Books & Literature

Atlantic contributing editor Ta-Nehisi Coates describes growing up with a father who was a member of the Black Panthers in his new memoir, The Beautiful Struggle.

Maureen Corrigan reviews Brothers, Yu Hua's epic, 600-plus-page comedy that details life in a Chinese village from the early days of the Cultural Revolution to the giddy capitalist present.

Historian Douglas Brinkley considers Ronald Reagan one of the top five American presidents of the 20th century. Brinkley is the editor of The Reagan Diaries.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Updike died of lung cancer on Jan. 27. Fresh Air remembers the writer with archival interviews from 1988, 1989 and 1997.

Jose Torres-- the former light-heavyweight boxing champion-- died from a heart attack on Jan. 19 at the age of 72. Fresh Air remembers him with an interview from 1989.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Reborn: Journals & Notebooks, 1947 – 1963, the newly published intimate ruminations of Susan Sontag.

Natasha Trethewey won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for poetry for her book Native Guard. Her parents had an interracial marriage while it was still illegal in Mississippi, and Tretheway's poetry often draws on her childhood as a biracial child in the south.

The award-winning mystery writer died from a heart attack on Dec. 31 at the age of 75. Westlake wrote more than 100 novels and numerous screenplays, including the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for The Grifters.

Maureen Corrigan reviews Jayne Anne Phillips' Lark & Termite, a novel that weaves together the story of an American soldier fighting (and dying) in Korea in 1950, with that of his family struggling with their loss nine years later.

A pioneering political leader in the fight against apartheid, for 13 years Suzman was the sole representative in South Africa's all-white Parliament to reject race discrimination. She died Thursday at 91.

You know you have a terrific book in your hands when you encounter language or elegantly presented research that startles you into fresh awareness; you know it when the atmosphere of a novel doesn't leave you for days, or years.

Frank Schaeffer's parents were best-selling authors who were instrumental in linking the evangelical community with the anti-abortion movement. But after helping to organize religious fundamentalists politically, Schaeffer had a crisis of faith and a change of heart.

This holiday season, as we stand at the brink of a new administration, there's a thrill of history in the air. These books will help anyone, whatever his or her politics, understand what the nation has come though to reach this moment.

Critic-at-large John Powers salutes the Chilean-born writer and the new literary "It" boy, Roberto Bolano, who died in 2003. Bolano's novel, 2666, is a "massive epic of modernity," says Powers.

The 1950s insult comic Don Rickles made a name for himself by poking fun of audiences and public figures. His new book, Rickles' Letters, is a collection of imaginary correspondences to a variety of historical and contemporary figures.

Set in the 17th century, Toni Morrison's new novel A Mercy is the story of a slave girl whose mother gives her away to a stranger in a desperate attempt to secure her a better future. Maureen Corrigan hails the book as a prequel (of sorts) to Morrison's earlier novel Beloved.

Ann Leary's new book is about a woman whose husband (a TV star) may be cheating on her. In real life, Leary is the wife of comedian and actor Denis Leary. She says that while the main character bears a resemblance to her, the book is not entirely based on fact.

Once renowned for its artists, Italy seemed to vanish from the world stage in the '80s and '90s. But two new novels, Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio and Sicilian Tragedee, show Italian culture enjoying an international comeback.

Although his brain was no bigger than a walnut, Alex the African gray parrot could do more than speak and understand — he could also count, identify colors and, according to his owner Irene Pepperberg, develop an emotional relationship.

Leonard was considered one of the best literary critics in America; he was an early champion of future Nobel Prize winners Toni Morrison and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Leonard died Wednesday from complications with lung cancer.