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Books Will Survive The 'Use And Abuse of Literature'

Marjorie Garber says books are labeled as dangerous "precisely because [they] can enrich the mind, challenge, disturb, and change one's thinking." In her new book, she traces the historical tendency to label new literary phenomena as 'trash', only to later see it become a revered classic.

3 Memoirs That Won't Make You Slit Your Wrists

Everyone from forgotten pop stars to clueless heiresses have written memoirs, leaving the genre just a paper cut shy of unbearable. But, fear not! Writer and editor Radhika Jones has three personal accounts sure slap a bandage on that wound and jog your memoir-loving memory.

'Reading My Father:' Growing Up With William Styron

In her memoir, William Styron's daughter Alexandra says of her father: "The novel owned his heart." She looks back at their life, from raucous impromptu piano performances by Leonard Bernstein to his abrupt dismissal of her success as a published novelist.

Sex, Drugs And 'Life' — The Year's Best Guilty Reads

If celebrity tell-all books are the snack food of the literary world, author Susan Jane Gilman has been on a binge this year. Her picks — from various ranks of the pop-culture pantheon — may not be the proudest additions to your bookshelf, but they may be among the most amusing.

Bill White, pictured here at the 1991 MLB All-Star Game, was the president of the National League from 1989 to 1994. He began his baseball career as a first baseman with the then-New York Giants and later became a broadcaster with the Yankees.

Blazing Baseball Trails From Field To Executive Suite

Bill White started his pro career in a Southern minor league where he was the only black player. He later made the majors, and went on to become a Yankees broadcaster and president of the National League. He shares his favorite broadcasting memories and controversial opinions with Robert Siegel.

"We use purified drinking water to flush our toilets and water our lawns. That doesn't make any sense," says Charles Fishman. "In an era of scarcity, we won't need to limit whether we have water to boil pasta or take a bath. But we will think differently about a whole portfolio of water. There will be different kinds of waters for different uses. And water itself will get smart."

The Worldwide 'Thirst' For Clean Drinking Water

Investigative reporter Charles Fishman says the past 100 years have been the golden age of water in the developed world — but now that's about to change. He profiles communities grappling with water shortages and details the efforts to conserve water in The Big Thirst.

A Faux Folio At The Heart Of 'The Tragedy Of Arthur'

Taking a page from Nabokov's Pale Fire, Arthur Phillips' new novel The Tragedy of Arthur presents a "long-lost" Shakespearean play, along with a foreword by a less-than-convinced narrator, also named Arthur Phillips. The playful conceit leads to a ribald, wily debate about authenticity and delusion.

'We Had It So Good': Cherishing Lost Youth In London

In her fifth novel, British author Linda Grant explores what happens when four relatively privileged members of the swinging '60s grow up.

A Wry Jab At Capitalism In 'Young Man's Guide'

Peter Mountford's impressive debut is set in the familiar context of the financial meltdown, but it explores new territory. The story takes the protagonist to Bolivia and back, with several laughs along the way.

Alan Cheuse's <em>Song of Slaves in the Desert</em> explores South Carolina plantation life before the Civil War from a Jewish New Yorker's point of view.

Jewish Slave Owners No Fiction, Though This Book Is

All Things Considered book reviewer Alan Cheuse's new novel tells the story of a family of slaveholding Southern Jews before the Civil War — and what happens when a northern relative comes to visit.

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