Terry Gross

Military historian Clay Blair. His new book is titled The Forgotten War: America In Korea. As a reporter in the Fifties, Blair was the Washington correspondent for Time and Life magazines. He later wrote for The Saturday Evening Post. For the last 23 years, Blair has been writing military histories. In The Forgotten War, he tells how warfare changed during the Korean War, and how this war, a war that the United States didn't win, affected our military strategy.

Mary Gordon. Her novels include The Company of Women and Final Payments, an acclaimed exploration of a Catholic upbringing. Her recent collection of short stories is titled Temporary Shelter.

Gary Giddins, jazz critic for The Village Voice and author of the books Celebrating Bird: the Triumph of Charlie Parker, and Rhythm-a-ning: Jazz Tradition and Innovation in the 80s. He is the founder of the American Jazz Orchestra, which performs important and neglected jazz works of the past.

Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest who for the past 20 years has been at the forefront of the peace movement. He has been arrested and spent time in prison many times for his acts of civil disobedience. Berrigan was one the Catonsville 9, who protested the Vietnam war in 1968 by destroying draft records, and a member of the Plowshares 8, who damaged nuclear warheads in 1980. He now works at an AIDS hospice in New York City. Daniel Berrigan recently completed his autobiography; it's titled To Dwell in Peace.

Jazz composer and conductor Bill Lee. He composed the scores for the films "She's Gotta Have It" and "School Daze," both written and directed by his son, Spike Lee. "School Daze," Spike Lee's most recent film, is loosely based on his experiences at Moorehead College in Atlanta, the same college Bill Lee and his father attended.

Jazz pianist Sumi Tonooka plays an excerpt from "Out From Silence," a work inspired by her mother's internment in a camp for Japanese-American during World War II. Tonooka is joined by Ronnie Seldin, playing the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese flute.

Cartoonist Charles Burns. His comics are grotesque stories of alienation. Burns' new book of cartoons is titled Hard-Boiled Defective Stories.

New York Times reporter Martin Tolchin. His new book, Buying Into America: How Foreign Money Is Changing the Face of Our Nation, documents the massive infusion of foreign capital in America, and analyzes its ramifications. Written with his wife, professor Susan Tolchin, the book highlights America's growing dependence on foreign investments.

Bernice Johnson Reagon, singer, cultural historian and director of Smithsonian's Program in Black American Culture. Reagon sings contralto with Sweet Honey in the Rock, one of the country's leading a cappella groups. She's been described as a "song shaper and song preserver." In her work with the Smithsonian, Reagon tries to maintain obscure and dying Baptist choral traditions.

Tony Huston, son of the late director John Huston. Tony Huston wrote the screenplay for the film "The Dead," based on the celebrated short story by James Joyce. "The Dead" was John Huston's last film.