Fresh and dried yeast. It might not look like much, but it has shaped the way we eat and live, according to a new book. Maximilian Stock Ltd./Getty Images hide caption

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books
This week: Meg Wolitzer, Charles Frazier, Jo Nesbo, Nafissa Thompson-Spires and James Sexton.June Jo Lee's interest in food anthropology inspired her husband Philip Lee to create a publishing company that would bring books about good food to kids. Readers to Eaters hide caption
Patton Oswalt On His Late Wife's Search For The Golden State Killer
David Mamet On 'Chicago': 'These Were The Stories You Grew Up With'
W.E.B. Du Bois' The Souls Of Black Folk has been re-published in a new edition for the author's 150th birthday anniversary. C. M. Battey/Getty Images hide caption
Author Judy Blume speaks about her book, In the Unlikely Event, in 2015. Kathy Willens/AP hide caption
At 80, Judy Blume Reflects On Feminism, #MeToo And Keeping Margaret 12
A vendor adjusts heart-shaped pillows hanging from a tree in Jalandhar, India, on Feb. 9. Shammi Mehra/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Everything Happens for a Reason by Kate Bowler Emily Bogle/NPR hide caption
What Not To Say To The Terminally Ill: 'Everything Happens For A Reason'
At Mr. John Chivery's Tea-table. An illustration from Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. Universal History Archive/Getty Images hide caption
A view of the U.S.-Mexico border fence on the outskirts of Nogales, Mexico. Francisco Cantú says people always find ways up, over, under or around border fences. Brian Skoloff/AP hide caption
Former Agent Says, 'Border Patrol Does Good Work ... But There's Tension There'
Rosa Parks is fingerprinted by police in Montgomery, Ala. in 1956. Gene Herrick/AP hide caption