close
 

archive

The Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch

A Biography

by Tracy Campbell

Hardcover, 217 pages, Yale Univ Pr, $26, published May 28 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • The Gateway Arch
  • A Biography
  • Tracy Campbell

A surprising history of the spectacular Gateway Arch in St. Louis details the competing agendas of its supporters and the mixed results of their ambitious plan.

News and Reviews
Cockpit Confidential

Cockpit Confidential

Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers & Reflections

by Patrick Smith

Paperback, 303 pages, Sourcebooks Inc, $14.99, published May 7 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Cockpit Confidential
  • Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers & Reflections
  • Patrick Smith

The author of the online feature Ask the Pilot addresses common passenger questions and concerns.

News and Reviews
The Last of the Doughboys

The Last of the Doughboys

The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War

by Richard Rubin

Hardcover, 518 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $28, published May 21 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • The Last of the Doughboys
  • The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War
  • Richard Rubin

Richard Rubin presents interviews with the last remaining World War I veterans, aged 101 to 113, to paint a picture of a time and a generation that, despite memorials and history lessons, is quickly fading away.

News and Reviews
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls

by David Sedaris

Hardcover, 275 pages, Little Brown & Co, $27, published April 23 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls
  • David Sedaris

A collection of essays by the humorist traces his offbeat travel experiences, which involve surreal encounters with everything from French dentistry and Australian kookaburras to Beijing squat toilets and a wilderness Costco in North Carolina.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Lean In

Lean In

Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

by Sheryl Sandberg

Hardcover, 228 pages, Random House Inc, $24.95, published March 11 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Lean In
  • Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
  • Sheryl Sandberg

Facebook's chief operating officer shares provocative, anecdotal advice for women, urging them to take risks and seek new challenges to find work that they can love and engage in passionately.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Cooked

Cooked

A Natural History of Transformation

by Michael Pollan

Hardcover, 468 pages, Penguin Group USA, $27.95, published April 23 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Cooked
  • A Natural History of Transformation
  • Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen. There, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements — fire, water, air and earth — to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. And he discovers that the cook occupies a special place in the world, standing squarely between nature and culture.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
The Guns at Last Light

The Guns at Last Light

The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945

by Rick Atkinson

Hardcover, 877 pages, Henry Holt & Co, $40, published May 14 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • The Guns at Last Light
  • The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945
  • Rick Atkinson

The final volume of the World War II trilogy brings to life the Allies' brutal struggles in Normandy and at the Battle of the Bulge, as well as the freeing of Paris as experienced by participants from every level of the military.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
I Could Pee on This

I Could Pee On This

And Other Poems By Cats

by Francesco Marciuliano

Hardcover, 111 pages, Chronicle Books, $12.95, published August 15 2012 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • I Could Pee On This
  • And Other Poems By Cats
  • Francesco Marciuliano

Francesco Marciuliano, author of the comic strip Sally Forth, gives voice to the thoughts and feelings of cats in this collection of poems attributed to felines.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Country Girl

Country Girl

A Memoir

by Edna O'Brien

Hardcover, 357 pages, Little Brown & Co, $27.99, published April 30 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Country Girl
  • A Memoir
  • Edna O'Brien

The Irish novelist, poet and playwright presents a lyrical narrative of her life that describes her convent school education in Ireland, the scandal that ensued upon the publication of her first novel and the wild 1960s parties that introduced her to people from all walks of life. NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Help, Thanks, Wow

Help, Thanks, Wow

The Three Essential Survival Prayers

by Anne Lamott

Hardcover, 102 pages, Penguin Group USA, $17.95, published November 13 2012 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Help, Thanks, Wow
  • The Three Essential Survival Prayers
  • Anne Lamott

Help, Thanks, Wow describes the three simple prayers — asking for assistance from a higher power, expressing gratitude and feeling awe — that help to deal with the hardships of daily life.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Gulp

Gulp

Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

by Mary Roach

Hardcover, 336 pages, W W Norton & Co Inc, $26.95, published April 1 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Gulp
  • Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
  • Mary Roach

The author of Stiff, about corpses, and Spook, about the afterlife, now explores the living human body. Gulp follows the digestive system from the mouth to the ... south, discussing food flavors, rectum uses, flatulence and the functions of saliva, among many other alimentary topics.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
The Drunken Botanist

The Drunken Botanist

The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks

by Amy Stewart

Hardcover, 381 pages, Workman Pub Co, $19.95, published March 19 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • The Drunken Botanist
  • The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks
  • Amy Stewart

