Social Historian

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 12:57:37 GMT
These diaries by the old-school, bow-tied liberal and Kennedy courtier are not history so much as historical trail mix.

Falter Ego

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:38:56 GMT
Philip Roth’s longtime literary stand-in, Nathan Zuckerman, contends with his inevitable decline.

Secrets and Lies

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 04:14:59 GMT
In Graham Swift’s new novel, a mother stays awake all night, anticipating her children’s reaction to some family news.

The Hopelessness of Escape

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 04:10:07 GMT
Although Patricia Hampl yearned to leave home, she stayed to care for her parents.

Carbophobia

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 04:09:17 GMT
Gary Taubes says the best diet is high in protein and low in carbohydrates.

The Limits of Influence

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 04:11:19 GMT
The poet laureate Robert Hass has gone back to private life.

The Happy Hustler

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 02:36:25 GMT
Danny Basavich is an immensely gifted pool hustler, or used to be until his reputation spread, making it hard for him to find any worthwhile action.

The Killing of a Cleric, and Its Aftermath

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 10:44:12 GMT
The Guatemalan-American novelist Francisco Goldman has entered a cloud forest sited in a hellish abyss.

‘Howl’ in an Era That Fears Indecency

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:36:13 GMT
A station feared that by broadcasting “Howl” it could run afoul of the Federal Communications Commission’s interpretation of indecency and incur bankrupting fines.

Like the Show? Then Download the Audio (Before Buying the Book)

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 03:16:05 GMT
“Hi, I’m Stephen Colbert, and I am no fan of books.” So opens the audiobook version of that late-night-cable comedian’s “I Am America (And So Can You!).”

Jenna Bush Begins Book Tour and Media Blitz

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:41:02 GMT
Jenna Bush’s first book, “Ana’s Story,” will get a first run of 500,000 copies and a cross-country publicity swing.

Man and God (and God’s Sick Punch Lines)

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:15:26 GMT
Shalom Auslander, the author of “Foreskin’s Lament,” believes in a God who is not pleased when someone writes an angry and very funny book about leaving the Orthodox Jewish community.

‘Exit Ghost’

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:03:44 GMT
“I'd been alone these past eleven years in a small house on a dirt road in the deep country, having decided to live apart like that some two years before the cancer was diagnosed.”

‘The Worst Thing I've Done’

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:50:34 GMT
“For an instant she wonders - would it stop her rage if she were to twist the steering wheel to the right and slide into North Sea Harbor?”

‘Tomorrow’

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:41:39 GMT
“I’m the only one awake in this house on this night before the day that will change all our lives.”

‘Democratic Capitalism and Its Discontents’

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:32:20 GMT
“The hubris of the secular religions was to think that they had solved ‘the political problem.’”

Book Review Podcast

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:57:03 GMT
This week: Maureen Dowd on Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.; Brian C. Anderson, the author of “Democratic Capitalism and Its Discontents”; Rachel Donadio on libel law; and Dwight Garner with best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus, the editor of the Book Review, is the host.

Libel Without Borders

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 04:09:35 GMT
Any book bought online in England can ostensibly be subject to English libel law. As a result, publishers and booksellers are increasingly concerned about “libel tourism.”

The Dead and the Naked

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 02:16:58 GMT
This week, Chapter 5: Detective Oakwood came out of the library after questioning Miss Skattergoods, repeating the mystery writer’s pen name in an awed whisper: “Violet Shawn Dunston!”

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