Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion is a mythic figure. In Ben-Gurion: A Political Life, Israeli President Shimon Peres talks about his mentor.

Teresa Urrea was a real Mexican saint who was exiled to the U.S. 'Queen of America' tells the fictional story of her rise to pop star status and her desperate attempt to stop the machine of stardom.

The Artist of Disappearance contains three novellas set in modern India. Anita Desai's somber stories read like three symphonic movements in a minor key. Desai talks with NPR's Scott Simon about her writing, and about working with her daughter, novelist Kiran Desai.

Susan Stamberg gathers recommendations for the season's best books from independent booksellers Lucia Silva, Rona Brinlee and Daniel Goldin. This winter, their top picks range in subject from toasters to typeface, odd bookmarks to old Volkswagens, department stores to pasta design.

Lynn Neary speaks with Sarah Weinman, the news editor for Publishers Marketplace, about the antitrust probe of Apple and six publishing houses over the prices of e-books. It is being investigated by the Department of Justice and the European Commission.

The book 10 Billion Days And 100 Billion Nights by Ryu Mitsuse has been called "the greatest Japanese science-fiction novel of all time."