Books & Literature

In addition to his career as a science fiction writer, Bradbury helped design Disney's Epcot Center and the Pavilion of the Future for the 1964 World's Fair. His new collection of short stories is called the Toynbee Convector.

Book critic John Leonard says that Don DeLillo's new novel is the culmination of the author's career writing great books. The heavily-researched, well-orchestrated story posits that the JFK assassination was an elaborate plot to regain Cuba, and was intended to have been near miss rather than a successful murder.

Andrew Holleran has writes about the lives of gay men. Now that several years have passed since the height of the AIDS epidemic, he's observed a kind of resignation to mortality and changing sexuality within his community.. Holleran's new collection of essays is called Ground Zero.

Guest commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews Writing Red, an anthology of women's writing from the 1930s which brings to light the often overlooked experience of working class women during that decade.

Science writer James Gleick's new book is about chaos theory, which informs all scientific disciplines. This concept can sometimes be difficult to understand; Gleick says that the unpredictability of the weather serves as an excellent example.

The author says his life -- and writing -- has been defined by struggle. He didn't read a novel until he was in his twenties. His first, controversial work, Last Exit to Brooklyn, documented its protagonist's violent, working class life. It's now being made into a film.

T.S. Eliot championed the writing of Amos Tutola decades ago for what guest critic Stuart Klawans believes may have been dubious, colonialist reasons. City Lights has just published new editions of two of Tutola's books, which Klawans says are quirky and timeless.

Samuel Delany's new memoir is called The Motion of Light in Water. Delany sees himself as part of newer, left-of-center generation of science fiction writers. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his position in the margins as a genre writer and a black gay man, his dyslexia, and his perspective on the AIDS epidemic.

Novellist Don DeLillo doesn't like talking about his novels; but he says there's much to discuss about his newest book Libra, based on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. DeLillo sought to fill in the gaps of that story, including what motivated gunman Lee Harvey Oswald.

Journalist Philip Langdon joins Fresh Air guest host Sedge Thomson to discuss the changing nature of home design throughout the United States -- which have reflects new ideas about work, family and community,

Writer Sheila Ballantyne's newest collection of short stories explores mortality. She says her musings on death help her better appreciate the time she has right now.

Bobbie Ann Mason's new, Spence and Lila, is about a couple who copes with the wife's breast cancer. Her previous novel, In Country, is being made into a film. She joins Fresh Air to talk about her approach to writing and the clowder of farm cats she raised.

Dennis Smith says that his own history as a firefighter helped him earn the trust of the people he interviewed for his new book. He talks about firefighter training and culture, and shares some of the personal anecdotes he learned during his research. Smith's first book was called Report from Engine Co. 82

Sci-fi writer and editor Bruce Sterling says that the cyberpunk movement doesn't anticipate the future--it describes the how technological innovation affects culture today.

Guest critic Stuart Klawans says that Harvey Pekar's critically acclaimed comic book series is changing, and not necessarily for better or worse. While their sardonic tone remain, the latest issues focus more on significant moments in Pekar's life, and less on the the minutiae of everyday life.

Journalist Timothy Ferris spent twelve years writing his new history of the galaxy. He explores ancient and contemporary theories of the universe, and how philosophy and theology have influenced scientific advancements.

Sociologist Barry Glassner's new book Bodies explores the pressures Americans face to conform to particular standards of health and beauty. He says this cultural expectation -- which even extends to the workplace -- has led to a proliferation of diet and exercise programs, which most participants are doomed to fail.

The African American writer is known for his experimental style, but in Such Was the Season, Major uses a straightforward narrative to tell the story about an older black woman in Atlanta and her doctor nephew. Guest critic Stuart Klawans says any bookstore that doesn't carry it needs to "wise up."

None of the stories in the writer's debut collection were previously published; magazines hated her dark, sexually charged stories of young women. But the book--and Gaitskill--have now found critical acclaim.

Novelist Donald Westlake has written everything, from confession stories to westerns to science fiction. But he's found the most success with his mystery and crime stories. He wrote a series of novels under the name Richard Stark featuring an emotionless criminal named Parker; his newest book, Trust Me on This, is a humorous tale of a tabloid journalist.