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In 'TransAtlantic,' The Flight Is Almost Too Smooth
Colum McCann won the National Book Award for his 2009 novel, Let the Great World Spin, about a high-wire artist. Critic Maureen Corrigan says McCann's new novel, TransAtlantic, also has its head in the clouds.mp3 file | windows media
WWII 'Deserters': Stories Of Men Who Left The Front Lines
In his new book, journalist Charles Glass explores the little-known history of thousands of American and British soldiers who deserted during World War II. Glass describes how the strain of war can push a soldier to the breaking point — and how the line between courage and cowardice is never simple.mp3 file | windows media
Fresh Air Weekend: Rogen, Goldberg, '20 Feet From Stardom' And 'Much Ado'
Writing partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg met as adolescents. Their new project is the disaster-movie spoof This Is the End. A new documentary profiles backup singers whose voices you know but whose names you probably don't. Joss Whedon's new production of Shakespeare's classic is a delight.mp3 file | windows media
Mantel Takes Up Betrayal, Beheadings In 'Bodies'
Hilary Mantel is the first woman to win the Man Booker Prize twice, first for her 2009 novel, Wolf Hall, and then for that book's 2012 sequel, Bring Up the Bodies. The novels are part of a historical fiction trilogy about Tudor England and the events surrounding the reign of King Henry VIII.mp3 file | windows media
Whedon's Touch Finds A Match With 'Much Ado'
Sandwiched into Joss Whedon's busy schedule of TV series and big-screen features was an unexpected low-budget adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing — shot in black and white. Film critic David Edelstein says it's a delight. (Recommended)mp3 file | windows media
Florida-Grown Fiction: Hiaasen Satirizes The Sunshine State
Novelist and Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen writes with passion and purpose about the state he loves. His latest book, Bad Monkey, is an offbeat murder mystery set in Key West.mp3 file | windows media
Israeli Writer Yoram Kaniuk, 83, On Pain And Peace
Author and journalist Yoram Kaniuk died June 8 at age 83. He joined Fresh Air's Terry Gross in August 1988 to talk about fighting in the Israeli underground and his belief that, for Israelis and Palestinians, "the only way is to live somehow together."mp3 file | windows media
Slaid Cleaves: 'Still Fighting' With Smart Lyrics And Stories
The singer-songwriter has said, as he was writing his new album Still Fighting the War, that "a theme of perseverance through hard times revealed itself." Rock critic Ken Tucker says the record is no downer, and that Cleaves finds complex sentiments and wittily phrased ideas in many of his new songs.mp3 file | windows media
'20 Feet From' The Spotlight, There's Singing Worthy Of One
A new documentary directed by Morgan Neville profiles backup singers whose voices you know but whose names you probably don't: Lisa Fischer, Darlene Love, Judith Hill and Merry Clayton.mp3 file | windows media