Home
Books by Paul Collins
Banvard's Folly
Thirteen Tales of Renowned Obscurity, Famous Anonymity, and Rotten Luck
- Hardcover, 286 pages
The Murder of the Century
The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City And Sparked the Tabloid Wars
- Hardcover, 325 pages
NPR stories about Paul Collins
Author Interviews
How A New York 'Murder' Sparked The Tabloid Wars
June 25, 2011 When a body washed up on the shores of New York's East River in 1897, the race to solve the murder sparked one of the country's first great newspaper wars. Weekend Edition's literary detective Paul Collins tracks that war's progress in his new book, The Murder of the Century.
Book Excerpt: 'Banvard's Folly'
March 31, 2006 Read an excerpt from Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World by Paul Collins.
Books
Librarian's Picks: Saving the Best for First
March 31, 2006 Sometimes authors' best works are their first. The tale of an imaginary universe where elevators are really important and the story of the first giraffe in Europe are among librarian Nancy Pearl's selections of must-read literary debuts.
Author Interviews
Authors' Lowlights, Resurrected from the Dustbin
October 1, 2005 Literary sleuth Paul Collins reveals obscure credits in authors' closets, including a guide to the Space Invaders arcade game written by Martin Amis and a children's book by Graham Greene.
Author Interviews
A Priest's Early Quest to Create a Bulletproof Vest
April 30, 2005 In 1893, the mayor of Chicago was shot and killed in his home. That murder inspired a local priest, Brother Casimir Zeglen, to invent an early bulletproof vest. Historian Paul Collins rediscovered the forgotten inventor and tells Scott Simon the details.
More Books
Author Interviews
A Quest For Roots Uncovers Ordinary People
Lawrence Jackson went on a quest to find his late grandfather's home in Virginia.
