Memoir

For six years, Joseph Pistone worked undercover for the FBI to investigate the Mafia. His testimony helped convict over one hundred people, including those involved with the Pizza Connection heroin operation. His new memoir is titled Donnie Brasco -- the name he used when working with crime families.

Janet Levine is a white, liberal South African woman and anti-apartheid activist. She later resigned from public office and exiled herself in the United States; she believed that whites' unavoidable complicity with racist policies undermined the efforts of black activists. Her memoir new memoir is called Inside Apartheid.

Steve Fishman was reporting in Nicaragua when a blood vessel burst in his brain. During his treatment, he researched his condition and its treatment, and interviewed the surgeons who operated on him. The blood vessel was repaired, but Fishman developed epilepsy as a result of the surgery. His book about the experience is called A Bomb in the Brain.

As a young man, Democratic Socialists of America co-chair Michael Harrington worked as social worker in St. Louis -- an experience which he credits with leading him to a life of service. Fatherhood readjusted his priorities; he moved to the suburbs and felt less conflicted about earning money. He is now a writer and social commentator. His new memoir, called The Long-Distance Runner, is about his struggle with cancer.

James Comer has written a new book about his mother, Maggie. She grew up in a poor black family, and later ran away from her abusive father. She led a strict household, and worked hard to ensure that her children received a good education. Comer now runs an educational program which aims to create a collaborative culture among teachers, parents, and mental health workers.

Walt Frazier was a superstar NBA player for the New York Knicks in the 1960s and '70s. During that time, he was known for his ostentatious fashion and extravagant lifestyle. Now older, he's returned to the world of basketball as a sports commentator. His new memoir is called Walt Frazier.

Part I of the Fresh Air interview. The folk-rock singer and songwriter battled drug addiction and eventually served eleven months in jail. He's now clean, and has a new autobiography about his life. He tells Fresh Air host Terry Gross about what made his bands The Byrds and Croby, Stills & Nash unique.

Nelson grew up picking cotton, and got his start as a musician playing in local Texas bars. Before finding fame as a singer, he sold songs he wrote to other performers, which later became hits. Nelson has a new memoir, called Willie, and an album of standards titled What a Wonderful World.

The legendary singer started performing when he was four, and became a traveling musician as a teenager. He has a new autobiography, as a well as an album called Reunion. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his decades-long singing and songwriting career.

Musa Mayer's memoir explores her relationship with her father, painter Philip Guston. Mayer and Guston were close; she says she was his confident. But Mayer didn't really know who he was as a person until she interviewed family members after Gunston's death.