"Liesure without books is death, and burial of a man alive."
—Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4BC?-AD 65) [The Younger] Roman Stoic philosopher, writer, tutor
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One Woman's Journey From Homeless To Harvard
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:00:00 -0400
As a child, Liz Murray dealt with the typical stresses of growing up. But she also grappled with going days without food and living on the streets. Despite these obstacles, Murray finished school and went on to attend Harvard University. Murray talks about her memoir, Breaking Night.
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Franzen On The Book, The Backlash, His Background
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:43:00 -0400
Jonathan Franzen's new novel Freedom has been called "a masterpiece" by Time Magazine and has received rave reviews from critics. Franzen talks about the runaway success of his previous novel The Corrections, and the strong reaction elicited by Freedom.
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Children's Book Finds Hope In Haiti's Rubble
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400
Nine months after the quake in Haiti, Haitian-born author Edwidge Danticat is sharing the earthquake story with an audience that was largely shielded from it -- children. Eight Days is a book about a boy who gets buried in the rubble and is not rescued until eight days later.
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Arianna Huffington Sees A 'Third World America'
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:00:00 -0400
When Arianna Huffington immigrated to the United States in 1980, she knew there was no place she'd rather live. Three decades later, she says that's still true -- but that America has gone astray. Huffington discusses her new book, Third World America, and her plan to rescue the middle class.
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Fresh Air Remembers Comedian Robert Schimmel
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:48:00 -0400
The 60-year-old comedian, who often joked about his own life in his raunchy stand-up routines, died Friday from injuries suffered in a car accident. Fresh Air remembers Schimmel with highlights from a 2008 interview in which he discusses his memoir Cancer On $5 A Day.
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Modern Lessons From Hillel
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:00:00 -0400
Not much is known about the life of the rabbi and Talmudic scholar Hillel, who lived 2,000 years ago, but his teachings have shaped Judaism. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's forthcoming book Hillel: If Not Now, When? argues that Hillel has as much to teach the 21 Century as he did his own.
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Investigating The Real Detective Charlie Chan
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400
The fictional, aphorism-spouting Chinese detective is best known today as a stereotypical relic from a less sensitive time. Yunte Huang tells the story of the real man who inspired the caricature in Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History.
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Jokes To Tell Your Parents For Rosh Hashana
Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:53:00 -0400
When Sam Hoffman and Eric Spiegelman's video of Hoffman's 60-something mother telling an off-color joke on YouTube went viral, they knew they had something special. The success of their subsequent website, OldJewsTellingJokes.com, and their upcoming book have proved them right.
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'Phantom Tollbooth' Creators Reunited By An 'Ogre'
Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:00:00 -0400
In the early 1960s, writer Norton Juster and illustrator Jules Feiffer created The Phantom Tollbooth, which quickly became a kid-lit classic. Now, 50 years later, the two have finally collaborated once more -- this time, on a picture book called The Odious Ogre. They speak to NPR's Liane Hansen about their partnership and their new project.
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Victory At Marathon Saved A Lot More Than A Race
Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:27:00 -0400
The story's a classic: An outnumbered band of Athenians pushes back the mighty Persian army. But the battle of Marathon, 2,500 years ago in ancient Greece, left a legacy that extends far beyond the name of a famous race. Historian Richard Billows explores the legendary battle in his new book, Marathon: How One Battle Changed Western Civilization.
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Next Week: Franzen Talks About 'Freedom'
Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:00:00 -0400
Jonathan Franzen's new novel, Freedom, is being called a "masterpiece of American fiction." He was recently on the cover of Time magazine -- the first living author on its cover in more than a decade. Next weekend, Franzen will join us to talk about Freedom, the story of a contemporary American family in St. Paul, Minn.
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Memories Of War And Reading Clubs
Sat, 04 Sep 2010 08:00:00 -0400
Patrick Hennessey was the youngest front-line captain in the British Army, served in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned a commendation for gallantry. Host Scott Simon speaks with Hennessey about his memoir, The Junior Officers' Reading Club.
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English Lives. Tell The Grammar Police.
Sat, 04 Sep 2010 08:00:00 -0400
Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute says we ought to remind ourselves that language lives, breathes and learns more as it goes along. He advises professionals to write carefully, but not defensively and certainly not drably. Host Scott Simon speaks with Clark about his new book, The Glamour of Grammar: A Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English.
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Eat Your Way Down I-95, And Other Stops To Make
Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:19:00 -0400
In their seven-year love affair with Interstate 95, Stan Posner and Sandra Phillips-Posner have found the best Polish sausage, Berger cookies and a battleship you can spend the night on.
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Agassi Visits U.S. Open, Signs Copies Of 'Open'
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:00:00 -0400
It's the first week of the U-S Open. Former tennis star Andre Agassi talks to Steve Inskeep about great tennis rivalries and his book Open: An Autobiography, and how it's been received by his family.
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