Books & Literature

Teacher Jessica Siegel and reporter Samuel Freedman. Freedman wrote an account of a year in Siegel's classroom.

Art critic and philosopher Arthur Danto. His latest collection of essays is called "Encounters and Reflections." It's published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Native American activist Mary Crow Dog (Mary Brave Bird). Her memoir's called "Lakota Woman."

Michael Herr. He wrote what's considered the definitive Vietnam book, "Dispatches." His new book is a novel based on the life of Walter Winchell.

Book critic John Leonard reviews Barbara Ehrenreich's new collection of essays, "The Worst Years of Our Life."

Journalist James Adams. He's the Defense Correspondent and Associate Editor of The Sunday Times of London. His new book on the arms race is "Engines of War: Merchants of Death and the New Arms Race."

Poet and teacher Frank Bidart. His new collection of poems is "In the Western Night, Collected Poems 1965-90." It's published by Farrar Straus & Giroux.

Book critic John Leonard reviews the new novel "Markers" by Sidney Zion. Zion wrote a puffball biography of Roy Cohn a couple of years ago, Leonard says this novel, about the New York underworld, also draws from Cohn's life. It's published by Donald I. Fine.

Writer Scott Spencer. He wrote "Endless Love," which was a critical and commercial success. His new novel is "Secret Anniversaries."

Writer Judith Miller. She's deputy media editor of The New York Times and author of the new book, "One, by One, by One: Facing the Holocaust." Miller visited six countries (including the U.S.) to examine how the Holocaust is remembered. (published by Simon & Schuster)

Writer Hanif Kureishi (kah-REE-she). He wrote the screenplays for the critically-acclaimed movies "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid," and "My Beautiful Launderette." Now he's just published his first novel, called "The Buddha of Suburbia." It's published by Viking.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Our Grandmother's Drum," by Mark Hudson. Hudson draws the novel from his experiences living with a small tribe in Gambia.

Novelist Sue Miller. She wrote the best-seller, "The Good Mother," which was made into a movie starring Diane Keaton. She has a new novel, called "Family Pictures." It's about a family coping with an autistic child. (It's published by Harper and Row).

Author Hubert Selby, Junior. His first novel, "Last Exit to Brooklyn," was published in 1957. It's just been made into a movie, and Selby was an advisor and plays a small part in the film, which opened this week. Selby teaches at the University of Southern California, and is working on a new novel.

Poet Mark Halliday reads two of his poems.

Writer John Banville. His new novel is called "The Book of Evidence." (published by Scribners). It's a story of crime and guilt. Banville is literary editor of the Irish Times.

Journalist and network news correspondent Charles Glass. His new book is "Tribes With Flags: A Dangerous Passage Through the Chaos of the Middle East." (The Atlantic Monthly Press). Glass was kidnapped and held hostage by pro-Iranian terrorists in 1987. He escaped from his captors 62 days later.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Absence," a new novel by Austrian writer Peter Handke.

Biographer Deirdre Bair. Her latest book is a biography of French writer, intellectual and feminist Simone De Beauvoir. Bair has also written a biography of Samuel Beckett.

Israeli journalist Ehud Ya'ari (A-hood yah-HAR-ee). He's the co-author of "Intifada: The Palestinian Uprising-Israel's Third Front." The book chronicles the events leading up to the Palestinian uprising, and it examines how the Israeli government misread, and misreported, the events surrounding the Intifada. Ehud Ya'ari covers Middle East affairs for Israeli television.