Books

Sylvester Brown Jr. has released a story collection, "White Castles With Jesus & Uncle Ray At The Used Tire Shop." He discussed it and his long career in St. Louis journalism, including his tenure at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, on St. Louis on the Air.

Author Tom Vanderbilt talks with host Sarah Fenske about his new book "Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning," which highlights his yearlong experience tackling five new skills: chess, singing, surfing, drawing and juggling.

The GIs who mounted the only successful armed rebellion on U.S. soil since the American Revolution are the focus of Chris DeRose’s new book, “The Fighting Bunch.” He discussed the book on "St. Louis on the Air."

Librarians Jennifer Alexander of St. Louis County Library and Jen Ohzourk of St. Louis Public Library share their favorite new books of the past year.

Ann Lemons Pollack's new book, “Iconic Restaurants of St. Louis,” tells the story of 41 places that stood the test of time, from long-shuttered standbys like Delmonico Diner and Rizzo’s Top of the Tower to more recent closures (Schneithorst’s, Goody Goody Diner) and places still going strong after more than a century (the Piccadilly at Manhattan).

LynnMarie Alexander’s new book, “The Hill: St. Louis’s Italian American Neighborhood,” is a coffee table-ready compilation of the neighborhood’s history and highlights. She discussed it on "St. Louis on the Air."

Journalist Connor Towne O’Neill’s “Down Along With That Devil’s Bones” tells the story of the afterlife of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest by exploring the battles raging over monuments to him in four places: Selma, Ala.; and the Tennessee cities of Murfreesboro, Nashville and Memphis.

Pastry chef (and St. Louis native) Claire Saffitz joined St. Louis on the Air to discuss her new book, “Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence.” She also discussed how growing up in St. Louis shaped her palate, why she decided to leave the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen and how her book can make you a better baker.

Belleville native Ken Kwapis' new book, “But What I Really Want to Do Is Direct: Lessons From a Life Behind the Camera,” provides plenty of useful advice to would-be directors. It also details the lessons he learned as a movie lover growing up in suburban St. Louis.

H.W. Brands’ new book “The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln and the Struggle for American Freedom” puts the two men’s lives in context. He discussed it on "St. Louis on the Air."