Shelf Life

Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn talks with Kai Ryssdal about the book she edited, "The Story of American Business: From the Pages of the New York Times," and what might be learned from our current economic climate.

Douglas Coupland's first novel, "Generation X," got him credit for naming a whole generation. His new novel, "Generation A," comes full circle, taking readers through a world where interpersonal communication is a dying art. He talks with Kai Ryssdal.

It's likely the company you work for has adopted some of the principles advocated by teacher Peter Drucker. Harvard professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter talks with Kai Ryssdal about the management guru's most important contributions.

A lot of people who follow sports follow the statistics that go along with them. But not all statistics are created equal. Kai Ryssdal talks to author Simon Kuper, whose book explores the stats of soccer.

There are still many questions about the government's response to the collapse of the financial system. Kai Ryssdal talks to The New York Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin, who examines those questions in his new book, "Too Big to Fail."

In his new book, "Eating The Dinosaur," author Chuck Klosterman covers everything from America's relationship with Abba to why laugh tracks are offensive. He talks to Kai Ryssdal about the art and business of publishing.

Diana Grove, author of "Dot.Conned," talks with Stacey Vanek-Smith about how she decided to fight back against Internet con artists.

Why didn't more people see the current financial crisis coming? It's not the first financial meltdown the world has seen. Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff has a new book with Carmen Reinhart that addresses that question. He talks with Kai Ryssdal.

Tad Friend, who wrote a New Yorker column about how his WASP parents lived without the money and prestige they'd once known, has written a book on the history of his family. It's called "Cheerful Money." He discusses it with Kai Ryssdal.