Books

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Sleepwalker In A Fog," the new collection of stories by Russian writer Tatyana Tolstaya (tot-yah-nah toll-STOY-yah). It's published by Knopf).

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new collection of writings by African-American author Richard Wright.

Book critic John Leonard on "Professors, Politics, and Pop," a new book of essays on campus politics and pop culture by journalist Jon Wiener.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "The Devil's Candy," Wall Street Journal reporter Julie Salamon's account of the making of the movie, "The Bonfire of The Vanities."

Maureen Corrigan considers the New York City subway system. She reviews Jim Dwyer's new book, "Subway Lives," and she discusses an exhibit of Walker Evans subway photographs from the 1930s and 40s. It's now at the National Gallery in Washington.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "On Mozart," by Anthony Burgess. It's a surreal novel about the composer Mozart. (published by Ticknor & Fields).

Commentator Maureen Corrigan tells us about a new biography of Edgar Allan Poe by Kenneth Silverman: "Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance." (published by Harper Collins). She says it's "mesmerizing."

Book critic John Leonard reviews the novel "Eve's Tattoo," by Emily Praeger. ('pray-gerr"). It's published by Random House.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan gives her argument for why poetry is still a viable art form by telling us about two new collections by two poets: "An Atlas of a Difficult World--Poems 1988-1991," by Adrienne Rich (published by Norton). And "Seeing Things," by Seamus Heaney (published by FSG).

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Mariette In Ecstasy," (pronounced "mah-ree-ett") by Ron Hansen. It's the story of a young woman who enters a convent and then develops the Stigmata (published by Harper and Collins).