Books

Book Critic John Leonard will review two new novels by two young writers, From Rockaway, by Jill Eisenstadt, and The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis.

Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead will review a reissue of the 1959 album, "Ellington Jazz Party." His review includes a discussion of the controversial biography of Duke Ellington by James Lincoln Collier, controversial because Collier alleges that true credit for many of Ellington's most famous tunes belongs to his band members.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone will review a new collection of short stories by Jincey Willet titled Jenny and the Jaws of Life.

Book Critic John Leonard will review What Ever Happened to Gloomy Gus of the Chicago Bears, the new novel by Robert Coover.

Book Critic John Leonard will review Beloved, the new novel by Toni Morrison, the author of Tar Baby and Song of Solomon, winner of the 1978 Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.

Fresh Air book critic John Leonard reviews a new book by Robin W. Winks, which tells the story of the OSS and CIA's recruitment of scholars at Yale University.

The Nobel Prize-winning author condensed 600 pages of notes into a slim biography of filmmaker Miguel Littin, who traveled throughout Chile to salvage footage of life under Augusto Pinochet. Book critic John Leonard says LIttin is lucky to be the subject of Garcia Marquez's "magic" writing.

Bruce Duffy substantial debut novel is about the real-life philosopher, who wrote little about his own life. Book critic John Leonard says it's astonishing--and never reductive.

Book critic John Leonard says that Robert Stuart Nathan's new mystery book, The White Tiger, features a memorable portrayal of Beijing, and makes for fine summer reading.

Book critic John Leonard says that all of Gunter Grass's work can be seen as a sometimes fanciful examination of his country's brutal history. Case in point: Grass's new book, The Rat, is a science fiction-inspired novel about the end of the world.