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The Best Books of 1997.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan on the year's best books (that she's read): "Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier; "Matters of Chance" by Jeannette Haien; the reprint "Independent People" by Haldor Laxness; the short stories "Publish and Perish" by James Hynes, "Lives of the Monster Dogs" by Kirsten Bakis; for non-fiction: "Big Trouble" by J. Anthony Lukas; "Halfway Heaven" by Melanie Thernstrom; "The Gay Metropolis" by Charles Kaiser; volume 2 of "W.B. Yeats" a biography by R.F. Foster; "The End of the Novel of Love" by Vivian Gornick; "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer; "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" by John Dominique Bauby; "Miriam's Kitchen" by Elizabeth Ehrlich; Also: for murder/detective: "Deception on His Mind" by Elizabeth George; "Small Vices" by Robert B. Parker; "Even the Wicked" by Lawrence Block; and "The Club Dumas" by Spanish writer Arturo Perez-Reverte.

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Other segments from the episode on December 30, 1997

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, December 30, 1997: Interview with Nancy Sinatra; Interview with Charles Granata; Commentary on Frank Sinatra; Commentary on the best books of 1997.
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20:39

Tribute to Frank Sinatra: Nancy Sinatra Discusses Her Father.

Part Two of our series on Frank Sinatra: Nancy Sinatra, Sinatra's daughter. She recorded a few hits of her own including "These Boots are Made for Walking," and "Something Stupid," the duet she recorded with her father. Nancy Sinatra wrote a book about her father, "Frank Sinatra: An American Legend." (REBROADCAST from 12/12/95)

Interview
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10:30

Tribute to Frank Sinatra: "Sinatra Has a Cold."

Writer Gay Talese reads from "Sinatra Has a Cold" an article he first published in Esquire Magazine in 1966. The reading aired on public radio's This American Life last February. Talese's books include, "Unto The Sons," the story of the immigrant experience in America, and also the chronicle of Talese's own Italian ancestors coming to this country. Also the best-sellers "The Kingdom and the Power," "Honor Thy Father," and "Thy Neighbor's Wife."

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