Books

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.

The RZA talks with Kai Ryssdal about balancing hip-hop and the message of money.

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.

A diary written during the Great Depression by a young lawyer named Benjamin Roth is now a book edited by his son, Daniel Roth, and James Ledbetter. The editors talk with Kai Ryssdal about what the diary means for today.

John Buntin, who writes about the 20th-century relationship between organized crime and the Los Angeles Police Department in "L.A. Noir," takes Kai Ryssdal on a tour of the city's downtown and points out things that haven't changed much.

Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel talks with Kai Ryssdal about his new book, "Justice," and the morality of Wall Street.