A Poet "Falling Deeply Into America"

Critic and composer Gunther Schuller's new book, The Swing Era, examines the history of big band music. Though he is already a jazz enthusiast, Schuller says he researched his book as if he had no prior knowledge of the genre, hoping to craft a more comprehensive and objective account of that its development.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording of the Estonian composer's version of the Passion of St. John. He says that its simplicity reveals surprises, and that, even at 70 minutes, the piece never grows tiresome.

Peter Conrad studied in Englad on a Rhodes scholarship, but grew up in Tasmania -- an island once used as an Australian penal colony. His new memoir, about his return to his home country, is called Behind the Mountain.