Books & Literature

Book critic John Leonard review Taylor Branch's new book about the Civil Rights era. Branch argues that the early 60s, until now identified as the Kennedy era, ought to be identified with Martin Luther King Jr.

The fiction writer sought adventure, so he followed the Equator around the world. His new book describes the different cultures, colonial vestiges, and natural phenomena of his various stops -- many of which the locals described as the "middle of nowhere."

The author came from a political family, which he says didn't groom him for life as a writer. Nonetheless, Vidal has continued to stay engaged in politics through his series of historical novels and a new essay collection, called At Home. He tells Fresh Air host Terry Gross about some of his early work, and how television helped bolster his celebrity.

Book critic John Leonard reviews the new book by Milorad Pavic, a novel in dictionary form about an ancient tribe thought by some to be the lost Tribe of Israel. The book has an inventive structure, and comments on organized religion, history, and the current state of Yugoslavia.

Ron Haver spent several years searching for the missing half-hour from "A Star is Born," starring Judy Garland and James Mason. He found most of the lost footage and has written a book recounting his search for the lost scenes, the restoration, and the making of the 1954 motion picture classic. Haver is director of the film deaprtment at the Los Angeles County Museum.

John Cheever's son Benjamin collected the author's letters in a new book. He joins Fresh Air to talk about John Cheever's sexuality, relationship with their family, and the impact of his death.

New Yorker art writer Calvin Tompkins looks at the state of the art world. He says there has been a rise in corporate-owned collections, which often exclude more provocative or sexually-themed works.

Lawrence Shainberg's new book links brain damage to the writer's imagination

Book critic John Leonard reviews writer Conor Cruise O'Brien new collection of essays, called Passion and Cunning. Leonard says he's disappointed with O'Brien's inconsistent and sometimes naive views on political upheaval around the world.

Researcher David Mech tracks and studies wolves. He was able to earn the trust of a pack in the Arctic, which granted Mech and his team unprecedented access to the animals. He witnessed the care of their pups and joined them on their hunt.

Arnold Rampersad's biography of the African American poet has been called "a literary event." Despite dedicating his writing to the black experience, Hughes grew up in a largely white community. His more radical work didn't find much of an audience, which led to him adopting a more social-realist style later in his career.

Author William Gibson is credited with creating the cyberpunk genre, which dispenses with nationalistic ideas of the future, and instead posits a world where multinational corporations rule and nation-states have eroded. His newest novel is called Mona Lisa Overdrive.

Wall Street Journal reporter Brooks Jackson details how election campaigns raise funds by finding ways to circumvent legal donation limits, and coordinating with special interests and political action committees. Corporations and other groups are exploiting these actions in an attempt to influence policy. Jackson's new book is called Honest Graft.

Book John Leonard reviews Eva Luna by Isabel Allende and Mascara by Ariel Dorfman. Leonard says that, in different ways, neither of them are fully satisfying.

Lawrence Joseph is lawyer and poet from Detroit whose parents are from Lebanon. Critic Stuart Klawans says Joseph's newest collection features brutal autobiography and fierce intelligence.

Book critic John Leonard reviews Alfred Kazin's new book, A Writer's America, which explores the country through the eyes of its great authors. Leonard's only complaint is that Kazin doesn't feature enough of his own distinct, literary voice.

Part I of the Fresh Air interview. The folk-rock singer and songwriter battled drug addiction and eventually served eleven months in jail. He's now clean, and has a new autobiography about his life. He tells Fresh Air host Terry Gross about what made his bands The Byrds and Croby, Stills & Nash unique.

Nelson grew up picking cotton, and got his start as a musician playing in local Texas bars. Before finding fame as a singer, he sold songs he wrote to other performers, which later became hits. Nelson has a new memoir, called Willie, and an album of standards titled What a Wonderful World.

Writer Noel Hynd looks at the history of baseball by profiling the New York Giants in his new book, The Giants of the Polo Grounds.

John Lennon's life and legacy are revisited in a new film and biography. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Albert Goldman's book The Lives of John Lennon is an inelegant hatchet job that portrays the musician in a harsh light; the film Imagine, on the other hand, is little more than treacly hagiography.