Aimee Liu discusses her book, “Gaining.” She begins by talking about her own past as a teenager suffering from anorexia and how she thought that she had recovered. She discusses some personality traits that make people prone to eating...
Rand Corporation - History;
Rand Corporation - Influence;
Research institutes - United States - History - 20th century;
Military research - United States - History - 20th century;
United States - Intellectual life - 20th century;
United States -...
Alex Abella discusses his book, “Soldiers of Reason.” He begins by the mission of the Rand Corporation and the history of how they were founded. He talks about how they were initially funded to make new weapons for the United States. Abella...
Aljean Harmetz discusses her novel, “Off the Face of the Earth.” She begins by explaining that her book is about a young boy who gets kidnapped. She talks about how her book is a suspense thriller which emphasizes the mother/child...
Alvin Toffler discusses his book, “War and Anti-War.” He begins by explaining that the book deals with the topics of war and peace. He argues that the way humans go about obtaining wealth often leads to war. He points to the relation between...
Amy Wallace discusses the book she co-wrote with her family, “The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People.” She begins by explaining how she collected information on the quirks and peculiarities of famous people, and decided to make a book out of...
Rapture (Christian eschatology) - Fiction; Messiah - Prophecies - Fiction; Two thousand, A.D. - Fiction; End of the world - Fiction; Millennialism - Fiction; Armageddon - Fiction
Andrei Codrescu discusses his novel, “Messiah.” He begins by introducing his main characters and explains how his book is about Christian prophecies in New Orleans. He talks about his main character, a young girl who believes the words of a...
African American neighborhoods - Fiction; Color blindness in children - Fiction; African Americans - Fiction; Dysfunctional families - Fiction; Race relations - Fiction; Children, White - Fiction; Boys - Fiction
Andrew Winer discusses his novel, “The Color Midnight Made.” He begins by explaining that his novel is about a young boy who is a victim of child abuse and befriends a blind boy. Martinson asks Winer to read a passage from the book about how...
Anna Murdoch discusses her book, “Family Business.” She talks about the characters in the book, members of a newspaper family, and says that her own children hear about the newspaper business. Murdoch says publishers make conscious decisions...
Ariel Dorfman discusses his novel, “The Last Song of Manuel Sendero.” He begins by explaining that the book is about a baby who refuses to be born until his parents change the world and make it a better place. This baby gathers all the other...
Corporate power; Organizational behavior; Success in business
Art Kleiner discusses his book, “Who Really Matters.” He begins by explaining the importance of a core group, an inner circle of elite members who make an organization run. He talks about several strategies for running a company, and that the...
Adult child abuse victims - Fiction; Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Fiction; Los Angeles (Calif.) - Fiction; Motion picture industry - Fiction
Benjamin Stein discusses his novel, “Her Only Sin.” He begins by introducing his main character, a woman who suffered abuse as a child and can’t tell the difference between real life and movies. This woman grows up to run the largest movie...
Boris Akunin discusses his book, “Winter Queen.” He begins by sharing that this novel is the first from the Erast Fandorin series of historical detective novels that will eventually consist of 16 books. Akunin explains that the book’s...
Bruno Bettelheim discusses his book, “A Good Enough Parent: A Book on Child-Rearing.” Bettelheim says that all individuals make mistakes and that we cannot be perfect, but we can be good enough parents. He believes parents can set an example...
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...
Charles A. Cerami discusses his book, “More Profit, Less Risk.” He begins by explaining the relationship between loan rates and inflation. He talks about how buying power will increase as interest rates go down. He describes unemployment...
Self-actualization (Psychology);
African American women - Life skills guides;
Self-esteem in women
Dr. Christine Johnson discusses her book, “Walk the Rainbow.” She begins by explaining that her book is a response to Terry McMillan’s book, “Waiting to Exhale.” She talks about how she spoke with her students and realized that people...
Clive Barker discusses his novel, “Imajica.” He begins by explaining the plot of the book and how a jealous husband hires a hit man to kill his philandering wife. Barker talks about how good fantasy books bring familiar elements into the...
People with mental disabilities - Fiction;
Women - Australia - Fiction;
Australia - Fiction
Colleen McCullough discusses her novel, “An Indecent Obsession.” She begins by explaining that her book is about a young nurse who works in a military hospital in Australia. She talks about how she achieved great fame with her previous book...
David Baldacci discusses his novel, “Absolute Power,” which takes place in Washington DC, where a character Luther is set out to rob a mansion, but accidentally witnesses the President of the United States having an affair with the lady of the...
David Ebershoff discusses his novel, “Pasadena.” He begins by describing the setting of his book and how he wanted to represent California’s rural and industrial history during the Depression Era. He introduces his characters: German...
