Books

Saxophonist, guitarist, and musicologist Allen Lowe. He's the author of the book "American Pop: from Minstrel to Mojo: On Record 1893-1956" (Cadence Jazz Books) which is an examination of the roots of pop by way of recorded music.

Journalist Bruce Feiler. His new book is a history of country music: "Dreaming out Loud: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes, and the Changing Face of Nashville (Avon Books). Feiler writes regularly about American music for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other publications. He's also a frequent contributor to "All Things Considered."

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "A Widow for One Year" (Random House) the new novel by John Irving, the author of "The World According to Garp."

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Grace Paley's collection of short stories and other writing "Just As I thought."

Peter Biskind is author of the new book "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex Drugs and Rock n Roll Generation Saved Hollywood." (Simon and Schuster) Biskind says after the success of the film "Easy Riders" Hollywood opened its doors to a wave of rebellious film makers that invigorated cinema in the 1970s with such films as "Chinatown," "Shampoo," "Nashville," "Taxi Driver," "The Godfather," and "Jaws." He also authored two previous books: "Seeing is Believing," and "The Godfather Companion.&qu

Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Long Falling," a first novel by Irish writer Keith Ridgway.

Journalist Pete Hamill. He's written a new book, a long essay really, about the troubled state of newspapers in this country. It's called "News is a Verb: Journalism at the End of the Twentieth Century" (The Library of Contemporary Thought, The Ballantine Publishing Group). Hamill is also the author of the bestselling novel, "Snow in August," and the memoir, "A Drinking Life." (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

Charley Rosen is author of the new novel "Barney Polan's Game" (Seven Stories Press) The book is largely based on the real-life college basketball point-shaving scandal in 1950 and 51. Rosen also wrote a non-fiction account of this in "Scandals of 51: How the Gamblers Almost Killed College Basketball".

Meredith F. Small has written the new book "Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Are". (Anchor books) Small explores the various cultural practices used in raising babies. She is also the author of "Female Choices: Sexual Behavior of Female Primates" and "What's Love Got to Do With It?" Small is a professor of anthropology at Cornell University in New York State. (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews two new books by poet and construction worker Susan Eisenberg. Her poems attest to the misogyny still present in the construction industry. The books are "Pioneering: Poems from the Construction Site" (ILR Press/Cornell) and "We'll Call You If We Need You: Experiences of Women Working Construction" (ILR Press/Cornell)