

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