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Middle East expert Vali Nasr talks about the latest developments there, and about his book The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future.

The real-life story behind Irene Nemirovsky's Suite Francaise is a compelling one: the author's manuscript lay unread for years after her death at the Auschwitz camp. But Nemirovsky's writing, notes author Elizabeth Strout, can stand up to its own tragic provenance.

The founders of Fania Records didn't set out to change the course of Latin music, but that's just what they did. The label went out of business in the late 1970s, and the records have since become hard-to-find collector's items. Now, a Miami-based record label is reissuing that music.

The future of our culture — and most business — lies in niches, according to author Chris Anderson. His new book, The Long Tail, references a statistical trend to suggest that the market for items that are not "hits" will always be larger than that for the most popular items.

In 1977, two young women on a cross-country bike trip were brutally attacked in an Oregon state park. Strange Piece of Paradise by Terri Jentz, one of the victims, chronicles her search to find out why no one was ever charged in the crime — and to repair her fractured self.

Philanthropist and investor George Soros is the chairman of Soros Fund Management and the Open Society Institute. His new book is The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of The War on Terror. Soros, whose worth has been estimated at over $7 billion, has directed his philanthropic efforts toward defeating George W. Bush in 2004, overthrowing communism in Eastern Europe, helping black students attend university in apartheid South Africa and repealing drug prohibition laws internationally.

Mumbai native, and author, Suketu Mehta talks with Steve Inskeep about his home town. With 16 million people, it's the cultural and financial capital of India. Mehta describes the jammed trains in the densely populated city as a "great social laboratory." He also details how the city's name came to be changed from Bombay to Mumbai.

Our book critic reviews The Abortionist's Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde.

Monsters and humans share the stage in Grendel, a new opera that opens in New York Tuesday night. Based on the novel by John Gardner, the show tells the classic medieval tale of Beowulf, but from the monster's perspective.

There are some books that are so good that you just can't get on with your life until you've turned the last page. Nancy Pearl offers books that make it tempting to call in sick just to be able to read to the end without stopping.