Laura Kalpakian discusses her novel, “Cosette.” She begins by explaining that her book is a sequel to Victor Hugo’s famous novel, “Les Misérables.” She talks about how her book can stand independently from the original, and the reader...
Child, Julia;
Cooks - United States - Biography;
Food
Noel Riley Fitch discusses her biography of Julia Child, “Appetite For Life.” She begins by explaining the early life of Child who grew up in Pasadena, California. She talks about how Child’s job with the government allowed her to travel...
Jeanne Guillemin discusses her book, "Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-Sponsored Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism." She speaks about the anthrax epidemic that took place in the Soviet Union in 1979. In 1992, Guillemin was part...
World's Fair (1939-1940 : New York, N.Y.); World's fairs
Miles Beller discusses his novel, “Dream of Venus.” He begins by explaining how it’s a story of the 1939 World’s Fair which took place in New York. He describes how he wanted to write the book as a non-traditional narrative with many...
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) - Economic aspects - Germany;
World War, 1939-1945 - Economic aspects - Germany;
World War, 1939-1945 - Confiscations and contributions - Germany;
Diamonds - Germany - History - 20th century;
Jewish property - Germany
Yaron Svoray discusses his book, “Blood From a Stone.” He begins by explaining that he was approached by a soldier on the French and German border who had buried 40 uncut diamonds. He talks about how these diamonds were taken from Jewish...
Wisner, Franz - Travel;
Wisner, Kurt Oscar - Travel;
Brothers - United States - Biography;
Travelers - United States - Biography;
Betrothal - United States;
Man-woman relationships - United States
Franz Wisner discusses his book, “Honeymoon with my Brother.” He begins by explaining that his fiancée called off their wedding 5 days before the ceremony, so Franz took his brother Kurt on the honeymoon he had tickets to. The two brothers...
Wood, Natalie; Motion picture actors and actresses - United States - Biography
Gavin Lambert discusses his biography, “Natalie Wood.” He begins by explaining that he was a long-time friend of the late actress Natalie Wood, and wrote the screenplay for the film, “Inside Daisy Clover.” He talks about how Wood was a...
Dual-career families - United States;
Married people - Employment - United States;
Unmarried couples - Employment - United States
Pat Koch Thaler discusses her book, “Working Couples.” She begins by explaining that the numbers of working women are increasing, and that wanted to take a look at how couples share responsibilities. She talks about the disparity between the...
Insider trading in securities - United States;
Investment banking - Corrupt practices - United States
James B. Stewart discusses his book, “Den of Thieves.” He begins by explaining that his book is a non-fiction account of insider trading at a Venezuelan office of Merrill Lynch. He talks about a man named ‘Mr. Diamond’ who stole millions...
Juvenile delinquency - United States - Case studies;
Teachers - Training of - United States - Case studies;
Urban schools - United States
Mary MacCracken discusses her book, “City Kid.” She begins by explaining that her book is a case study of children in inner city public school systems. She talks about her experience teaching autistic and schizophrenic children, and that she...
Psychotherapist and patient - Fiction;
Missing persons - Fiction;
Married people - Fiction;
Psychologists - Fiction;
Adultery - Fiction;
Brothers - Fiction;
Refugees - Fiction;
Upper West Side (New York, N.Y.) - Fiction;
Lake District (England) -...
Frederick Busch discusses his novel, “A Memory of War.” He begins by explaining that his book takes a look at the generations of family members in the post World War II era. He talks about his main character who is a successful psychoanalyst...
Milken, Michael;
Stockbrokers - United States - Biography;
Securities industry - Corrupt practices - United States
Jesse Kornbluth discusses his biography, “Highly Confident: The Crime and Punishment of Michael Milken.” He begins by explaining that his book is about the life of financier Michael Milken, who developed high-yield bonds and was convinced for...
Steven Kotler discusses his novel, “The Angle Quickest for Flight.” He begins by explaining that his book is about the search for religious truth. He talks about his research process, and that the novel took 10 years to write. He discusses...
Historical fiction - Authorship; Novelists, American - 20th century - Interviews; Michener, James A. (James Albert), 1907-1997 - Interviews
Lawrence Grobel discusses his book, “Talking with Michener.” Grobel begins by explaining that the book is a product of several interviews that took place between 1980 and 1997 between Michener and Grobel. Within these interviews Michener...
Charles Johnson discusses his book, “Middle Passage.” He says the “middle passage” is the journey from the African west coast to the United States. Johnson describes the protagonist, Rutherford Calhoun, a former slave, his brother,...
National Endowment for the Arts; Arts administrators - United States - Biography; Actresses - United States - Biography
Jane Alexander discusses her book, “Command Performance: An Actress in the Theater of Politics.” Alexander says she left the play, “The Sisters Rosensweig” in order to take over the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). She talks about...
Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) - History; Ambassador Hotel
Margaret Burk discusses her book, “Are the Stars Out Tonight?” She begins by explaining the appeal the Ambassador hotel held for the people of Hollywood in the early twentieth century. She explains how in the 1940s she started working at the...
Farley Granger and Robert Calhoun discuss their book, “Include Me Out: My Life from Goldwyn to Broadway.” Granger says he was discovered at the age of 17, and that Samuel Goldwyn signed him. He talks about Howard Hughes and his takeover of...
September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 - Fiction; Fathers and daughters - Fiction; Loss (Psychology) - Fiction; Mothers - Death - Fiction; Teenage girls - Fiction; Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) - Fiction; California - Fiction
Joyce Maynard discusses her book, “The Usual Rules.” She begins by explaining that she wanted to explore how the events of September 11th took normal lives and threw them into turmoil. She then discusses the characters and the plot, which...
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969 - Assassination attempts - Fiction; Attempted assassination - Fiction; World War, 1939-1945 - Commando operations - Fiction; Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945 - Fiction
Mark Frost discusses his book, “The Second Objective.” He begins by explaining that the book is a World War II thriller based on a real German operation that took place during the war. Frost discusses the plot which involves Lieutenant Colonel...
