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Michael Holroyd on Writing a Biography.

Biographer Michael Holroyd. His 1988 book "The Search for Love," on the early life of George Bernard Shaw, was called one of the "three great literary biographies of the century." Holroyd continues Shaw's biography in the second volume titled "The Pursuit of Power." In it, Holroyd writes about Shaw's hard-won battle for success in the London theatre. And he details Shaw's political battles for Fabian socialism and Irish Home Rule. Holroyd established his reputation as a biographer with a two volume book on the life of Lytton Strachey.

22:09
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Other segments from the episode on September 27, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, September 27, 1989: Interview with Michael Holroyd; Commentary on Stu Sutcliffe; Interview with Eugene Richards; Review of Raymond Chandler and Robert Parker's novel …
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11:20

Eugene Richards Captures Emergency Medicine on Film.

Photojournalist Eugene Richards. His new book, "The Knife & Gun Club: Scenes from an Emergency Room," has been called the "modern day version of Dante's 'Inferno.'" It chronicles the trauma center of the Denver General Hospital where Richards spent twelve to twenty hours a day photographing and talking to the staff.

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03:38

Robert Parker Succeeds in Completing Chandler's "Poodle Springs."

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Poodle Springs," the novel Raymond Chandler was working on at the time of his death. The story finds Chandler's famous detective Philip Marlowe married and living in Poodle Springs. Writer Robert Parker has just finished the novel that Chandler started 30 years ago.

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19:05

The Appeal of the Memoir.

Historian Jill Ker Conway. She's the author of the bestselling memoir, "The Road from Coorain," about growing up in the Australian outback. Conway also edited two volumes of women's memoirs "Written By Herself" (Volumes I and II) which were, in part, about the nature of autobiography written by women. Her new book is "When Memory Speaks: Reflections on Autobiography." (Knopf) Conway was the first female vice president of The University of Toronto, and from 1975 to 1985 was the president of Smith.

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22:07

Remembering lyricist Alan Bergman

Bergman died July 17 at the age of 99. For more than 60 years he collaborated on award-winning songs with his wife and co-writer Marilyn Bergman. The couple spoke with Terry Gross in 2007.

Interview

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50:27

What evolution reveals about eating, dieting and fat

DANIEL LIEBERMAN, author of the new book Fed Up: What Evolution Reveals about Food, Diet, Health and Eating Well. He’s a professor of biological Sciences at Harvard. And he's the founding chair of Harvard's Department of Human Evolutionary Biology. As part of his research, he tried a series of diets to see how his body reacted, including the Atkins diet and lesser known diets like the Blue Zone diet. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

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32:56

Remembering Irish singer–songwriter Glen Hansard

Best-known for his band The Frames and his part in the 2007 film Once, Hansard got his start as a street busker in Dublin. He died July 29 in a motorcycle crash. Originally broadcast in 2008.

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