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Topic: Arts & Ideas / Books

Books

What Obama Can Learn From FDR

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 09, 2009

Just days before the Obama inauguration, we look back at the first one hundred days of FDR’s presidency...which also came at a time of economic crisis. Adam Cohen is author of Nothing to Fear.


Photos from Film Sets

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 08, 2009

Celebrated photographer Mary Ellen Mark takes us behind the scenes of some of the most famous movie sets in history, from “Apocalypse Now” and “Satyricon” to “Babel.” Her new book of photographs is Seen Behind the Scene.

Events:
An exhibition of Mary Ellen Mark's work opens tonight at Staley-Wise Gallery and runs through February 14th.

Seen Behind the Scene Exhibition
Staley-Wise Gallery
560 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York City




The Business of Sex Trafficking

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 08, 2009

Every minute, a woman or child is trafficked for sexual exploitation throughout the world, including here in New York. Siddharth Kara, businessman and author of Sex Trafficking, has traveled the globe in order to understand the economics of sex trafficking – and says that understanding the business side could help curtail the crime.


piggy bank

Sick Economy

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 07, 2009

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Cay Johnston talks about what we can learn from the current economic upheaval, and how he thinks our economy can be nursed back to health. He’s most recently the author of Free Lunch.


Family Life in Iran

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 07, 2009

Azar Nafisi, bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, talks about her new memoir about family life in Iran. It’s called Things I’ve Been Silent About.

Events:
Azar Nafisi will be speaking and signing books tonight at 7:30 pm.
Lincoln Square Barnes & Noble
1972 Broadway, at 66th Street


The Invention of Air

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 07, 2009

We look at the life of J.B. Priestley, the 18th century radical thinker who discovered oxygen and founded the Unitarian Church. Steven Johnson’s new book about Priestley is The Invention of Air.

Events:
Steven Johnson will be speaking and signing books at the Tribeca Barnes & Noble tonight at 7 PM.
97 Warren Street
212-587-5389


Justice for Marty Tankleff

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 07, 2009

Hear new details about the case of Marty Tankleff, who served 17 years in prison before his conviction for the murder of his parents was overturned. He was released a year ago. Richard Firstman and Jay Salpeter are co-authors of A Criminal Injustice; Salpeter was also the private eye who worked to get Marty out of prison.

Events:
Richard Firstman and Jay Salpeter will be speaking and signing books at 7pm on Thursday January 15th at Book Revue on Long Island.
313 New York Avenue
Huntington, NY 11743


Guantanamo at a Crossroads

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 06, 2009

Guantanamo is more than a prison and a naval base. Find out about the town of Guantanamo, the people who live there, and what its history reveals about U.S.-Cuban relations. Jana Lipman is the author of Guantanamo.


Andrew Carmellini

Urban Italian Cooking

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 06, 2009

Chef Andrew Carmellini gives tips on cooking in small urban apartment kitchens. His new cookbook is Urban Italian.

Weigh in: If you're an avid cook, how do you cope with the limitations of small NYC kitchens?


Sun in a Bottle

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 06, 2009

Fifty years ago, scientists predicted that fusion would provide the world with an endless supply of energy. That hasn’t turned out to be true. Charles Seife, author of Sun in a Bottle, talks about whether or not nuclear fusion will ever be a viable energy source.


A Year in the Mental Institution

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 06, 2009

Norah Vincent talks about voluntarily committing herself to a mental institution, and year she then spent as a patient there. Her new memoir is Voluntary Madness.

Event:
Norah Vincent will be speaking and signing books
Tues. Jan. 6 at 7 PM
Barnes and Noble Upper West Side
Broadway at 82nd Street


Stephen Colbert

Two Funny Guys

Selected Shorts

January 04, 2009

That was the thing about taking a day off, the way the time reconfigured itself and how you couldn’t help comparing any given moment with what you’d be doing at work. At work, I wouldn’t have eaten yet, wouldn’t even have reached the coffee break…and my eyelids would have weighed a hundred tons each.-- T. Coraghessan Boyle, “The Lie.”
Strange behaviors in the workplace.


drug addiction

Addiction in America

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 05, 2009

Hear true stories of eight Americans’ struggles to overcome major addiction problems and build a life. Benoit Denizet-Lewis is author of America Anonymous; Ellen and Jody Pegram are two of the people profiled in the book.

