Search results for

Frank Sinatra was not only a singular talent but a master schemer, according to James Kaplan's new biography of the crooner. He was willing to use anyone — even the mob — to "grasp the brass ring" of success.

Jeanne Baret didn't set out to be the first woman to circumnavigate the globe when she stepped aboard the Etoile in 1766. Disguised as a man, the French botanist was looking for plants.

"You can no longer talk about what black America thinks or feels," says Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Eugene Robinson. His new book, Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America, describes how African-American communities are becoming increasingly disconnected from one another.

Fifty-five years after Eloise first appeared, the impish girl who lived in the Plaza Hotel is as iconic as ever. Author Sam Irvin, who has written a new biography of Eloise creator Kay Thompson, talks about the famous storybook character and the eccentric actress behind her.

Even in a year notable for economic bust and an e-reader boom, big art books, lush photo retrospectives and other gems both quirky and collectible continue to roam the earth. Here are gift-book suggestions for every taste and budget.

This year, cooks poured their hearts into these carefully crafted, kitchen how-tos. T. Susan Chang says these cookbooks are like a properly seasoned skillet — heavy-duty, battle-tested and much to be prized.

Writing sex scenes is a tricky business. Do it really badly and you could be awarded the annual Bad Sex in Fiction Award, like this year's winner, novelist Rowan Somerville.

The topics of murder, theft and wartime made for some thrilling fiction this year. Critic Maureen Corrigan of Fresh Air picks the best mystery and suspense novels of 2010, in which the past comes back to haunt.

Just because food writer Nigella Lawson loves to cook doesn't mean she always has the time to cook. Her latest book, Nigella Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home, is filled with quick recipes.

When it comes to writer's block, author Lynda Barry believes the key to unblocking your thoughts is right in your hands. In her latest graphic memoir, Picture This, she writes,"The worst thing I can do when I'm stuck is to start thinking and stop moving my hands."