Last week publisher Penguin reissued John Le Carré’s exemplary spy novel Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy. Deemed by some to be the greatest of its genre, the book features George Smiley, a down-trodden middle aged British Intelligence agent who is forced into retirement after his boss runs a disastrous covert op to root out a mole within their agency. Though he is neither a suave or physically agile spy, like those created by Ian Fleming or Robert Ludlum, the political upper echelon calls upon him to accomplish what his superior could not, and find the mole. Originally published in 1974, the reissue has a new introduction, in which Le Carré writes of his difficulty crafting the first draft of the novel. After months of work, he burned the entire first draft outside in his garden out of utter frustration. He then went back to the drawing board and created this bestselling spy thriller. Read more…

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Roald Dahl’s classic James and the Giant Peach, which according to the author’s website, was the “first major book” Dahl wrote for children. Generations have fallen in love with the orphan James Henry Trotter, forced to live with his horrible aunts, Sponge and Spiker, who embarks on a magical adventure inside a giant peach. To celebrate the silver anniversary, publisher Penguin has created an interactive global campaign called Follow that Peach! Children, parents and people of all ages are invited to send Peach-grams to friends and family worldwide to share the news of the book’s birthday. Read more…

Last week, bestselling author Jeffery Deaver celebrated the UK launch of his James Bond title Carte Blanche in a manner fit for 007. USA Today reports that the thriller writer arrived at St. Pancras International train station’s Champagne Bar with a cat-suited “Bond Girl” in tow. While posing with his sexy companion next to a Bentley Continental GT (Bond’s ride in the new book) Deaver received the first copy of Carte Blanche, delivered by a member of the Royal Marines Display Team rappelling from the station ceiling. Read more…

Harper Lee

Controversy erupted in April surrounding Marja Mills’ book The Mockingbird Next Door: Life With Harper Lee, when Lee’s law firm released a statement denying any cooperation with the writer. In response to the denial, Mills sent an e-mail through her publisher Penguin Press to the New York Times, stating that “Harper Lee, known as Nelle to many of her friends, and her sister, Alice Lee, were wonderfully generous with their time and insights over the years as I researched my book.” She also produced a signed statement from Alice Lee “affirming she and her sister, Nelle Harper Lee, cooperated with the project.” Read more…

The K'alyaan Totem Pole of the Tlingit Kiks.ádi Clan, erected to commemorate those lost in the 1804 Battle of Sitka. ©2005 Robert A. Estremo

In an effort to save the dying Alaskan language Tlingit, English professor and award-winning author Ernestine Hayes will publish a children’s book written in the rare tongue. Hayes, who also acts as historian for her mother’s Tlingit tribe, based her story on the classic tale of the town mouse and the country mouse, and tells of the adventures that a forest bear has when he visits a relative who lives in town. City Bear, Forest Bear or Aanka Xóodzi ka Aasgutu Xóodzi Shkalneegi, as the book is titled in Tlingit, was translated from English with the help of Tlingit elders and is illustrated by Tlingit artist Wanda Culp. “As far as we know, this book is the first to be originally written in English and then translated into the Tlingit language,” the author tells The Guardian in an interview.

The Tlingit language is at serious risk for extinction, as it is spoken by only about 500 people today. Hayes’ hope is to keep this language from fading away by teaching it to younger generations with books like hers. However, the process of translating this primarily oral language into written words was a challenge, even with the elders’ help. Read more…

Among the many significant documents in The New York Public Library’s resources for the study of George Washington is a recipe that, while likely not historically impactful, will be of interest to history buffs and beer connoisseurs alike. A handwritten entry in a 1757 notebook, kept by Washington during his time as a colonel with the Virginia militia, notes a recipe for “small beer”. In the 18-19th centuries, “small beer” was characterized as weak bear with little alcohol content intended to be consumed immediately after brewing, and even considered appropriate for children. The recipe, now posted on the NYPL website, is as follows: Read more…

Acknowledging that many television networks offer a glut of programs featuring male detectives, writer Jess McCabe pays homage to standout fictional female sleuths in an article for The Guardian. The top ten list features characters from literature, film and TV and highlights the reasons why these lady detectives “broke boundaries and helped redefine the image of the investigator.” Of her number one pick Nancy Drew, McCabe writes, “The original, the iconic teenage detective, any list of female detectives inevitably starts with Nancy Drew, who has been solving mysteries for more than 80 years, with Hilary Clinton and Sonia Sotomayor among the high-profile women to cite her as an inspiration.” Read more…

Scott Darsney, the climbing partner who accompanied author Greg Mortenson on the 1993 attempt to summit K2, weighed in this week on the controversy surrounding the veracity of the events recounted in the bestselling book Three Cups of Tea. Mortenson has come under fire of late with charges of fabricating parts of the blockbuster memoir, and misappropriating funds from his charity, the Central Asia Institute, for his personal use. Yet, despite the barrage of criticism from the media, Darsney is still firmly in his friend’s camp. “If Jon Krakauer and some of Greg’s detractors had taken the time to have three or more cups of tea with Greg and others–instead of one cup of tea with a select few who would discredit him–they would have found some minor problems and transgressions. But to the extent to call it all ‘lies’ and ‘fraud’? No way,” wrote Darsney in an e-mail to Outside Magazine. Read more…

This morning Amazon published a press release announcing a Kindle Library Lending feature that will launch later this year. The retail behemoth has teamed up with digital content solutions provider OverDrive to create “a seamless library borrowing experience.” Kindle Library Lending will allow readers to checkout Kindle eBooks free of charge from 11,000 libraries across the U.S. The feature will work on all versions of the Kindle as well as the free Kindle apps that are now currently available for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Mac and PC. Kindle customers will also be happy to know that the Whispersync technology will still work with the borrowed eBooks. Read more…

Mostly outshone by the star power of her husband, painter Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner was often discounted as an artist in her own right, and relegated to the difficult job of managing Pollock’s erratic behavior. But in the new book Lee Krasner: A Biography (William Morrow, 560pgs), art historian and biographer, Gail Levin, sheds new light on Krasner’s resilient personality and her creative talent. Born in Brooklyn in 1908, she went on to study art at Cooper Union and do work for the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration during the 1920-30′s. With her intelligence and magnetism, Krasner rubbed shoulders with many of the artistic elite of the time, including Willem de Kooning and Stuart Davis. In 1941 she met Pollock and began to help nurture his talent and placate his demons. Read more…