African Americans - Biography; Racially mixed people - United States - Biography; Racism - United States; United States - Race relations
Barack Obama discusses his book, “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.” Obama shares his family’s background and its influence in his life. He tells of his mother’s emphasis of instilling a strong African and African...
Simon - Religion; Simon - Correspondence; Alexy, Trudi - Correspondence; Alexy, Trudi - Religion; Marranos - Latin America - Religious life; Marranos - Latin America - Social life and customs; Priests - Latin America; Jews - identity; Jews -...
Trudi Alexy discusses her book, “The Marrano Legacy.” She begins by discussing how the book chronicles the personal correspondence between two strangers from different countries who shared the experience of discovering in their adolescence that...
Victims of terrorism - New Jersey - Middletown; Terrorism victims' families - New Jersey - Middletown; Middletown (N.J.) - Social conditions; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001
Gail Sheehy discusses her book, “Middletown America.” She begins by describing how the town of Middletown, New Jersey coped after many members of their community were killed in the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. ...
African American neighborhoods - Fiction;
Real estate business - Fiction;
Real estate agents - Fiction;
Gentrification - Fiction;
Ex-convicts - Fiction;
Journalists - Fiction;
Harlem (New York, N.Y.) - Fiction
Mat Johnson discusses his novel, “Hunting in Harlem.” He begins by explaining that his book is a story about the recreation of Harlem and bringing in a new community. He introduces his 3 main characters who are released from prison and...
Conlon, Edward, 1965-;
New York (N.Y.). Police Dept. - Biography;
Police - New York (State) - New York - Biography
Edward Conlon discusses his autobiography, “Blue Blood.” He begins by explaining that he is a detective for the New York Police Force, and that he is a third generation policeman. He discusses several jobs he has had in law enforcement and...
Art Linkletter discusses his book, “Old Age is Not For Sissies.” He begins by explaining that his book is a guide for how elderly people can get assistance without going to a nursing home. He talks about motivating older people to stay active...
Philanthropists - United States;
Philanthropists - United States - Finance, Personal;
Community development - United States - Finance
Claude N. Rosenberg discusses his book, “Wealthy and Wise.” He begins by explaining that his book is about the benefits of donating to charities while you are still alive. He describes how tax returns can continue benefiting a person...
Lawrence H. Schiffman discusses his book, “Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls.“ He begins by explaining that two boys who found the first scrolls in 1947, and since then eleven caves have been found in Qumran. He talks about how the caves were...
Harriman, Job, 1861-1925;
Llano Colony (Secular community) - History;
Otis, Harrison Gray, 1837-1917;
City planning - California - Los Angeles - History;
Los Angeles (Calif.) - History - 20th century;
Los Angeles (Calif.) - Politics and government
Lionel Rolfe and Paul Greenstein discuss their book, “Bread & Hyacinths.” Rolfe begins by explaining that the book is about the founding of Los Angeles and the rise of the labor movement in the 1880s. He talks about how General Harrison Otis...
Murder - California - Pasadena - Case studies;
Teenagers - California - Social conditions - Case studies
Léon Bing discusses his book, “Smoked.” She begins by explaining that her book is about three teenage girls who were murdered in an affluent community in Pasadena, CA. She describes the girls’ relationships with drugs, money, and sex at a...
White, Ryan - Health - Juvenile literature;
White, Ryan;
AIDS (Disease) - Patients - Indiana - Biography - Juvenile literature;
AIDS (Disease) - Patients
Jeanne White discusses her son’s autobiography, “Ryan White: My Own Story.” She begins by explaining that her son was Ryan White, a young boy who was diagnosed with AIDS and became an activist during his life. She talks about how her son...
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...
Macdonald, Ross, 1915-1983;
Novelists, American - 20th century - Biography;
Detective and mystery stories - Authorship
Tom Nolan discusses his book, “Ross MacDonald: A Biography.” He begins by explaining why he wrote on Ross Macdonald, the pen name of writer Ken Millar. He talks about Macdonald’s early life growing up with an abusive family. He describes...
Los Angeles Region (Calif.) - Biography; Los Angeles Region (Calif.) - Politics and government; Los Angeles Region (Calif.) - History; Los Angeles Region (Calif.) - Social life and customs
D.J. Waldie discusses his book, “Where We Are Now: Notes From Los Angeles.” He begins by explaining how the book is a compilation of essays on the meaning of place in Los Angeles. He stresses the importance of building community within Los...
New York (N.Y.) - Fiction; Poets - Fiction; Young men - Fiction; Gay men - Fiction
Allison Burnett discusses his book, “House Beautiful.” He begins by detailing the plot of the novel which tells the story of a summer in New York city in which B.K. Troop, a bipolar, alcoholic, homosexual turns his Manhattan brownstone into a...
Russian teachers - Fiction; Mothers and sons - Fiction; Football players - Fiction; Interracial dating - Fiction; Parent and adult child - Fiction; African American families - Fiction; African American women college teachers - Fiction; Pushkin,...
Alice Randall discusses her book, “Pushkin and the Queen of Spades.” She begins by explaining the plot of the novel, which follows Winsor Armstrong who is a Harvard-educated professor of Russian literature whose son, Pushkin-who she named after...
Qian, Xuesen, 1911-2009; Rocketry - China - Biography; Aeronautical engineers - China - Biography; Aeronautical engineers - United States - Biography; Astronautics - China - History; Anti-communist movements - United States - History
Iris Chang discusses her book, “Thread of the Silkworm.” She says that scientist Xuesen Qian came to the United States from China to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a Boxer Rebellion Scholar. He then attended the...
Motion picture actors and actresses - United States - Biography; McDaniel, Hattie, 1895-1952
Jill Watts discusses her book, “Hattie McDaniel.” She begins by explaining that the book tells the story of Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Academy Award. Born the youngest daughter of freed slaves, Hattie McDaniel sang...
Los Angeles (Calif.) - History - 20th century - Fiction; Murder - Fiction; Silent films - Fiction; Motion picture industry - History - Fiction; Motion picture actors and actresses - Fiction; Japanese Americans - Fiction
Nina Revoyr discusses her book, “The Age of Dreaming.” She begins by sharing the plot of her novel, which follows the character Jun Nakayama. Jun was a silent film star during the early days of Hollywood. Yet by 1964 he is living in total...
Young women - Fiction; Self-actualization (Psychology) - Fiction
Kathleen Cross discusses her book, “Schooling Carmen.” She begins by describing the main character of her novel, Carmen. She explains that Carmen is impatient, short-tempered and knows she is beautiful and uses it to her advantage whenever she...
