National Story Project

In October 1999, Paul Auster and the hosts of National Public Radio's Weekend All Things Considered programme asked listeners to send in true stories, to be read on-air as part of the National Story Project. The response was overwhelming : Auster received more than 4,000 submissions. Everyone, it seemed, had a story to tell. True Tales of American Life gathers 180 of these personal accounts in a single extraordinary volume.