Back in 1969, Marlantes was dropped in the middle of a jungle in Vietnam - at the age of 23, put in charge of the lives of 40 other young men. He was not psychologically or spiritually prepared for that or for what came after the war.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
You know that the first settlers called Manhattan "New Amsterdam"? But the Dutch didn't just bring their sailing prowess and placenames with them. Russell Shorto thinks that liberal Dutch ideas about politics and society came too, and shaped the New World.
Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky are the celebrated husband and wife team who've translated many of the great Russian writers. They've just come out with a new version of Tolstoy's "War and Peace."
We made some particular choices about the music in hour four. Here's a note from Charles about the thinking that went into the score, and a Spotify playlist to explore.
Jane Franklin was Ben Franklin’s favorite sibling. While he became an inventor, statesman and one of the 18th century’s most famous men, she became a wife and mother who could barely write and struggled to make ends meet – and until now, was forgotten by history. In this UNCUT interview, Jill Lepore tells the story of this remarkable century woman, and talks about the parallels between writing history and journalism.
Kevin Murphy (formerly of “Mystery Science Fiction 3000") decided to see a movie a day for a year. He chronicles his experience in a book called “A Year at the Movies.”
"Everything You Know About Indians Is Wrong"
Mary Karr tells Steve Paulson that this volume begins at the time of her sexual awakening and that most female writers skip over those awkward adolescent years.
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