San Francisco (Calif.) - Biography; San Diego (Calif.) - Biography; Inner cities - California - San Diego; African Americans - California - San Diego - Social conditions; African American families - California - San Diego; African Americans -...
Cupcake Brown discusses her book, “A Piece of Cake.” She begins by explaining that the book is a memoir of her life. Her story starts when she was eleven years old and her mother dies unexpectedly. She is then subjected to a series of abusive...
San Francisco (Calif.) - Fiction; Married women - Fiction; Murder victims' families - Fiction; San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, Calif., 1906 - Fiction; British - California - San Francisco - Fiction; Women private investigators - California -...
Laurie King discusses her book, “Locked Rooms.” She begins by explaining that the book follows the character of Mary Russell who is married to Sherlock Holmes. In the book, Mary and her husband travel to San Francisco where Mary must claim her...
Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940 : San Francisco, Calif.) - Fiction; Women composers - Fiction; Jazz musicians - Fiction; San Francisco (Calif.) - Fiction
Rupert Holmes discusses his book, "Swing: A Mystery." The story takes place in San Francisco circa 1940. All of the locations mentioned in the book were (and are) real locations. The main character is a band leader named Ray. He is involved...
Musicians - Fiction; Conductors (Music) - Fiction; San Francisco (Calif.) - Fiction
Peter Duchin discusses his book, “Blue Moon.” He begins by discussing his interest in mystery books and his job playing the piano and how it sparked the idea for a character that observes a murder while playing in a band at a hotel. Duchin goes...
Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Veterans; Lawyers; Public housing; Vietnam
Alfredo Véa discusses his novel, “Gods Go Begging.” He begins by explaining the plot of the novel, which follows the character Jesse Pasadoble. Jesse is a Vietnam veteran who now works in San Francisco as a defense attorney. Jesse is haunted...
Means, Russell, 1939-; American Indian Movement; Oglala Indians - Biography; Indians of North America - Government relations - 1934-
Russell Means discusses his book, "Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means." The book is not only about his life, but the experience of the American Indian. His parents moved to San Francisco so he wouldn't have to...
San Xia Dam (China) - Fiction; Antiquities - Collection and preservation - Fiction; Dams - Design and construction - Fiction; Americans - China - Fiction; Police - China - Fiction; Married people - Fiction; Policewomen - Fiction; Yangtze River...
Lisa See discusses her novel, “Dragon Bones.” She begins by explaining that it is the third book in a series that follows the same characters. She talks about her decision to place the story in China near the Three Gorges and the San Xia...
Tim Guest talks about his book, “My Life in Orange.” He begins by explaining that he spent his childhood with his parents living in a commune. He talks about how his mother was devoutly religious but decided she wanted a more mystical...
African Americans - Reparations;
Atonement;
Government liability - United States
Roy L. Brooks discusses his book, “Atonement and Forgiveness.” He begins by explaining that 21 million Africans were taken from their homes and put into slavery. He discusses his career as a professor at the San Diego Law School, and how he...
Hanks, Steve, 1949-; Painters - United States; Watercolor painting
Steve Hanks discusses his book, “Poised Between Heartbeats,” which discusses how he evolved into an artist. Beginning with his roots in Coronado, California, it is only when Steve moved to New Mexico that he truly blossomed as an artist. ...
Sex instruction; Middle-aged persons - Sexual behavior; Sex - in middle age - popular works; Sex Behavior - in middle age - popular works
Dr. Saul Rosenthal discusses his book, “Sex over 40” which answers questions for persons having sex over age 40. One of the main questions for women is painful intercourse. He describes painful intercourse for women could be caused by...
Teenage boys - Fiction;
Kidnapping - Fiction;
Scotland - History - 18th century - Fiction
Barry Menikoff discusses his book, “Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped, or, The Lad with the Silver Button.” He begins by explaining that he re-edited Robert Louis Stevenson’s original copy of “Kidnapped” from the Huntington Library in...
Books - History;
Books and reading - History;
Book collecting - History;
Libraries - History
Nicholas A. Basbanes discusses his book, “Patience & Fortitude.” He begins by explaining that he named his book after the two lion statues in front of the New York Public Library. He talks about the importance of folios at icons, such as the...
Gold mines and mining; California Gold discoveries; Prostitution; Race discrimination
Joanna Barnes discusses her book, “Pastora.” The book covers the events that occurred in the United States between 1844 and 1869. Barnes describes some of the characters in the book and the environment in San Francisco, California. She talks...
George La Fountaine discusses his book, “The Long Walk.” He talks about the theme of how to build a home and says he was in the Marine Corps in the 1950s. He describes the characters such as Stanley Baker, a Navajo soldier, and William Hill,...
Middle-aged women - Fiction; Peter Pan (Fictitious character) - Fiction; Aging - Fiction; San Francisco (Calif.) - Fiction
Laurie Fox discusses her book, “The Lost Girls.” She says she identified with Wendy from “Peter Pan,” but imagined herself as Peter Pan. Fox talks about Peter Pan taking generations of Wendy’s female children with him. She goes on to...
Cookery; Women food writers - United States - Biography; Reichl, Ruth
Ruth Reichl discusses her book, “Comfort me with Apples.” She begins by explaining that the book is the story of her life, but told through recipes. It begins in San Francisco when she was married to her first husband and lived in a...
Saks, Elyn R., 1955-; Gould School of Law - Faculty - Biography; University of California, San Diego. School of Medicine - Faculty - Biography; Schizophrenics - Biography; Mental illness - Biography; Schizophrenia - Case studies; Schizophrenics -...
Elyn Saks discusses her book, “The Center Cannot Hold.” She begins by explaining that the reason she wrote the book was to give hope to those who suffer from schizophrenia and to help others better understand the condition. The book is the...
Cari Beauchamp discusses her book, “Anita Loos Rediscovered.” She begins by explaining that the book is a collection of previously unpublished film treatments, short stories, and one-act plays that span fifty years of Anita Loos' creative...
Iranian Americans - Fiction; Home ownership - Fiction; Immigrants - Fiction; San Mateo County (Calif.) - Fiction
Andre Dubus III discusses his book, “House of Sand and Fog.” Martinson begins by saying that the story could be an American tragedy of the 1990s. Dubus and Martinson go on to discuss the storyline of the book and how Dubus learned the Persian...
