Micheline Aharonian Marcom discusses her novel, “The Daydreaming Boy.” She begins by talking about why she decided to write the book from a man’s point of view during the Armenian genocide. She discusses life in Beirut in the early 1960s...
Radicalism - United States; College students - United States; Young women - United States - Biography; United States - Social conditions - 1960-1980
Sara Davidson discusses her books, “Friends of the Opposite Sex” and “Loose Change.” She begins by explaining that “Loose Change” is a novel about three women who reach adulthood during the socially turbulent times of the 1960s. She...
Joan Nathan discusses her book, “The New American Cooking.” She begins by explaining that American cuisine today is a combination of many different styles from other countries. She talks about how American food today is influenced by the...
T.C. Boyle discusses his book, “World’s End.” The book is set during the 1960s, 1940s, and 1600s. It follows the arrival of the Dutch and political unrest during various time periods. Boyle goes on to talk about the biological father,...
Loraine Despres discusses her novel, “The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc.” She begins by explaining that her book is about a young southern belle whose family is falling apart. She talks how her main character Sissy meets a charming...
Autistic children - Family relationships - Fiction
Sue Miller discusses her novel, “Family Pictures.” She begins by explaining that her book is about a family with six children and how they interact with each other. She talks about how the children experience a radical change during the 1950s...
Karr, Mary - Childhood and youth; Poets, American - 20th century - Biography; Teenage girls - Texas - Biography; Teenagers - Drug use - Texas; Texas - Social life and customs
Mary Karr discusses her memoir, “Cherry.” She explains how the book is the story of a girl’s sexual coming of age and is a sequel to her first memoir, “The Liar’s Club.” Karr shares the difficulties of growing up during the 1960s in...
Poetry - Collections; Poetry - Translations into English
Robert Bly discusses his book, “The Winged Energy of Delight,” which is a compilation of translated poems from twenty-two different poets. He goes on to explain the difficulty of translating poetry that encompasses so many various places and...
Window dressers - Great Britain - Biography; Doonan, Simon, 1952-
Simon Doonan discusses his book, “Nasty.” He begins by discussing the plot of the book, which uses humor to recount his life in 1950s and 1960s Reading, England. Doonan explains his early obsession with glamor and beautiful people, which led...
Motion picture actors and actresses - United States - Biography - Dictionaries; Silent films - United States - History and criticism
Anthony Slide discusses his book, “Silent Players.” He begins by explaining that he first became interested in silent films in the 1960s. He then explores some of the actors and actresses that he writes about in his book, including May Marsh,...
Davis, Sammy, 1925-1990; Entertainers - United States - Biography
Burt Boyar discusses the life of his friend Sammy Davis Jr. and talks about Davis’s autobiography, “Sammy.” Boyar describes how he and his late wife Jane decided to contribute new material to “Sammy” after the death of their long-time...
Nguyễn, Cao Kỳ; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Prime ministers - Vietnam (Republic) - Biography; Vietnam (Republic) - Politics and government
Cao Kỳ Nguyễn discusses his autobiography, “Buddha’s Child.” He begins by explaining how he was elected as the prime minister of Vietnam during the United States invasion in the 1960s. Nguyễn talks about how television was important to...
Reagan, Maureen, 1941-2001 - Family; Reagan, Ronald - Family; Regan family; Children of presidents - United States - Biography; Presidents - United States - Biography
Maureen Reagan discusses her autobiography, “First Father, First Daughter.” She begins by explaining how she is the daughter of President Ronald Reagan and his first wife Jane Wyman. She talks about how she wasn’t allowed on her father’s...
Actresses - Fiction; Older women - Fiction; Motion picture actors and actresses - Fiction; Private investigators - California - Los Angeles - Fiction
Ray Bradbury discusses his book, “Let’s All Kill Constance." He explains that the plot is set in 1960s Los Angeles and follows an unnamed writer who serves as the novel’s narrator. The mystery begins with a visit from an aging Hollywood...
