January 6, 2012 "Before 2009," writes columnist Thomas Frank, "the man in the bread line did not ordinarily weep for the man lounging on his yacht." Frank looks at how the recession gave birth to a conservative populist revolt in his book Pity the Billionaire.

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January 7, 2012 Tim Goeglein worked as a staffer in the George W. Bush White House for nearly eight years. In his new book, The Man in the Middle, Goeglein describes his tenure and the role of religious faith in politics.

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January 6, 2012 In Thomas Caplan's latest novel, The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen, Ty Hunter, a spy-turned-movie star, is called back to service at the U.S. president's behest. The book is Caplan's third work of fiction, and an early draft got a little editing help from the real-life ex-president.

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January 8, 2012 In The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson sensitively imagines life how ordinary North Koreans struggle to endure work camps, professional torturers and the repressions of an all-powerful state.

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January 6, 2012 In the 18th book in Sara Paretsky's series, the fierce and fiercely feminist detective V.I. Warshawski investigates a grisly murder in a cemetery — as well as the growing class divide in America.

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January 6, 2012 Fey's memoir Bossypants contains her thoughts on juggling motherhood, acting, writing and executive producing 30 Rock. Fey joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross for a wide-ranging conversation about her years in comedy and her 2008 portrayal of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live.

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January 5, 2012 Playwright and author Ayad Akhtar draws from his own childhood in Wisconsin to tell the story of a 10-year-old Pakistani-American's romantic and religious awakening.

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January 5, 2012 It isn't just crafty marketing that draws us to that newest gadget, restaurant or travel destination. According to Winifred Gallagher's latest book, we're biologically predisposed to be attracted to novelty and change.

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January 3, 2012 The scientist is known as much for his contributions to theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity as for his willingness to make science accessible for the general public. His work is the topic of a new biography by science writer Kitty Ferguson.

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January 4, 2012 Playwright Alan Bennett offers a pair of deliciously devilish novellas about two middle-aged, middle-class British matrons — who aren't what they seem.

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