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NPR's Book Concierge: Our Guide To 2018's Great Reads

November 27, 2018 • The Book Concierge is back! Explore more than 300 standout titles picked by NPR staff and critics.

Review

Author Interviews

From 'Little House' to Libertarianism: Rose Wilder Lane's Troublemaking Life

April 21, 2019 • Cartoonist Peter Bagge takes on the life of another independent woman in Credo, his biography of pioneering libertarian Rose Wilder Lane (also known for being the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder).

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'Flowers Over The Inferno' Has A Tantalizing Weirdness

April 21, 2019 • Ilaria Tuti's crime thriller, set in the mountains of northern Italy, stars a classic odd couple of cops: A gruff, aging, unhealthy veteran detective and her young whippersnapper of a partner.

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Book Reviews

'Republic Of Lies' Explores The Fixation With Conspiracy Theories

April 20, 2019 • Author Anna Merlan's recitations are chilling, as are her warnings that fringe beliefs tend to go mainstream — and how their rise is seen against a resurgence in nationalism and white supremacy.

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Book Reviews

Emotionally Complex 'Arid Dreams' Operates On Multiple Levels

April 20, 2019 • Duanwad Pimwana is one of Thailand's preeminent female writers, and this newly translated story collection — while not uniformly flawless — lets readers watch her grow into a true master of the form.

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Book Reviews

'Einstein's Unfinished Revolution' Looks At The Quantum-Physics-And-Reality Problem

April 19, 2019 • A century after the birth of quantum mechanics, no one is sure what it is telling us about the nature of reality — and Lee Smolin's book adds to a stream of excellent works on the topic.

The Mueller Report Is Free To Read, But It's Also A Bestseller

A day after the release of the redacted Mueller report, book versions of it occupied the top spots on Amazon's bestseller list. Amazon/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

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Amazon/Screenshot by NPR

The Mueller Report Is Free To Read, But It's Also A Bestseller

April 19, 2019 • The Mueller report on the 22-month probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 election is now a bestselling book, even though its contents are free and widely available.

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Book Reviews

'Ungovernable' Brings Up Grim Realities Of Victorian Child Rearing

April 19, 2019 • Therese Oneill's new book presents plenty of suitably eyebrow-raising excerpts, but amid the snark at parenthood past and present, there are some unavoidable issues that come at a fraught time.

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Book Reviews

'The Raven's Tale:' O, For A Muse Of Angst

April 19, 2019 • Teenaged, angst-ridden Edgar Allan Poe seems like a great protagonist for a supernatural young adult novel — but The Raven's Tale has some serious flaws that leave a void at the story's heart.

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Book Reviews

'Tragedy, The Greeks, And Us' Examines How Classical Philosophers Saw Early Dramas

April 18, 2019 • The Stone's Simon Critchley premises tragedy on action — as opposed to the generally more passive approach philosophy has a reputation for — and examines how Plato and others saw it as a threat.

'A Woman Of No Importance' Finally Gets Her Due

This painting of Virginia Hall hangs in one of the main hallways near the entrance of CIA headquarters. The painting shows her making radio contact with London from an old barn in France to request supplies and personnel. Power for her radio was provided by a bicycle rigged to power an electric generator. Courtesy of CIA hide caption

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National Security

'A Woman Of No Importance' Finally Gets Her Due

April 18, 2019 • Virginia Hall was an American spy who worked for Britain and the U.S. and played a key role in undermining the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. Her story was rarely told — until now.

'A Woman Of No Importance' Finally Gets Her Due

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'Pickle's Progress' Is A Weird — But Secretly Sweet — Journey

April 17, 2019 • Marcia Butler's new novel centers on a drunken, bickering couple whose lives are turned upside down after a car crash. It's a deeply weird book that succeeds because of Butler's considerable charisma.

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'The Problem Of Democracy' Looks At Personality's Role In U.S. Leadership

April 17, 2019 • A new book focuses on how the Adams father-son duo spent years abroad making a case for our young country — yet both saw themselves rejected in favor of more charismatic and populist rivals.

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Book Reviews

In 'Southern Lady Code,' Helen Ellis Brings Her Hilarity To Southern Manners

April 17, 2019 • Amid disquisitions on the importance of thank-you notes and a hilariously graphic description of a mammogram, Ellis occasionally ventures into more weighty territory in her first work of nonfiction.

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Book Reviews

In 'White' Bret Easton Ellis Falls Victim To The Behavior He Criticizes

April 16, 2019 • It's possible to seriously consider the left's preoccupation with public shaming, its increasingly repetitive vocabulary of resistance and privilege — and do it well. But that's not been done here.

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Book Reviews

'Normal People' Appeals Across Genders And Generations

April 16, 2019 • Sally Rooney avoids a sophomore slump with Normal People, a will-they-won't-they love story with sympathetic protagonists whose lives are complicated by economic uncertainty and class differences.

'Late Bloomers' Makes The Case For Patience In A Culture Focused On Early Success

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Author Interviews

'Late Bloomers' Makes The Case For Patience In A Culture Focused On Early Success

April 16, 2019 • In an interview with NPR about his new book Late Bloomers, Forbes magazine publisher Rich Karlgaard talks about the idea that early achievement is not necessary for lifelong success.

'Late Bloomers' Makes The Case For Patience In A Culture Focused On Early Success

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Biographer Robert Caro On Fame, Power And 'Working' To Uncover The Truth

Fresh Air

April 15, 2019 • The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist was never interested in only telling the stories of famous men. Instead, he says, "I wanted to use their lives to show how political power worked."

Biographer Robert Caro On Fame, Power And 'Working' To Uncover The Truth

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Pulitzer Prizes Honor Journalists Under Threat With New Crop Of Winners

Courtesy of the Pulitzer Prizes

Arts & Life

Pulitzer Prizes Honor Journalists Under Threat With New Crop Of Winners

April 15, 2019 • Judges sought to support the media "even if some wrongly degrade [it] as the enemy of the very democracy it serves." Honors went to The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La., Florida's Sun-Sentinel and others.