Aberdeen District Library

It took over five years for Nathaniel Rich to finish his first novel — maybe because he was writing The Mayor's Tongue secretly, first as a college student, and then while writing film criticism during the day.

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In Smallpox: The Death of a Disease, Dr. D.A. Henderson recounts the history of the deadly virus, from the development of the first vaccine in the late 18th century to his involvement in the successful global eradication campaign in the 1960s and 70s.

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America's Finest News Source has released a book celebrating its 21 years of satire (with a wink). Onion editors Joe Randazzo and Joe Garden talk with Renee Montagne about the serious business of being funny. Also: See the fun The Onion has had at NPR's expense.

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Army officials had said they would prohibit coverage of Palin's on-post event, saying it would turn into political grandstanding against President Barack Obama.

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The themes of this collection are a good way to characterize the author himself: a minor genius who unwittingly demonstrates the hazards of statistical reasoning.

The conflict in Afghanistan dominates headlines, but many people seek a deeper understanding of the country and the war the U.S. is fighting there. In the first of a series of suggestions for an Afghanistan "reading list," Washington Post special military correspondent Tom Ricks shares his recommendations, ranging from a collection of Afghan proverbs, to a history of the CIA's involvement in the country.

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How much do you know about the company that knows so much about you? In Googled: The End of the World as We Know It, Ken Auletta chronicles the growth of Google, from the brainchild of two computer science graduate students, toiling in a California garage, to the multi-billion dollar, multi-nation corporation it is today.

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George Washington University law professor and former prosecutor Paul Butler believes that, in order to fight for justice, Americans must sometimes fight the power of the justice system. He speaks with host Michel Martin about his new book, "Let's Get Free: A Hip Hop Theory of Justice," and his vision for justice policy.

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Grand Rapids, Michigan, was the first stop on Sarah Palin's Going Rouge book tour. The former governor of Alaska and vice presidential candidate signed copies of her book. Palin fans had waited in line all day for a chance to see her.

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The 60th annual National Book Awards were handed out Wednesday night in New York. Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin, a novel about daring, luck and mortality in 1970s New York, won the fiction prize. T.J. Stiles' biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, The First Tycoon, was the nonfiction winner, and Keith Waldrop's Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy won for poetry.

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Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin, a novel about daring, luck and mortality in 1970s New York, won the fiction prize Wednesday night at the 60th annual National Book Awards. T.J. Stiles' biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, The First Tycoon, was the nonfiction winner.

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It’s not even Thanksgiving, and some Christmas-related books are already creeping up the list and Barbara Kingsolver’s new novel, “The Lacuna,” enters the hardcover fiction list at No. 5.

Jonathan Safran Foer is just the latest in a long line of distinguished literary vegetarians.

It's been all Palin all the time ever since the former Alaska governor unveiled her memoir on Oprah on Monday. Matthew Continetti of the Weekly Standard comes to Palin's defense in his new book, The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star.

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Crime writer Randy Wayne White spent 13 years as a tackle fishing guide before he began to probe the mysteries of southwest Florida. White is best known for his series of crime novels featuring Doc Ford, an NSA agent turned marine biologist living on Florida's Gulf Coast.

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Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and Republican vice presidential candidate, is now a best-selling author. Palin's book, Going Rogue, made the best-seller list before it was released. She's planning a book tour that will only stoke her meteoric political celebrity. But to what end?

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Sarah Palin may be the Republican party's next big hope, but commentator Rod Dreher says her new book, Going Rogue, does little to bolster her image. She may be the perkiest small-town American in the spotlight, but Palin is selling her personality, not a platform.

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