Books & Literature

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews two new collections of essays: “Red Smith on Baseball” (Ivan R. Dee), and “The Secret Parts of Fortune” by Ron Rosenbaum (Random House)

Horror writer Peter Straub. He has 14 books to his credit, including “Mr. X,” “Ghost Story,” and “The Talisman” which he wrote in collaboration with Steven King. The two of them are currently working on a sequel. Straub’s newest work is a book of short fiction “Magic Terror.” (Random House)

We remember British actor Sir Alec Guinness who died Saturday at the age of 86. He’s known to older audiences for his roles in films like “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” and to younger audiences as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. (REBROADCAST from 2/27/1986)

Writer Alec Wilkinson remembers his friend and mentor William Maxwell who died Monday at the age of 91. Wilkinson is a staff writer for the New Yorker, and has been there since 1980. His book, “Midnights: A Year With the Wellfleet Police” (Hungry Mind Press) was recently released in paperback.

Writer Alec Wilkinson remembers his friend and mentor William Maxwell who died Monday at the age of 91. Wilkinson is a staff writer for the New Yorker, and has been there since 1980. His book, “Midnights: A Year With the Wellfleet Police” (Hungry Mind Press) was recently released in paperback.

We listen to rebroadcast of a 1995 interview with William Maxwell. Maxwell was fiction editor of the New Yorker from 1936-1976 and worked with such authors as J.D. Salinger, John Cheever, John Updike, Eudora Welty and scores of others. Maxwell was the author of a number of novels, including "Time Will Darken It," and "So Long, See You Tomorrow," as well as several short story collections.

Veteran smokejumper Murray Taylor. He’s been fighting forest fires for over 35 years, is the oldest active smokejumper and the oldest to ever do the job. He’s written a new memoir about his experiences “Jumping Fire: A Smokejumper’s Memoir of Fighting Wildfire.” (Harcourt Inc.)

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews “An Obedient Father” (Farrar Straus & Giroux) the debut novel by short story writer Akhil Sharma.

Writer Joyce Johnson, talks about her relationship to Beat icon Jack Kerouac, and her new book, “Door Wide Open: A Beat Love Affair in letters” (Viking). In 1957, Johnson started a relationship with the then little-known writer Kerouac. 9 months later, Kerouac’s Beat classic “On the Road” was published. Johnson will talk about her two-year, tumultuous love affair with Kerouac, how the publication of “On the Road” changed Kerouac, and she’ll talk about what it was like being young and female and part of the Manhattan bohemian scene.

Yugoslavian-born writer Aleksander Hemon. Hemon was born in Sarajevo in 1964. While in his early 20s, he came to the United States as a tourist. On the day he was supposed to return to Sarajevo, his home city came under siege. He was forced to stay in the US. Hemon then began working on his English and now writes in English, even though it is not his first language. His first book is a collection of stories called “The Question of Bruno” (Nan A. Talese/ Doubleday).

Cartoonist Ben Katchor, creator of the weekly comic strip, Julius Knipl (ka-NIP-le), Real Estate Photographer. Through his comic strips, Katchor has been an astute and witty commentator on New York in particular and urban life in general. His new book, “Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: the Beauty Supply District” (Pantheon), is a novel that incorporates some of his single-page strips from the last few years. Katchor has been syndicated in alternative newspapers and magazines since 1988.

The next installment of the Harry Potter series comes out tomorrow. Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the Harry Potter books and the hype around them.

Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new novel Bee Season, by Myla Goldberg.

Senior vice president and editorial director of VH1, Bill Flanagan. He’s the author of “A&R” (Random House) a satirical novel about the music industry. Prior to this, Flanagan wrote extensively about the business for “Vanity Fair,” “Rolling Stone,” “Esquire,” and “Spy.” He’s also the author of “Written in My Soul” a collection of conversations with songwriters.

Associate curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Russell Ferguson He curated the exhibit “In Memory of My Feelings: Frank O’Hara and American Art,” (there’s also a companion book). Frank O’Hara was part of a small group of poets in New York City in the 1950s and 60s, influenced by the Abstract Expressionist painters of that time, including Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. O’Hara died in 1966 after being struck by a jeep. Also, poet David Lehman (“LEE-man”), author of “the Last Avant-Garde: The Making of the New York School of Poets” (Anchor Books)

Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Katharine Butler Hathaway’s newly reprinted memoir, The Little Locksmith.

Editor Tom Kuntz and reporter Phil Kuntz. Their new book “The Sinatra Files: The Life of an American Icon Under Government Surveillance” (Three Rivers Press) excerpts and analyzes portions of the FBI’s massive file on Frank Sinatra. The file is 1,275 pages long and was begun in the mid 1940s and lasted until 1972. Tom Kuntz is the editor of “Word for Word,” a column in The New York Times Week in Review section. Phil Kuntz is a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

Writer Jim Knipfel. His first book, the acclaimed memoir Slackjaw (Putnam), is his funny, irreverent account of loosing his sight and trying to take his life. In his new book, Quitting the Nairobi Trio (Tracher/Putnam), he writes about the time he spent in a psychiatric ward. The New York Times says Knipfel is “blessed with a natural, one might even say reflexive, knack for telling stories.” Knipfel is a columnist and staff writer for New York Press.

Nadine Cohodas is the author of “Spinning Blues into Gold: the Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records” (St. Martin’s Press). It’s the story of brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, Jewish immigrants from Poland, who knew little about music, but somehow created the influential blues label, Chess Records. Muddy Waters helped them see the potential in the music and they went on to record Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, and others. Chess Records was located in Chicago.

British novelist Martin Amis. He’s considered one of the leading British writers of the late-twentieth century and one of the most controversial. His books include “Night Train,” “Money: A Suicide Note,” “The Information,” and “London Fields.” He’s just written a new memoir, “Experience: a Memoir” (Talk Miramax Books). Much of it is about his father, the late writer Kingsley Amis.