Teenage boys - United States - Fiction; Hate crimes - United States - Fiction; African American teenagers - Fiction; Basketball stories; Violence - Fiction
Alan Sitomer discusses his book, “The Hoopster.” He begins by stressing the importance of getting teenagers to read. He shares that he is a high school teacher and he feels that the number one factor that keeps students from being at risk is if...
Reproductive rights; Abortion, Legal - ethics; Freedom; Public Opinion; Sexual Behavior
Alexander Sanger discusses his book, “Beyond Choice.” He begins by explaining his family history and how he is the grandson of women’s activist Margaret Sanger, and he was the president of Planned Parenthood in New York City. He discusses...
Female friendship - Fiction; Man-woman relationships - Fiction; Secrecy - Fiction; New York (N.Y.) - Fiction
Amy Ephron discusses her novel, “One Sunday Morning.” She begins by talking about prohibition in the 1920s and compares the era to that of the early 2000s. She talks about her characters’ journeys throughout the book and how she wanted to...
Collins, Amy Fine - Friends and associates;
Women automobile drivers - United States;
Automobile driver education - Psychological aspects;
Automobile driver education teachers - United States;
Phobias
Amy Fine Collins discusses her book, “The God of Driving.” She talks about how she learned to drive a car and motorcycle at an older age than most people. She describes her driving instructor Attila and how the two struck up an unlikely...
Chinese American families - Fiction; Chinese Americans - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; California - Fiction; China - Fiction
Amy Tan discusses her book, “The Kitchen God’s Wife.” Tan talks about the mother, daughter, and aunt characters in the book. She goes on to describe the mother’s abusive husband and the hardships women face when trying to leave abusive...
Castaneda, Carlos, 1931-1998; Anthropologists - United States - Biography; Cults - United States
Amy Wallace discusses her book, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castaneda.” Wallace talks about her relationship with her father, Irving Wallace, and his relationship with Carlos Castaneda. She talks about Castaneda’s...
Guevara, Ernesto, 1928-1967 - Fiction; Cuban American women - Fiction; Illegitimate children - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Americans - Cuba - Fiction; Revolutionaries - Fiction; Women - Cuba - Fiction; Birthmothers - Fiction; Miami...
Ana Menéndez discusses her novel, “Loving Che.” She begins by describing the use of photography in her book to give the story a non-fiction quality. She explains that “Loving Che” is about a young girl in Miami who wants to get to know...
Cixi, Empress Dowager of China, 1835-1908 - Fiction; Empresses - Fiction; China - History - Guangxu, 1875-1908 - Fiction
Anchee Min discusses her book, “Empress Orchid.” She begins by explaining that the book is historical fiction and follows the life of Tsu Hsi, also known as, Orchid. Orchid was born a poor girl in rural China, later she became a royal concubine...
Andrei Codrescu discusses his book, “The Blood Countess,” which is about the life of his ancestor, Elizabeth Bathory, known as the Blood Countess. Andrei weaves two stories together, one that takes place in the 1590s, and another that is more...
Kaufman, Louis, 1905-1994; Violinists - United States - Biography
Annette Kaufman discusses her book, “A Fiddler’s Tale: How Hollywood and Vivaldi discovered Me,” co-authored with her husband, Louis Kaufman. She shares that Louis started playing the fiddle after hearing Gypsy fiddlers in Romania at his...
Anthony Bourdain discusses his book, “A Cook’s Tour.” He begins by sharing that the book was an opportunity for him to fulfill his greatest desires and fantasies by eating his way around the world. He also briefly discusses his previous book...
Anthony Robbins discusses his book, “Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical & Financial Destiny.” He says people have much more talent, ability, and wisdom than is given credit to them. ...
Vaudeville - United States - History - 19th century; Vaudeville - United States - History - 20th century
Arthur Wertheim discusses his book, “Vaudeville Wars.” He begins by describing the history of vaudeville and how it had been around since the 1700s. He talks about the first modern day vaudeville circuit started by B. F. Keith and Edward...
Women art dealers - Fiction; World War, 1939-1945 - Art and the war - Fiction; Female friendship - Fiction; New York (N.Y.) - Fiction; Paris (France) - Fiction
Barbara Taylor Bradford discusses her book, “A Sudden Change of Heart.” She begins by talking about the two main characters in the book, Laura and Claire. Bradford describes Laura as “true blue,” an always devoted friend to Claire. She...
Conrad, Barnaby, 1922 - Alcohol use; Betty Ford Center; Substance abuse - Patients - Rehabilitation - California; Alcoholics - United States - Biography
Barnaby Conrad discusses his book, “Time is All We Have: Four Weeks at the Betty Ford Center.” Conrad talks about his alcoholism and his relationship with his friend, Artie Shaw. He then describes some of the people he met at the Betty Ford...
African American women - Fiction; African American businesspeople - Fiction; African American business enterprises - Fiction; Mothers and daughters - Fiction; Cosmetics industry - Fiction; Betrayal - Fiction
Bebe Moore Campbell discusses her novel, “What You Owe Me.” She explains that her book begins in 1948 when an African American woman befriends a European Jew. The two women go into a cosmetic business together until one betrays the other. ...
Ben Sherwood discusses his novel, “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.” He begins by explaining that his book is about a boy who makes a promise to his brother on their deathbeds to take care of each other. He talks about how his main...
Dating (Social customs) - Fiction; Skis and skiing; Ski resorts - Fiction; Short stories
Benjamin Weissman discusses his book of short stories, “Headless.” He begins by explaining that he divided the book into 4 parts and did the illustrations for each section too. He describes one of his stories “Marnie,” and talks about how...
Women - India - Calcutta - Fiction; Sisters - Fiction; Calcutta (India) - Fiction
Bharati Mukherjee discusses her book, “Desirable Daughters.” She begins by describing the plot of the book, which focuses on the lives of three Indian sisters, two of whom live in the United States and one in Bombay, India. Mukherjee explains...
Unruh, Jesse, 1922-1987;
Unruh, Jesse, 1922-1987 - Influence;
California. Legislature. Assembly - Speakers - Biography;
Politicians - California - Biography;
Legislators - California - Biography;
Center parties - United States - Case...
Bill Boyarsky discusses his biography, “Big Daddy.” He begins by talking about the early life of politician Jesse Unruh. He talks about Jesse’s college education through the G.I. Bill and his time serving in the Navy. He discusses how...
