Author Salman Rushdie's Gradual Return to Normal Life

Writer SALMAN RUSHDIE. Two years ago he was nearly killed at a festival about keeping writers safe from harm. He had just come on stage, when an assailant ran onto the stage, came at him with a knife and kept stabbing Rushdie, for 27 seconds. There was so much damage and blood loss, it’s remarkable he survived. RUSHDIE’S attacker is a muslim extremist, who wasn’t even born when the fatwa, a religious ruling, calling for Rushdie's death was issued by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini. SALMAN RUSHDIE’s new memoir is called Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.

Salman Rushdie has written the new novel "The Ground Beneath Her Feet." (Holt) It is his sixth novel but the first to be set largely in the United States. His previous novel "Satanic Versus" offended many in Iran which resulted in the government calling for his death. Rushdie lived in hiding for years. The Iranian government has since rescinded its "fatwah."

Controversial author Salman Rushdie. Terry last talked to him in late 1990 about his life. For over three years, Rushdie's been in hiding, a result of the reaction to his novel "The Satanic Verses." That novel offended many Muslims and led to the Ayatollah Khomeini putting a one-million-dollar death sentence on Rushdie's head. Just lately, he's begun to travel and make public appearances, even though he's still a target for assassination. Rushdie called us from his hiding place somewhere in Great Britain.