Books & Literature

Novelist David Leavitt discusses his new book "While England Sleeps." Themes are the betrayals, loyalties, and dilemmas of gay men in the 1930s.

Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee discusses her memoir.

Slovak novelist Martin Simecka discusses life after the split of Czechoslovakia. His latest novel to be published in the U. S. is "Year of the Frog." Prior to the fall of Communism, Simecka and his father were dissidents.

Star Trek star William Shatner joins the show to discuss his book "Star Trek Memories."

British Beer maven Michael Jackson(not THAT Michael Jackson). As a leading expert on beer, he's traveled the planet and northern California to sample and rate the wide range of beer-brewing. Jackson is also a historian of the drink, offering perspectives on the popularity of local microbreweries and the appeal of home-brewing. His books include "Pocket Guide to Beer -The Connoisseur's companion to over 1000 Beers of the World-" (Simon & Schuster) and "Michael Jackson's Beer Companion"

British Beer maven Michael Jackson(not THAT Michael Jackson). As a leading expert on beer, he's traveled the planet and northern California to sample and rate the wide range of beer-brewing. Jackson is also a historian of the drink, offering perspectives on the popularity of local microbreweries and the appeal of home-brewing. His books include "Pocket Guide to Beer -The Connoisseur's companion to over 1000 Beers of the World-" (Simon & Schuster) and "Michael Jackson's Beer Companion" (Running Press).

Morning Edition host Bob Edwards. He's written a new book about his weekly conversations with the former sportscaster Red Barber. Edwards talked with Barber each Friday for 12 years. Barber died a year ago. Terry talks with Edwards about Red Barber and Morning Edition. Edwards' book is "Fridays with Red: A Radio Friendship" (Simon & Schuster). (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF)

Morning Edition host Bob Edwards. He's written a new book about his weekly conversations with the former sportscaster Red Barber. Edwards talked with Barber each Friday for 12 years. Barber died a year ago. Terry talks with Edwards about Red Barber and Morning Edition. Edwards' book is "Fridays with Red: A Radio Friendship" (Simon & Schuster).

Writer Howard Rheingold. In his newest book, "The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier" (Addison- Wesley) he argues that although computer mediated communication has made it possible for people to have access to almost anything, it is dangerous as well. Rheingold says individuals must keep using the internet as a way to express their views or they will loose the ability to do so, as the government and large corporations become more aware of the technology's capabilities.

Maureen Corrigan reviews "Witness Against the Beast" by the late British writer E.P. Thompson.

Middle East expert and British hostage in Beirut, Terry Waite. While in Lebanon in 1987, as an Anglican Church envoy to negotiate the release of hostages there, Waite himself was captured. He was held for 1,763 days (nearly five years); four years of that time was spent in solitary confinement. He had made numerous trips to the Middle East to negotiate hostage releases in Tehran and Beirut, and was no stranger to the danger of factional conflicts: in 1969 Waite and his wife narrowly escaped the Idi Amin coup in Uganda.

Bill Littlefield. He's a writer and regular sports commentator on NPR's "Morning Edition." Littlefield has a new book about baseball, "Baseball Days: From the Sandlots to the Show" (Bulfinch Press). Littlefield has been in love with the game since he was a kid, "Baseball Days" is a sentimental look at America's favorite past-time.

Critic John Leonard reviews Gabriel Garcia Marquez's collection of short stories "Strange Pilgrims."

Writer Dagobero Gilb. His new book of short stories, "Magic of Blood" (University of New Mexico Press), offers fiction from the Chicano and Anglo working-class worlds of America's southwest. GILB's prosaic realism has been called by one critic, "the most lethal kind of fiction a Chicano can write".

Poet James Merrill. The son of the founder of the Merrill Lynch brokerage house, Merrill took to Europe at age 24, a newly published poet "meaning to stay as long as possible". That was in 1950. His new memoir "A Different Person" (Knopf) details his two and a half years there, and features encounters with psychoanalysts, new and old lovers, and Alice Toklas. Merrill is the author of eleven books of poems, the winner of two National Book Awards, the Bolligen Prize for Poetry, and the Pulitzer Prize.

Detective novelist James Crumley. It's been ten years since his last book. In Crumley's fourth novel, "The Mexican Tree Duck" (Mysterious Press), redneck detective C.W. Sughrue (pronounced Shoog-rue) returns. Crumley gets a lot of materials for his novels hanging out in bars in his hometown of Missoula, Montana. Crumley has written three other detective novels.

Defensive lineman for the Atlanta Falcons, Tim Green. Green's written a novel, "Ruffians" (Turner), about a football star who's NFL experience is dominated by money and steroids. During football season, Green writes a weekly column for the "Syracuse Herald-Journal". Off season, Green attends law school. His sports commentaries can be heard occasionally on NPR.

John Leonard reviews "New York Days" (Little, Brown, & Co.) by Willie Morris.

Writer Stephen Carter. He's a professor of constitutional law at Yale University and author of "Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby." Carter's newest book, "The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion" (Harper Collins), argues that although the majority of Americans are religious, our law, politics, media, and universities pressure believers to trivialize their faith and treat "God as a Hobby."

Novelist Mary Gordon. Her most recent book, "The Rest of Life" (Viking), is a compilation of three novellas. She explores the delicate love affairs that shape the lives of three women. Gordon's a feminist and a Catholic and often explores those themes in her writing. She has written four other novels as well as a collection of short stories. Gordon teaches at Barnard College.