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Author Interviews NPR interviews with top authors and the NPR Book Tour, a weekly feature and podcast where leading authors read and discuss their writing. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

Author Interviews

'Something in the Air' and the Rise of Radio

In the early 1950s, a young Nebraskan reinvented radio by hiring charismatic DJs to spin the same 40 hits. Radio has never been the same. Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher talks about his book, Something in the Air: Radio, Rock, and the Revolution that Shaped a Generation.

'Something in the Air' and the Rise of Radio

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Race

'The Race Beat': Media in the Civil-Rights Era

The recent book The Race Beat examines how the media covered the civil rights movement. Its co-author, a journalist with Southern roots, went on a mission to discover the era's heroes in the press.

'The Race Beat': Media in the Civil-Rights Era

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Race

The Harlem Renaissance, On and Off the Court

Not just a literary movement, the Harlem Renaissance was also the name of a famous ballroom in the New York City neighborhood and a barrier-breaking basketball team. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has written a book that chronicles their histories.

The Harlem Renaissance, On and Off the Court

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Books

'Medical Apartheid' Tracks History of Abuses

The medical exploitation of African Americans has caused mistrust among patients and the medical industry. Author Harriet Washington talks about centuries of abuse documented in her book Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans From Colonial Times to the Present.

'Medical Apartheid' Tracks History of Abuses

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Opinion

Analysis

Perspective on U.S. Middle East Policy

Robert Siegel talks with Michael B. Oren, author of Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present. The book is about the history of America's political, military, and intellectual involvement in the Middle East.

Perspective on U.S. Middle East Policy

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Arts & Life

Author Thomas Ricks and Singer Josh Ritter

Washington Post reporter Thomas Ricks discusses his book, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, and he is joined by singer-songwriter Josh Ritter who performs "Girl in the War."

Author Thomas Ricks and Singer Josh Ritter

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Books

Author M.T. Anderson on 'Octavian Nothing'

Author M.T. Anderson's newest book The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation won the National Book Award. Anderson discusses the novel, which charts the life of an unusual slave during the Revolutionary War.

Author M.T. Anderson on 'Octavian Nothing'

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Harper Lee Emerges for 'Mockingbird' Award

Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, lives a reclusive life. But this past week, she ventured out to the University of Alabama for the presentation of annual awards to high school students for a To Kill a Mockingbird essay contest.

Harper Lee Emerges for 'Mockingbird' Award

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Robert Frost Notebooks Published for First Time

For much of his life, Robert Frost kept notes. Now Robert Faggen, world-renowned Frost scholar, has sifted through 48 notebooks that belonged to the poet, cataloguing and cross-referencing Frost's thoughts on everything from Ty Cobb to Cicero. Faggen has made all of these insights available in a single 800-page volume called The Notebooks of Robert Frost.

Robert Frost Notebooks Published for First Time

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National

Norman Mailer Digs into Hitler's Childhood

Norman Mailer's first novel in 10 years, The Castle in the Forest, imagines the childhood of Adolf Hitler. Mailer says that, as a young Jewish boy from Brooklyn, he became obsessed with the early life of the reviled dictator.

Norman Mailer Digs into Hitler's Childhood

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Driveway Moments

Surgeon Writes of Death, Dying in 'Final Exam'

When Pauline Chen became a doctor, she was troubled by inconsistencies in the ways that fellow physicians dealt with the emotional aspect of death and dying. Chen tackles the subject in her new book: Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality.

Surgeon Writes of Death, Dying in 'Final Exam'

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Opinion

Missouri Compromise: A Win-Win for Clay

Sen. Henry Clay, known as "the Great Compromiser," brought about the Missouri Compromise of 1820. House of Representatives historian Robert Remini says Clay's feat resulted from his ability to make each side — in this case, the South and North — feel as that it had won something in the bargain. Michele Norris talks with Remini, the author of Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union.

Missouri Compromise: A Win-Win for Clay

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'Off the Record:' Author Offers Scoop on Black Celebs

Michel Martin talks with Newsweek reporter Allison Samuels about her new book, Off the Record. In the book, Samuels details her experience as a reporter covering celebrities and sports figures for the magazine.

'Off the Record:' Author Offers Scoop on Black Celebs

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World

Foreign Correspondent Ryszard Kapuscinski

Fresh Air

Polish writer Ryszard Kapuscinski died on January 23, 2007, at the age of 74. As a foreign correspondent, Kapuscinski covered coups and revolutions in the developing world for forty years. Many of his articles appeared in a series of books that made him famous: The Soccer War, Another Day of Life, and Shah of Shahs. This interview originally aired in 1988.

Foreign Correspondent Ryszard Kapuscinski

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