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Exploring the Life of a "Major Minor Writer"

Biographer Deirdre Bair has written acclaimed biographies of Samuel Beckett and Simone de Beauvoir. Her newest subject is writer and diarist Anais Nin. A reviewer in the Kirkus Reviews writes, "Bair's Nin emerges as the complex woman she was, a woman who inspired both wrath and passion in those whose paths crossed hers. It's called Anais Nin: A Biography.

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Other segments from the episode on March 13, 1995

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, March 13, 1995: Interview with Alvin Toffler and Heidi Toffler; Interview with Deirdre Bair; Commentary on children and reading.
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21:50

Forecasting a "New Civilization"

Scholars, social critics, and futurists Alvin and Heidi Toffler, authors of Future Shock (1970). They've gotten a lot of publicity lately because of their association with Newt Gingrich. Gingrich sought them out 20 years ago because he was fascinated by their ideas about the "intersection of history and the future." He suggested that every member of Congress read the Toffler's newest, called Creating a New Civilization: The Politics of the Third Wave.

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44:24

Biographer Deirdre Bair

Her new book is Jung: A Biography. Bair chronicles the life and work of the influential Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung. Bair won the National Book Award for her biography of Samuel Beckett, and she's also written books about the lives of Anais Nin and Simone de Beauvoir.

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46:53

Bair On de Beauvoir.

Deirdre Bair is known for her biography of playwright Samuel Beckett, "Samuel Beckett: A Biography." She is now the "designated" (not "official") biographer for French feminist and writer Simone de Beauvoir. She recently interviewed de Beauvoir for the first time in Paris, and joins the show to discuss their conversation.

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