Books & Literature

Mairs is the author of several books, including "Ordinary Time," "Voice Lessons," and "Plaintext." In many of her books she deals openly and honestly about the progression of her multiple sclerosis, and it's effect on her life and marriage. Her latest book is "Waist-High in the World."

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Contesting Tears: The Hollywood Melodrama of the Unknown Woman" by Stanley Cavell about the weepy women's movies of the 30s and 40s.

Poet and professor Miller Williams. He teaches at the University of Arkansas. He's been asked to read at Clinton's Inauguration. He's also President Carter's poetry mentor. Miller is best known for his narrative, dramatic, poems of everyday people. He's had a number of collection of poems published. His latest is "The Ways We Touch." (University of Illinois Press) which was originally scheduled for a Fall 1997 release, but moved up because of the inauguration.

As a child in the sixties and seventies, Tate was a member of the Nation of Islam, and witnessed the struggles of blacks in a predominantly white America. In her autobiography, "Little X," she tracks the personal history of her family and draws on their everyday experiences as members of the Nation to bring new understanding to its traditions.

Legato is the Director of the Partnership for Women's Health at Columbia University. She's co-authored the new book "What Women Need to Know: From Headaches to Heart Disease and Everything In Between."

Born in Rotterdam in 1931, Wetering was once a motorcycle gang member in South Africa, an aspiring monk in Kyoto, Japan, and a police officer in Amsterdam. He is currently living in Maine. The Dutch author's colorful past has led him to be known as an eccentric and hypnotic storyteller whose latest novel "The Hollow-Eyed Angel," the 13th in his Amsterdam cop series.

Newspaper columnist and the etiquette expert, Judith Martin, otherwise known as Miss Manners. Her new book is "Miss Manners' Basic Training: Communication" (Crown News) about the social issues of phone answering machines, e-mail, and cyberspace.

British writer Jonathan Raban. His new book "Bad Land: An American Romance" is based on memoirs, diaries, photographs and letters of immigrants who in the early 1900s traveled to Montana to homestead. Raban himself is something of an immigrant; he settled in Seattle in 1990.

Branagh stars in the new film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." There's a companion book to the new film "Hamlet" which includes the screenplay, introduction, and film diary. Branagh's other films include adaptations of Shakespeare's "Henry the Fifth," with himself in the title role, Othello, playing Iago, "Dead Again," a psychological thriller starring Branagh and Emma Thompson, and "Much Ado About Nothing," also starring himself.

Theologian and author Rev. Peter J. Gomes. He has written the new book "The Good Book: Reading The Bible with Mind and Heart." Gomes is black and gay, and brings a unique and sometimes controversial interpretation to the Bible. He has been a minister at Harvard University's Memorial Church since 1974. Time Magazine called him "one of the seven best preachers in America."

Book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends her favorite children's books of the year: "The Christmas Tree," "Sam and the Tigers," "Little Black Sambo" (revised edition) "The Complete Adventures of Curious George" "The Golden Compass."

Chaim Herzog was President of Israel 1983-1993. He served as Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations in the 1970's. He has been involved and present for almost all of the great and tragic events in Israeli history. In addition to being President, he has been, a soldier, a journalist and an author. Herzog was born in Ireland in 1918, where his father was the Chief Rabbi. He has written a memoir documenting his experiences in Israel and dealing with Arab, Israeli, and American leaders, called "Living History."

Critic Maureen Corrigan gives us her recommendations for books for the gift-giving season.

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new novel by South African writer Andre Brink. It is titled "Imaginings of Sand." Brink first made a name for himself in the 1960s as one of a new generation of African writers who wanted their work to be more politically outspoken.

A new movie about the Hustler Magazine publisher, "The People vs. Larry Flynt," will open at theaters this month. In addition, Flynt's autobiography "An Unseemly Man: My Life as Pornographer, Pundit and Social Outcast" was published this month by Dove Books. Flynt was paralyzed in 1978 after being shot by a man who said he was offended by an inter-racial depiction of a couple he saw in Hustler. In Feb of 1988, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Flynt and Hustler magazine in a landmark libel case filed by the Rev. Jerry Falwell.

Muller cowrote the new book, "Grindhouse: The Forbidden World of 'Adults Only' Cinema." It's a visual history of adult cinema and all it's paraphernalia from the 1920s thru the 1970s. Many of the items used in the book Muller rescued from a dumpster of an old theatre in San Francisco. Muller is a journalist and is founder and director of the San Francisco Historical Boxing Museum.

Laura Joplin is the younger sister of the rock legend Janis Joplin. Her new book, "Love XX Janis," was inspired by a bundle of letters Laura found of her sister's. This is the first time the letters are published. Laura is six years younger than Janis, and was 21 when Janis died. There's a new episode of the VH1 documentary series "Legends" about Janis Joplin, in which Laura reads some of the letters of her sister.

Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. After his mother was mysteriously strangled to death when he was ten, he grew up obsessed with crime. His life spun towards booze, drugs, theft, and jail. He eventually cleaned up his life and began writing. He has written several novels, many of which were international best-sellers, including "American Tabloid," "The Black Dahlia," and his most recent book, "My Dark Places," in which he tells the story of his mother's murder.

America's pre-eminent writer has written forty-seven books, including 17 novels. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, poet, and essayist has now turned his attention to his other passion. "Golf Dreams: Writings on Golf" is published by Knopf.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the Canadian author's new crime novel "Alias Grace," published by Doubleday.