Modern History

"One of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau tells her remarkable story.... A heartbreaking yet ultimately redemptive account." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Joan Didion: What She Means" is an art exhibition now on view at UCLA's Hammer Museum; it renders the great writer's life and work through the creations of nearly 50 artists, including Betye Saar, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Maren Hassinger, and Ed Ruscha.

Today's guest is a professor at SMU who focuses on the links between economic development and migration; his books include "Controlling Immigration," "Understanding Global Migration," and "International Political Economy: History, Theory, and Policy" (forthcoming).

Mei, a teenage girl in 1960s China, becomes Mao Zedong's protégée as well as his lover -- and also a heroine of the Cultural Revolution -- in this captivating historical novel.

"One of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau tells her remarkable story.... A heartbreaking yet ultimately redemptive account from the 20th century's darkest days." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Everts has an easy hand with demystifying myths associated with sweat.... Packed full of information and unexpected tidbits, this [book] is hard to put down." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Goes beyond the myth and into the guts of Thorpe's life, using extensive research, historical nuance, and bittersweet honesty to tell the story of a gifted and complicated man." -- Los Angeles Times

"Recommended to fans of Paula McLean's 'The Paris Wife' and anyone who enjoyed Hemingway's 'A Moveable Feast.'" -- Booklist

"Arriving at the exact right moment, [this book] charts the course of the region by digging deeply into its history. Lim deftly weaves her way through the ages, arriving at our current time, all the while capturing Hong Kong's soul inside the book's pages." -- Newsweek

"Always an astute cultural observer and a fan of deep dives into any subject, Klosterman is focused here on...seizing on those moments that any Gen Xer can readily recall and pulling the strings a bit to put it in some kind of historical perspective." -- Associated Press