John le Carre

November 1, 2011 At its core, John le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy isn't really about espionage, says critic John Powers. The 1974 novel, adapted for the screen in 1979 by the BBC, is actually about secrets and lies and shifting identities — which is to say, a metaphor for our own daily lives.

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April 28, 2011 In fiction, John le Carre takes a cold look at the Russian mafia state, while Isabel Allende and Andrea Levy explore the contradictions of slavery, and Katherine Stockett probes 1960s Southern racial politics. In nonfiction, Ethan Watters decries the export of U.S. mental health treatments.

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December 17, 2010 A new kind of world is taking over — and these writers are a step ahead. Writer Pankaj Mishra picks fiction that provides steady footing in a world that's constantly being reshaped by capitalism and technology.

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October 20, 2010 In Our Kind of Traitor, former British intelligence officer John le Carre uses his unmatched knowledge of crime and psychology to spin a smooth and satisfying spy thriller about multinational money laundering and greed.

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October 8, 2010 For his 22nd novel, celebrated author and former intelligence officer John le Carre found inspiration in a real Russian criminal. Our Kind Of Traitor details the shady activities of a crime lord named Dima operating in Moscow's underworld of dirty money.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

July 23, 2010 Author and law professor Stephen Carter started reading the novels of John le Carre in college and he hasn't stopped. After all these years, he says his favorite is still Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, a Cold War spy story that demonstrates le Carre's marvelous craftsmanship.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

December 5, 2004 In the year of the famed sleuth's 150th birthday, Norton has published "The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes." With more than 700 illustrations and 1,000 annotations, the two-volume set is the definitive edition of the Holmes canon. NPR's Liane Hansen talks to editor Leslie Klinger.

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