Founder and president of First Nations Development Institute, Rebecca Adamson. The organization helps Native Americans build sustainable economies. They fund projects which rely on traditional values and help tribal communities gain control of their land and natural resources. Adamson started the organization 16 years ago as a single mother. Now the Institute raises and distributes millions of dollars for micro-enterprises from coast to coast. Adamson was the recipient of one of Ms. Magazine's "Women of the Year Award."
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Independent People" the novel by Icelandic author Halldor Laxness which was first published in 1946 and has been out of print until now.
Journalist, novelist, and playwright Susan Berman. Her childhood is rooted in the infamous, fast-paced, Vegas lifestyle of a mafia family. Her latest book, "Lady Las Vegas" tells the story of her experience as the daughter of Davie Berman, mafia partner to Bugsy Siegel. She is also the author of four other books, including her acclaimed memoir "Easy Street."
E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., is a research psychiatrist at the Neuroscience Center of the National Institute of Mental Health. He has come out with a new book, "Out of the Shadows: Confronting America's Mental Illness Crisis." Torrey examines the dangers of neglecting the mentally ill and provides political and economic approaches necessary for change. Torrey is the author of 12 books in all, including the best-selling book "Surviving Schizophrenia."
Tsongas died Saturday at the age of 55 from complications of lymph cancer. He ran his presidential campaign in 1992 on the issue of the economy, offering tough solutions to the nation's economic problems. During the campaign his cancer (which was in remission) was an issue. His book "Heading Home" was about his fight with cancer. He also wrote the book "Economic Call to Arms" which was published by his presidential campaign. (REBROADCAST from 6/19/92)
Rock historian Ed Ward profiles veteran bluesman Z.Z. Hill. Hill's career spanned decades, but took off in the 1980s, just when rap was becoming the dominant form of black music.
Commentator Milo Miles reviews two new re-releases of singer Tracy Nelson's earlier recordings with the band Mother Earth. Nelson is still making albums today, but Miles says they don't have the same looseness and charm as these reissues.
Dickey died Sunday at the age of 73 from complications of lung disease. He was the author of the novel "Deliverance" and the screenplay for the movie of the same name. He said he wrote novels to pay the bills, but his first love was poetry. He wrote more than 20 collections of poetry. (REBROADCAST from 9/30/93)
A live concert in the WHYY Forum with jazz clarinetist Don Byron and his "Bug Orchestra." On their new recording "Bug Music," they play the music of The Raymond Scott Quintette, John Kirby & His Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra -- and a lot of cartoon music. Byron has become best known for playing klezmer, but musically he's all over the map: he plays jazz with his Don Byron Quintet, modern classical music with the Semaphore quintet, and he toured Europe with Music for Six Musicians, an Afro-Cuban ensemble.
Producer/writer/director Jeanne Jordan. She and her husband Steve Ascher's documentary "Troublesome Creek" is the story of her family's struggle to save their Iowa farm, which had been in the family for 125 years. The film won the Best Documentary and Audience Awards at Sundance in 1996. The film opens nationally in January
Journalist Martin Mayer writes about finance, advertising, education and law, but his expertise is in finance. His written many books. His latest: "The Bankers: The Next Generation: The New Worlds of Money, Credit and Banking in an Electronic Age" is a rewritten, updated version of his best selling book on banking which he wrote 20 years ago.
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Contesting Tears: The Hollywood Melodrama of the Unknown Woman" by Stanley Cavell about the weepy women's movies of the 30s and 40s.
Mairs is the author of several books, including "Ordinary Time," "Voice Lessons," and "Plaintext." In many of her books she deals openly and honestly about the progression of her multiple sclerosis, and it's effect on her life and marriage. Her latest book is "Waist-High in the World."
Poet and professor Miller Williams. He teaches at the University of Arkansas. He's been asked to read at Clinton's Inauguration. He's also President Carter's poetry mentor. Miller is best known for his narrative, dramatic, poems of everyday people. He's had a number of collection of poems published. His latest is "The Ways We Touch." (University of Illinois Press) which was originally scheduled for a Fall 1997 release, but moved up because of the inauguration.
Higginbotham served in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He's an expert on race and the legal process and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His new book is "Shades of Freedom: Racial Politics and Presumptions of the American Legal Process"
