Noah Adams

We used to call them piano hobbyists, and that is as good a description as any: devotees of music who know a little bit about a lot of things in the world of piano, who play a little or a lot and who spread enthusiasm about their chosen obsession. Noah Adams, a broadcast personality who has been a familiar and reassuring voice on National Public Radio for 22 years, is one of them--but more articulate than most.

After Noah Adams had worked for nearly two decades as co-host of "All Things Considered," it took two men and plane to carry him away from National Public Radio. Yet the flight lasted only 12 seconds. Adams is leaving for a year to write a book about the Wright brothers, to be published in time for the 100th anniversary of their short but groundbreaking flight on Dec. 17, 1903.

After Noah Adams had worked for nearly two decades as co-host of "All Things Considered," it took two men and plane to carry him away from National Public Radio. Yet the flight lasted only 12 seconds. Adams is leaving for a year to write a book about the Wright brothers, to be published in time for the 100th anniversary of their short but groundbreaking flight on Dec. 17, 1903.

The mere word "Appalachia" summons up a multitude of associations and images: coal miners, hillbillies and bluegrass music; the ballet by Aaron Copland and Agnes de Mille; the fiction of Bobbie Ann Mason, Chris Offutt, Denise Giardina, John Ehle and Charles Frazier; misty mountains, deep forests and rushing streams; Daniel Boone crossing the Cumberland Gap.

Noah Adams is expected to recover from laryngitis in time to be host of today's premiere of the weekly radio show "Good Evening," the replacement for Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion."

SAINT CROIX NOTES: River Mornings, Radio Nights by Noah Adams (Norton: $18.95; 218 pp.) . Noah Adams, host of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," is an anchor in the best sense of the word: a quiet, gentle, folksy voice that, like the chain securing a ship to the stable ocean floor in a rough sea, gives us something to hold onto while listening to stormy stories of political violence and upheaval.

Political correspondent Linda Wertheimer, a familiar voice to National Public Radio listeners, will become a host of NPR's "All Things Considered" program starting Monday. She'll be part of a rotating roster with Robert Siegel and Noah Adams that will allow each of the hosts time away from the microphone to pursue signature pieces and in-depth stories. Wertheimer has been covering politics for NPR since 19771.

Award-winning journalist Noah Adams--the former host of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," who left the network last year to start a new variety radio program--will return as host of NPR's afternoon daily newscast this February. "I've missed journalism and especially the relationship that ("All Things Considered") has with its listeners," said Adams, who previously hosted the program for 10 years. "This is my radio home and I'm happy they've welcomed me back."

We used to call them piano hobbyists, and that is as good a description as any: devotees of music who know a little bit about a lot of things in the world of piano, who play a little or a lot and who spread enthusiasm about their chosen obsession. Noah Adams, a broadcast personality who has been a familiar and reassuring voice on National Public Radio for 22 years, is one of them--but more articulate than most.

As the genial host of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," Noah Adams must have more friends than he can imagine. But he's making a lot of new ones as a result of his new book, "Piano Lessons: Music, Love & True Adventures." "It's amazing what's happening," Adams said recently from his home in a Washington, D.C., suburb. "People come up to me after I talk [on the book tour] and tell me a story. "Each encounter takes about seven or eight minutes.

NOAH ADAMS ON "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED" by Noah Adams (Norton: $22.95; 332 pp.) Radio requires a different pace, and a different kind of concentration, than do more overwhelming media like film and television. The listener has to pay attention to what he or she hears, and block out the rest; has to fill in the images that correspond to what is being said.

Political correspondent Linda Wertheimer, a familiar voice to National Public Radio listeners, will become a host of NPR's "All Things Considered" program starting Monday. She'll be part of a rotating roster with Robert Siegel and Noah Adams that will allow each of the hosts time away from the microphone to pursue signature pieces and in-depth stories. Wertheimer has been covering politics for NPR since 19771.

Award-winning journalist Noah Adams--the former host of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," who left the network last year to start a new variety radio program--will return as host of NPR's afternoon daily newscast this February. "I've missed journalism and especially the relationship that ("All Things Considered") has with its listeners," said Adams, who previously hosted the program for 10 years. "This is my radio home and I'm happy they've welcomed me back."

Noah Adams is expected to recover from laryngitis in time to be host of today's premiere of the weekly radio show "Good Evening," the replacement for Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion."