Books & Literature

Book critic Maureen Corrigan pays tribute to the late American poet.

Lea Rabin, the widow of the slain Isreali Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. She's written a new memoir: "Rabin: Our Life, His Legacy," (G.P. Putnam). Rabin was assassinated in November 1995.

Writer Eric Lax. He's written a new biography "Bogart" about actor Humphrey Bogart. Lax has also written a biography of Woody Allen.

Poet and countercultural activist Allen Ginsberg. He died over the weekend from liver cancer, at the age of 70. We remember him with a 1994 interview; at the time a four-CD boxed set of Ginsberg's work was released, "Holy Soul Jelly Roll - Songs and Poems (1949-1993). (REBROADCAST from 11/8/94)

The novelist and screenwriter's is new book "The Dogs of Winter" is the story of a photographer who hopes to jumpstart his career by capturing pictures of surfers on California's most dangerous waters.

Tucker became a star at 13 years old with the chart-topping song "Delta Dawn." Since then she has had countless other hit songs, grammy nominations, and in 1991 was voted the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year. But her success has not been without it's low points, such as problems with drug and alcohol abuse and controversy over the "mature" lyrics she sang as a teenager.

Haywood has written a new memoir, "The Haygoods of Columbus" about his family, and growing up in Columbus, Ohio in the mid 60s and 70s. He lived adjacent to Mount Vernon Avenue, the center of Columbus' Black community. Haygood moved back to Columbus to write the book. Haygood has also written a biography of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and "Two on the River" a lyrical recollection of a two-thousand mile journey down the Mississippi.

The Head of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science, Michael Dertouzos. Fifteen years ago he predicted an "Information Marketplace" like that of the Internet. In his new book, he continues to look ahead to the future of the information age, and how it will affect our lives: "What Will be: How the New World Information Will Change Our Lives."

Maureen Corrigan reviews "Lives of the Monster Dogs" by Kristen Bakis, which features, among other things, genetically engineered canines.

In 1995, Divakaruni's short story collection "Arranged Marriage" garnered three awards. Her new novel, "The Mistress of Spices," tells the story of a woman whose knowledge of the healing power of spices takes her on a supernatural adventure. Divakaruni teaches creative writing at Foothill College in California and is president of MAITRI, a support hotline for South Asian women.

Ballard's novels often deal with the changes affected by modern science and technology. His novel "Crash" relates these changes to sexually-deviant behavior. The book has been made into a movie by filmmaker David Cronenberg and won an award at the 1996 Cannes Film Festiival. Ballard also wrote the books "Empire of the Sun" and "Concrete Island," among others.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Kiss," the new book by Kathryn Harrison. The controversial book tells the story of her incestuous relationship with her father when she was in her 20s.

Ballard's novel "Crash" is the basis for Cronenberg's new film of the same name. Ballard is also the author of "Empire of the Sun" (which was made into a film by Steven Spielberg), and "Concrete Island." He's written over 20 novels.

Screenwriter John Gregory Dunne. He and his wife, writer Joan Didion, have been working in film for 25 years. Their latest project was the screenplay for "Up Close and Personal" the movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford, based very losely on the Jessica Savitch story. In Dunne's new book "Monster: Living off the Big Screen" (Random House) he chronicles their eight year odyssey with the project.

Foreign editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, David Zucchino. In his new book "Myth of the Welfare Queen," he turns his attention to his own town, Philadelphia, where he follows the lives of two welfare mothers, Odessa Williams and Cheri Honkala. One reviewer writes, "David Zucchino has shattered unequivocally the stereotype of women receiving welfare."

Athlete and freelance journalist Anna Seaton Huntington. She won the women's pair rowing bronze medal in the 1992 Olympics and was a member of the 1995 women's team in the America's Cup competition. In her new book "Making Waves," she writes of her experience training for and competing in a traditionally male-dominated sport of sailing.

In her books and plays Bornstein, a transgender activist, argues the need for the acceptance of nontraditional gender roles, meaning those not defined as either male of female. In her book "Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us," she writes about her sex-change experience and her view of society's conceptions of gender. She has also written the novel (with co-author Caitlin Sullivan) "Nearly Roadkill."

Guest film critic John Anderson reviews "Love Jones."

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Arkansas," the new collection of three short stories by writer David Leavitt.

Levin is a teacher in the Music Department of Dartmouth College and a longtime follower of the music of the Celtic lands, the Balkans, South Siberia, and other cultures. His new book "The Hundred Thousand Fools of God: Musical Travels in Central Asia" traces how the music of a culture lives through and reflects the lives of its people. He looks at how the Russian conquest of Central Asia at the end of the 19th century affected the music of the area.