© 2026
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scam Advisory: We have been made aware that an online entity is posing as Joe Donahue to invite authors and other creatives onto our radio shows. The scammers then attempt to charge guests an appearance fee for exposure/publicity.
Please note: WAMC does not charge guests to appear on the station and any email about appearing on a WAMC program will come from a wamc.org email address.

Book Picks from the Architect of the Patriot Act

Georgetown law professor Viet Dinh
Georgetown law professor Viet Dinh

In the penultimate installment of our summer reading series, we chat with Georgetown law professor Viet Dinh about what he's reading this season. Dinh served two years as a U.S. assistant attorney general, and during that time was instrumental in drafting the USA Patriot Act, giving the government sweeping tools to fight terrorism.

Dinh is fond of political fiction and was hooked by Jeffrey Archer novels including Kane & Abel, As the Crow Flies and Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less. It's no surprise then that one of Dinh's favorite biographies is Jeffrey Archer: Stranger than Fiction, by Michael Crick. He's also a fan of Deception Point, by Dan Brown and Charlie Wilson's War, by George Crile. The next book Dinh plans to pick up is American Soldier, an autobiography of Gen. Tommy Franks, co-written with Malcolm McConnell.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.