All Possibilities: The 'Purple Rain' Story
Though revered now, Prince's iconic 1984 film and album succeeded against daunting odds. Music critic and journalist Alan Light provides the details in his new book, Let's Go Crazy.
Books
Book Review: 'Descent' By Tim Johnson
Alan Cheuse reviews Descent by Tim Johnson.
D.C. Author George Pelecanos Writes What He Knows In 'The Martini Shot'
In his new collection of short stories and a novella, Pelecanos explores crime, adoption and writing from an African-American point of view. He says he's "aware of the responsibility" to get it right.
'Descent' Is A Twisty Thriller-Plus
Tim Johnston's suspenseful novel follows a family that begins to come apart after their teenage daughter is abducted during a mountain vacation. Critic Alan Cheuse says his heart is still pounding.
From Patton Oswalt, A Movie Memoir That's Best Outside The Theater
Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt recounts his movie addiction in the memoir Silver Screen Fiend, which finds its best stories away from the theater.
How Tinseltown Got Tipsy: A Boozy Taste Of Hollywood History
Mark Bailey, who detailed old Hollywood's legendary love affair with liquor in his book Of All the Gin Joints, shares stories from a bygone era over cocktails at a legendary Hollywood bar.
'Comedy Is Extraordinarily Difficult': John Cleese On Being Funny
John Cleese of Monty Python fame has written a memoir, So, Anyway ... , which brings him from boyhood in a quiet British town called Weston to the footlights of London and screens all over the world.
In 'God Loves Haiti,' Clutching Memories When The Earth Moves
In his debut novel, Haitian expat Dimitry Elias Legér uses the 2010 earthquake in Haiti as a backdrop to a love triangle. Leger tells NPR's Rachel Martin why he titled his new book God Loves Haiti.
These 'Almost Famous Women' Won't Be Forgotten Again
Megan Mayhew Bergman's new story collection focuses on the colorful tales of independent real-life, risk-taking women who've faded from the spotlight (or never cared for it in the first place).
In 'Citizen,' Poet Strips Bare The Realities Of Everyday Racism
For her latest collection, Claudia Rankine mined her and her friends' encounters with racism. She says she wanted to talk about "what happens when we fail each other as people."