Books

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Nightmare on Main Street" (Harvard) by Mark Edmundson about our culture's obsession with the Gothic.

Richard Horsley and Neil Silberman. The two have collaborated on a book incorporating history, archaeology, and politics to contextualize the time of Jesus and the Apostle Paul. The book is "The Message and the Kingdom" (Grosset/Putnam). Richard Horsley is a professor of religion at The University of Massachusetts. Neil Silberman is the author of "The Hidden Scrolls."

Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi. He's just written "The Adventures of Sandee the Supermodel" (Simon and Shuster), a collection of three giant comic books, illustrated by artist William Frawley. Mizrahi has been called a "creative visionary" in today's fashion industry. In 1995 the documentary "Unzipped" was made about Mizrahi and his life.

Cooking expert Madeleine Kamman. She authored "The Making of a Cook" in 1971, and just updated her work to write "The New Making of a Cook: The Art, Techniques, and Science of Good Cooking" (William Morrow). Both of her books aim to show American cooks how to prepare their own ingredients with French culinary techniques. Kamman is also a PBS cooking show host and director of the School for American Chefs.

Film critic John Powers reviews Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Francis Ford Coppola's new film "The Rainmaker," which is an adaptation of the John Grisham novel.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Matters of Chance" the new novel by Jeannette Haien (Harper Collins)

Dr. Jerome Groopman. Since the discovery of AIDS, he's treated patients and done extensive cancer and AIDS research. He's written a book titled "The Measure of Our Days: New Beginnings at Life's End" (Viking). It borrows stories from some of his patients in Boston and aims to give support, hope, and comfort to those suffering with life threatening illness. Dr. Groopman is Chief of Experimental Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and is also a professor of medicine at Harvard.

Author and financial columnist Jane Bryant Quinn. She's revised and updated her 1991 guide to saving money and investing wisely, "Making the Most of Your Money" (Simon and Shuster). The book addresses personal finance issues, retirement funds, saving for college, and the stock market. Jane Bryant Quinn is a column writer for Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, and the New York Daily News. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Film critic David Thomson and filmmaker and director James Toback. They interview each other for a revival of round table discussion at "Spoken Word at the Algonquin" in New York city's famous Algonquin Hotel, and discuss the state of moviemaking and movie criticism today. Thomson's latest book is "Beneath Mulholland: Thoughts on Hollywood and its Ghosts" (Knopf). Toback directed the movies "Fingers," "Exposed," and "The Pick up Artist."

Writer David Shipler. A Country of Strangers: Blacks and Whites in America (Knopf) is his newest book. It looks closely at the ever present race question in the United States through interviews of folks across the country and analysis of stereotypes he found. Shipler is the author of Russia and won a Pulitzer Prize for Arab and Jew: Wounded Sprits in a Promised Land.