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Amazon.com has rounded up more than 1,000 titles of classic literature and is offering them as a single purchase for just under $8,000. The Penguin Classics Collection weighs 700 pounds -- but delivery is free.

Eight months before the U.S. presidential election, likely voters are paying unusually close attention to the contest ahead, and they're polarized in their views, according to the latest NPR poll. The poll finds that if the election were held today, voters would be almost evenly split between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

For NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, basketball is neither a game nor a business; it's a way of life. Whether on the court or as a Knicks executive, his desire to win has always brought both criticism and success. Thomas talks with NPR's John Ydstie about his concept of the game, his past coaches and rivals, and how he adjusts to today's NBA players.

Secretary of State Colin Powell defends the Bush administration's handling of the crisis in Haiti, saying now-exiled leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide allowed "chaos" to disrupt his country. Powell's comments come as U.S. policy in Haiti is under increasing criticism -- from likely Bush challenger Sen. John Kerry, among others. Hear Powell's interview with NPR's Juan Williams.

Critics have rarely embraced Stephen King as a serious writer. But the prolific novelist, best known for his horror stories, is about to enter some serious company. The National Book Foundation is honoring the best-selling author with a lifetime achievement award whose previous recipients have included Arthur Miller, Eudora Welty and John Updike. King discusses the award and his writing with NPR's Susan Stamberg.

Composer John Cage was Merce Cunningham's life partner and longtime collaborator. Cage, who died in 1992, was a pioneer of electronic music and compositions involving chance and randomness.

A secretive fellowship of powerful Christian politicians includes some names that have recently been prominent in the headlines: Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Joe Pitts. Writer Jeff Sharlet describes the men's involvement with the Family, and discusses recent developments within the group.

Alan Cheuse reviews the newest novel by the Nobel Prize-winning South African author J.M. Coetzee. Summertime is a pseudo-biographical novel based on interviews conducted by an imaginary biographer about the life of a writer named John Coetzee.

NPR's Lynn Neary talks storytelling with John Darnielle, the creative force behind the indie-folk band The Mountain Goats and author of the new novel Wolf In White Van.

Linda talks to Ruth Faden, author of "A History and Theory of Informal Consent" (Oxford University Press, 1986), and director of the Bio-Ethics Institute at the Johns Hopkins University . She is in Washington, D.C. to participate in the conference at the U.S. Holocaust Museum on "The Nuremberg Code and Human Rights: the 50th Anniversary of the Doctors Trials" (co-sponsored by Boston Univ. School of Public Health). published in the Nov. 27, 1996 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). She co-authored a paper about the Nuremberg Code, (published in the Nov. 27, 1996 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association), which outlines permissible conditions for medical experiments on humans, as part of the final judgment by the Nuremberg Military Tribunal. She tells how the Code guidelines for voluntary informed consent had not been formally adopted by medical establishments until the start of the Nuremberg Trials of Nazis performing medical experiments on prisoners. Faden also tells why the Code has not been widely adopted since the Trials.

Director John Carney's new film Once features Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova as two musicians who tell their story in song. Hansard is the lead singer of the Irish band The Frames. Irglova was only 17 when the movie was made — and neither of them are professional actors.

A New Jersey state court jury has awarded $4.5 million in a lawsuit filed by a man who suffered a heart attack while taking Vioxx, made by Merck & Co. The award of $4.5 million to John McDarby, 77, is for compensatory damages. On Thursday, the jury will decide whether Merck should face punitive damages as well.

January's roundup features music from Panda Bear, Father John Misty, Waxahatchee and more.

The anonymous song from 17th-century Iceland sports a catchy, bittersweet melody that pop outfits like Peter, Bjorn and John might be happy to whistle. Arve Henriksen joins the vocal trio on trumpet.

Democratic Senators Harry Reid and Mo Cowan have joined Republicans John McCain and Representative Peter King to call for the pardon of former heavyweight boxing champ Jack Johnson. He was the first black fighter to win that title, in 1908. Another win in 1910 sparked race riots nationwide, and his relationships with white women only added to the controversy. He was convicted of taking women across state lines for "immoral purpose." Audie Cornish has more.

Sen. John McCain on Wednesday outlined his foreign policy goals in a speech in Los Angeles. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee called for the United States to work more collegially with allies and to live up to its duties as a world leader. He also raised questions about Bush policies — while remaining firmly in support of the Iraq war.

Harden contacted John Hao after learning he was a Philadelphia 76ers fan. Hao was paralyzed in a February shooting at Michigan State University that left three people dead and five injured.

Private eye John Shaft was a new kind of figure in film: unapologetically Black with swagger. He clapped back at white cops, he busted mobsters, and helped create the entire genre of Blaxploitation.

Lt. Dillon Rinaldo had remained hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center since the fire, but his condition worsened.

This week the Justice Department encouraged people sent to prison under tough old drug laws to apply for clemency. The Senate Judiciary Committee also advanced a bill that advocates call the biggest sentencing reform in decades. Justice correspondent Carrie Johnson speaks with NPR's Rachel Martin.