archive
Excerpt: 'Around the Bloc'
July 13, 2005 Author Stephanie Elizondo Griest frees herself from a dull "and then I went here" chronological approach and makes each chapter in this memoir, in effect, its own short story.
Excerpt: 'Courtroom 302'
July 13, 2005 If you want to learn a lot about how American justice operates at the lower level of courts, pick up Steven Bogira's Courtroom 302, his fascinating and sobering account of a year spent watching the proceedings in one courtroom in Chicago.
Excerpt: 'The Whole Equation'
July 13, 2005 Author David Thomson concentrates his attention on a handful of key players, turning the lives of notable figures from Louis B. Mayer to Stephen Spielberg into deeply intuitive parables of success or disappointment.
Excerpt: 'Becoming Justice Blackmun'
July 13, 2005 This book offer stories about the high court's machinations and is rooted in the human tale of the friendship and estrangement of Justice Harry Blackmun and Chief Justice Warren Burger.
Excerpt: 'Bury the Chains'
July 13, 2005 Author Adam Hochschild works with a clear cast of villains and heroes in this history of the abolitionist movement in Britain.
Excerpt: 'Over the Edge of the World'
July 13, 2005 Columnist Alan Greenblatt calls this account of Magellan's voyage around the world "a great adventure story, complete with... political intrigue, sexual adventurism, travelogue."
Excerpt: 'Weather Bird'
July 13, 2005 Author Gary Giddins remains an enthusiast, never giving up on jazz, an art form that has been declared near death for most of my listening life. Rather than criticize obscure records, he hunts for winners and presents his trophies.
Excerpt: 'Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer'
July 6, 2005 The Chronicle of Higher Education named this the best book about college sports ever written. The author describes his season on the road with fans of the University of Alabama football team, including one fan who missed his daughter's wedding because it was scheduled during the Tennesee game.
Excerpt: 'Meet You In Hell'
July 6, 2005 Set in America's gilded age at the end of the 1800s, this book details the soured friendship between Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. From their competition over collecting art to various steel strikes, the book depicts history without ever reading like a dry textbook.
Excerpt: 'Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim'
July 6, 2005 This is a universal staff pick at The Alabama Booksmith. There are 22 essays in typical Sedaris style – hilarious, wonderful, poignant and moving. He has the necessary chapter on the rooster – David's brother. The store has hosted the author four times and every time he mentions the Rooster, the crowd goes wild.
Excerpt: Finding Martha's Vineyard
June 29, 2005 This is a loving look at a summer spot that's been cherished by generations of East Coast families, written by a Vineyard veteran, says NPR book editor Karen Grigsby Bates.
Excerpt: Princesses
June 29, 2005 Everybody knows about the role of King George III in the Revolutionary War, and about the illness that made him seem crazy. But what we didn't know about was his domestic side, and the six daughters he doted on. Fraser's book is an absorbing biography.
Excerpt: 'The Devil's Teeth'
June 16, 2005 Author Susan Casey travels to the Farallon Islands to meet great white sharks and the biologists who study them.
Excerpt: 'The Restless Sleep'
June 7, 2005 Read an excerpt of The Restless Sleep by Stacy Horn, recommended on All Things Considered by book critic Alan Cheuse.
