Books & Literature

Author Glenn Frankel says the 1952 film High Noon was inspired by the toxic political climate of the time. Originally broadcast Feb. 21, 2017.

Butler's 1979 book, Kindred, is now a series for FX on Hulu. In 1993, the pioneering author, who died in 2006, told Fresh Air she made up her own stories so that she could see herself in them.

Meaker wrote Spring Fire in 1952, and was surprised when it sold 1.5 million copies. She went on to write other lesbian-themed books under pen names. She died Nov. 21. Originally broadcast 2003.

Two new movies are based on well-known children's stories. One is "Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical," adapted from the popular stage show. The other is "Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio," a stop-motion animation version of the classic fairy tale. Our film critic Justin Chang recommends them both.

Michael Cecchi-Azzolina talks about what it's like to be a Maitre D' at the fanciest restaurants in New York City. He has worked in the business for three decades telling wealthy diners, celebrities and even the mafia whether or not they can have the table by the window. His memoir is called Your Table is Ready.

Some years, my best books list falls into a pattern: like a year that's dominated by dystopian fiction or stand-out memoirs. But, as perhaps befits this hectic year, the best books I read in 2022 sprawl all over the place in subject and form. Here are 10 superb titles from 2022:

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist faced criminal charges in the Philippines after her news site's reporting angered government officials. How to Stand Up to a Dictator is her new memoir.

The Grammy winner got her start as a kid, singing backup for an Elvis impersonator. Her memoir, Broken Horses, is about her early life and the family she's built. Originally broadcast in April 2021.

Independence Day author Steve Lopez turned the issue of retirement into a reporting project, speaking to geriatric experts, a psychiatrist, a rabbi, plus people who have retired and some who refuse.

As an oncologist, cell biologist and hematologist, Mukherjee treats cancer patients and conducts research in cellular engineering. In his new book, The Song of the Cell, he writes about the emerging field of cell therapy and about how cellular science could one day lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer, HIV, Type 1 diabetes and sickle cell anemia.

Steven Spielberg's new film "The Fabelmans" is a semi-autobiographical film based on his childhood and teenage years, and tells the story, in a fictionalized way, of how he fell in love with movies, and became a filmmaker.

Our film critic Justin Chang has this review of "The Fabelmans," which begins its theatrical run on Friday.

Porter won an Emmy for Pose, and a Tony for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots. In addition to performing, he's also a star on the red carpet. His memoir is Unprotected. Originally broadcast in 2021.

Before she became a novelist, Ramona Emerson spent 16 years documenting crime scenes. Shutter tells the story of a forensic photographer named Rita who, like Emerson, is a member of the Navajo Nation.

American Resistance author David Rothkopf says veteran government officials served as guardrails, preventing initiatives that were illegal, unworkable, immoral or against the country's interests.

The special effects are a lot more special than the stories in the Oscar-winning director's new Netflix anthology series. Still, most of the shows in this first, eight-episode run are worth watching.

The former co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter faced criticism in 2017 for calling the president a white supremacist. In her memoir, Uphill, she talks about her career and her life growing up in Detroit.

Alexandra Horowitz is a professor of psychology and founder of the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College. Horowitz's new book is called "The Year Of The Puppy." Our book critic Maureen Corrigan says it offers readers plenty to chew on.

The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Hua Hsu defined himself as a teen by the music he loved. The murder of a close friend when he was in college changed the course of his life. His memoir is Stay True.

In 2010, while working in Iraq, army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning provided hundreds of thousands of military and diplomatic records about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to WikiLeaks in what's regarded as the largest leak of classified records in U.S. history. MANNING was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but was released after seven years, when President Obama commuted her sentence. Manning announced her gender identity as a women after her conviction in 2013 and began to transition. Her new memoir is titled Read Me Dot T-X-T, A Memoir.