Keneally is best known for his novel, Schindler's List which was put to film, by director Stephen Spielberg. His new novel, A River Town, is based on the story of his grandfather who left Ireland for Australia at the turn of the century. But in Australia he became the outsider. Keneally has written over 20 novels. He is a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine.
Broderick is making his singing and dancing debut in the revival of the Frank Loesser musical. He plays J. Pierrepont Finch, an ambitious window washer who climbs the corporate ladder by "fawning, brown-nosing, sucking up and a touch of backstabbing." Broderick is best known for his acting, in such movies as "Torch Song Trilogy," "War Games," and "The Freshman."
Banks' new novel is Rule of the Bone. It's been compared to Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because of it's young first-person narrator, and use of comedy to convey grim realities. Bank's narrator is 14 year-old Chappie from upstate New York who wears a nose ring and Mohawk. He steals from his parents to pay for dope, is kicked out of the house, and sets off on a low-life adventure.
Former president of the public affairs non-partisan lobbying group Common Cause, Fred Wertheimer. As president of the organization, Wertheimer led the charge for campaign finance reform, the banning of special-interest honoraria for members of Congress, and a lobby disclosure law. Wertheimer stepped down earlier this year after 14 years as President. He's been called "the capital's most vocal crusader for reforming the political system" by The Wall Street Journal.
Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Crimson Tide," the new submarine movie starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman. Schiff says he wonders why other critics haven't praised the movie for its intelligence.
We'll hear from Iqbal Riza, Assistant Secretary of General for Peace Keeping Operations for the United Nations. He talks about the UN's role in Rwanda.
Alison Des Forges is a consultant to Human Rights Watch Africa. Last month, the Rwandan Patriotic Army opened fire at a refugee camp. Human Rights Watch says 2000 people were killed. Des Forges visited the camp following the massacre. Des Forges is also the Co-Chair of the International Commission on Human Rights Abuse in Rwanda. She is a professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Investigator Michael Reynolds with the Klan watch Militia Task Force, with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The task force assisted in the investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing. Reynolds outlines the beliefs of many of these right wing groups.
Two men influential in their communities: Corner West, professor of Afro-American studies at Harvard, and author of Race Matters, and Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun, a magazine of Jewish political and social commentary, and author of Jewish Renewal. They have collaborated on the new book Jews & Blacks: Let the Healing Begin.
Price's books include The Wanderers, Bloodbrothers, and Clockers, which was a National Book Critic Circle Award nominee. He was also nominated for an Academy Award in 1986 for his screenplay of "The Color of Money." His newest credit is "Kiss of Death," which stars David Caruso, Samuel Jackson and Nicholas Cage.
Hanan Mikhail-Ashrwai, former spokesperson for the PLO from 1991 to 1993. Ashrawi was the chief spokesperson for the Palestinian delegation at the Middle East peace negotiations. There are two books about her life and her role in the peace process: her personal account, This Side of Peace, and A Voice of Reason: Hanan Ashrawi and Peace in the Middle East by Barbara Victor.
Biographer Barbara Leaming has written a new biography of Katharine Hepburn, which places the actress' life in the context of her family's history: one of tragic and political importance. Katherine Hepburn's grandfather committed suicide, as did her brother. Hepburn's mother was a major figure in the radical suffrage movement, and a friend of Margaret Sanger.
We speak with two veterans about their service during World War II. Tony Varone remembers V.E. DAY 50 years ago today. He served in the 9th Infantry Division which fought in Europe. He now is Commander of VFW POST in Long Island, New York. Donald Pearce fought in Europe in the Canadian Army. Pearce kept a diary during his tour of duty. His 1965 book Journal Of A War: North-west Europe 1944-1945 chronicles the battles fought in Belgian and the Netherlands.
