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Two new novels illustrate just how hard it is to find a foothold in America
W.W. Norton

Review

Book Reviews

Two new novels illustrate just how hard it is to find a foothold in America

Fresh Air

Brandon Taylor's The Late Americans is a sexually-explicit, cynical novel about young people striving. Such Kindness, by Andre Dubus III, grapples with injury, addiction, masculinity and loneliness.

Two new novels illustrate just how hard it is to find a foothold in America

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In 'The Fight for Midnight,' a teen boy confronts the abortion debate

Dan Solomon's The Fight for Midnight is a coming-of-age novel set in June of 2013, during former Texas state senator Wendy Davis' 13 hour filibuster of an abortion bill. Flux Books/North Star Editions hide caption

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Flux Books/North Star Editions

Book News & Features

In 'The Fight for Midnight,' a teen boy confronts the abortion debate

Dan Solomon's YA novel The Fight for Midnight takes place during former Texas state lawmaker Wendy Davis' filibuster of a bill that would restrict access to abortion. The protagonist is a teen boy.

In 'The Fight for Midnight,' a teen boy confronts the abortion debate

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Pain and pleasure do the tango in the engrossing new novel 'Kairos'
New Directions

Review

Book Reviews

Pain and pleasure do the tango in the engrossing new novel 'Kairos'

Fresh Air

A young student in East Berlin falls in love with a much older writer in the run-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a love story and a rich portrait of people watching their country disappear.

Pain and pleasure do the tango in the engrossing new novel 'Kairos'

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Robert Gottlieb, celebrated editor of Toni Morrison and Robert Caro, has died at 92

This image released by Knopf shows Robert Gottlieb. Gottlieb, the inspired and eclectic literary editor whose brilliant career was launched with Joseph Heller's Catch-22 and continued for decades with such Pulitzer Prize-winning classics as Toni Morrison's Beloved and Robert Caro's The Power Broker, has died at age 92. Michael Lionstar/Knopf via AP hide caption

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Michael Lionstar/Knopf via AP

Robert Gottlieb, celebrated editor of Toni Morrison and Robert Caro, has died at 92

Gottlieb, whose work helped shape the modern publishing canon, edited fiction by future Nobel laureates, spy novels by John le Carré, essays by Nora Ephron and Caro's nonfiction epics.

Author Interviews

'An Amerikan Family' traces the legacy of Tupac Shakur's influential family

Fresh Air

The late rapper — who was killed at 25 in 1996 — would have turned 52 this year. Santi Elijah Holley's new book follows the Shakur family tree and their work in the Black Liberation Movement.

'An Amerikan Family' traces the legacy of Tupac Shakur's influential family

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Cormac McCarthy, American novelist of the stark and dark, dies at 89

Cormac McCarthy attends the New York premiere of The Road, the film adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, in 2009. Mark Von Holden/Getty Images For Dimension Films hide caption

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Mark Von Holden/Getty Images For Dimension Films

Obituaries

Cormac McCarthy, American novelist of the stark and dark, dies at 89

The author of The Road, Blood Meridian and No Country For Old Men embodied a strong Southwestern sensibility, writing often about men grappling with the existence of evil.

Cormac McCarthy, American novelist of the stark and dark, dies at 89

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The Catholic Church profited from slavery — 'The 272' explains how
Random House

Author Interviews

The Catholic Church profited from slavery — 'The 272' explains how

Fresh Air

"You don't hear about enslaved people at Mass or in Sunday school," says Rachel Swarns. Her new book tells the story of 272 enslaved people sold in 1838 to help save what is now Georgetown University.

The Catholic Church profited from slavery — 'The 272' explains how

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Paul McCartney's photos of early Beatlemania are in a book and on display in London

John Lennon in Paris, 1964 ©1964 Paul McCartney hide caption

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©1964 Paul McCartney

Photography

Paul McCartney's photos of early Beatlemania are in a book and on display in London

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Paul McCartney about his book of photographs from the time the Beatles first visited the United States.

Paul McCartney's photos of early Beatlemania are in a book and on display in London

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Elizabeth Gilbert halts release of a new book after outcry over its Russian setting

Elizabeth Gilbert is delaying publication of The Snow Forest, a novel set in Russia, after receiving an outpouring of "anger, sorrow, disappointment and pain" from Ukrainian readers who object to releasing any work about Russia. Here, in this photo from September 2010, Gilbert arrives at the European premiere of the film Eat, Pray, Love in Leicester Square, London. Paul Jeffers/AP hide caption

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Paul Jeffers/AP

Ukraine invasion — explained

Elizabeth Gilbert halts release of a new book after outcry over its Russian setting

The Snow Forest by the author of Eat, Pray, Love was set to be released in February 2024, exactly two years after Russia invaded Ukraine. The backlash included hundreds of negative GoodReads reviews.

Author Interviews

Central Park birder Christian Cooper on being 'a Black man in the natural world'

Fresh Air

Cooper was birdwatching in Central Park in 2020 when a white woman falsely accused him of threatening her. His book chronicles life as a Black birder, gay activist and Marvel comics writer and editor.

Central Park birder Christian Cooper on being 'a Black man in the natural world'

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