Sawyer's new television news magazine show, Day One, premieres this Sunday night on ABC. He was recognized for his reporting during the Gulf War, when he split off from the pack and brought in some of the earliest footage of surrendering Iraqi soldiers and the American liberation of Kuwaiti. Sawyer also subs for Ted Koppel on Nightline.
Investigative journalist Tom Powers has written a new book about the German attempt to get an atomic bomb, the threat that terrified American scientists and military during World War II. The book is "Heisenberg's War." At the center of the story is German physicist and Nobel laureate Werner Heisenberg. While other preeminent scientists left Germany with the rise of the Reich, Heinsenberg chose to stay to defend what was left of "good science." The program weapons program failed.
Journalist, professor, and historian Christopher Simpson teaches at American University in Washington, D.C. Last month the U.N. Security Council voted to create a new international tribunal to try those accused of war crimes in the Balkan conflict. Simpson has written a new book about the use of mass murder as an instrument of state power, beginning with World War I, called "The Splendid Blond Beast." Simpson shows how those who commit such crimes are rarely punished, like high-ranking SS killers from World War II.
Journalist Robert Kaplan has been a foreign correspondent for "The Atlantic," and "The New Republic." In the 1980s and early 1990s, he was the first American writer to warn of the coming crisis in the Balkans. His latest book, "Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History," is a political travel book about his journeys through southern Austria and Croatia, Old Serbia and Albania, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz on the new trends in Baroque music performance. While many musicians strive for historical accuracy, they often lack emotional depth.
Writer and filmmaker Stephen Trombley's latest project is a book and documentary, "The Execution Protocol: Inside America's Capital Punishment Industry." The book has little to do with the morality of taking a life; rather, It's about the practical considerations involved with performing executions.
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the debut album, "If I Ever Fall in Love," by the DC-based ocal group, Shai. They have a hit single with the same name as the album, on MCA.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead revisits albums that epitomized a different side of the 1950s cool jazz movement: "Once Upon a Summertime," by Blossom Dearie, "Dream of You," by Helen Merrill, and "Ella Swings Lightly," by Ella Fitzgerald.
One of the most respected war surgeons, Dr. Chris Giannou. He was director of surgical operations in Somalia with the International Committee for the Red Cross from February '92 until January '93. He helped set up field hospitals, and taught and performed war surgery. Before that, Giannou spent over two years in a Palestinian Refugee Camp, which was under constant siege. Giannou wrote a book about it, called "Besieged: A Doctor's Story of Life and Death in Beirut."
Award-winning historian Michael Beschloss just co-authored a new book, "At the Highest Levels: The Inside Story of the End of the Cold War." He and co-author Strobe Talbot were in contact with officials in both American and Soviet governments, and in NATO. They show the close tie between George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, which "eventually caused both men to lose touch with their domestic constituencies."
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the new Elvis Costello album (yes, you read that right), a collaboration between Costello and the Brodsky Quartet. It's called "The Juliet Letters"
Former Police Commissioner of Philadelphia Willie Williams replaced the controversial Los Angeles Police Department chief Daryl Gates. Williams' challenge has been to improve the relationship between the police and the community, and to build-up morale within the force. Williams has also had to prepare the department for possible further disturbances in the community, in light of the April riots over the Rodney King verdict.
George is one of this country's most prominent chroniclers of black music and culture. He was the black music editor at "Billboard" for seven years and is a regular columnist for the "Village Voice." His new book "Buppies, B-Boys, Baps and Bohos: Notes on Post-Soul Black Culture," is a collection of his writings about the last two decades in Black urban culture. George also edited the book, "Stop the Violence," a collaboration of top rappers working to end black-on-black violence.
Reverend Youngblood is the leader of St. Paul Community Baptist Church in one of Brooklyn's poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods. Youngblood came to the church and turned it around from a dying institution to a thriving center for religious and community activity. It has created a school and, through innovative programs, brought young black men back into the church. St. Paul's has also, as part of a coalition with other churches, built housing in the area and replaced brothels and numbers joints. "Upon This Rock: The Miracles of a Black Church" by Samuel G.
