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In Blind Side, Michael Lewis traces how the humble offensive left tackle has evolved into football's pivotal position. The book also tells the story of a young man with the position's rare qualities — and his escape from poverty through football.

Guy Delisle's new graphic novel Pyongyang documents the two months he spent overseeing cartoon production in North Korea. Delisle's images depict his sense of the obedience of North Korean citizens to their government and the bleakness of his surroundings.

A slew of recently released books examine U.S. policy and military strategy behind the Iraq war. George Packer, author of 2005's highly acclaimed The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq, reviews some of the latest titles.

Author Lillian Ross talks to Steve Inskeep about her techniques and the subjects she has profiled for her work at The New Yorker, where she has been writing since 1945.

While many believe China is well on its way to becoming the world's No. 1 engine of economic growth, Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, argues it won't happen quickly.

Kaing Guek Eav, the former Khmer Rouge interrogator known as Duch, was brought to court in Cambodia for a pretrial hearing. It is the first public session of the U.N.-backed tribunal probing the regime's reign of terror in the 1970s. Duch, 66, is charged with crimes against humanity.

In his new book, The Perfect Scent, Chandler Burr follows the developments of two perfumes: one by actress Sarah Jessica Parker; the other by French perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena. Burr is perfume critic at The New York Times.

In his first legal thriller in three years, John Grisham explores a tainted Mississippi judicial system where Supreme Court justices are bought and sold. The Appeal serves as a cautionary tale about political corruption.

In Russell Banks' lushly romantic new novel, The Reserve, a pilot swoops into a privileged enclave, turning the life of a beautiful heiress upside down.

Each year, at the American Library Association's mid-winter meeting, the winners of the most prestigious prizes for children's books are announced: the Caldecott Medal for picture book, and the Newbery Award.

On his popular program on the National Geographic Channel, Cesar Millan, known to frustrated pet owners as "The Dog Whisperer," encourages people to stop treating their dogs like babies and to reclaim their position as the pack leader in the house. Not surprisingly, he titled his new book Be the Pack Leader.

Robert Draper, author of the new book Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush, had unprecedented access to the president and his immediate circle, including six interviews with him in 2006 and '07.

When poet Jack Gilbert was young, he used to make lists of everything he wanted from his life.

Writer John Hodgman expounds on a variety of fascinating and sublimely ridiculous subjects — historical, literary and hobo — in his book The Areas of My Expertise.

All Things Considered ends its April poetry series with poet William Stafford, a pacifist who came of age between the two world wars. NPR contributor Henry Lyman, the longtime host of the public radio program Poems to a Listener, sat down with Stafford in 1990.

A new book, Everything Conceivable, examines the multibillion-dollar fertility industry and the decisions faced by couples using assisted reproductive technology. Author Liza Mundy describes the significant risks associated with such pregnancies.

For many, Clarence Thomas will be forever linked to Anita Hill, accusations of workplace harassment, and a bruising confirmation hearing. A new book, Supreme Discomfort, traces the conservative jurist's rise to the nation's highest court.

You know him for his rhinestones and hot pants, but Liberace was also an avid chef. A new cookbook collects Mr. Showmanship's favorite recipes, including Salamiami Bouquet, Flamboyant Flambe and Angel Bling Cake Pie.

The appeal of soccer's quadrennial World Cup tournament baffles many Americans. With the world's greatest soccer players convening in Germany for the monthlong FIFA World Cup 2006 — where the United States team has hopes of contending for a top spot — we have tips for potential Cup viewers.

Eat less, move more. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Easy on the junk food. Marion Nestle's basic principles for a good diet are easier said than done. She explains why it's so hard to eat healthy.

Gary Shteyngart came to the United States in 1979 as a 7 year old Soviet-Jewish kid. He left behind a life of childhood bliss to become a self-described depressive nerd. He's all grown up now, and his new novel, Absurdistan, imagines an oil-rich country run by kleptocrats and oil giants.

Is there a crisis of morale at the CIA? To some observers, news that an employee was fired last week for leaking classified information raises the question. Mary O. McCarthy was dismissed on Thursday, accused of leaking classified information about secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe.

Newly announced Poet Laureate Donald Hall says he will work to improve poetry's standing the United States, seeking to provide new inspiration to the medium. Hall reads from three of his poems: "Old Roses," "Man in the Dead Machine," and "Weeds and Peonies," which is about his late wife, the poet Jane Kenyon.

President Bush included several turns of phrase in his State of the Union speech Tuesday that were meant to make his point — and to make it harder for those with other viewpoints to discount the president's ideas. Frank Luntz, author of Words That Work, talks about Mr. Bush's phrasing.

Juan Cole, author of Engaging the Muslim World, wants readers to reconsider what they think they know about countries like Saudi Arabia. It's widely known that most of the Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudis. Cole says some people abuse that fact to fuel suspicion of the Saudi government, or of the Saudi strain of Islam known as Wahhabism.