Studs Terkel in Springfield

There are certain projects that set a fan's heart afire.  The Simpsons : An Uncensored, Unauthorized History  is one of them.  John Ortved's ambitious undertaking is  to piece together the history of one of the few programs that's been both a global hit and  a monument to how smart and satisfying television can be.

 

The book's officially out next week, and while we've only just cracked ours open (still warm, like a bag of Lard Lad donuts), we look forward to finding out everything we can about the genesis of Springfield.

May 23: Girolamo Savonarola was hanged on this day in 1498 and then incinerated in the same piazza in which the citizens of Florence had earlier attended more than one "bonfire of the vanities." George Eliot's 1863 novel Romola,

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Books CDs, DVDs to know about now
Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down

When a job at a French ad agency landed in his lap, novelist Rosecrans Baldwin had the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of living la vie Parisienne. And though cold réalité  -- in the form of financial struggles and an office culture where his rudimentary Francais didn't quite cut the mustard -- intruded, the result was a more mature take on the city of his fantasies, flaws included.

Why Cats Land on Their Feet

The feline acrobatics and other mysteries of everyday physics that Mark Levi explores in this charming book are just the beginning. A fun and enlightening workout for your gray matter.

Dead Men

Scott's doomed Antartic expedition and the haunting mysteries surrounding its failure lead to obsession in Richard Pierce's debut novel. As painter Birdie Bowers pursues her fascination with the explorer and his death, she risks both her body and her heart for answers.