Dec 25 Watch 6:43 Why Karl Ove Knausgaard appreciates the insignificant details of life By PBS News Hour In his new book, Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard steers clear of the introspective prose that defined his best-selling autobiography, “My Struggle.” Through letters and thoughts addressed to his unborn daughter, Knausgaard’s new essay collection “Autumn” explores the banal objects,… Continue watching
Dec 21 Watch 7:01 ‘Doomsday Machine’ author Daniel Ellsberg says Americans have escaped self-annihilation by luck By PBS News Hour The military analyst turned whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers looks at the existential threat of America’s nuclear capacities in his new memoir, “The Doomsday Machine.” Very little has changed, says author Daniel Ellsberg, when it comes to what he… Continue watching
Dec 21 What it was really like to be in Miami during the crazy cocaine boom By Elizabeth Flock A new book tells the real-life story behind what inspired the movie "Scarface."… Continue reading
Dec 19 Watch 7:06 In ‘Cuz,’ the story of a cousin’s tragic fate and justice system in crisis By PBS News Hour Danielle Allen’s cousin Michael was convicted of attempted carjacking at the age of 15, spent nearly 11 years in prison and was murdered at 29. In her new book “Cuz,” Allen looks to her own family tragedy for a deeper… Continue watching
Dec 12 Watch 7:08 South Africa at a crossroads, new chronicle of Mandela’s presidency looks back for guidance By Jeffrey Brown While Nelson Mandela remains a larger-than-life symbol of historic change, there's a national debate going on in South Africa over the nation's progress since its turn to democracy. Mandla Langa, a writer and former activist, hopes that Mandela's words and… Continue watching
Dec 07 Watch 5:40 Award-winning ‘Far From the Tree’ is teen tale of adoption and long-lost family By PBS News Hour What makes a family? Blood? Circumstance? Closeness? In author Robin Benway's "Far From the Tree," she tells the story of three siblings who are put up for adoption as babies, and grow up without knowing each other exists. Benway, who… Continue watching
Nov 30 Watch 6:22 Marine and photojournalist reframe the war-wounded soul in a new memoir By PBS News Hour, Nick Schifrin Photographer Finbarr O'Reilly and former U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Thomas Brennan both went through the intensity of combat, and the loneliness and doubt that follows. Now they’ve written a dual memoir, "Shooting Ghosts," a story of two lives that came… Continue watching
Nov 24 Watch 8:29 The best reads of 2017, from Ann Patchett and Daniel Pink By PBS News Hour What were the best new books you read this year? Ann Patchett and Daniel Pink recently sat down with Jeffrey Brown to discuss their own picks for recommended reads of 2017. Continue watching
Nov 24 5 books from 2017 that these authors think you should read By Larisa Epatko Memoirs that make you think about judgment and injustice, a funny -- but unexpectedly dark -- novel, and a guide to a happy marriage. These are the books that authors Daniel Pink and Ann Patchett chose as their top picks… Continue reading
Nov 23 Watch Norm Ornstein and E.J. Dionne on the American divide and where we should turn next By Lisa Desjardins With divisions in the American political system deeper than ever, questions of how we got to this point and how we move forward remain. Journalist E.J. Dionne and political scientist Norm Ornstein join Lisa Desjardins to discuss their book, co-authored… Continue watching