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Just what is a summer book, anyway? Does it have to be a big, fat, juicy page turner to earn the right to be packed away in the luggage (or downloaded on the e-reader)? We put that question to several book reviewers to find out what they like to take along on summer getaways.

President Obama is starting a European trip in Poland, where he will meet allied leaders from central and eastern Europe. They are worried about Russia's intentions after the recent events in Ukraine.

Imagine standing on a corner and instantly getting the median income of the neighborhood or the crime rate on your street -- all by using your cell phone. Cell phone companies are starting to tap into GPS technology and software companies are already imagining how to use it.

Jay-Z is one of the most successful hip-hop artists of all time. On Fresh Air, he discusses growing up in Brooklyn surrounded by drugs and violence, and the stories behind many of his famous songs.

The New York Times calls Stephen Sondheim the "greatest and perhaps best-known artist in American musical theater." Sondheim composed the music and lyrics for, among others, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods andCompany. He joins Fresh Air to discuss his career in musical theater.

Producer Jack Perry and White worked together until the singer's death in 2003. Perry recently compiled and produced a four-disc retrospective box set spanning White's career, titled Unlimited. NPR's Steve Inskeep recently spoke with Perry about the late soul singer.

Hillary Clinton has taken charge at the U.S. State Department. The secretary of State named George Mitchell to be a special envoy to the Middle East and Richard Holbrooke to be a representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Rapper Percy Carey, a.k.a. MF Grimm, has survived several murder attempts, including one that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He's got a new album, The Hunt for the Gingerbread Man, and he's just published an autobiographical graphic novel.

At 92, film legend Kirk Douglas has returned to live theater for a one-man show that's a biography of his life and career. The last performance is Sunday at, fittingly enough, the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, Calif.

Author Mark Helprin's latest novel is a sprawling tale of love, honor and danger in the years just after World War II. Returned soldier Harry Copeland spots a mysterious woman in white on the Staten Island Ferry. She turns out to be an heiress with Broadway dreams and a complicated past that threatens their growing love.

A decision to let her son enjoy a few moments of independence and beauty ended in tragedy. But out of Rich Stark's death in a car accident, Myra Dean managed to extract small comforts.

The Houston Texans used the NFL draft's No. 1 pick to take Jadeveon Clowney. The story of the night was how the Cleveland Browns wound up with a new quarterback, Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.