Ellroy sets his novels in 1950's LA, where he grew up. His series of novels, "LA Quartet," was a bestseller. His latest novel is called "Hollywood Nocturnes." When Ellroy was ten, his mother was murdered near their LA home. He wrote an article about returning to LA to go through the police files on his mother for this month's issue of GQ, where he is a contributing editor. He'll talk today about how his mother's murder led to his crime writing.
Dr. Dean Ornish. He, along with other researchers, has developed a "lifestyle" program for reversing heart disease. Working with a group of heart patients, Ornish, has reversed the disease, thru diet, moderate exercise, and stress reduction. He recommends the program for everyone, not just those at risk for heart disease. Ornish relies on data from seven years of study on this group of patients. Recently the "lifestyle" program qualified for reimbursement by a major insurance company. It's the first time such a program has qualified.
New York Times Reporter Chris Hedges He's based in Cairo, Egypt where he covers the Middle East. Terry will talk with him about the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt and Iran. In Iran, the militant group, Basij -- which is being funded by the Iranian Government -- has been cracking down on Western style behavior and culture in the Country.
Cuban-born saxophonist and composer, Paquito D'Rivera. D'RIivera defected to the United States in 1980 during a concert tour. Like his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie, D'RIVERA is a tireless performer and purveyor of Latin jazz. His "Reunion" album (Messidor), recorded with trumpeter Arturo Sandoval was called a "high speed tour of the Pan-American musical map." For his newest record D'RIVERA gathered 23 of the top Cuban musicians from around the world: "Paquito D'Rivera Presents 40 Years of Cuban Jam Session"
Poet and syndicated columnist Jim Northrup. Northrup's first book is "Walking the Rez Road" (Voyageur Press), stories and poems which concern the lives of native people living on a northern Minnesota reservation. Northrup looks at 19th century treaties with 20th century eyes. His work also has to do with the aftermath of the Vietnam war. Northrup was a Marine who served in the war. (The "rez" in the title means "reservation").
Chicago-based blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Eric Clapton has called his "by far and without a doubt the best guitar player alive." Guy was born in Louisiana, son of a sharecropper. He moved to Chicago in the late fifties and played with all the greats...including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Junior Wells. Guy's now having a comeback. Guy has a new album, "Feels Like Rain." (Silvertone), which follows his Grammy-winning release, "Damn Right I've Got the Blues."
Rock and roll critic Dave Marsh talks about the song "Louie, Louie". He's written a book about it called, "Louie, Louie: The History and Mythology of the World's Most Famous Rock 'n' Roll Song: Including the Full Details of Its Torture and Persecution at the Hands of the Kingsmen, J. Edgar Hoover's F.B.I., and a Cast of Millions; and Introducing, for the First Time Anywhere, the Actual Dirty Lyrics." (Hyperion) The song was written by Richard Berry in 1957...as a tale of a lovesick Jamaican sailor.
Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews the "Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales," edited by Alison Lurie. It includes 40 fairy tales written during the last century and a half by British and American writers.(Oxford University Press).
One of the pioneers of the American underground cinema, film maker George Kuchar. He worked in ultra-low budget 8mm, and 16mm filming in and around the Bronx, where he lived, creating works that showed the disparity between the fantasy of Hollywood dreams and everyday reality. Kuchar's films include, "I was a Teenage Rumpot," "Pussy on a Hot Tin Roof," and "Lovers of Eternity." Now Kuchar is now working in a new form, the video diary. The American Museum of the Moving Image is holding a retrospective of his work (Aug. 6 - Sept.
From sight to blindness to sight again. Robert Hine is Professor of History at the University of California. He lost his sight 15 years ago, and just recently regained the use of one eye. He's written a new book about what it's like to lose one's sight and then to see again: "Second Sight." (University of California Press).
Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka. He was the first African to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature (in 1986), and he's been called Africa's "finest writers." He is a dramatist, poet, novelist, critic, and political writer. Some of his works have been banned by Nigerian regimes. He's gone into exile several times and has been imprisoned for political protests. He's written 21 books, including "Myth, Literature, and the African World," and his autobiography, "Ake': The Years of Childhood." (Ventura books).
TV critic David Bianculli previews "Marilyn and Bobby: Her Final Affair," a USA cable network telemovie airing tonight. Bianculli says the show mixes fact and fiction while telling the story of the alleged romance between Marilyn Monroe and Robert F. Kennedy.
Today's first half is about children who are orphaned after losing their parents to AIDS. Studies estimate that by the year 2000, up to 125,000 U.S. children will be left parentless because of the fatal illness. AIDS workers are now beginning to realize their next step is to help these secondary victims by providing homes, food and counseling. We interview two people on the subject; a single mother with AIDS, and the head of a project designed to address the needs of orphaned kids:
Anthropologist Elliot Liebow. He is the author of the classic 1967 study "Tally's Corner," a look at African-American street corner life. The bestseller was Liebow's doctoral dissertation, and it's still used by many college students. His new work, the first he's published in over twenty years, is called "Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women."(Free Press/Macmillan). He investigates the patterns and routines of homeless women around Washington, D.C.
