Books

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Smilla's Sense of Snow," the new book by Danish writer Peter Hoeg.

Professor Patricia Turner, of the African American Studies department at University of California, Davis. Her new book "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (U. of California Press) examines the historical and social ramifications of rumor in African American culture. From Ku Klux Klan-owned clothing and cigarette companies to a military conspiracy to infect Africans with AIDS, she looks at the role of legend and rumor, finding it has long been a feature of the community.

Biographer Andrew Gowers. He's co-written (with Tony Walker) a new biography of Yasser Arafat, "Behind the Myth: Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Revolution." (Olive Branch Press). The book explores Arafat's nearly 40 years as a Palestinian activist. Gowers and his co-author spent hundreds of hours interviewing PLO officials, including Arafat, as well as American, Arab and European officials. Gowers is a Features Editor of the Financial Times and was the paper's Middle East Editor. He comments frequently on the Middle East for British radio and TV.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Buccaneers," (Viking) the final novel by Edith Wharton. It was published as an unfinished novel after Wharton's death in 1937. Now it's been completed -- by scholar and novelist Marion Mainwaring -- and published again.

Ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin. He has a new book about what he learned about botany and medicine from the Medicine Men of the tropical rain forests. His new book is "Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice," published by Viking. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

For over 15 years, Linda Fairstein has directed the Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit of the Manhattan D.A.'s office. The unit was the first of it's kind, and has become a model for others in cities across the country. When Fairstein began working there, rape cases were rarely tried in court, rape victims were stigmatized, and there was little understanding about rape in society. Over the years, Fairstein and her colleagues have made great strides in combating such crimes, and improving conviction rates.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan on two new books of non-fiction: "Theirs Was The Kingdom" by John Heidenry (Norton) a history of Readers Digest, and "Land Of Desire" by William Leach (Pantheon) about rise of the department store in the nineteenth century.

Artist Robert Irwin. He's been a pivotal figure in American Art for over 30 years. He was one of the creators in the late 60s of the "light and space" movement, using unobtrusive objects, such as light, tape, and string to alter the viewers perception of the space in which the work is found. His work can be found in public spaces throughout the country, often using material natural to that environment, and delving into the "character" of the place.

Foreign correspondent for "Newsday," Roy Gutman. He and his photographer were the first western journalists to report on genocide in a Serb-run concentration camp. Shortly after the story was published the camp was closed and the Red Cross let in. Their reporting led to public outrage, and official condemnation by the United Nations. Gutman won a Pulitzer Prize for this reporting.

Maureen Corrigan on a British best seller, published this month: "The Queen and I" by Sue Townsend (Soho Books).