Terry Gross

Writer Hettie Jones. Her new memoir, "How I became Hettie Jones" (published by E.P. Dutton) is an account of living at the center of New York bohemianism during the 50's and 60's. It's also the story of Jones' interracial marriage to black poet LeRoi Jones. LeRoi Jones later became involved in the black militant movement, and changed his name to Amiri Baraka. The two divorced.

Poet Mark Halliday reads two new poems.

Journalist Daniel Akst. His new book is "Wonder Boy Barry Minkow: The Kid Who Swindled Wall Street." While a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and later the Wall Street Journal, AKST showed Minkow in his true light...not a clean-cut teenage success story...but rather the mastermind of a multi-million dollar fraud operation. (published by Scribner & Sons.)

Author Ron Chernow (CHUR-now). His new book is, "The House of Morgan: an American Banking Dynasty and The Rise of Modern Finance." Chernow examines one of the financing world's once most powerful institutions: the J.P. Morgan financing empire. And he traces the history of modern finance from the genteel, clubby world of banking to Wall Street of the 1980's when ruthlessness, and machismo became the rule.

Film maker John McNaughton, director of the controversial movie, "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer." The film is loosely based on real-life murderer Henry Lee Lucas. McNaughton shot the film in 1986, but it's only now gaining wide release. The delay is in large part do to the fact that the Motion Picture Association insisted on giving the film a "X" rating, a rating that stemmed less from the graphic violence that the absolute unrepentant nature of the killer. Despite that, the film's already made many critic's ten best lists.

Batman creator Bob Kane. In his new autobiography, "Batman & Me," Kane tells how he came up with the idea for the caped crusader, and what influence he had on the T-V series and last year's movie. Kane drew Batman from its inception in 1939 to the late 60s.

Poet Mark Halliday joins us again to read a poem.

Novelist Tim O'Brien. He was writing about Vietnam long before it became fashionable to do so. His Vietnam memoir, "If I die in a Combat Zone," was published in 1973. O'Brien's 1979 novel "Going After Cacciato" was praised for its depiction of the Vietnam War. It also was the surprise winner of the 1979 National Book Awards -- beating out books by John Irving and John Cheever.

Sportswriters Alexander Wolff and Armen Keteyian. The pair have covered college basketball for years, and now they've collaborated on a new expose of college recruiting practices. It's called "Raw Recruits." (Pocket Books). Terry also talks with David Berst, the head of enforcement for the NCAA.

Author and Journalist T.J. English. His new book is "The Westies: Inside the Hell's Kitchen Irish Mob." From the 1960's to the 1980's the mob led by James Coonan terrorized Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. Testimony from a former hitman of the gang, Mickey Featherstone, eventually broke up the gang. English's book has been called, "a grotesque chronicle" of the gang and "reminiscent of Poe and Dostoyevsky in subject and character," by New York Newsday. English's book is published by Putnam.