Books & Literature

Playwright Lanford Wilson. Wilson won the Pulitzer Prize for his play, "Talley's Folly." His new play is "Redwood Curtain," the story of a Amerasian girl in the Pacific Northwest, looking for her father, a Vietnam Vet.

Former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne. She’s written a new memoir of her years in Chicago politics, called My Chicago. It’s published by W.W. Norton).

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Overworked American," Harvard economics professor Juliet Schor's examination of why we all work more than we did a few decades ago. (It's published by Basic Books).

Writer David Wise. He's written extensively on intelligence and espionage. His new book is "Molehunt: The Secret Search for Traitors that Shattered the CIA," (published by Random House) about the CIA's search for Soviet spies within in their own ranks.

James Adams, the Washington bureau chief for the Sunday Times of London. His new book, "Bull's Eye," is the story of Gerald Bull, the man who invented the huge canon called the Supergun, his dealings with Iraq, and his assassination. (It's published by Times Books). Adams is a longtime expert on the international trade.

British actor Michael York. Over the years he's starred in such films as "Romeo & Juliet," "Cabaret," "Logan's Run," and "The Three Musketeers." He's written his autobiography, "Accidentally on Purpose." (published by Simon & Schuster).

Social Worker Sattareh Farman-Farmaian (sa-TAH-ray FAR-mahn far-m'YAN). She's the daughter of an Iranian prince of a fallen dynasty. She spent her childhood in a harem in Persia in the 20s and 30s. She's 70 years old and has spent a life time challenging Iran's conventions. She became the first Persian to study at the University of Southern California where she earned an advanced degree in social work. Returning to Iran she founded the Tehran School of Social Work.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Outerbridge Reach," by Robert Stone.

Journalist Douglas Frantz of The Los Angeles Times. He has reported extensively on the BCCI scandal and has co-written a book about it, "A Full Service Bank: How BCCI Stole Billions Around the World." (published by Pocket Books, co-written with James Ring Adams).

First-time novelist Cristina Garcia. Her book, "Dreaming in Cuban," as about three generations of women who are each haunted by a different dream of Cuba. A New York Times review says the book, "announces the debut of a writer, blessed with a poet's ear for language, a historian's fascination with the past and a musician's intuitive understanding of the ebb and flow of emotion." (published by Knopf).

Writer Teresa Carpenter. Carpenter's new book, "Mob Girl," is the true life story of Arlyne (pronounced "Arlene") Weiss, who worked her way the ranks of the New York mafia, and then began a second career as a government informant. Carpenter won a Pulitzer Prize for her article on the murder of Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten. That article was the basis for the movie "Star 80."

Dame Edna Everage. Dame Edna describes herself as a housewife, megastar, investigative journalist, chanteuse, swami and polymath. She's become a media star in England and Australia, and has just written her memoir, called "My Gorgeous Life: The Life, The Loves, The Legend" (published by Simon and Schuster). Dame Edna, in case you didn't know, is a fictitious creation, the alter-ego of Australian comic Barry Humphries.

Writer, reporter, and animal rights advocate Roger Caras. Caras has written more than 50 books on pets and wildlife. His latest is called "A Dog Is Listening: The Way Some of Our Closest Friends View Us." Caras recently left his longtime position as a corespondent with ABC news in order to become president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Author Robert Stone. Stone's been widely hailed as a brilliant writer. his first novel, "A Hall of Mirrors," won a William Faulkner Award. He earned a PEN/Faulkner Award for "A Flag For Sunrise," and the national Book Award for "Dog Soldiers." His new novel, "Outerbridge Reach," is the story of one man's search for himself during a solo sailing voyage. (It's published by Ticknor and Fields). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Author Allen Kurzweil. Kurzweil's new book, "A Case of Curiosities," is a comic novel about the life of a 18th Century watchmaker living in France in the days before the Revolution. (It's published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Mystery writer Sara Paretsky. Paretsky's just written the seventh in her series of mysteries starring tough-nails female private eye V.I. Warshawski. (Published by Delacorte Press). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews a new guide to cheating, titled "Cheating 101: The Benefits and Fundamentals of Earning the Easy 'A'."

Author Robert Olen Butler. Butler's first novel, "The Alleys of Eden," has been called one of the finest books ever written about Americans in Vietnam. Butler has a new collection of stories, called "A Good Scent From A Strange Mountain." (It's published by Henry Holt). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Author Norma Field. Field teaches Japanese literature at the University Chicago and was born to a Japanese mother and an American father. Her new book, "In the Realm Of A Dying Emperor," tells the true stories of three Japanese who went against the ultra-conformist Japanese society, and the condemnation they suffered. (It's published by Pantheon). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Journalist Nan Robertson. Robertson spent more than three decades at the New York Times. Her new book, "The Girls In the Balcony," is a look back at the sexual inequality that for many years was part of working life at the Times, and throughout journalism in general. (It's published by Random House). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)