Stewart Brand

The legendary creator of The Whole Earth Catalog speaks about his new book, and his evolving ideas about the relationship of humanity with the planet. Read more...

Michael Chabon

The award-winning novelist on siblings, and deadlines, and his new essay collection Manhood for Amateurs. Read more...

Jeannette Walls

The author of the new "true-life novel" Half Broke Horses on writing her grandmother's life. Read more...

James Ellroy: Blood's A Rover

The author of L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia and American Tabloid on the craft of writing, Dylan Thomas, and the life of a seeker. Read more...

Richard Russo

The novelist on awards, ambition, magic, and Paul Newman. Read more...

Megan Abbott

The author of Bury Me Deep talks with us about the allure of a lost era of glamour and crime. Read more...

Richard Holmes

The author of The Age of Wonder discusses the feats of Romantic science. Read more...

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The author of Half of a Yellow Sun on her new story collection. Read more...

Elmore Leonard

A dialogue with the master of dialogue, on Road Dogs and more. Read more...

Simon Schama

A talk about the craft of history, and America's historic election. Read more...

Laila Lalami

The author of Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits discusses her just-published first novel, Secret Son, and her popular literary blog. Read more...

Pamela Newkirk: Letters from Black America

A new book unveils two centuries of illuminating correspondence. Read more...

T. C. Boyle

An email exchange with the bestselling author about his latest novel, The Women. Read more...

Tom Stoppard

The playwright on Chekhov, translation and finding the next line. Read more...

Allen St. John: The Billion Dollar Game

Allen St. John discusses the strange business of sports' biggest spectacle. Read more...

Mark Bittman

The author of Food Matters on the reasons for embracing conscious eating. Read more...

Azar Nafisi: Things I've Been Silent About

The critic and memoirist on the teaching power of fiction -- and the need for a bailout of the imagination. Read more...

Billy Collins: Ballistics

An in-depth talk with the former Poet Laureate, author of the newly published Ballistics. Read more...

Khaled Hosseini

An in-depth conversation with the author ofThe Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Read more...

John Barth: The Development

The author of The Development on autumnal themes and getting on with the story. Read more...

Philip Roth: Indignation

The author on Indignation, panty raids, and the Korean War. Read more...

John Adams

The composer of Doctor Atomic on composing an American life. Read more...

Neal Stephenson: Anathem

The SF legend on Anathem, Snow Crash, fountain pens, and more. Read more...

Bob Woodward

The legendary reporter answers questions from the Barnes & Noble Review. Read more...

Watteau A-to-Z

A talk with
Jed Perl on Antoine's Alphabet and the art of seeing, plus a Gallery slideshow. Read more...

Renee Fleming

The famed soprano on Richard Strauss, jazz, poetry, and her latest projects. Read more...

Garry Wills: What the Gospels Meant

Garry Wills discusses the genesis of Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John. Read more...

An Email Conversation with Jonathan Franzen

The author of The Corrections shares his thoughts about fiction in the Internet age and much, much more. Read more...

Salman Rushdie Spins a Yarn

Salman Rushdie discusses the Mughal Empire, Machiavelli, and the storytelling that animates his new novel. Read more...

Theodore Sorensen: Counselor

Ted Sorensen, JFK’s chief counselor, talks about campaigns past and present. Read more...

November 23: On this day in 1644 John Milton published his pamphlet, Areopagitica, a Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing, to the Parliament of England. Having just returned from a visit to the imprisoned Galileo, Milton’s famous…
What children's book character do Noam Chomsky, Newt Gingrich, and Hugh Hefner share an affection for? Readers of this blog will remember our asking that question…
Books CDs, DVDs to know about now
Hurry Down Sunshine
The former “Freelance” columnist for the Times Literary Supplement tells the extraordinary story of the summer his teenage daughter descended into psychosis. "They stole my words," she tells her father, and in supplying his own to treat her -- and his own -- affliction, Greenberg has written a haunting book. Now in paperback. Read our review.
G. I. Bones
The latest installment in one of the most underrated detective series around has US military policemen Ernie Bascom and George Sueno looking into further criminal doings in the demilitarized zone on the South Korean border.
Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer’s lyrics set the highest standards in the American songbook. Collaborating with Hoagy Carmichael, Harry Warren, Harold Arlen, and Jerome Kern, among many others, he set unforgettable words to some of the most memorable melodies in popular music...