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All Things Considered book reviewer Alan Cheuse offers his annual list for summer reading, with book suggestions from a mix of genres.

American musical icon Ray Charles died of complications from liver disease Thursday at his Beverly Hills home. In a career that lasted more than half a century, Charles defied categorization and brought his soulful stylings to jazz, pop, country and R&B.

In a turning point in American history, the Supreme Court ruled 50 years ago that separate educational facilities for blacks were inherently unequal. A look at how Americans reacted, through the letters they wrote to their president, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

When British forces occupied and helped create Iraq after World War I, they faced insurgencies, revolts, and multiple religious factions. Gertrude Bell, a British national who helped establish the Iraqi state, wrote detailed letters describing the country and its occupation.

In the final part of a series on Brown vs. Board of Education, NPR's Juan Williams reports on the integration of public schools in Prince Edward County, Va., and its effect on two white families. Monday is the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that brought desegregation to the classroom.

Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, a landmark civil rights victory that struck down "separate but equal" guidelines for public education. Commentator and legal scholar Walter Dellinger remembers the day the ruling was announced. He was in school that day at Myers Park Junior High in Charlotte, N.C. He says it's hard to overstate the impact the ruling had on the South, and on the country as a whole.

In 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Johns led students in a rural Virginia county on an historic walkout to protest overcrowding at their all-black school. The resulting court case became part of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling 50 years ago in which the Supreme Court declared segregation unconstitutional. NPR's Juan Williams has a two-part report on the legacy of events at Moton High School in Prince Edward County, Va. It's part of NPR's series on the 50th anniversary of the Brown ruling.

Weekend Edition essayist Bonny Wolf suggests making a family recipe for Mother’s Day. She tells NPR's Liane Hansen the ingredients and instructions for gas company candy and her neighbor Bill’s mother’s war cake.

A.H. Parker High School in Birmingham, Ala., is a case study in the paradox of integration. Under segregation, the school was a symbol of black pride and a citadel of excellence. Today, it's fallen on hard times, a victim of "bright flight." NPR's Michele Norris reports.

Fifty years ago, school desegregation became the law of the land in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education. But a decade after the decision, few students attended integrated schools. A three-part Morning Edition series examines the legacy of the school busing orders aimed at making desegregation a reality.