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Young black pilots Kenny Roy and Jimmy Haywood just made history in flight. They their mentor, Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum co-founder Robin Petgrave, share their story with NPR's Tavis Smiley.

New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman's new book, The World is Flat, explores the effects of outsourcing and globalization. The book, subtitled "a brief history of the 21st century," connects recent business trends with social issues.

Writer Jonathan Franzen's massive 2001 bestseller The Corrections was based, in part, on his own life. His new book is a memoir, The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History. Franzen's other books include The Twenty-Seventh City, Strong Motion and How to be Alone.

Robert Siegel talks with Middle East scholar William Polk about his new book, Understanding Iraq: The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan's Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation. Polk fears that this could be a period of transition from one dictator to the next in Iraq.

Caroline Elkins' book Imperial Reckoning exposes a grim period in recent British history. In the 1950s, British authorities in Kenya imprisoned thousands of Kikuyu people who were fighting to end colonial rule. Elkins talks with Jennifer Ludden.

Forty years ago, Italian composer Ennio Morricone rode into America with the soundtrack for a Western titled A Fistful of Dollars. This year, for only the second time in its history, the Motion Picture Academy will present a film-music composer with a lifetime achievement award.

Some members of Congress say Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been less than candid in explaining the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys. Nancy Baker, who teaches government at New Mexico State University, offers insight into the history of the office of attorney general.

The walls of Dublin's Kilmainham Jail hold two centuries of Irish history, but the place is most strongly associated with the Easter Rising of 1916, which laid the seeds for Ireland's eventual break from British rule. Many nationalists were held and executed there.

Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as a U.S. Secretary of State, talks about the significance of this moment in American history. Albright's new book, Memo to the President explores how to restore America's reputation and leadership.

You know the feeling: You're driving and you spot a little-known memorial that makes you want to pull over and find out more. It could be a monument to some local hero or to a long-forgotten historical moment. Join NPR on a summer-long road trip exploring the deep histories of these spots.