Books & Literature

Corby Kummer has been called the Dean of food writers in America. As one of the most respected food journalists, he writes for The New York Times Magazine, New York and Food and Wine. In addition he also a senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly. Kummer talks about his newest book The Joy of Coffee: The Essential Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying (Chapters Publishing Ltd 1995) He talks about the reasons behind America’s love affair with gourmet coffees and some tips on how to make a good cup. Kummer lives in Boston, Mass.

Larry McMurtry is considered one of Texas most prominent fiction writers even though he has not lived in that state for nearly two decades. Over his career, he has written 19 novels...including the 1986 Pulitzer Prize winning book Lonesome Dove.. His newest Dead Man’s Walk (Simon & Schuster 1995) takes readers to the early days of his Lonesome Dove heroes Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call. Other books by McMurtry include: Streets of Laredo (sequel to Lonesome Dove), Terms of Endearment and The Last Picture Show.

Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews two re-issues from novelist Angela Thirkell, The Headmistress and Growing Up. The publishing company is Moyer Bell. Both books were originally published in the 1940s in Great Britain. Thirkell had a loyal following of readers who in the late 1930s and 40s would set up reading groups called "Thirkell Circles." Thirkell wrote nearly 40 novels.

American folk singer Rosalie Sorrels may not be wildly famous but since the 1960s she's developed a near cult like following. Her admirers describe Sorrels as someone who has lived the life she now sings about. In fact, she was immortalized in a song by Nanci Griffith describing Sorrels as "Salt of the earth.....with a voice like wine." .Her newest CD is "Borderline Heart" by Green Linnet Records Inc. The book "Way Out in Idaho" is a collection of her poems, songs and recipes.

Writer Joe Kane talks about his new book Savages (Knopf 1995) It’s his first hand account on the confrontations between Amazonian warriors and multi-national oil companies, environmentalists and missionaries. Kane writes about the Huaorani tribe’s fight for its culture and environment. Kane’s earlier book Running the Amazon was a 1989 New York Times best-seller. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane).

An inside account of the world of high-fashion. Nina Blanchard is founder of Nina Blanchard Agency which is considered one of nation’s most prestigious modeling agencies. Blanchard herself discovered supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. She’s been called The Beauty Broker. She has written a novel based on the fashion world The Look, (Dutton 1995) Blanchard talks about what it takes to be a model, the pressures they’re under and why she herself finally had enough.

Journalist George Lardner, Jr. is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. In 1993 he had to investigate the murder of his own daughter, who was stalked and killed by an ex-boyfriend. Lardner won a Pulitzer Prize for his story which showed how the system had failed to protect his daughter, Kristin. His new book is The Stalking of Kristin: A Father Investigates the Murder of his Daughter. (Atlantic Monthly Press). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Writer and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel. He's the author of over 30 books. Wiesel, a survivor of the Holocaust, is known for his work which bears witness to that tragedy. Wiesel has just published the first volume of his memoirs, All Rivers Run to the Sea. In this book Wiesel writes about his childhood before the war, the horrors of Auschwitz, and his life after the war as a Paris based journalist, and as a New York writer, who struggled with the tragedies of the past, and the commitment to not letting the world forget what happened.

Miami Herald columnist and novelist Carl Hiaasen. His newest comic thriller set in South Florida is Stormy Weather, about the rip off artists and corrupt construction and insurance industries that take advantage of hurricane victims. He's also the author of five other books in the same vein: Strip Tease, a yarn, pitting a seamy Florida politician against the star stripper at Miami's Eager Beaver club. Mr.

Novelist Amy Tan. Her best-selling books include The Joy Luck Club, and The Kitchen God's Wife. Her newest novel is The Hundred Secret Senses (Putnam's), about two half-sisters. One is Chinese-American, the other is Chinese, and has the ability to see ghosts.

Maureen Corrigan reviews The Missionary Position by Christopher Hitchens.

Former three-term Governor for New York State Mario Cuomo and one of the Democratic party's most respected spokesperson. Since losing office in the 1994 republican-landslide election, Cuomo has started his own nationally syndicated radio show. His new book, Reason to Believe (Simon & Schuster) is his critique of the Republican's Contract with America.

Nicaraguan poet Daisy Zamora. She was born into a well-to-do, upper-middle class family. When she was four her father was arrested for his part in an attempted coup against the dictator Somoza. Later in adult life Zamora was part of the Sandinista Revolution. After going into exile in Honduras and Costa Rica, Zamora was announcer for the clandestine Radio Sandino. She'll talk with Terry about her work with the voice of the revolution. Zamora now teaches at the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua, Nicaragua.

Writer Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior writer for "The Jerusalem Report." He's the author of Memoirs of A Jewish Extremist: An American Story, (Little, Brown) which tells the story of his involvement with Jewish right-wing movements in the United States, and with the extremist rabbi Meir Kahane. Halevi eventually broke away from the movement.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Morality Play, the new novel by British writer Barry Unsworth.
Description (Program)

Co-creator, executive producer and head writer of "NYPD Blue," David Milch, and Detective Bill Clark who is a consultant to the show. Clark is a former New York City homicide detective. Many of the story lines for the show, come from the cases he worked on. The two have collaborated on a new book, True Blue: The Real Stories Behind NYPD Blue (William Morrow).

Co-creator, executive producer and head writer of "NYPD Blue," David Milch, and Detective Bill Clark who is a consultant to the show. Clark is a former New York City homicide detective. Many of the story lines for the show, come from the cases he worked on. The two have collaborated on a new book, True Blue: The Real Stories Behind NYPD Blue (William Morrow).

Novelist Elmore Leonard. He's 70 years old and has been called "the greatest living writer of crime fiction" (New York Times). Though he'd been writing for decades, critics didn't take notice of him until the 1980s. Now his work is known for it tight prose, "ear-perfect" dialogue and depiction of lower class life. Leonard's written thirty-two novels, including the bestsellers Pronto, Maximum Bob, and Get Shorty which has been made into a film, starring John Travolta and Gene Hackman.

Film historian David J. Skal. He's an expert on the horror film genre. His books include Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen (W.W. Norton) and The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror (Penguin, paperback). His newest book (written in collaboration with Elias Savada) is Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, Hollywood's Master of the Macabre (Anchor Books).

Actress Mary Tyler Moore. She starred in the Emmy award television show "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and the film "Ordinary People." She is now starring in a new CBS series "New York News," a drama about life at a fictional New York newspaper, and has recently written her autobiography, "After All," (Putnam's Sons).