Books

Dangerfield died Tuesday at the age of 82. He recently published a book about his life, Rodney Dangerfield: It's Not Easy Bein' Me. This interview was originally broadcast on July 6, 2004.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews The Love Wife by Gish Jen. The novel tells the story of Carnegie Wong, a second-generation Chinese American and his complicated family life.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Nightingales: The Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale by Gillian Gill.

Journalist Wayne Slater is the co-author of Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential. The book, now in paperback, looks at the impact of White House senior adviser Karl Rove on President Bush. There's a new documentary based on the book.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews The Wasp Eater, the first novel by William Lychack. Corrigan says the book, about a dysfunctional family splitting up in late '70s Connecticut, succeeds at a small goal: conveying the ordinary sadness of connecting with other human beings.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the espionage novel Dark Voyage by Alan Furst about the hunting of merchant ships by German U-boats during World War II.

Maureen Corrigan looks at Hatchet Jobs, a collection of criticism by Dale Peck, book reviewer for The New Republic.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews An Unfinished Season, by Ward Just. He's known for weaving American history and politics into his fiction. This book is set in Chicago during the Eisenhower years.

Dangerfield made a comedic career out of his phrase "I don't get no respect." Now 82 years old, he has a new book, Rodney Dangerfield: It's Not Easy Bein' Me.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews The Americanization of Ben Franklin by Gordon S. Wood.