Leonard Wolf discusses his novel, “The False Messiah.” He begins by explaining that his book takes place in the year 1630 and follows a real man named Shabbethai Tzevi who believed he was the second coming of the Messiah. He describes the...
Television - Production and direction;
Television actors and actresses - United States - Anecdotes
Howard Leeds discusses the television show he created, “Small Wonder.” He begins by explaining that he is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the show. He talks about other shows he has produced such as “The Brady Bunch,”...
Dan Caldwell discusses his book, “Seeking Security in an Insecure World.” He begins by explaining that for hundreds of years security has been based on state to state and country to country interactions and in military terms, but in recent...
Japanese Americans - Fiction; Millionaires - Crimes against - Fiction; Parent and adult child - Fiction; Fathers and daughters - Fiction; Gardeners - Fiction; Gardens - Fiction; New York (N.Y.) - Fiction
Naomi Hirahara discusses her book, “Gasa-Gasa Girl.” She begins by explaining that this book is the sequel to the book “Summer of the Big Bachi. ” In this book the character from the first book, Mas, is struggling to put his memories of the...
African American comedians - Fiction; Civil rights movements - Fiction; African American men - Fiction; Comedians - Fiction; Racism - Fiction; Harlem (New York, N.Y.) - Fiction
John Ridley discusses his book, “ A Conversation With the Mann.” He begins by explaining the plot of the book: a young black man’s struggle to become a comedian on The Ed Sullivan Show and achieve fame. He describes some of the other...
Almanacs, American; Handbooks, vade-mecums, etc.; Twentieth century - Miscellanea
David Wallechinsky discusses his book, “The People’s Almanac Presents the Twentieth Century: The Definitive Compendium of Astonishing Events, Amazing People, and Strange-But-True Facts.” He begins by describing how this book was intended to...
Survival - Fiction; Saint Petersburg (Russia) - History - Siege, 1941-1944 - Fiction
David Benioff discusses his novel, “City of Thieves.” He begins by explaining how his book is set in 1942 in Communist Russia, and how Jewish intellectuals were targeted and persecuted at the time. Benioff describes that although his work is...
Serial murders - Fiction; New York (N.Y.) - Fiction
Caleb Carr discusses his novel, “The Alienist.” He begins by defining the word ‘alienist’ as a pre-20th century name for a psychiatrist. The novel is set in 1896 New York City, where young men are being forced into mafia-controlled...
Women - Iran - Fiction; Iranian Americans - Fiction
Susanne Pari discusses her novel, “The Fortune Catcher.” She begins by explaining the book is based off her life experiences growing up in Iran during the revolution. Pari lived there until 1978 because her father traveled around Iran for his...
Nancy Horan discusses her novel, “Loving Frank.” She begins by explaining that the book is about Frank Lloyd Wright’s time living in Oak Park, IL and how he falls in love with his client Mamah Cheney. Horan talks about what it was like to...
Jews, East European - Fiction; Immigrants in literature
Stuart Farrell Tower discusses his novel, “The Wayfarers.” He begins by explaining that the book is about a retired businessman who lives in Beverly Hills and travels to Romania to find out about the life of his father. He talks about a group...
United States - Social conditions - 1980-; United States - Economic conditions - 1971-1981; United States - Economic conditions - 1981-2001; United States - Politics and government - 1981-1989
Neal Peirce and Jerry Hagstrom discuss their book, “The Book of America.” They begin by explaining that they wanted to give information about the cities, facts, and cultures of each of the 50 states. They say that each state has reacted...
