Acclaimed Author Illuminates Genesis of America’s Religious Preoccupation

The popularity of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon, has drawn public attention to the role of religion in American life, and especially in politics.  But author Hugh Nissenson states America’s focus on religion is nothing new.  In fact, he states the country has been preoccupied with religion since its founding. The importance of religion to the birth of America comes into sharp focus in Nissenson’s new book, The Pilgrim, which follows the story of a Puritan Separatist ...

Submited at Saturday, February 11th, 2012 at 1:00 am by robert

Polish Nobel Laureate Dies

Wislawa Szymborska during an interview with The Associated Press in the southern mountain resort of Zakopane, Oct.

Submited at Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 1:00 am by sofia

‘Rin Tin Tin’ Recounts Dog’s Rise to Stardom

Rin Tin Tin, a dog rescued from a World War I battlefield in France, became a famous animal star and hero for generations of children. Susan Orlean, author of “Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend,” has vivid memories of the German Shepherd from her 1950s childhood, when the animal performed daring rescues on a tv series. But as she prepared a magazine story on animals in film, she discovered a surprising fact about the canine actor. “What I ...

Submited at Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 8:00 pm by robert

Social Scientists Rethink Role of City

Big cities are vibrant hubs for culture and industry, or dirty, congested, impersonal crime-ridden warrens. As the world population surpasses seven billion, economists, environmentalists and social scientists are rethinking the role of the city in global society. Economist Edward Glaeser believes cities are the ideal places to live. “Cities are so fascinating because they play to mankind’s greatest gift, which is our capability to learn from other people.” Since ancient times, he says, cities have attracted smart people and enabled ...

Submited at Saturday, December 10th, 2011 at 2:00 am by jessica

‘Terrorists in Love’ Examines Islamic Radicals

How does a young man transform from a law-abiding middle-class citizen into a terrorist? Ken Ballen, a former federal prosecutor, spent five years trying to find answers to that question. The result is a book called, “Terrorists in Love: The Real Lives of Islamic Radicals.” It started as a research project, states Ballen, founder and president of Terror-Free Tomorrow. When his group conducted public opinion polls across the Muslim world, Ballen travelled extensively and had a chance to meet young ...

Submited at Monday, November 21st, 2011 at 1:00 am by robert

‘Awkward Family Pet Photos’: See 10 pics

If your pets are members of the family, shouldn’t they be humiliated with the rest of you? Mike Bender and Doug Chernack, the authors of the New York Times bestselling Awkward Family Photos, bring you Awkward Family Pet Photos (now available). In turns cute, hideous, funny, and always uncomfortable, these real portraits feature families and the pets they love — sometimes too much. That love for pets leads people to do odd things; throw a camera in the mix, and ...

Submited at Thursday, November 10th, 2011 at 11:00 am by robert

Barnes & Noble intros Nook Tablet

Image Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton/Landov As many anticipated, Barnes & Noble announced its entry into the tablet race this morning, and it’s clear that the bookseller is positioning its new 7-inch NOOK Tablet ($249) as a “faster, smaller” alternative to Amazon’s similarly sized Kindle Fire ($199). In fact, B&N CEO William Lynch devoted a massive portion of his presentation, given to a room full of journalists in the Union Square Barnes & Noble bookstore, to disparaging the Kindle Fire, which ships ...

Submited at Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 at 11:00 am by Alina

Exhibit Salutes Children’s Author Who Introduced Minority Characters

Shakespeare asked, “What’s in a Name?” A lot, it turns out. Take Ezra Jack Keats, the famous children’s book author and illustrator, who died in 1983. Keats wrote and illustrated more than 20 children’s books. Most featured African-American kids at a time when that was unheard of. But here is the surprise. Keats was born Jacob Ezra Katz. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Early in his career, Katz – who was white – changed his name to ...

Submited at Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 11:00 pm by sofia

Read ‘em and…laugh? In public?

During the weekends, New York City is a hectic, overcrowded, energetic place to be. Throw in some great fall weather and additional out-of-town marathoners and you’ve got one even more hectic, overcrowded, energetic place to be. During these sort of weekends, a quiet moment in this city is about as reasonable a thing to anticipate as finding an inexpensive apartment.

Submited at Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 11:00 am by ethan

New York Exhibit Highlights Books About African Americans

Shakespeare asked, “What’s in a Name?” Take Ezra Jack Keats, the famous children’s book author and illustrator, who died in 1983. Keats wrote and illustrated more than 20 children’s books. Most featured African American kids – at a time when that was unheard of. Keats was born Jacob Ezra Katz.  That’s a Jewish name.  His parents were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Katz was white. Early in his career, he changed his name to Keats, a very Christian name.     ...

Submited at Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 12:00 am by sofia