African novelist and chemist Emmanuel Dongala. He was born in the Congo Republic, was educated in the U.S., and left the Congo with the outbreak of civil war in 1997. Two of his novels have just been translated to English: “Little Boys Come From the Stars” and “The Fires of Origins” (both by Lawrence Hill Books). With the help of writers Philip Roth and William Styron, Dongala now has a visiting professorship in chemistry at Simon’s Rock of Bard College in Massachusetts. Dongala is also president of the Congolese PEN Centre.
Journalists Lou Michel (“Meh-SHELL”) and Dan Herbeck are staff writers for the Buffalo News. The two have collaborated on the new book “American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh & the Oklahoma City Bombing” (ReganBooks). MICHEL lived twenty minutes away from the McVeigh’s father, and over time he developed a relationship with the elder McVeigh which in turn helped him gain access to his son. Michel and Herbeck conducted nearly 80 hours of interviews with Timothy McVeigh.
Veteran broadcaster and executive producer of 60 Minutes, DON HEWITT. Hes been with CBS News since 1948 and was producer-director of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite before creating 60 Minutes in 1968. Hes written a new memoir, –Tell Me a Story: Fifty Years and 60 Minutes in Television
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead begins a new six-part series we call Avant-Garde Made Easy, highlighting some of the important modern jazz mavericks of the so-called Avant Garde. We begin the series with pianist, composer, and band leader Sun Ra.
Journalist Anne Nivet (“NEE-VAH”) is Moscow correspondent for the French paper Liberation. Two years ago, after the Russians denied her press access to Chechnya, she disguised herself as a Chechen peasant woman and snuck across the boarder. For six months she followed the war, traveling with the underground rebels and staying with families. Her reports were published in Liberation. Her new memoir is “Chienne De Guerre: A Woman Reporter Behind the Lines of the War In Chechnya”
Bob Newhart's been a part of the American comedy landscape since 1961 when his debut comedy album "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart" became a surprise hit. Since then he's starred in three TV shows, including the Peabody award winning original "The Bob Newhart Show." And appeared in numerous films. There's a new Rhino anthology of his classic routines, "Something Like This. . .The Bob Newhart Anthology." Recently Newhart was honored at the Aspen Comedy Festival. This Fall Newhart is scheduled to co-star in a pilot for a new TV show.
Cofounder of the New England Center for Headache Dr. Fred Sheftell. He's also Chair of the World Headache Alliance. His book Conquering Headache: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding the Treatment and Control of Headache (Empowering Press, www.bcdecker.com) is now in it's third edition. Sheftell will talk about the new research in migraines. The New England Center for Headache is in Stamford Connecticut.
David Bianculli reviews the premiere of the new Comedy Central sitcom about life in the Bush Whitehouse, "Thats My Bush" by the creators of South Park.
Richard Bernstein has served as Time Magazines Beijing Bureau Chief as well as the New York Times National Cultural Correspondent and now, book critic. He has published several books including –From the Center of the Earth,— a book on modern China and –Dictatorship of Virtue,— which examines multiculturalism. His newest book is –Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk Who Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment.— In it, Bernstein traces the monk Hsuan Tsangs legendary journey through seventh century China and India.
We learn about caves from journalist and caver Michael Ray Taylor. His new book is called Caves: Exploring Hidden Realms (National Geographic Society). He has written for the Discovery Channel Online, Audubon, Sports Illustrated, Reader's Digest, and many other magazines. He'll talk about the geology of underwater caves and ice caves, and the secret microbial life flourishing in caves.
Irish writer Nuala OFaolain. Her first novel, My Dream of You, (Riverhead Books) has just come out in paperback. Her critically acclaimed 1998 memoir, Are You Somebody? The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman was on the New York Times bestseller list. OFaolain is also a columnist for the Irish Times; she has been at the paper for over 12 years.
Probably best known for his mystery writing, Sallis is the author of the new highly anticipated biography of African American mystery writer and realist Chester Himes. Himes wrote several books in the late 50s like The Real Cool Killers, and Cotton Comes to Harlem. Sallis has also published several science fiction stories as well as the Lew Griffin mystery series. His book about the lives of noir writers Difficult Lives, came out last year.
