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December 9, 2004 4:42 PM

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell champion English magic

Unless you've read Susanna Clarke's novel, "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel," you're probably unaware how the British used a magician to defeat Napoleon at Waterloo.

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December 8, 2004 4:00 PM

Ballad of the Whiskey Robber

In the 1990s a one-man crime wave hit the Hungarian capital of Budapest. A man, usually dressed in a bad wig and reeking of whiskey, robbed more than 20 post offices and banks. Much to the frustration of the Hungarian police, the "Whiskey Robber" became a national hero.

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December 7, 2004 4:00 PM

A dark time for Finns recounted in new novel

In the early 1930s, Soviet recruiters persuaded thousands of Finnish-Americans from northern Minnesota to move to Stalin's Russia. They thought they were going to build a utopia, but many ended up as Stalin's victims. A Minnesota author, William Durbin, has written a new book for young people which describes the painful episode.

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December 3, 2004 1:20 PM

A conversation with Amy Tan

Amy Tan, author of the bestselling novel "The Joy Luck Club," paid a visit to the Commonwealth Club of California this fall to discuss the relationship between her life and her work. She talked about the lessons she learned from her Chinese-American mother, her best friend's murder and her more recent battle with Lyme disease.

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November 22, 2004 12:20 PM

The life, art and science of Audubon

Renowned Minnesotan science writer William Souder is out with a new book on a man who made important contributions, not only to the world of ornithology, but also the world of art: John James Audubon. In "Under a Wild Sky," Souder paints the picture of a deeply complex and conflicted Audubon, who failed at a number of endeavors before stumbling upon the career that made him famous.

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November 19, 2004 10:20 AM

The Distance Between Us

A new novel depicts the life of a foreign correspondent who discovers the lure of covering violence and following a cause. The book's author is a journalist who has reported on conflict in Afghanistan and other troubled areas.

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November 18, 2004 10:19 AM

Minnesota writer Pete Hautman wins National Book Award

The national book award for young people's literature went to a graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota. Pete Hautman's "Godless" is the story of a skeptical teenager who helps found a new religion. The winners of the National Book Awards were announced Wednesday night in New York.

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November 11, 2004 1:20 PM

The World War II home front

Much has been said of the people who fought in the battles of World War II, but what about all the ones who participated in the stateside war effort? A new book examines the history of the Minnesota home front during what former Sen. Eugene McCarthy called "the last of the 'happy' wars."

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November 11, 2004 12:20 PM

"Minnesota Goes to War"

In honor of Veterans Day, we remember the Minnesotans who took part in World War II and the lesser-known stories of those who stayed behind and worked on the home front.

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November 10, 2004 12:00 PM

The storyteller who lost his voice

A few years back, Joel ben Izzy woke up after throat surgery to some good news, and some bad news. The good news: surgeons had successfully removed a cancerous growth. He was on the road to recovery. The bad news? The nerve controlling his vocal chords was dead. He was told he'd lost his voice. Permanently. The news would be bad enough for most people, but it was especially bad for Joel ben Izzy because he is a professional storyteller.

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