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Fifty years ago Norton Juster sat down and tried to remember the confusion and dislocation of childhood. His memories became a book, and The Phantom Tollbooth was born. In this essay, Juster looks back at his beloved novel, and the bored, disconnected child who grew up to write it.

In the 2008 financial crash, a lot was written in newspapers and even books — but there wasn't much fiction out there to help those who like to view life through an imaginative lens. Now author John Lanchester's Capital can fill that void. It describes the crash as seen from London, and Lizzie Skurnick calls it "brilliant."

In Power Concedes Nothing, civil rights attorney Connie Rice describes brokering peace between the Los Angeles Police Department and minority populations.

Teju Cole's new essay collection covers politics, poetry, music and even Snapchat. "I love to live things," he says — and he recommends Miles Davis as a cure for election season stress.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with author and illustrator Art Spiegelman about how his book Maus, the very antithesis of Nazi propaganda, was purged from Moscow stores because of a swastika on the cover.

The computer model that predicts the weather is getting more power. Climate change is upping the stakes for forecasters as extreme weather gets more common and residents demand earlier warnings.

Tourism officials say it could lead to money being diverted away from tourism promotion and advertising.

Facing a mountain of criticism, the organization said it "fell short," as it raced to set up a larger weight room and address other disparities between its men's and women's tournaments.

Relations between the two countries have long been problematic but seemed to be turning a corner a few months ago. Now, they are at it again: After a series of diplomatic miscues, each country is accusing the other of hindering peace talks with the Taliban.

To combat sea level rise, one of the consequences of climate change, Miami Beach is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to install new storm sewers and pumps.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody says the orders are operating under "outdated medical information."

Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan has been elected speaker of the House of Representatives replacing outgoing speaker, John Boehner.

As Shanghai undergoes a radical facelift, tens of thousands of residents are forcibly displaced from their homes each year. Many say real-estate developers are conspiring with officials to seize property for little or no compensation.

As the U.S. awaits election results, Tanzania, Guinea and Ivory Coast are simmering in the aftermath of their elections, raising questions about whether democracy is in retreat in Africa.

NPR's Life Kit has tips and tricks for how to clean better.

Los Angeles Times food columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson breaks down his "official" — and very biased — rating system that led him to rate 12 kinds of Girl Scout Cookies.

Colonel Mustard, in the ballroom, with the ... Gouda? You may not expect a wheel of cheese to be at the center of a devious plot, but Michael Paterniti's The Telling Room manages to do just that.

Dale Stephens says many students would be better off ditching college and finding alternate ways to complete their educations. His new book, Hacking Your Education, explores that idea. "When you think about education as an investment, you have to think about what the return is going to be," he says.

Sherman worked a tight niche: classic songs rewritten to tickle a Jewish audience's funny bone. A new biography, Overweight Sensation: The Life and Comedy of Allan Sherman, explains how the performer's 1960s crossover fell in line with a collective awakening to ethnic identity in America.

Chimamanda Adichie's Americanah is about a young Nigerian woman who moves to the U.S. It's a story of relocation, far-flung love and life as an outsider. But reviewer Rosecrans Baldwin says that despite the author's talent, much of the storytelling feels flat.

After a meteoric rise, GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is now polling in the single digits. But she's still plowing ahead with her campaign, and this week she came out with a memoir. The Minnesota congresswoman talks with co-host Steve Inskeep about Core of Conviction and aiming to win the nomination.

There are many books set in the so-called City of Light, but author Rosecrans Baldwin says that none are quite as charming as The Dud Avocado. Have a favorite tale set in France? Let us know what it is in the comments.

Based on The Count of Monte Cristo, Alfred Bester's saga The Stars My Destination will transport you off the couch and into a roiling world of futuristic teleportation. Author John Baxter says the book injects new life and energy into a classic tale.

In their new book, Annoying: The Science Of What Bugs Us, NPR Science Correspondent Joe Palca and Science Friday's Flora Lichtman set out to examine why certain things — and people — drive us bananas.

In 1914, thousands of soldiers eagerly boarded trains across Europe to fight in World War I; they thought it would be a quick and easy battle. Five years later, more than 8 million troops were dead and countless families were split apart. Author Adam Hochschild explores those divisions in his book To End All Wars.