Home
archive
NPR stories about Author Interviews
'The Insurgents': Petraeus And A New Kind Of War()
January 29, 2013 In a new book about Gen. David Petraeus, author and journalist Fred Kaplan looks at how theories of counterinsurgency have shaped U.S. military policy in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Al Roker On Being The 'Jolly Fat Person'()
January 28, 2013 Roker won fame as the ever-smiling weatherman on NBC's Today show. But he also endured years of indignities because of his weight. Then, in 2001, he had bariatric surgery and lost more than 100 pounds. Roker speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about his experiences and his latest book, Never Goin' Back.
'Anything That Moves': Civilians And The Vietnam War()
January 28, 2013 In a new book, Nick Turse says the pressure on U.S. forces to produce a body count during the Vietnam War led to mass civilian deaths. "The idea," he says, "was that the Vietnamese, they weren't really people."
Arts & Life
Watch This: Neil Gaiman's Imaginative Favorites()
January 28, 2013 From The Muppet Show to The Twilight Zone and a creepy animated version of Alice in Wonderland, author Neil Gaiman shares his film and television favorites for the occasional Morning Edition series Watch This. Gaiman calls the Muppets "one of the comedic glories of the human race."
'Manifest Injustice': A 40-Year Fight For Freedom()
January 27, 2013 Bill Macumber, a respected member of his Arizona community, was convicted of a grisly 1962 double murder. Late last year, however, he was released from prison. A new book tells the story of a flawed investigation and legal process that cost Macumber 38 years of freedom.
Ship Those (Virtual) Chips: The Rise And Fall Of Online Poker's Youngest Crew()
January 26, 2013 In the early 2000s, the get-rich-quick scheme of choice for young college dropouts was online poker. In his new book Ship It Holla Ballas, Jonathan Grotenstein follows two young players as they rake in the dough.
Dave Barry's 'Insane' Miami Mixes Refugees, Gangsters, Escorts And A Burmese Python()
January 26, 2013 In Dave Barry's latest novel, a bachelor dinner goes off the rails, entangling the groom to be with a colorful cast of characters — everyone from Russian mobsters to Haitian refugees to the fourth-place finisher in the Miss Hot Amateur Bod contest. Oh, and an albino Burmese python.
'Going Clear': A New Book Delves Into Scientology()
January 24, 2013 Lawrence Wright's Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief looks at the world of the controversial church and the life of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986.
'Insurgents' Hoped To Change Military From Within()
January 24, 2013 National security reporter Fred Kaplan's new book is called The Insurgents, but the insurgents of the title are actually American military intellectuals — including Gen. David Petraeus — determined to change the way the Army thinks about counterinsurgency operations.
Books
Online Dating's Siren Song ()
January 24, 2013 Dan Slater, author of Love in the Time of Algorithms, talks to Renee Montagne about the history of computer matchmaking. He says online dating users get "lured in, in a way they never imagined." Slater says falling in love with an Internet profile is actually fairly common.
A Historic Arrival: New York's Grand Central Turns 100()
January 22, 2013 Born from a deadly underground train crash, Manhattan's historic transit hub is credited with inventing the ramp and bringing electricity to both train tracks and terminal. Author Sam Roberts marks its centennial in Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America.
'Double V': The Fight For Civil Rights In The U.S. Military()
January 21, 2013 In his new book, The Double V, Rawn James Jr. argues that to understand race in America one must understand the history of African-Americans in the military. While the turning point came between the world wars, the struggle began with the American Revolution.
Author Revisits Obama Comments From 4 Years Ago()
January 21, 2013 Jabara Asim's book is called What Obama Means. Four years ago, he told Steve Inskeep the incoming president was similar to the type of film character mockingly called the "Magic Negro," who redeems the lives of white characters. Asim returns to talk about what President Obama represents four years later, and how his legacy among African-Americans is developing.
George Saunders On Absurdism And Ventriloquism In 'Tenth Of December'()
January 20, 2013 George Saunders has long been praised in literary circles for his short stories that deftly combine the absurd with the mundane. But now the author has caught mainstream attention with his newest collection, Tenth of December.
Connecting With Nature To Reclaim Our Natural 'Birthright'()
January 20, 2013 Modern society has become adversarial in its relationship to nature, Yale scholar Stephen Kellert argues, having greatly undervalued the natural world beyond its narrow utilty. In his new book Birthright: People and Nature in the Modern World, he tells stories of the environment's effect on us, and ours on it.
