Search results for

As a young teacher, Huston Diehl's first class was a group of fourth-graders in rural Virginia. It was 1970, in the waning days of officially-sanctioned segregation. Diehl recalls her experiences in a new book, Dream Not of Other Worlds.

Zlata Filipovic kept a diary in war-torn Sarajevo that chronicled her harrowing war experiences. Fifteen years later, she's collected an array of young people's war diaries, from World War II to Iraq. Filipovic and co-editor Melanie Challenger talk about Stolen Voices.

Getting sacked, axed or downsized is an experience most of us share. It could be the worst thing that ever happened to you, or open the door to new opportunities. Guests and listeners share their tales of that job gone bad — and how they bounced back.

In the '70s and '80s, Dean Reed's albums went gold in the Soviet Union. A new book traces the life of Reed, who took rock 'n' roll across the Berlin Wall and became a star.

The Emperor's Children is a new novel that chronicles the lives of three friends trying to make their mark in Manhattan in 2001 — and then come the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, and their lives are changed forever.

One call from an umpire can make or break a baseball game. Bruce Weber spent time learning how to call balls and strikes for his book, As They See 'Em. He also interviewed dozens of professional umpires about their craft.

Host Scott Simon talks to Sports Illustrated writer S.L. Price about his new book Heart of the Game: Life, Death and Mercy in Minor League America, the story of the hit that killed one good man and ruined another.

The alleged domestic violence incident involving R&B stars Chris Brown and Rihanna has stirred serious discussions about abusive relationships. A panel of Moms — two of whom have survived abusive relationships — explore ways to discuss abuse with youngsters who claim to be in love, and why many victims suffer in silence.

If you were on The Ed Sullivan Show, you had arrived. The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Van Cliburn, Lucille Ball, Bing Crosby — a legendary list of luminaries spanned an incredible range of pop culture. Now Sullivan's press representative has a new book detailing how the show shaped American culture.

A drug war is raging across the border. Over 6,000 people were killed in drug-related violence in Mexico last year. The body count is mounting, and the violence is spilling into the United States. Tony Cox explores how U.S. officials are addressing the growing crisis. Plus, how can travelers stay out of danger?

Popular explanations for the terror Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold wreaked on their Colorado high school often mention bullying. But Dave Cullen has been following the story since that deadly day, and in his new book, Columbine, he reveals the real story of their rampage.

The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 killed thousands, but many residents survived. In The Last Train from Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back, Charles Pellegrino tells stories of those who lived through the world's first and only atomic bomb attacks.

Professor Andrew Hacker says that higher education in the U.S. is broken. He argues that too many undergraduate courses are taught by graduate assistants or professors who have no interest in teaching. Hacker proposes numerous changes, including an end to the tenure system, in his book, Higher Education?

Tony award-winner Patti LuPone is best known for her roles in the Broadway hits Evita, Les Miserable and Gypsy but she's also seen her share of flops and feuds. In Patti LuPone: A Memoir, LuPone shares the ups, downs, firings and other dramas of the Great White Way.

In his book, At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA, former CIA director George Tenet defends himself and his agency against criticism stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks and flawed pre-war intelligence. Guests look at Tenet's claims and the counterclaims.

The former Jacqueline Lee Bouvier's wedding to John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1953 was among the most photographed events in history. The future First Lady's dress, seen around the world, was the work of famed African-American designer Ann Lowe. Rosemary Reed Miller, talks about her book, which chronicles the contribution of black designers to American fashion.

Five years ago, Mukhtar al-Bakri was arrested in Bahrain on his wedding night. Days later, his friends were arrested in Lackawanna, N.Y. How did six Muslim-American teenagers end up in an al-Qaida training camp? Dina Temple-Raston discusses her book, The Jihad Next Door.

Tears of the Desert is the first memoir written by a woman caught in the war in Darfur. The author, Halima Bashir, was born into the Zaghawa tribe in the Sudanese desert. She went on to become her village's first formal doctor. But that did not protect her from violence in Darfur.

In 1967, Robert Kearns received patents for inventing intermittent car windshield wipers. He offered his idea to automakers but was turned away. When Ford and Chrysler started manufacturing cars with wipers without crediting Kearns, he took the case all the way to the Supreme Court. A new film called Flash of Genius tells his story.

In God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America, journalist Hanna Rosin follows the lives of home-schooled students as they cope with life at Patrick Henry College. The Virginia school is considered to be the Harvard of home-schooled students.

News spread quickly on Tuesday when doctors announced that Senator Ted Kennedy had a malignant brain tumor. Guests and callers discuss the difficult decisions public figures and their families must make when faced with serious health problems.

Stefan Fatsis got the Denver Broncos to let him kick with the team and then wrote a book about the experience, titled A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL.

The town of Allensworth was the first in California to be founded and funded solely by African Americans. At its height, the town — founded by a former slave-turned-soldier — had a bustling economy. As Allensworth celebrates its 100th anniversary, Farai Chideya gets perspective from Lonnie Bunch, Alice Royal, and Thomas Ward.

As Fed and Treasury officials scramble to secure a $700 billion rescue for faltering financial institutions, economists are pointing fingers of blame at just about everyone: lenders, bankers and borrowers. Does greed lie at the heart of the financial meltdown? Is Main Street just as culpable as Wall Street?

The aftermath of Sept. 11 was a particularly difficult time for Arab and Muslim-American children in the U.S. Author Moustafa Bayoumi talks about some of the challenges chronicled in his new book How Does it Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America.