From beer to bourbon, and martinis to Manhattans, all the world's alcoholic drinks come from plants. Garden writer Amy Stewart explores the plants behind our favorite cocktails: the fruits and grains that become alcohol; the herbs that add flavor; and the garnishes and mixers that add the finishing touches.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Wild

Wild

From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

by Cheryl Strayed

Paperback, 315 pages, Random House Inc, $15.95, published March 26 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Wild
  • From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
  • Cheryl Strayed

At 22, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington state — and she would do it alone.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Quiet

Quiet

The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

by Susan Cain

Paperback, 352 pages, Random House Inc, $16, published January 29 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Quiet
  • The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
  • Susan Cain

Susan Cain demonstrates how introverted people are misunderstood and undervalued in modern culture, charting the rise of extrovert ideology while sharing anecdotal examples of how to use introvert talents to adapt to various situations.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast And Slow

by Daniel Kahneman

Paperback, 499 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, $16, published April 2 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Thinking, Fast And Slow
  • Daniel Kahneman

A psychologist draws on years of research to introduce his "machinery of the mind" model on human decision-making, revealing the faults and capabilities of intuitive versus logical thinking.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake

Lots Of Candles, Plenty Of Cake

A Memoir of a Woman's Life

by Anna Quindlen

Paperback, 182 pages, Random House Inc, $15, published April 23 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Lots Of Candles, Plenty Of Cake
  • A Memoir of a Woman's Life
  • Anna Quindlen

A candid and whimsical memoir that explores what matters to middle-aged women.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Why Does the World Exist?

Why Does The World Exist?

An Existential Detective Story

by Jim Holt

Paperback, 320 pages, W W Norton & Co Inc, $16.95, published April 8 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Why Does The World Exist?
  • An Existential Detective Story
  • Jim Holt

The search for the origins of the universe extends beyond God and the Big Bang theory; a philosopher explores the bizarre possibilities inspired by physicists, theologians, mathematicians and even novelists.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

by Mindy Kaling

Paperback, 222 pages, Three Rivers Press, $14, published September 18 2012 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
  • Mindy Kaling

The writer and actor best known for her role on The Office shares observations on everything from favorite male archetypes and her hatred of dieting to her relationship with her mother and the haphazard creative process of The Office's writers' room.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Bossypants

Bossypants

by Tina Fey

Paperback, 275 pages, Little Brown & Co, $15.99, published January 3 2012 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Bossypants
  • Tina Fey

The breakout star of Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock gives a humorous account of her life, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from her hit shows.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
Escape from Camp 14

Escape From Camp 14

One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West

by Blaine Harden

Paperback, 210 pages, Penguin Group USA, $15, published March 26 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Escape From Camp 14
  • One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West
  • Blaine Harden

Until his early 20s, the only life Shin Dong-hyuk had ever known was one of constant beatings, near starvation and snitching on others to survive. Born into one of the worst of North Korea's system of prison camps, Shin was doomed to a life of hard labor and an early death. But when he was 23, he managed to elude the guards and escape. Reporter Blaine Harden tells the tale of Shin's imprisonment and astounding getaway.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
F in Exams

F In Exams

The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers

by Richard Benson

Paperback, 128 pages, Chronicle Books, $9.95, published February 23 2011 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • F In Exams
  • The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers
  • Richard Benson

Humor writer Richard Benson collects hilariously wrong test answers.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
The Swerve

The Swerve

How the World Became Modern

by Stephen Greenblatt

Paperback, 356 pages, W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., $16.95, published September 4 2012 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • The Swerve
  • How the World Became Modern
  • Stephen Greenblatt

A humanities professor describes the impact of the translation of the last remaining manuscript of On the Nature of Things by Roman philosopher Lucretius, which fueled the Renaissance and inspired artists, great thinkers and scientists.NPR Bestseller, Literary Award Winner

News and Reviews
Yes, Chef

Yes, Chef

A Memoir

by Marcus Samuelsson

Hardcover, 319 pages, Random House Inc, $27, published June 26 2012 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Yes, Chef
  • A Memoir
  • Marcus Samuelsson

The Top Chef: Masters winner and James Beard Award-winning proprietor of Harlem's Red Rooster traces his Ethiopian birth, upbringing by an adoptive family in Sweden and rise to a famous New York chef, sharing personal insights into his challenges as a black man in a deeply prejudiced industry.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
A Tear at the Edge of Creation

A Tear at the Edge of Creation

A Radical New Vision for Life in an Imperfect Universe

by Marcelo Gleiser

Hardcover, 285 pages, Simon & Schuster, $25, published April 6 2010 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • A Tear at the Edge of Creation
  • A Radical New Vision for Life in an Imperfect Universe
  • Marcelo Gleiser

A physics and philosophy professor challenges modern beliefs about the definable nature of the cosmos, arguing that all things exist because of random imperfections, primordial asymmetries and outright accidents, in a report that also cites the importance of caring for the planet.

