Marlin Fitzwater spent 17 years as a government employee before being appointed White House press secretary under Ronald Reagan. He also worked for George H. W. Bush.
A new novel three decades in the making features time travel, screwball hidden identity plots and lively background music. Reviewer Maureen Corrigan calls The Little Book by Selden Edwards an "an ideal late-summer reading getaway."
Documentarian Rory Kennedy, who's won acclaim and awards for her documentaries American Hollow and The Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, turns her lens on legendary White House correspondent Helen Thomas. David Bianculli has a review.
Record producer Jerry Wexler died on August 15. He was 91. Wexler created the careers of some of the greatest musicians of the time, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Led Zeppelin.
Theodore Solotaroff, founder of The New American Review, died Aug. 8 of complications from pneumonia. He was 79. An influential man in the publishing world, Solotaroff helped writers like Philip Roth achieve recognition.
Critic-at-large John Powers looks at the recent work of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin. His film Brand Upon the Brain! is now out on DVD, and his movie My Winnipeg is currently playing in theaters.
One of the worst fears of adolescents everywhere is throwing a party that no one attends. This actually happened to director Paul Weiland, who was left alone at his Bar Mitzvah because of the 1966 World Cup. Now, Weiland recreates his embarrassment for the amusement of others in his new movie, Sixty Six.
He's put out hit records for half a century, toured with the Beach Boys, even hosted his own TV show. So why is the latest album from the indefatigable country-pop singer called Meet Glen Campbell?
Russia and Georgia have signed a cease-fire, but the conflict continues. Journalist James Traub, author of The Freedom Agenda: Why America Must Spread Democracy (Just Not the Way George Bush Did), discusses the latest developments.
There are 100,000 private military contractors in Iraq. Mercenary John Geddes explains why he thinks this is a good thing. His new book Highway to Hell is an account of his experiences in Iraq as a soldier for hire.
Hostile womanizer, crack addict, New York Times journalist — David Carr has been all of those, sometimes simultaneously. For his memoir The Night of the Gun, Carr put on his investigative-reporter hat — to reconstruct his various sordid lives.
Comedian and actor Bernie Mac died on August 9 due to complications from pneumonia. Mac was one of the original Kings of Comedy, and he starred in his own sitcom. In tribute, Mac's friend and co-star Don Cheadle says, "He will be missed but heaven just got funnier."
Award-winning soul singer Isaac Hayes died August 10. Hayes' "Theme From Shaft" won both Academy and Grammy awards, and his album Hot Buttered Soul helped pave the way for disco.
Film critic David Edelstein reviews the new documentary American Teen. Directed by Nanette Burnstein, the film follows a group of seniors at a high school in Warsaw, Indiana.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind says that the war in Iraq was based not simply on blunders but on lies. His book, The Way of the World, accuses the Bush administration of burying critical information and forging a letter that linked Iraq to the Sept. 11 attacks.
Journalist Mike Chinoy, author of Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis, discusses North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and America's attempts to stop their program.
Veteran actor rules the screen this summer, appearing in five features between June and August. Among his roles: a mystic in The Love Guru, a corrupt C.I.A. mastermind in War, Inc., and a stoned shrink in The Wackness.
