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In the first memoir from a prisoner still being held at Guantanamo, Mohamedou Ould Slahi tells how he went from his native Mauritania to joining al-Qaida in Afghanistan to the U.S. prison in Cuba.

Gordon's Lord of Misrule and Smith's Just Kids were the big winners at the National Book Awards in New York. We were there to capture the laughter, the tears and the free caviar.

Fallout from the Egyptian revolution is being felt across the Arab world. It's reached Jordan, where the ruling monarchy is facing pressure to update. Criticism of the royal family is rare, but lately some people have been speaking out against the queen.

Roy Scranton and Jacob Siegel edited and contributed to the collection of short stories by veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They tell Fresh Air about how soldiers cope with the fear of death, and why many soldiers feel conflicted about sharing their experience with a larger audience.

Essay collections are underrated and often ignored in favor of short stories or novels. But in the hands of a writer as practiced as Ann Patchett, critic Maureen Corrigan says the essay becomes an expansive storytelling vessel. Patchett's new book is This Is The Story Of A Happy Marriage.

Pakistan's once-tranquil Swat Valley is now a battleground in the struggle between Taliban militants and Pakistan's army and Frontier Corps. But it will take more than the Taliban to deter Wahida Begum from doing her job as school principal.

Eight days of Israeli missile strikes on Gaza killed a lot of children — and terrified many more. Yet in this war zone, the task of healing psychological wounds is handled a little differently. The children of Small Hands Kindergarten are barely more than toddlers. Led by their teachers to a public square, they wave toy guns at imaginary Israeli jets overhead and stomp on a poster bearing the Star of David. Yet this kindergarten isn't run by Hamas — it's run by supporters of Fatah. These young children are part of a chorus of voices calling for an end to the two rival factions who rule Gaza and the West Bank respectively.

NPR's Life Kit has tips on discovering your next favorite read.

Take a close look at the glass of wine you're drinking. There's a chance it could be plonk disguised by an upmarket label. Counterfeiting wine is big business among old and rare vintages.

The fungus takes over cicadas’ lower halves and sex drives, fueling them to keep mating and spreading the disease in the process. That's why some scientists call them “flying salt shakers of death.”