Terry Gross

Author, jazz writer and musician, Stuart Nicholson. He is an expert on and biographer of late jazz great Ella Fitzgerald. Through interviews with those closest to her,. "Ella Fitzgerald: A Biography of the First Lady of Jazz" (1994, Charlse Scribner's Sons) shows the public and private side of the media-shy legend. In her career of over 60 years, she gained the admiration of her contemporaries in the business. At the age of 79 and after years of suffering from diabetes, Fitzgerald died Saturday (June 15) at her home in California.

Author Andrew Holleran. His latest novel, "The Beauty of Men" (William Morrow), is about a gay man in his late forties who is obsessed with the beauty of youth and his own mortality. At the same time, he harbors guilt for mourning the loss of his youth when so many around him are dying young. Holleran, whose real name is not known, has written two other novels under the pseudonym and is a frequent contributor to "Christopher Street" magazine.

Author and Jungian analyst, Christina Middlebrook. Her new book, "Seeing the Crab: A Memoir of Dying" (Basic Books) describes how she and her family came to terms with her breast cancer diagnosis. In 1991, Middlebrook had a mastectomy and doctors told her she had a fifty percent chance of living two years. Her book honestly details the physical and emotional rigors of cancer treatment, as well as the changes it has caused in relationships with her family and friends.

Auto mechanic Lucille Treganowan. Her book, "Lucille's Car Care," (Hyperion) is an easy-to-understand guide to auto maintenance and repair. She began as a bookkeeper in an auto repair shop in 1960 and became involved in every aspect of the business. Eventually, her strong communication skills and grasp of repair theory led to a partnership in the shop. By 1973, she had opened her own shop. Today, she is one of the foremost experts on auto repair and has her own cable show, "Lucille's Car Clinic." (Home and Garden Network) (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

Author Barbara Grizzuti Harrison. Her new book is "An Accidental Autobiography (Houghton Mifflin). In this unconventional memoir, Harrison arranges the chapters alphabetically because she says "the path of memory is circular and coherent." Harrison grew up in Brooklyn and was converted by her mother to Jehovah's Witness, a source of much pain and a major influence in her writing. Also a journalist, essayist and short story writer, she has traveled extensively in Libya, India, Guatamala and Italy. Harrison has seven other non-fiction books and one novel.

The singer and performer died over the weekend of heart failure. He was 64. Born Herbert B. Khaury, Tim began performing in the 1950s. He was best known for his performances on Laugh-In, especially his crooning of "Tip Toe Through the Tulips." In this interview from earlier this year, Tim performs some songs on his ukulele. (Rebroadcast)

Guitarist Carl Finch. His band, Brave Combo, just released "Girl" (Rounder) in conjunction with the legendary Tiny Tim. Brave Combo is a Texas world beat polka band and the members weren't sure what to expect when they began working on this project with the eccentric Tiny Tim eight years ago. The CD features many familiar tunes (including "Bye Bye Blackbird," "Hey Jude" and even "Stairway to Heaven") like they've never been performed before.

Singer and performer Tiny Tim. Born Herbert B. Khaury, Tim began performing in the 1950s. He is best known for his performances on Laugh-In, especially his croonings of "Tip Toe Through the Tulips." At 65, the long-haired, white-faced TIM is as passionate about old songs as ever... and as odd as ever.

Another segment from Ira Glass' new show, "This American Life": Chinese-American writer Sandra Tsing Loh with a story about her eccentric father who lives in LA. He was hitch-hiking one day and was picked up by actress Angelica Huston.

Host of Comedy Central's "Politically Incorrect," Bill Maher. The former stand-up comic's new book is "Does Anybody Have a Problem With That: Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits," (Villard) With panelists of diverse ideologies (Patty Hearst to Al Sharpton to G. Gordon Liddy...) and sometimes explosive conflicts, the show has been described as "the McLaughlin Group on acid." Beginning in January, "Politically Incorrect" will air right after Nightline on ABC.