Jonathan Kellerman is a child psychologist and best-selling writer. He's best known his character psychologist Alex Delaware. In his latest novel, his 14th book, Delaware is on hiatus. In "Billy Straight" published by Random House, his star is Billy, a 12 year old runaway, who witnesses a murder. Kellerman is a clinical professor of pediatrics and psychology at University of Southern California School of Medicine. His wife Faye Kellerman is also an accomplished mystery writer.
Guitarist Salman Ahmad (Sol-MAHN AH-MAHD) and bassist Brian O'Connell, from the Pakistani rock band Junoon (Ju-NOON). They are Pakistani's best-selling band, with four albums, and 2-million sales. They've gained an international following thanks to the Internet and MTV. The band also includes lead singer, Ali Azmat. The group is currently on tour.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews two new reissues of composer Igor Stravinsky conducting his own music: "Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky: The Mono Years" (Sony) and "Stravinsky conducts Stravinsky: The American Recordings" (Pearl).
Pulitzer Prize winning author, David Halberstam has turned his attention to Michael Jordan's impact on American culture in his new book "Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and The World He Made." (Random House) His other books include: "The Best and the Brightest," "The Powers that Be," "Summer of 49," and "The Amateurs." Halberstam says Jordan is the most popular human being in the world.
Poet Seamus Heaney has released a new collection of his poems called "Opened Ground: Selected Poems 1966-1996. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. He resides in Dublin, Ireland and in Boston where he teaches at Harvard University.
Last year New Orleans became the first city to file suit against the gun industry. Chicago followed. And now many other cities (including Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, San Francisco and L.A.) are considering similar actions. Journalist Fox Butterfield writes about crime and criminal justice for The New York Times. He'll discuss these suits as well as one filed in New York by a group of individuals who lost family members from gun violence. Butterfield was a member of the Times writing staff that won a Pulitzer Prize for its publication of The Pentagon Papers.
Senior policy analyst Tom Diaz at the Violence Policy Center, a non-partisan non-profit public policy institute working to reduce gun violence. He's the author of the new book, "Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America" (The New Press). In the book, Diaz writes how in an attempt to increase profits, the gun industry has introduced more aggressive and lethal guns to the public. DIAZ says they do this free from regulation and under a cloak of secrecy.
Actor Sean Penn. He's currently starring in the new films "Hurly Burly," and "The Thin Red Line." Penn previously starred in "Dead Man Walking." Penn also wrote and directed the film "The Indian Runner" which he wrote based on a Bruce Springsteen song, and "The Crossing Guard.
Country music singer Ray Price He was a close friend and protege of Hank Williams. Price's hits include "Talk to Your Heart," "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes," "I'll be There," "Crazy Arms," "For the Good Times," and more. In 1996 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His latest album is "Ray Price: The Other Woman" (Koch).
We remember Jamie Hammerstein, Broadway producer, director and son of composer Oscar Hammerstein. He died last week at the age of 67 from a heart attack. (REBROADCAST from 3/14/95)
Journalist Mark Hertsgaard. He traveled around the world examining environmentally-damaged places. His new book about it is, "Earth Odyssey: Around the world in Search of Our Environmental Future" (Broadway Books). Hertsgaard also writes for the New York times, The New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, and the Nation.
Reknowned naturalist and film maker Sir David Attenborough. His new book and (upcoming PBS special is "The Life of Birds" (Princeton University Press). He examines birds from rainforests to desert, to cities and isolated wildernesses, the flying and the flightless, the seed eaters and the meat-eaters. The series was broadcast on the BBC last fall and will be presented on PBS sometime this year. The book is currently available.
