Books & Literature

Historian Eric Foner is a DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University. His new book is an examination of the concept of freedom in the United States: "The Story of American Freedom" (W.W. Norton) He writes "the meaning of freedom is as multifaceted, contentious, and ever-changing as America itself." Foner is also the author of "Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877."

Linguist Geoff Nunberg comments on Simon Winchester's new book "The Professor and the Madman." It details the true story of the American psychopath who played a major role in compiling the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid 1800s.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new novel "Reservation Road" by John Burnham Schwartz. It's published by Knopf.

Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner talks about his new memoir "Work in Progress," which has been published by Random House. Eisner took over as head of Disney in 1984. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jane. They have three sons. Disney is now a global entertainment giant. It owns ABC TV, A&E Television, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films, ESPN, Lifetime, and nine television stations, ten radio stations, seven daily newspapers, theme parks, housing developments and even a cruise ship.

We remember Jeff Moss, one of the original creators and writers of "Sesame Street." He died Thursday, at the age of 56, from colon cancer. Moss created Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch, and wrote such songs as "Rubber Ducky" and "People in Your Neighborhood." He won 14 Emmy's, four Grammy's, and an Acacdemy Award nomination for his work on "Sesame Street" and with the Muppets. Moss was also the author of books for children, including "Hieronymus White: A Bird Who Believed That He Always Was Right" (REBROADCAST from 11/30/94)

Former U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate Bob Dole. He ran opposite Clinton in the 1996 presidential campaign. He has a new collection of humor: "Great Political Wit: Laughing (Almost) All The Way To The White House" (Doubleday).

Biographer A. Scott Berg on the life of Charles Lindbergh. Berg is the first and only writer to be given unrestricted access to the Lindbergh archives, and he found surprises at every turn while doing research for his book, "Lindbergh." (Putnam) Lindbergh broke records with the first transatlantic flight from New York to Paris in 1927. In 1932, his 20-month old son was kidnapped and later found dead. The resulting hysteria sent the Lindberghs into exile.

The New York Times' Roger Cohen reported from Bosnia during the war there. His new book "Hearts Grown Brutal: Sagas of Sarajevo" (Random House) is about covering the war, and the families divided by the conflict.

Dickey has written a new memoir about his relationship with his father, the late poet and novelist James Dickey. It's called "Summer of Deliverance: A Memoir of Father and Son" (Simon & Schuster). Dickey writes that his father was "a great poet, a famous novelist, a powerful intellect, and a son of a bitch I hated." But Dickey writes that he also loved his alcoholic, abusive father. And as an adult, he picked up his relationship with his father again, after a 20 year absence.

Sze has a new collection of poems, "The Redshifting Web: Poems 1970-1998" (Copper Canyon Press) Sze is second-generation Chinese-American. His poems reflect his many different influences: science and math, Asian ancestry, Buddism, and the American Southeast were he lives. Sze is a Professor of Creative Writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Journalist Adam Hochschild is the author of "King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa" (Houghton Mifflin) about the brutal reign of King Leopold II of Belgium over the Congo in the 1880s. His regime sparked the creation of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." Leopold plundered the Congo's rubber, instituted forced labor, and reduced the population by half, committing mass murder. All the while, Leopold cultivated a reputation as a humanitarian.

Born in 1937 in Littlefield, Texas, Jennings was a disc jockey at 14, and had already formed his own band at the age of 12, making guest appearances on local station KDAV's "Sunday Party," where he met Buddy Holly in 1955. Jennings became Holly's bass player. It was Jennings who gave his seat up to the Big Bopper on the plane which crashed later killing Buddy Holly.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Dorothy Herrmann's new biography "Helen Keller: A Life" (Knopf).

Aryeh Neier is the President of the Soros Foundation. He has written the new book "War Crimes: Brutality, Genocide, Terror, and the Struggle for Justice." (Times Books) Neier has also served for 12-years as executive director of Human Rights Watch and eight-years as the national director of the ACLU. He is considered one of the premiere human rights advocates and has conducted investigations of human rights abuses in more than 40 countries.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Lost in Translation," a new romance set in China.

Pelecacnos is the author of "Sweet Forever" (Little, Brown) He has been called "one of 1990's rising stars in crime fiction." His other works include "King Suckerman," "The Big Blowdown," "Down By the River Where Dead Men Go," "Shoedog," "Nick's Trip," and "A Firing Offense."

Mills has written a new memoir, "Let's Get It On: Tough Talk from Boxing's Top Ref and Nevada's Most Outspoken Judge" (Crown Publishers). This fall he will have a syndicated court TV show.

Journalist and urban critic Roberta Brandes Gratz and an expert in downtown revitalization Norman Mintz. The two have collaborated on the new book "Cities: Back from the Edge: New Life for Downtown." (John Wiley & Sons). In the book they look at downtowns throughout the country that have come back to life and examine what revived them. Their recipe for success includes: preserving or introducing trolley traffic, developing farmers' markets, promoting short blocks, keeping government buildings downtown, and insuring citizen involvement in civic life.

Levy wrote "Rat Pack Confidential: Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey & the Last Great Showbiz Party" (Doubleday). It's about the circle of showbiz pals who played and later performed together. It included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. Levy is also the author of the biography, "King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis."

We discuss the situation in Kosovo with Miranda Vickers, Britain's leading historian of the Albanian people in general and Kosovo in particular. The conflict continues between Serbs and Albanians for control of the region. Vickers is an Albanian analyst for the International Crisis Group set up after the Dayton accords. Her new book is called "Between Serb and Albanian: A History of Kosovo." (Columbia University Press)