Biography & Memoir

Faithfull got her start in the English music scene of 1964, when she dated Mick Jagger and had the hit song, "As Tears Go By." In the following years she had a drug addiction that almost killed her, before recovering in 1985 and releasing new albums. Her memoir, "Faithfull: An Autobiography," tells her story of highs and lows with music and drugs.

Feather, one of the world's most prominent jazz critics died of pneumonia, yesterday at the age of 80. He grew up in England and moved to America in 1940. His most important writing was his encylopedia of jazz, an essential reference work of musician bios. Feather spent his final months editing a new edition, which is scheduled for publication next year. Feather also produced about 200 recording sessions, composed for many of the musicians he worked with, and even played piano on some of their sessions.

Comedy writer Alan Zweibel discusses his 14 year friendship with Gilda Radner. They met working on the original Saturday Night Live and teamed up to create such memorable characters as Roseanne Roseannadanna and Emily Litella. Zweibel has written a new memoir about their friendship, called "Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner: A Sort of Love Story."

James Carville was President Clinton's chief strategist in the 1992 election. Mary Matalin was a top political aide to George Bush. They dated during the campaign and are now married. They've just written a book together, "All's Fair: Love, War, and Running for President," that tells the story of their unlikely romance.

Former First Lady, Barbara Bush. She's written her memoir, which she describes as a story of a "life of privilege." The book chronicles her early life, her marriage to George Bush during World War Two at the age of 19, and the political path that took them to the White House. She also writes about a depression she fell into in the mid-1970s in which she wept each night in the arms of her husband, and had thoughts about crashing her car into a tree or oncoming auto. The depression finally lifted on its own.

Conway grew up in a remote sheep station in the Australian outback, and later became the president of Smith College. Her girlhood memoir, "The Road from Coorain," was a bestseller, In her new book, "True North," she continues her story, writing about organizing for women's rights on campus, and creating a marriage in which she and her husband are equal partners. Conway was the first female vice president of The University of Toronto, and from 1975 to 1985 was the president of Smith.

Evans is an actor and producer of such films as "The Odd Couple", "Love Story", "Chinatown" and "The Godfather." His new memoir about his career's peaks and valleys is called "The Kid Stays in the Picture."

Martha Reeves is the lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas, the Motown group which made it big in the 60's with such hits as "Nowhere to Run," "Heat Wave," and "Dancing in the Street." Her new autobiography, "Dancing in the Street: Confessions of a Motown Diva," is about her career, her conflicts with other Motown singers and managers, and her experiences touring during the height of the Civil Rights movement.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews poet Peter Davison's account of the thriving literary scene in 1950s Boston, called "The Fading Smile."

Dr. David Hilfiker is a physician who left a rural family practice in Minnesota to treat the urban poor. In his new book, "Not All of Us Are Saints," he describes his frustration both with the system that allows people to live in poverty, and with the patients who frequently flout his medical advice. Hilfiker's first book, "Healing the Wounds" won the "American Medical Writers Associatin" prize, and was named among the "Best Books of the Year" from the NYT Book Review.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "True North," a sequel to Jill Kerr Conway's autobiography, "The Road from Coorain."

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews Julia Blackburn's new book "Daisy Bates in the Desert," an experimental biography about the real life Australian woman who often lied about her past and identity.

Sindiwe Magona is a fiction writer who was born and educated in South Africa. Her autobiography, "To my Children's Children," traces her life under the apartheid system. In her memoir, she describes her childhood in a poor South African town, and the hasty end a teenage pregnancy put to her career as a teacher. The memoir won an honorable mention from the 1991 Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. Magona has also published a novel, "Forced to Grow," and a collection of short stories. She currently works as a translator for the United Nations.

Karolyi coached Nadia Comaneci in the 1976 Olympics, where she was the first person to score perfect tens in Olympic history. Karolyi and writer Nancy Ann Richardson have collaborated on a biography of his life, called "Feel No Fear." The book tells of Karolyi's defection from Romania to the U.S., and how he brought the American gymnasts Mary Lou Retton and Kim Zmeskal into the public eye.

Ladd is a 24-year-old writer who has just published an autobiography, "Out of the Madness." He writes about growing up in the Dallas housing projects with his mother, who was a heroin addict. Ladd describes how he struggled to educate himself and eventually became a writer. His book started out as an article, written when he was 20, and published in "Dallas Life." Ladd currently writes for the "Dallas Morning News," and attends college.

Nelson Peery has just published his memoir, "Black Fire: The Making of an American Revolutionary," about coming of age against a background of racism, the Depression, and World War II. The book chronicles Peery's travels west during the Depression, and his experiences as a soldier fighting in World War II. He writes about his simultaneous love for America and hatred for the people who discriminated against African Americans, especially in the Army.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "No Gifts from Chance," Shari Benstock’s new biography of writer Edith Wharton.

Josephine Humpreys and Ruthie Bolton. Humpreys is a fiction writer who won the Pen/Hemingway award in 1985 for "Dreams of Sleep." She recently transcribed and edited the life story of Bolton, who grew up in the same area of Charleston, South Carolina as Humphreys. The novel is called "Gal," and details Bolton's experiences growing up with an abusive grandfather in 1960's South Carolina.

Merchant Seaman Captain Rudolph Patzert. In 1947 he captained a ship that was part of a clandestine effort by the Jewish underground to smuggle Holocaust survivors into Palestine. Palestine at that time was under British rule, and a British air and sea blockade prevented immigration to the country. Patzert's ship, the Paducah, was a 45 year-old rundown converted gunboat, his crew inexperienced; and they were thwarted every step of the way: British intelligence hounded them, preventing them from refueling and re-watering.

Gerald Early is Director of African American Studies at Washington University, and author of several books. His newest book is a memoir about raising his two daughters, "Daughters: On Family and Fatherhood," (Addison-Wesley). One reviewer wrote, "a powerful reminder of the complexity and mystery, and abiding love that exists in families. . . this narrative. . is also suffused with the glory and pain and generational patience of black culture in America."