A Confection Meant to Snare You--And One That's Worth The Calories.

Historian and author Hillel Schwartz. His latest book is "Century's End: A Cultural History of the Fin-de-Siècle From the 990's through the 1990's." (Published by Doubleday.) According to Schwartz, certain events happening now, as we approach the year 2000, are part of a pattern that repeats itself at the end of each century. Schwartz's earlier book about dieting, "Never Satisfied: A Cultural History of Diets, Fantasies, and Fat," has just come out in paperback. (Published by Anchor Books, Doubleday.)

World music commentator Milo Miles gives an overview of the Japanese pop scene, focusing on Ryuichi Sakamoto (ree-OO-chee sa-kuh-MO-to), who starred with David Bowie in the film, "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," and composed the soundtrack. Milo says Sakamoto manages to combine many musical styles into a harmonious whole.

We debrief our rock historian Ed Ward about the music he heard during recent trips to Europe. He sat in on a recording session with an underground East Berlin band which is now making its first album, and he also brought back some Polish punk and dance music from Belgium.