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Irish Author Roddy Doyle.

Irish author Roddy Doyle, winner of the 1993 Booker Prize for his novel "Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha" (Viking). Doyle taught school in Dublin for fourteen years; during that time he wrote and self-published his first novel, "The Commitments" about a band of musicians who bring soul music to Dublin. (It was made into a popular film here). Doyle's other novels include "The Snapper" (soon to be a film) and "The Van", all fictions which take place in a rough and tumble neighborhood of Dublin, and whose slang-filled dialogue has been hailed for its authenticity.

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Other segments from the episode on December 8, 1993

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, December 8, 1993: Interview with Roddy Doyle; Interview with Avram Goldstein; Review of Sebastien Japrisot's novel "A Very Long Engagement."
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15:58

Pharmacologist Dr. Avram Goldstein Discusses Addiction.

Pharmacologist Dr. Avram Goldstein. He set up some of the first methadone clinics to treat heroin addiction in California, and has a new book "Addiction: From Biology to Drug Policy" (Freeman). Goldstein argues that addictions are diseases, and must be considered a public health problem. A study released last month may back him up: 500,000 American deaths a year are attributed to cigarette, alcohol and drug use.

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Dublin Author Roddy Doyle

Doyle's first book, "The Commitments," was published in 1987 and made into the hit movie of the same name, about a working-class Dublin band with soul. His inspiration for the book were the students he teaches in a north Dublin school. Doyle has continued writing about Barrytown, a mythic suburb of Dublin, and about the Rabbitte family, which has appeared in several of his novels.

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