Terry Gross

With nearly 40 films to his credit, including Days of Heaven, American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman, The Cotton Club, and Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Richard Gere knows an iconic character when he sees one.

In his latest film, The Hoax, Gere plays a scam artist who lands a seven-figure book deal with a major publisher. It's based on the true story of Clifford Irving, who claimed to be an authorized biographer of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.

In a single monologue, the protagonist of Mohsin Hamid's sophomore novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, tells his life story to an American stranger over dinner in a Pakistani cafe. Hamid's first novel, Moth Smoke, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

New cancer-fighting techniques, including drugs designed to target cancer cells, mean thousands of patients are surviving cancer. Researcher and author David G. Nathan explains The Cancer Treatment Revolution.