Journalists Donald Barlett and James Steele. Their reports from the front pages of the "Philadelphia Inquirer" later became the book "America: What went Wrong"; it was a bestseller for eight months, and added fuel to the fire of the 1992 Election. Their new book of investigative reporting is "America: Who Really Pays the Taxes?" (Simon & Schuster). They argue the middle class has been soaked by the current tax system; that the same dollar earned by a neighborhood grocer is taxed more than if it was earned by a foreign corporation doing business here.
Classical Music critic Lloyd Schwartz has a review of the Metropolitan Opera's televised version of Verdi's fourth opera, "I Lombardi", starring Luciano Pavarotti and bass Samuel Ramey. It airs tonight on most PBS stations.
Professor John Dominic Crossan. A native of Ireland, ordained as a priest in the U.S. (he left the Priesthood in 1969), Crossan now teaches biblical studies at DePaul University. Crossan is a founding member of the Jesus Seminar, a group of scholars who meet to determine the authenticity of Jesus' sayings in the Gospels. Crossan's new work is "Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography" (HarperCollins) which seeks to place Jesus in the context of his Jewish, Mediterranean and peasant roots; to see him as a Socratic philosopher and radical egalitarian.
Mel White is the ghost-writer of biographies for such Religious Right leaders as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robinson and Billy Graham. That was before he came out as a gay man, after a long struggle accepting it. White tried aversion therapy and exorcism to purge himself of his homosexual feelings. Now White is the Dean of the largest gay church in the world, Dallas's Cathedral of Hope and the author of "Stranger at the Gate: To be Gay and Christian in America," (Simon & Schuster).
Colombian journalist Maria Jimena Duzan helped expose the connection between Colombia's drug traffickers and the nation's military in 1988. Duzan and her paper, El Espectador, were the targets of death threats and attacks. By 1990 all of the members of the paper's former investigative unit were either dead or in exile. Duzan went into exile, but her sister, a documentary film maker, was murdered. Duzan returned to Columbia in 1992. She has a new book, "Death Beat: A Colombian Journalist's Life Inside the Cocaine Wars." (HarperCollins)
Dr. Ira Rutkow is a surgeon and the author of the new book, "Surgery: An Illustrated History," (Mosby). The book has 386 illustrations including documents, photographs, cartoons, drawings and paintings related to surgery, taken from museums throughout the world. Rutkow has also written a two-volume history of surgery in the U.S. and has written studies on Civil War surgery. He's also consulting editor for surgical history for the Archives of Surgery. Rutkow is founder and surgical director of The Hernia Center in Freehold, N.J.
Author Jervey Tervalon. He has written a first novel, titled "Understand This" (William Morrow and Company, Inc.). Tervalon set "Understand This" in today's South Central Los Angeles where he grew up and returned after college to teach in a public high school. He believes life is much more difficult in South Central L.A.--and everywhere in America--now. Tervalon's characters are faced with often overwhelming, life and death decisions.
World Music critic Milo Miles reviews two new releases by Oumou Sangare, the woman singer from Mali: "Moussolou" and "Ko Sira" both on Rounder's World Circuit Label.
Commentator Maureen Corrigan has a review of a new biography of a turn of the century journalist: "Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist." (Times Books).
Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka. He was the first African to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature (in 1986), and he's been called one of 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).
Australian writer Thomas Keneally. His 1982 novel "Schindler's List" (Simon & Schuster) was turned into a film by Steven Spielberg; this year the film won an Oscar for Best Picture. He often uses historical events for his fiction: The Eritrean independence movement for "To Asmara"; the American Civil War for "Confederates"; the 18th century Australian convict camps for "The Playmaker". His newest novel is "Woman of the Inner Sea" (out in paperback this spring from Dutton).
Television executive and first time novelist, Eugene Stein. Stein's novel is "Straightjacket & Tie" (Ticknor & Fields) a coming of age story about a teenager beginning to understand his sexuality and his newly schizophrenic older brother. He is helped along by a family of wisecracking space aliens visible only to a small segment of the population, including "Jewish lefties with a family history of mental illness". Stein is a Vice President for Comedy at ABC Productions, and a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
Parish Priest John McNamee. For twenty five years he's lived and worked the poorer neighborhoods of Philadelphia. His book, "Diary of a City Priest" (Sheed & Ward) documents his struggle to keep faith, when surrounded by poverty and despair.
Former Drug Czar William Bennett. He is currently co-director of the conservative organization "Empower America." In 1981, he was appointed by Ronald Reagan to be Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1985, he became President Reagan's Secretary of Education, and from March of 1989 to November of 1990, he served as President Bush's director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Bennett has written extensively on social and domestic issues and is the author of five books.
Film director Ted Demme. His new movie is "The Ref," starring Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis. It's a dark comedy about a burglar stuck with two obnoxious hostages on Christmas Eve. Demme, who is 30, has also directed and produced for MTV; he's responsible for creating the popular hip-hop show "Yo! MTV Raps." His first feature film was "Who's The Man?" He is director Jonathan Demme's nephew.
