Michael Schaub
Michael Schaub is a writer, book critic and regular contributor to NPR Books. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Portland Mercury and The Austin Chronicle, among other publications. He lives in Austin, Texas.
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Gordon S. Wood's engaging new dual biography of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams aims to discover why Jefferson is so much more well-loved than his lifelong (though sometimes estranged) friend.
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Richard Lloyd Parry looks at the aftermath of Japan's 2011 tsunami in this brutally honest new book, which refuses to mitigate the full horror of the events with feel-good recovery stories.
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The Irish novelist is known for his sense of humor — but his latest, about a man abused in his youth by Catholic priests, is distressing and at times almost unbearable. It's also his best book yet.
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The National Book Award-winning writer's debut story collection includes stories both straightforward and surreal. Our critic calls it "brash, daring and defiantly original."
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"Nature Boy" Ric Flair is one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time. His daughter Charlotte followed him into the ring, and now, they've written a joint memoir that's moving and brutally honest.
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In his new book, Stephen Greenblatt argues that the world wouldn't be the same without the story of Adam and Eve — the primal narrative that shapes how we think about almost everything.
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Ben Loory's new story collection is dreamlike in the best way: both cheerfully surreal and cosmically unsettling, full of lovelorn cephalopods, discontented sloths and the occasional darker touch.
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Gabriel Tallent's devastating debut novel about a young girl and her abusive but charismatic father has memorable characters, the pacing of a thriller, and still manages to work in some light moments.
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Orhan Pamuk is almost synonymous with Turkish literature; he's won the Nobel Prize for his work. But his latest, about a well-digger and his apprentice, doesn't reach the heights of his earlier books.
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Tom Perrotta's new novel about a divorced mom and her college-aged son addresses some serious issues with dark humor. The result is uncompromisingly obscene, but still somehow good-natured.