Books & Literature

Kenneth Jackson and Camilo Jose Vergara are the authors of Silent Cities, about the evolution of cemeteries in the United States. They say these sites reflect American attitudes toward class, race, and public space.

Book critic John Leonard reviews the African American writer's new novel, set against the events surrounding the 1985 burning of the MOVE house in West Philadelphia by the Philadelphia police.

Food writer Harold McGee investigates the science of everyday cooking -- things like whether blowing on soup really cools it, or why hot water turns into ice cubes quicker than cold water. His new book is called The Curious Cook.

Writer Wendy Smith is author of Real Life Drama, about the Group Theater, which was founded in the early thirties to bring social realism to the Broadway stage. The ensemble of actors and directors stayed together for ten years and had a lasting effect on American theater.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Angkor, the Hidden Glories," a new book about the ancient Cambodian city of Angkor Wat. The photos are by Michael Freeman; the writing is by Roger Warner.

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews poet Robert Bly's new book Iron John, which explores what he sees as a crisis of masculinity affecting men today. She says it's a fascinating but far from perfect counterpoint to feminist writings of the 1970s and '80s.

John Leonard reviews Salman Rushdie's new book, Haroun. It's an adventure-filled children's book, one Leonard wouldn't have expected Rushdie to write in exile.

Barkalow was among the first women to enter the military academy at West Point. Her new memoir, "In the Men's House," chronicles her rise from cadet to commander. She currently works in the Pentagon as a special assistant to the Army Chief of Staff.

Rock historian Ed Ward hares his opinions on some of the current crop of rock biographies and industry profiles, including Charles Shar Murray's look at Jimmy Hendrix's place in American culture, "Crosstown Traffic," which he says is brilliant.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg reviews "Cultural Misunderstandings: The French-American Experience" by Raymonde Carroll. It's a look at the different ways different cultures behave and think.

White's books include an autobiographical novel called, "A Boy's Own Story," and the nonfiction work, "States of Desire: Travels in Gay America." White was recently diagnosed with AIDS, and is working on a biography of Jean Genet.

The African American novelist's books include Appalachee Red, which won the James Baldwin Prize for Fiction, Rosiebelle Lee Wildcat Tennessee, and Baby Sweets. He's just published a memoir, The Last Radio Baby, about growing up the fourth of ten childen in a sharecropper family in rural Georgia.

Welch is a Native American writer whose written a number of books about Indian life. His books include, "Fools Crow," "The Death of Jim Loney," "Winter in the Blood." His latest is, "The Indian Lawyer" about a Blackfeet Indian who rises to power in the White man's world who gets caught up in a blackmail scheme.

Callen's new book profiles the longest surviving people with the virus, including himself; he was diagnosed in 1982. Also an AIDS activist, he co-founded the People With AIDS Coalition and the Community Research Initiative.

Wyman is the quiet, low-profile member of the band who avoided drugs. Using his diaries for reference, he wrote a book about his time in the band through the 1960s, called Stone Alone.

Cunningham's new novel, A Home at the End of the World, is about the friendship and sexual relationships between two men and woman. It was inspired in large part by Cunningham's own ambiguous sexuality, as well as living through the AIDS crisis.

Literary critic Denis Donogue was a Catholic who grew up in a community suspicious of Protestants. His memoir about his life in Northern Ireland, and his father's career in the constabulary, is called "Warrenpoint."

Critic Maureen Corrigan is a staunch Dick Francis fan, despite his problematic takes on race and gender. Though his horse racing-themed novels are formulaic, Francis can still weave a suspenseful story. Corrigan reviews his 29th novel, Longshot.

Book critic John Leonard reviews Ken Kesey's account of traveling the country in his bus Further during the 1960s. Leonard says it details Kesey and the Pranksters' many trips, but fails to explain their countercultural worldview.

When writer Natalie Kusz was six years old, her family moved from Los Angeles to the Alaskan wilderness. That first winter, a neighbor's sled dog attacked Kusz, and tore off part of her face. Kusz's memoir details that event and its effect on the family.