Political science professor and author Ron Walters has advised the Congressional Black Caucus and been a consultant to Jesse Jackson's presidential campaigns. He is the author of "Black Presidential Politics in America," which offers a history of and strategic approach for blacks breaking into presidential politics.
Book critic John Leonard reviews "African Laughter," Lessing's memoir of the four times she visited the country of her birth--now called Zimbabwe--and her impressions of its changing social and political climate.
TV critic David Bianculli takes another look at the documentary series. His only quibble is in the billing: unlike the broadcasting company, the show is only 18 years old.
Author James Crawford has spent many years investigating the English Only movement. His most recent book is "Hold Your Tongue: Bilingualism and the Politics of English Only." It explores the underlying racism of an English Language Amendment. He has also edited "Language Loyalties," a comprehensive collection of the major issues and policies surrounding the bilingualism debate.
Greer came into the spotlight in 1970 with her controversial book, "The Female Eunuch." Since then, she has written many books dealing with women's issues and is widely thought of as one of the forbearers of the women's movement. Her new book, "The Change," challenges accepted beliefs about female aging and menopause.
Just in time for Columbus Day, Paramount is releasing 1492: Conquest of Paradise, starring Gerard Depardieu as the legendary navigator and directed by Ridley Scott, who made Alien, Blade Runner, and Thelma and Louise. Film critic Stephen Schiff has this review.
Journalist Mark Perry is the Author of "Four Stars: The Joint Chiefs of Staff." His most recent book is "Eclipse: The Last Days of the C.I.A:" It examines the power struggle that took place after William Casey died, and after the fall of the Soviet Union. He also dispells the notion that the C.I.A. is still a highly effective and powerful organization.
Bell is a writer and professor who made the headlines in 1990 when he refused to return to Harvard Law School after an extended leave of absence. Bell, then the only tenured African American law professor, cited "reasons of conscious" for leaving--he was protesting the school's decision not to hire a woman of color. In 1959 he quit his job in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice rather than give up his membership in the NAACP. In 1977 Bell wrote "And We are Not Saved," a collection of parables about race and class.
Paulsen is a prolific writer of children's books. He began writing over twenty years ago, when he was coming to terms with his alcoholism. For many years he and his wife lived in poverty in rural Minnesota. This changed when Paulsen won the Newberry Award for children's fiction in 1985 with "Dogsong." His most recent adult book is "Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass." It celebrates American farm life and recounts the activities of a multigenerational farm family.
Our rock historian Ed Ward has a profile of Sleepy John Estes. He was one of the trailblazers whose songs become American classics. After years of subsistence farming following his initial success, Estes was rediscovered, and made a good living playing in and around Chicago.
The ACLU recently announced its Arts Censors of the Year, a list that includes acting NEA chair Anne-Imelda Radice, Rev. Donald Wildmon, Oliver North, feminist Catherine MacKinnon, and the Duval County, Florida Public School District. We talk with Marjorie Heins, the director of the ACLU's Arts Censorship Project, about what earned the aforementioned this dubious distinction.
The novelist is best known for his books for adults--A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, The Crown of Columbus, which he wrote with his wife, writer Louise Erdrich, and The Broken Cord, about his adopted son's struggle with fetal alcohol syndrome. His latest book, Morning Girl, is for children. It's about the Taino, the 15th century Native Americans Columbus first encountered
Maureen Corrigan, who is a lapsed Catholic herself, reviews the book Catholic Girls, a collection of essays by other lapsed Catholics. The writers' feelings about being raised Catholic range from nostalgic to angry.
TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new documentary about the Beatles' classic album on the Disney Channel. He says it covers familiar ground -- but producer George Martin's segments breaking down each song's elements make it worth checking out.
Foley directed the movies "Reckless" and "After Dark, My Sweet." His newest film is the screen adaptation of David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross." The stage version won a 1984 Pulitzer Prize. The movie, starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon and Ed Harris, deals with men working in a real estate office who, because of the bad economy, must work in cut-throat conditions in order to survive.
Williams is a a writer and naturalist-in-residence at the Utah Museum of Natural History. Born a Utah Mormon, Williams has written several books about the environment and the West, such as "Coyote's Canyon" and "Earthly Messengers." Her most recent book, "Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place," concerns her mother's unsuccessful battle with cancer and the flooding of the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge by the rising Great Salt Lake waters.
Stephen Schiff reviews "Hero," directed by Stephen Frears and starring Dustin Hoffman, Joan Cusack, Geena Davis, and Andy Garcia. It's got a twisting plot reminiscent of films from the 1930s and '40s.
After nine years of stand-up comedy, Reynolds wrote a one-man show based on his life, called "Only the Truth is Funny." After ten months of sold-out shows, he was discovered by the agents to Woody Allen and David Letterman. He then moved his show to New York City. His new book is based on his solo show.
Pekarkova emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1985. She has worked in New York as a cab driver for four years. Her novel "Truck Stop Rainbows: A Road Novel," was published this year. lt deals with a rebellious young woman in communist Czechoslovakia who hitchhikes around the country, trying to raise money to buy a wheelchair for her invalid friend.
