History

The Soviet Union just withdrew from Czechoslovakia. We talk to two people about what affect this will have on the literary culture in that country. Czech writer Ivan Klima was one of Czechoslovakia's leading dissident writers, and was recently elected the president of the Czech chapter of PEN. Michael March organized an international book and writers' festival in Prague last month.

Williams' new book, "The Alchemy of Race and Rights," is her personal reflection on racism in American life and society.

Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch Ken Roth just spent nine days in Kuwait observing the trials of persons accused of being collaborators with the Iraqis.

For more than a decade, Sciolino has been reporting on the Middle East. She was one of the few American journalists who recognized the danger of Saddam Hussein before the invasion of Kuwait. She currently is a diplomatic correspondent covering U.S. foreign policy and national security issues for the New York Times. Her new book is "The Outlaw State: Saddam Hussein's Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis."

The travel writer has a new book called "Wall to Wall: From Beijing to Berlin by Rail." She took the trip five years ago as reforms were beginning to be implemented in the Soviet Union, and before the government crackdown in Tiananmen Square and the Eastern European revolutions. She's particularly interested in what it's like to travel abroad as a woman alone.

Soviet emigre David Gurevich is the author of "From Lenin to Lennon," a memoir about growing up in the 1960s. As a young person in Russia, he became an enthusiast of American pop culture.

Part two of the Frank Smyth interview. He is a freelance reporter who has worked for the Village Voice and CBS News. He and photographer Gad Gross were traveling with the Kurds in Iraq when they were pursued by Iraqi soldiers--Smyth was captured and Gross was killed.

Journalist Gerald Posner's new book, "Hitler's Children," examines the lives of the sons and daughters of leaders of the Third Reich. It includes the accounts from the children of Dr. Joesph Mengele, Rudolf Hess, and Karl Saur--whose son joins the interview.

Investigative journalist Bob Woodward. His new book, "The Commanders," examines the key defense figures of the Bush Administration, and their role in shaping policy during the Middle East crisis.

Samir al-Khalil is the pen name of Kanan Makiya. His book "Republic of Fear" became a best-seller during the Gulf War. Now he has a new book about how the regime of Saddam Hussain used public monuments as another tool to keep in power. The book's called "The Monument: Art, Vulgarity, and Responsibility in Iraq."

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Seizing the Enigma" by David Kahn. It's about the Enigma Project--the Allies' attempt to break Nazi codes during World War II. Corrigan says it's the only moment in history where scholars helped win the war.

Marin is writing a long essay on the moral basis for pacifism, nationalism, and war. His reflections were precipitated by the war in the Gulf.

Garbus recently defended Peter Matthiessen's controversial book, "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse," against two separate libel suits. Among many other projects, Garbus is currently helping to write a new constitution for Czechoslovakia.

Emerson has covered wars in Nigeria, Northern Ireland and Zimbabwe. She has a new book about the intifada in the Gaza strip, called Gaza.

Journalist Robin Wright of the L.A. Times talks with guest host Frank Browning about the reconstruction of post-Gulf War Iraq and autonomy for the Kurds. Wright has written several books about the Middle-East.

Mira is a third-generation Japanese-American who, in 1984, visited Japan for the first time. His own grandfather left that country at the turn of the century, and during World War II Mura's parents were interned in a relocation camp. He's written a memoir about his heritage, called "Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei."

Soviet editor Vitali Korotych of the Soviet Magazine "Ogonyuk," the first magazine that reflected the Soviet Union's new openness. Despite recent governmental reforms, it still has a contentious relationship with the State.

We examine how the Gulf War has changed the arms race with journalist James Adams. He's the Defense Correspondent and Associate Editor of The Sunday Times of London, and the author of "Engines of War: Merchants of Death and the New Arms Race."

Vietnamesse-American Pham Thanh and American filmmaker Elizabeth Farnsworth. As a child, Thanh was seriously injured when the Americans bombed his village. He eventually was brought to America and raised by foster parents. Farnsworth has made a documentary about Thanh's life, and the legacy of the Vietnam war on that country's children. It's called "Thanh's War," and it's being shown this week on PBS.

We speak with two reporters about the aftermath of the Gulf War: