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Frederick Forsyth Discusses His Latest Novel and Early Career.

Novelist Frederick Forsyth. With the publication of The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Dogs of War, all in the space of three years, critics dubbed Frederick Forsyth a master of the international suspense thriller. The plots of all his stories have been praised for their split-second calculations and for their attention to the mechanical details of, say, mixing the right sunburn salve or creating an atomic bomb. Forsyth turned to novels after a long career as a newspaper and radio reporter throughout Europe and Africa. Forsyth's new novel, titled The Negotiator, is his first with an American hero and revolves around a plot to bring down the Presidency on the eve of signing a major disarmament treaty. (Rebroadcast. Originally broadcast on Friday, April 28, 1989.)

09:50
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Other segments from the episode on July 24, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, July 24, 1989: Interview with Chris Walas; Review of Bob Stewart's album "Goin' Home"; Interview with Frederick Forsyth; Review of the television show "POV: Wiseguys!"
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22:22

Special Effects Impresario Chris Walas Tackles Directing.

Special effects master and director Chris Walas. He directed "Fly II," the sequel to the popular remake of "The Fly," about a scientist whose genetic experiments run amok. Walas was responsible for the special effects in "The Fly." He got his start in film making working for the special effects team for several Roger Corman films, including "Piranha." His work was first noticed in the film "Scanners;" it was Walas who created and choreographed the famous exploding head scene.

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07:53

Bob Stewart Strikes Forth On His Own.

Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Goin' Home," the second album by tuba player and composer Bob Stewart. Stewart, who stresses that the tuba is a world instrument, heard everywhere from New Orleans to Surinam, mixes genres in this album, jumping from "Sweet Georgia Brown" to Thelonius Monk's "Bemsha Swing."

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03:31

A Behind the Scenes Look at "Jeopardy!" and Its "Wise Guys!"

Television Critic David Bianculli reviews "Wise Guys!," an installment of "P.O.V." (Point of View), the PBS series that showcases independently produced documentary films. This program follows contestants as they prepare for, and perform on, the game show "Jeopardy."

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09:38

Spy Novelist Frederick Forsyth

Forsyth's latest book, called The Negotiator, imagines the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1990s, several years after the Glasnost reforms. He left home to become a bullfighter, and later worked a journalist in Europe and Africa. Forsyth was once accused of raising money to oust a dictator in Equitorial Guinea -- a claim that was never substantiated.

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05:29

'Get Smart' Goes Hollywood, with Mixed Results

The '60s sitcom was often a one-joke affair; the film's starry-eyed geek has room for nuance. You can make a case for both Maxes, but critic David Edelstein misses the tube's lovable boob. Anne Hathaway's Agent 99, now ... that's another matter.

Review
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05:51

Alan Furst Conjures a Vanished Europe

Alan Furst's best-selling spy thrillers (Kingdom of Shadows, Night Shadows, The Polish Officer) play out in the brooding, tumultuous Europe of the pre-World War II years, offering an intimate, insider portrait of an escalating crisis in which the players can't always see the implications of the game. Critic-at-large John Powers explains why he's a fan.

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