Books Excerpt: 'The End Of Overeating July 26, 2009 • This book reveals how the American food industry has harnessed the chemistry of sugar, salt and fat to make us eat too much, too fast and too often.
Excerpts: Recommended Books Excerpt: 'A Bright And Guilty Place' June 24, 2009 • Richard Rayner's nonfiction account of Los Angeles in the 1920s demonstrates the truth behind the noir.
Excerpts: Recommended Books Excerpt: 'The Latehomecomer' June 11, 2009 • Kao Kalia Yang's memoir is both a family chronicle and a history of the Hmong people.
Review Book Reviews Journalism's Courageous, Cantankerous Hero June 8, 2009 • D.D. Guttenplan's biography of iconic investigative reporter I.F. Stone is well-researched and gracefully written. American Radical gets inside the head and heart of this anti-establishment journalist who became a Washington insider.
Summer Books 2008: Excerpts Excerpt: 'The Race Card' August 25, 2008 • Are rampant claims of discrimination clouding our discussions of social problems and race? Law Professor Richard Thompson Ford examines abuses of the so-called "race card" while looking at wider problems of institutional racism.
Summer Books 2008: Excerpts Excerpt: 'Hungry for Paris' August 25, 2008 • Paris: the city of lights, the city of love, and — maybe most importantly — the city of food. Alexander Lobrano of Gourmet magazine samples the gastronomical delights of over a hundred Parisian restaurants, creating a guide that would satisfy any foodie.
Review Book Reviews 'First Stop' Captures Lurid, Vibrant Mexico City August 15, 2008 • Half shantytown, half boomtown, the teeming and complex Mexican capital defies coherent description. David Lida's sharply drawn vignettes are expansive and vivid — like the city itself.
Review Book Reviews Where Do Jokes Come From? Funny You Should Ask August 6, 2008 • Stop Me If You've Heard This Before, Jim Holt's funny, scholarly history of humor, ranges high and (very) low to answer the question, "What are you laughing at?"
Summer Books 2008: Excerpts Excerpt: 'Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean' July 3, 2008 • Douglas Wolk takes graphic novels seriously and dissects today's comic-book landscape.
Summer Books 2008: Excerpts Excerpt: 'The Great Comic Book Heroes' July 3, 2008 • Jules Feiffer offers a critical history of comic books. He labels comics "junk" — only to vigorously defend our need for them.
Summer Books 2008: Excerpts Excerpt: 'Dirty Words' July 3, 2008 • Adultery, commitment, sex, obsession — this encyclopedia covers all of these subjects and more.
Review Book Reviews Surveying Sex, A To Z, In 'Dirty Words' July 3, 2008 • Like most things that happen in the bedroom, the collection of essays found in Dirty Words is fun, naughty and totally inappropriate for the eyes of children.
Books Political Books Trump Trashy Fiction June 17, 2008 • Primary season is (finally) over, summer is (almost officially) here and, as Publishers Weekly reports, a new crop of political books is about to make its way to the stores. Hankering for a political classic? Check out our favorite books of all time. Listen to this 'Talk of the Nation' topic Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91577754/91588717" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Listen to this 'Talk of the Nation' topic Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91577754/91588717" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Books The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Wine June 10, 2008 • In 1985, a single bottle of wine purported to be from Thomas Jefferson's own cellar was sold at auction for $156,000. Benjamin Wallace traces the mystery surrounding the bottle in The Billionaire's Vinegar. Wallace Reads from 'The Billionaire's Vinegar' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91117799/91320719" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Wallace Reads from 'The Billionaire's Vinegar' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91117799/91320719" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Critics' Lists: Summer 2008 Nine First Books that Make a Lasting Impression May 27, 2008 • While there's definite comfort to be had in the familiar authors, sometimes what you really want is the spark and thrill of a chance encounter — that's where first books come in.
