Books

New Yorker staff writer Alex Shoumatoff has a new book of essays called African Madness, about his travels throughout the continent. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the brutal reign of Emperor Bokassa in the Central African Republic, Dian Fossey's blind spots regarding the human populations near gorilla habitats, and the spread of AIDS.

Russo's latest book, The Risk Pool, is set in an upstate New York town, similar to where the author grew up. He says he didn't realize until later in his career how much inspiration he could draw from his formative years.

Fleming was a well-regarded author whose book, The Make-Believers, was ignored by large publishing houses and readers alike. Guest critic Stuart Klawans says the novel deserved more attention, and hopes a new reissue will help it find a bigger audience.

Authors like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler rose to prominence in pulp magazines like The Black Mask. Writer Ron Goulart's new book, The Dime Detectives, explores this history. Goulart is a genre author who publishes under a variety of different pseudonyms.

The writer inherited his family's ranch, but later sold it when he moved to Iowa for graduate school. Kittredge critiques the belief that humans have the moral authority to develop and tame the American West. This mythology, he says, has led to ecological destruction and the genocide of American Indians. His new collection of essays about the subject is called Owning it All.

John Leonard reviews the new biography of the 17th century Mexican poet, whom Octavio Paz uses as a jumping-off point to discuss the intellectual and social history of his home country. Leonard says the book is worthwhile, but warns that it's not easy reading.

Lady Borton performed humanitarian work in Vietnam during and after the war. Her experiences in that country with refugees had a profound effect on her. She lives simply and, like many combat veterans, grapples with PTSD and flashbacks. Borton's book about Vietnamese refugees is called Sensing the Enemy.

Essayist Paul Gruchow has a new collection of essays called The Necessity of Empty Places, which celebrates the American wilderness. Rejecting the macho, survivalist approach to confronting nature, Gruchow sees the wilderness as a place of meditation and discovery.

Pinsky says he's suspicious of literary criticism, even though he often writes it himself. His new book, Poetry and the World, looks back on his past, including growing up in New Jersey.

Book critic John Leonard reviews Humphrey Carpenter's biography of Ezra Pound, called A Serious Character. Leonard says the book is filled with inessential material, and doesn't do enough to address Pound's literary, political, and personal shortcomings.