News and Reviews

Religion Without God

by Ronald Dworkin

Hardcover, 176 pages, Harvard Univ Pr, $17.95, published October 1 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Religion Without God
  • Ronald Dworkin
News and Reviews
The Unwinding

The Unwinding

An Inner History of the New America

by George Packer

Hardcover, 434 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, $27, published May 21 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • The Unwinding
  • An Inner History of the New America
  • George Packer

A New Yorker staff writer paints a picture of the last 30 years of life in America by following several citizens, including the son of Southern tobacco farmers, a Washington insider who denies his idealism for riches and a Silicon Valley billionaire.

News and Reviews
Into the Abyss

Into the Abyss

An Extraordinary True Story

by Carol Shaben

Hardcover, 311 pages, Grand Central Pub, $25, published May 21 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Into the Abyss
  • An Extraordinary True Story
  • Carol Shaben

Four men, including the author's politician father, a pilot, a cop and a handcuffed criminal, fight to stay alive in the northern Alberta wilderness after surviving a commuter plane crash that killed six others.

News and Reviews
Eleven Rings

Eleven Rings

The Soul of Success

by Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty

Hardcover, 356 pages, Penguin Group USA, $27.95, published May 21 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Eleven Rings
  • The Soul of Success
  • Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty

The head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers traces the life experiences and philosophies that inspired his championship-winning techniques, citing his relationships with such players as Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Kobe Bryant while describing how he forged successful teams by combining talents and promoting trust.

News and Reviews
Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace

Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace

The Private Diary Of A Victorian Lady

by Kate Summerscale

Paperback, 303 pages, St Martins Pr, $17, published May 21 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace
  • The Private Diary Of A Victorian Lady
  • Kate Summerscale

In 1858, Isabella Robinson's husband read her private diary in which she'd recorded her infatuation with another married man, including descriptions of what were either trysts or sexual fantasies. Mr. Robinson petitioned a divorce, which England had just made legal, on the grounds of adultery. Kate Summerscale traces the true story of the scandalous trial that ensued.

News and Reviews
Dinner: A Love Story

Dinner

A Love Story

by Jenny Rosenstrach

Paperback, 336 pages, HarperCollins, $19.99, published May 21 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Dinner
  • A Love Story
  • Jenny Rosenstrach

Based on her blog, Jenny Rosenstrach's cookbook memoir makes clear that family dinner does not have to be perfect. With recipes for home cooks at any level, she captures the frenetic nature and craziness of dinner and reveals how to break down the meal so that families can enjoy good food and simply be together.

News and Reviews
My First Coup D'Etat

My First Coup D'Etat

And Other True Stories From The Lost Decades Of Africa

by John Dramani Mahama

Paperback, 318 pages, St Martins Pr, $16, published May 14 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • My First Coup D'Etat
  • And Other True Stories From The Lost Decades Of Africa
  • John Dramani Mahama

In 1966, a military coup overthrew Ghana's first president. At the time, John Dramani Mahama was 7 years old and his father, a minister in the government, disappeared and was imprisoned for more than a year. Today, Mahama is the vice president of Ghana. Mahama's memoir recounts his urban life with his father and his rural experiences in his mother's village.

News and Reviews
Waiting to Be Heard

Waiting To Be Heard

A Memoir

by Amanda Knox

Hardcover, 463 pages, HarperCollins, $28.99, published April 30 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • Waiting To Be Heard
  • A Memoir
  • Amanda Knox

The young exchange student whose conviction and acquittal on murder charges in Italy made headlines worldwide tells the full story of her ordeal.NPR Bestseller

News and Reviews
That's That

That's That

by Colin Broderick

Paperback, 359 pages, Random House Inc, $15, published May 7 2013 | purchase
close

Purchase Featured Books

  • That's That
  • Colin Broderick

Colin Broderick grew up in Northern Ireland — the heart of rebel country — during the period of heightened tension and violence known as the Troubles. His memoir recounts how he and his brothers struggled to understand the events happening around them.

News and Reviews

NPR thanks our sponsors

Become an NPR Sponsor

Podcast + RSS Feeds

Podcast RSS

  • Books