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Private Life, the new novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley, follows the life of a midwestern woman who moves with her new husband, an astronomer, to California at the start of the 20th century. Reviewer Maureen Corrigan says the story, which spans a half-century, is beautifully observed.

In 2006, voters angry about Iraq and frustrated with President George W. Bush sent a new class of senators to Washington. In The Upper House, Terence Samuel profiles these legislators as they come to terms with the grunt work and gridlock of their new jobs.

Former New York Daily News columnist Zev Chafets has written a new biography of the conservative radio host, whose talk show has been the most popular in the country for nearly 20 years. Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One tracks Limbaugh's career and his attitude toward his newest liberal opponents in the Obama White House.

Daily Beast Editor-in-Chief Tina Brown shares with Renee Montagne the best things she's been reading lately about seduction by Facebook and some altruistic acts of exposure.

Ever wonder why your Big Mac never looks as good as the one in the ads? You don't have a food stylist picking out the wilted lettuce and choosing the perfect bun from a hundred contenders.

For 20 years, the Rev. Gregory Boyle has run Homeboy Industries, an anti-gang program that employs and is run by ex-gang members in Los Angeles. Boyle recently had to lay off most of his staff because of financial problems. He recounts the decades he's helped ex-gang members turn their lives around in a new memoir, Tattoos on the Heart.

The Dead Republic is the final installment in Roddy Doyle's trilogy about the life of Henry Smart, a former IRA assassin making his way through the first half of the 20th century. Lynn Neary talks with Doyle about the novel, which finds Henry turning his life story into a movie with film director John Ford.

NPR News investigation: Ciudad Juarez is ground zero for Mexican President Felipe Calderon's war against his country's ruthless drug cartels. But there's strong evidence that federal forces there appear to be favoring Mexico's largest, oldest and most powerful cartel, the Sinaloa.

NPR News investigation: Ciudad Juarez is ground zero for Mexican President Felipe Calderon's war against his country's ruthless drug cartels. But there's strong evidence that federal forces there appear to be favoring Mexico's largest, oldest and most powerful cartel, the Sinaloa.

After journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained in North Korea in 2009, Laura's sister, fellow journalist Lisa Ling, worked tirelessly to bring them home. In a conversation with contributor Dave Davies, the sisters detail the incident that ended with former President Bill Clinton bringing them home.