NPR Books
Writing On The Sly, Nathaniel Rich's Secret Debut
It took over five years for Nathaniel Rich to finish his first novel — maybe because he was writing The Mayor's Tongue secretly, first as a college student, and then while writing film criticism during the day.
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Mixed Race Americans And A 'Blended Nation'
The 2000 U.S. census was the first to give Americans the option to check more than one box for race. Nearly 7 million people declared themselves to be multiracial, a number that's expected to shoot up in the 2010 count. As more of the nation's population identifies itself as of mixed race, the authors of a new book say Americans' ideas of racial identity are in for a challenge.
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Poker, Power Go Hand In Hand, Author Says
American history is filled with powerful men who have have honed their competitive strategies around the card table. In Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker, author James McManus details how the game's logic is reflected in our history of battles and business.
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Refusing Flu Shots? Maybe You're A 'Denialist'
At the Ocean Charter School near Marina del Rey, Calif., 40 percent of the 2008 kindergarten class received vaccination exemptions. Author Michael Specter says the parents in this upscale enclave are prime examples of what he calls "denialism."
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To See The Future, Use The Logic Of Self-Interest
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita knows what will happen in the future on a host of critical questions. Will Iran develop a nuclear bomb? Will North Korea? What major companies or economies will merge, grow or fall apart? De Mesquita has been predicting the future for 30 years — to a reported 90 percent success rate. Host Scott Simon talks to him about the new book that reveals how his secret: The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future.
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How Market Crash Helped Hedge Fund Operator
Before the financial crisis hit, John Paulson was just your run-of-the-mill hedge fund operator, worth millions of dollars. But when the market crashed, Paulson made billions. How he did it lies at the heart of a new book called The Greatest Trade Ever. The book's author, Gregory R. Zuckerman, offers his insight.
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Can Oceans Survive The Human Appetite For Seafood?
Faced with declining fish stocks, many nations are looking for sustainable ways to have their fish — and eat it too. But how much fishing is too much? Oceanographer Sylvia Earle discusses this and other topics in her book The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean's Are One.
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Sapphire's Story: How 'Push' Became 'Precious'
The gritty realism of the film Precious is even more intense in the novel Push, upon which the film is based. Author Sapphire discusses the inspiration for her work — and her initial reluctance to allow her work to become a film.
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Wal-Mart, Amazon Price War Extends To DVDs
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is trimming the online preorder prices of some upcoming DVDs following last month's price cut on books. The move led rivals Amazon.com Inc. and Target Corp. to reduce some DVD prices, which pushed Wal-Mart to take a few more cents off its offerings.
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Seduction And Betrayal In Paul Auster's 'Invisible'
Intricate plotting, intermittent erotic tension and the author's powerful moral imagination combine to make Paul Auster's latest novel an absorbing literary thriller.
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Harold Evans: A Long Career Of Chasing Stories
The British journalist talks with Steve Inskeep about his tenure as editor of the Sunday Times in London and his crusade to maintain journalism's commitment to public good. Evans has a new memoir called My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times.
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Gore Urges Obama To Take Lead On Climate Change
In his new book, Al Gore argues that consumers have "all the tools we need" to solve climate change. But unless the United States takes a leadership role, "it would be impossible to resolve this crisis," he tells NPR.
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