archive
The Salt
Cross-Culture Cilantro Sauce And Other Secrets Of 'Gran Cocina Latina'
January 14, 2013 For her new book, Gran Cocina Latina, chef Maricel Presilla visited homes and restaurants across Latin America to document their food. But one dish familiar to Americans, the sauce often served with Cuban-style yuca fries, has a surprising origin — Presilla herself.
The Sotomayor Interview
A Justice Deliberates: Sotomayor On Love, Health And Family
January 14, 2013 Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is open about how she benefited from affirmative action, how she came to terms with her diabetes and the "out-of-body experience" of being appointed to the high court. Sotomayor spoke with NPR just before the release of her new autobiography.
A 'Beautiful Vision' In Science Forgotten
January 13, 2013 Dorothy Wrinch was the first woman to ever receive a doctorate in science from Oxford University, and she was the first person to design a protein structure. But her name is largely unknown. I Died for Beauty, a biography of Wrinch by Marjorie Senechal, tells her story.
Author Interviews
'I Accepted Responsibility': McChrystal On His 'Share Of The Task'
January 13, 2013 Gen. Stanley McChrystal was the top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, relieved of command after a controversy in 2010. In his memoir, My Share of the Task, he describes a culture gap between the military and civilian worlds that complicated the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.
Life Is Difficult But Rewarding Under This 'Umbrella'
January 13, 2013 "Lives don't divide up into chapters," says novelist Will Self, whose latest, Umbrella, is a challenging read that layers narratives, places and characters for an intensely nonlinear experience. The book centers on a psychiatrist and one of his patients, a woman who's been comatose for 50 years.
Author Interviews
Deserts, Coal Walking And Wildfires: Can You Take The 'Heat'?
January 13, 2013 Scientist and writer Bill Streever is fascinated by the extremes at both ends of the thermometer. In Cold, he visited some of the chilliest places on Earth. Now, in his latest book, Heat, he travels to the world's very hot spots.
PG-13: Risky Reads
Daughter Of The Storm: An Iranian Literary Revolution
January 13, 2013 As a young girl reeling from the revolution in Iran in 1979, author Roya Hakakian discovered the great Persian poet Ahmad Shamlou. His poems made her realize the importance of breaking from tradition. Has a poem ever changed your thinking this way? Tell us in the comments.
Author Interviews
Father's Death Spurs Son To Tackle Health Care
January 12, 2013 David Goldhill lost his father to infections acquired at a hospital in 2007. Since then, the business executive has been spurred to action. In his new book, Catastrophic Care, he talks about problems in the insurance-based American health care system and how we can fix it.
Author Interviews
NBA Star Aims To Inspire Young Readers With 'Slam Dunk'
January 12, 2013 New York Knicks captain Amar'e "STAT" Stoudemire is a six-time All-Star, an education activist and the author of three books for middle-schoolers. In his latest release, an injury helps an 11-year-old STAT learn lessons both on and off the court.
Author Interviews
The Seedy Underbelly Of The Belle Epoque, 'Painted'
January 12, 2013 The belle epoque was not particularly belle if you were poor and female — like the young girl who modeled for Edgar Degas' famous sculpture, The Little Dancer, Aged 14. A new novel by Cathy Marie Buchanan tells the story of that girl, ballet student Marie van Goethem.
The Sotomayor Interview
Book Review: Sotomayor Opens Up About Childhood, Marriage In 'Beloved World'
January 12, 2013 In Sonia Sotomayor's new memoir, My Beloved World, the associate Supreme Court justice opens up about her childhood in the Bronx. NPR's Nina Totenberg calls it a moving and unexpectedly personal look at the court's first Hispanic justice.
Evan S. Connell: A Master Of Fact And Fiction
January 12, 2013 The writer, who died this week at the age of 88, is remembered for creations both fictional and non, ranging from the Kansas City living room of Mrs. Bridge to Custer's Little Bighorn. Critic Alan Cheuse has a remembrance of Connell, who once met him for breakfast at a Marin County McDonald's.
No Going Back: A Hard Look At Bipolar Disorder
January 11, 2013 Juliann Garey's novel, Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See, is a searing exploration of mental illness. Author Ellen Forney says it's a vivid and accurate depiction of bipolar disorder.
Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers
NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of January 10, 2013
January 11, 2013 At No. 6, Hilary Mantel's Bring Up The Bodies depicts the fall of Anne Boleyn.
