NPR Books
Lincoln's Strategy To Turn Rivals Into Allies
After he won the presidency, Abraham Lincoln brought three of his rivals for the Republican nomination into his cabinet. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, Team of Rivals, recounts the life and work of our 16th president — and the principal characters of his administration.
The 'Religionization' Of The Oval Office
Scholar Randall Balmer explores the interplay between religion and American politics in his book, God in the White House. Balmer is a professor of religious history at Barnard College, and the editor-at-large for Christianity Today.
'Little Book' Tells A Wonderfully Big Story
A new novel three decades in the making features time travel, screwball hidden identity plots and lively background music. Reviewer Maureen Corrigan calls The Little Book by Selden Edwards an "an ideal late-summer reading getaway."
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An Age Of American Self-Loathing
NPR's Dick Meyer contends that, despite living in a time of relative peace and prosperity, Americans are "morally and existentially tired." In his new book, Why We Hate Us, Meyer diagnoses the problem.
Walter Dean Myers, A 'Bad Boy' Makes Good
Growing up, the only authors Walter Dean Myers read in school were white and British. But when he discovered Langston Hughes and Richard Wright, he realized that he, too, could be a writer. Now, Myers works to encourage the next generation.
Michael Beschloss: Tales Of The LBJ Tapes
President's daily conversations shed light on the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination, the progress of the civil rights bill and the escalation of the Vietnam War.
'The Great Railway Bazaar' Revisited
After 30 years, thousands of miles, and dozens of books, Paul Theroux knows how to travel: By train. Decades after his classic, The Great Railway Bazaar, he takes that long, strange trip, again.
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The Legacy Of A Nation's 'Native Son'
A century after Richard Wright's birth, his books still resonate — both with his daughter, Julia, and with a new generation of fans, some of whom are just discovering the author.
Going To The Dogs: Books With Bark And Bite
Dogs have long been a source of human fascination, companionship — and, sometimes, terror. These books featuring three very different canines offer a perfect way to wind down the dog days of summer.
An Intensely Imagined Future In 'Inverted World'
Recently reissued, Christopher Priest's 1974 sci-fi classic, Inverted World, tells the story of a city built on rails and in perpetual motion. Jessa Crispin adds up the pieces of Priest's "tightly structured puzzle" and discovers a novel that stands up to the test of time.
