Jim and Henny Backus discuss their book, “Forgive Us Our Digressions.” Jim and Henny say they do their best writing in bed together. Jim talks about his father and Henny says that Jim’s uncle was a big backer of Broadway plays. Henny and...
Adult child abuse victims - United States - Biography; Cancer - Patients - United States - Biography; Poets, American - 20th century - Biography; Dine, Carol
Carol Dine discusses her book, “Places in the Bone.” She begins the interview by explaining that the book is a memoir of her life as a child of an abusive father. She shares her thoughts on her father’s physical, verbal, and emotional abuse....
African American boys - Fiction;
Boxers (Sports) - Fiction;
Phoenix (Ariz.) - Fiction
Murad Kalam discusses his book, “Night Journey.” He begins by explaining that his book is about two brothers who choose drastically opposite life paths: one goes to prison, and the other becomes a champion fighter. He discusses the epidemic...
African American families - Fiction; Racially mixed people - Fiction; African Americans - Fiction; New Orleans (La.) - Fiction; Los Angeles (Calif.) - Fiction
Jervey Tervalon discusses his book, “Lita.” He begins by discussing his previous book, "Dead Above Ground" and how this book begins where the last one ended. Tervalon explores the plot of this new book which follows the protagonist Lita Du...
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...
Alexander, Shana;
Ager, Milton, 1893-1979;
Journalists - United States - Biography;
Musicians - United States - 20th century - Biography
Shana Alexander discusses her autobiography, “Happy Days.” She begins by explaining that she is the daughter of famous composer Milton Ager, and her mother was a screenwriter for MGM Studios. She talks about her early life and how her parents...
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...
Americans - Germany - Fiction; Runaway teenagers - Fiction; Fathers and sons - Fiction; Male friendship - Fiction; Teenage boys - Fiction; Cold War - Fiction; Widowers - Fiction; Berlin (Germany) - Fiction
James Carroll discusses his book, “Secret Father.” He describes the characters, Paul, and his son, Michael, and Michael’s friends Ulrich and Katharine. Carroll says the book is framed around the
Cold War and the erection and dismantling of...
Amis, Kingsley - Family; Partington family; Novelists, English - 20th century - Biography
Martin Amis discusses his book, “Experience.” The book is about life and what one goes through every minute of the day. Amis talks about his father, Kingsley Amis, his nomadic childhood, and family. He also talks about becoming a writer and...
Anderson, Walter, 1944-; Dysfunctional families - United States; Secrecy - Psychological aspects; Publishers and publishing - United States - Biography
Walter Anderson discusses his autobiography, “Meant To Be.” He begins by talking about coming home from the Marines because of the death of his father. During this time, his mother reveals to him that another man was actually his biological...
Anderson, Walter, 1944-;
Risk-taking (Psychology);
Security (Psychology);
Self-actualization (Psychology);
Celebrities - United States - Interviews;
Celebrities - United States - Psychology
Walter Anderson discusses his book, “The Greatest Risk of All.” He begins by explaining that he believes people need to learn to take more risks. He talks about his abusive childhood and how he learned to overcome obstacles. He describes his...
Arbuckle, Roscoe, 1887-1933 - Fiction; Motion picture actors and actresses - Fiction; Motion picture industry - Fiction; Trials (Murder) - Fiction; Comedians - Fiction; Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Fiction; San Francisco (Calif.) - Fiction
Jerry Stahl discusses his novel, “I, Fatty.” He begins by explaining that his book is a fictional account of the life of comedian Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle. He says that the majority of events that happen in the book are true, but he added...
Assassination - Fiction; Political corruption - Fiction; Love stories - Fiction
Edmundo Paz Soldán discusses his book, “The Matter of Desire.” He begins by explaining that he is a professor at Cornell University and talks about how he got his book translated into English from Spanish. The book is about a young man who...
Seth Swirsky discusses his book, “Something to Write Home About.” He begins by explaining that the point of the book is that everyone has a story to tell about baseball. The book includes letters from President George Bush, Senator Ted Kennedy,...
Basketball coaches - United States - Biography; Conduct of life
John Wooden discusses his book, “My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an all-American Journey,” coauthored with Steve Jamison. Wooden describes his father and grade school and high school coaches. He talks about his career as a University of...
Bielski, Asael; Bielski, Tuvia; Bielski, Zus, d. 1995; Jews - Persecutions - Belarus; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) - Belarus; World war, 1939-1945 - Jewish resistance -Belarus; World war, 1939-1945 - Jews - Rescue - Belarus
Peter Duffy discusses his book, “The Bielski Brothers.” He begins by explaining who the Bielski brothers were. They lived in a small town in Poland during World War II and their father was a miller. The three prominent brothers in the family...
Bin Laden, Osama, 1957-; Terrorists - Saudi Arabia - Biography; Terrorists - Afghanistan - Biography; Terrorism - Religious aspects - Islam
Jonathan Randal discusses his book, “Osama: The Making of a Terrorist.” Randal says he tried to arrange an interview with Osama Bin Laden, but was unable to meet with him. He talks about Bin Laden’s antagonism against Saudi Arabia’s...
Bradley, Ernestine, 1935-; Bradley, Bill, 1943- - Family; Legislators’ spouses - United States - Biography; United States - Biography; Germany - History - 1933-1945; Germany - History - 1945-1955
Ernestine Bradley discusses her book, “The Way Home.” She begins by explaining that the book is the story of her life growing up in post World War II Germany and how she later went on to become a professor of comparative literature and the wife...
Brooklyn Dodgers (Baseball team) - History; Baseball fans - United States - Biography; Historians - United States - Biography
Doris Kearns Goodwin discusses her book, “Wait Till Next Year.” Goodwin shares that she learned how to tell a story from beginning to end when her father asked her to keep score of baseball games when he was unable to watch them. She tells of...
Jennifer Allen discusses her book, “Better Get Your Angel On,” which consist of a series of short stories. Jennifer is the daughter of the famous football coach George Allen, who taught her resilience. Jennifer spent much time alone as she...
