Books

Wilson has spent most of his life studying ants and other insects, and has written a number of books on the subject. He co-authored the critically-acclaimed "The Ants," with Bert Holldobler. The pair have just published a sequel to that work, "Journey to the Ants." Wilson has also written a memoir, called "Naturalist."

We continue our interview with Laurie Garrett. Her new book about communicable diseases is called "The Coming Plague."

Writer Laurie Garrett has been a science reporter for NPR, New York "Newsday," "Omni," and other publications. She wrote the new book, "The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance." It explores the emergence of new infectious viruses like AIDS and Ebola, and the new strains of known diseases that are resistant to many treatments. Garrett examines the conditions that favor the spread of these microbes and looks at possible solutions to stop the diseases.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews Lorrie Moore's new novel, "Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?"

Mamet's plays include "American Buffalo," "Speed-the-Plow," "Glengarry Glen Ross (for which he won a Pulitzer), and "Oleanna." His movies include, "Homicide," "House of Games," and "Things Change." Mamet is best known for his style of writing, which New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich described as "burying layers of meaning into simple precisely distilled idiomatic language." Mamet has written several books of essays; he's just published his first novel, "The Village."

Language commentator Geoffrey Nunberg tells us about his handheld electronic dictionary.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Modern Age" by controversial critic Harold Bloom.

In 1989, there was a small outbreak of an extremely contagious virus, the Ebola virus, in a lab in Reston, Virginia. The Army was brought in to stop the spread of the disease. The disease causes its victims to bleed to death. Richard Preston has written a new book about the incident, called "The Hot Zone."

Author Peter Guralnick has written the first of a two part biography of Elvis Presley, retelling the story of the King's childhood "soberly, thoroughly and unsensationally" (says the ALA Booklist). "Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley" tells much of the story through quotes both from Elvis and people who knew him then. It attempts to portray Elvis' human side, rather than the mythical figure he has become.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews the 25th anniversary edition of "Portnoy's Complaint," by Philip Roth.