Event:
Benoit Denizet-Lewis will be in conversation with Susan Cheever
Mon. Jan. 5 at 7 PM
Barnes & Noble Tribeca
97 Warren St (at Greenwich)


Historical Romance

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 05, 2009

We discuss literary trends of the 18th century. Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore’s new novel, Blindspot, is a sendup of historical romance set in 1764 in Boston.

Event:
Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepre will be reading and signing books
Mon. Jan. 5 at 7 PM
Barnes & Noble, Upper West Side
289 Broadway (at 82nd Street)


American Buffalo

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 05, 2009

Before the 19th century, buffalo roamed North America freely and numbered an estimated 40 million. Within a century, there were only a few hundred left. Steven Rinella looks into the long, complex relationship between humans and buffalo in his new book, American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon.

Event:
Steven Rinella will be reading and signing books
Tues. Jan. 6 at 7 pm
at the Tribeca Barnes & Noble
97 Warren Street (at Greenwich St)


Help for Veterans

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 05, 2009

We look into whether the U.S. government is neglecting American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Aaron Glantz is author of The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle Against America’s Veterans.


A Reporter Investigates His Own Life

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 02, 2009

Hard-living journalist David Carr talks about his life in the newspaper business, and his struggles with drug addiction and failed relationships. He reported on his own life for his best-selling memoir, The Night of the Gun.


The Life and Death of Father Mychal Judge

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 02, 2009

Franciscan priest Father Mychal Judge, who worked with the FDNY, is listed as the first official casualty of 9/11. Michael Daly’s recent biography of him is The Book of Mychal: The Surprising Life and Heroic Death of Father Mychal Judge.


Botswana

Growing Up in Botswana

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 02, 2009

When Robyn Scott was 7, her peripatetic parents moved the family to a game farm in Botswana, close to the border of South Africa. She writes about her unusual childhood and her first-hand exposure to the apartheid mindset in a new book, Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood.


Head Cases: The World of Traumatic Brain Injury

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 02, 2009

We visit the world of traumatic brain injury, from how the injuries treated, to the unusual behavior they can cause – like a woman who lost much of her memory and has to be reintroduced to her husband over and over again. Michael Paul Mason is author of Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and Its Aftermath.


America in the Age of Jackson

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 01, 2009

We look into why the years between 1815 and 1848 were such a tumultuous time in American history – and how the country dealt with controversies over slavery, capitalism, and urbanization at the time. Historian and literary critic David S. Reynolds is the author of Waking Giant.


The Best American Short Stories of 2008

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 01, 2009

Salman Rushdie shares his picks for the best short stories of the past year. He’s edited The Best American Short Stories 2008, which features works by A.M. Homes, Jonathan Lethem, Alice Munro, Tobias Wolff, and lots more.


40 Years of New York Magazine

The Leonard Lopate Show

January 01, 2009

We celebrate the 40th anniversary of New York magazine. A new book, New York Stories, is a collection of some of the magazine’s best articles over the years. Adam Moss is the magazine’s current editor; Gail Sheehy and Pete Hamill are longtime contributors.


Open Phones: Changing Reading Habits

The Leonard Lopate Show

December 31, 2008

The economic downturn has forced independent booksellers to close, publishing houses to cut back and most of the secondhand book industry to move online. How has 2008 changed YOUR reading or book buying habits over the past year? Give us a call at 212-433-WNYC.


The Art of the Obituary

The Leonard Lopate Show

December 31, 2008

We look at the art of writing obituaries – and why so many of us take pleasure in reading them! Anne Wroe is co-editor of The Economist’s Book of Obituaries; Marilyn Johnson is author of The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries.

Weigh in: Do you read obituaries regularly, and why? Are certain obituaries more interesting to you than others?