Accessibility links
Books: Book Reviews, Book News, and Author Interviews NPR's brings you news about books and authors along with our picks for great reads. Interviews, reviews, and much more.

Books

'Republic Of Detours' Revisits A Group Of Quirky, Depression-Era Guides To The States

Republic of Detours, by Scott Borchert Macmillan hide caption

toggle caption
Macmillan

Review

Book Reviews

'Republic Of Detours' Revisits A Group Of Quirky, Depression-Era Guides To The States

Fresh Air

Scott Borchert's cultural history of the New Deal initiative known as the Federal Writers' Program teems with colorful characters, scenic byways and telling anecdotes.

'Republic Of Detours' Revisits A Group Of Quirky, Depression-Era Guides To The States

Listen · 7:06
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1006721210/1007306314" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
In 'Somebody's Daughter' Ashley C. Ford Confronts The Crimes Of Her Father

Ashley C. Ford's new memoir is Somebody's Daughter. Heather Sten/Macmillan hide caption

toggle caption
Heather Sten/Macmillan

Author Interviews

In 'Somebody's Daughter' Ashley C. Ford Confronts The Crimes Of Her Father

Fresh Air

For many years, Ford didn't know why her dad was in prison. As a teenager, she was shocked to learn he'd been convicted of rape. "With rape, there's no mistake about the intention to harm," she says.

In 'Somebody's Daughter' Ashley C. Ford Confronts The Crimes Of Her Father

Listen · 38:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1006277910/1006803813" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Disordered Cosmos
Bold Type Books

Short Wave

The Disordered Cosmos

Maddie talks with physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein about her new book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred. In the episode, we talk quarks (one of the building blocks of the universe), intersectionality and access to the night sky as a fundamental right.

The Disordered Cosmos

Listen · 15:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1006223211/1006388664" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Mercury Rising' Explores Treacherous U.S. Attempts to Control Space

Mercury Rising, by Jeff Shesol WW Norton hide caption

toggle caption
WW Norton

Space

'Mercury Rising' Explores Treacherous U.S. Attempts to Control Space

Fresh Air

In Mercury Rising, historian Jeff Shesol recalls the early days of the U.S. space program, when Cold War fears ruled and no one was sure John Glenn would survive America's first orbital flight.

'Mercury Rising' Explores Treacherous U.S. Attempts to Control Space

Listen · 37:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1004397940/1004799566" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
4 Books To Broaden Your Pride Month Reading List
David Malan/Getty Images

Pride Month

4 Books To Broaden Your Pride Month Reading List

There are a lot of Pride Month reading lists out there — so we thought we'd get away from the classics everyone knows. We asked author Akwaeke Emezi to recommend some of their favorite reads.

4 Books To Broaden Your Pride Month Reading List

Listen · 7:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1003404065/1004269972" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Zakiya Dalila Harris And 'The Other Black Girl'

Zakiya Dalila Harris is the author of the book The Other Black Girl. Nicole Mondestin hide caption

toggle caption
Nicole Mondestin

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Zakiya Dalila Harris And 'The Other Black Girl'

Zakiya Dalila Harris was working as an editorial assistant at a New York publisher when she ran into another Black woman for the first time on her office floor. That's when she got the idea for her book, The Other Black Girl. What's it like when you're used to being the only one, but now there's another one like you? And what if things get weird? Like, really weird. Sam and Zakiya talk about how her book subverts the office drama and what lessons it has for a still very white publishing industry.

Zakiya Dalila Harris And 'The Other Black Girl'

Listen · 27:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/999933219/1004014685" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Supreme Court Justice Who Made History By Voting No on Racial Segregation

John Marshall Harlan, who was named for Chief Justice John Marshall, served on the Supreme Court from 1877 until his death in 1911. Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Corbis via Getty Images

Author Interviews

The Supreme Court Justice Who Made History By Voting No on Racial Segregation

A new book explores the life of Justice John Marshall Harlan, who wrote the dissenting opinion in the Supreme Court case that upheld the principle of racial segregation.

The Supreme Court Justice Who Made History By Voting No on Racial Segregation

Listen · 7:13
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1002982972/1003872895" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org