Biography & Memoir

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Intellectual Memoirs," by Mary McCarthy. It's the last book by McCarthy and its about her years in New York 1936-1938.

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Bride Price," by Grete Weil. The book is half autobiography, and half biblical story. (published by David Godine)

Paul Theroux ("Thuh-RUE") is no ordinary travel writer: his books are about exotic voyages, some by train, and others by foot. His work includes "The Great Railway Bazaar," "The Old Patagonian Express," and "The Kingdom By The Sea." He's also a novelist, perhaps best known for "The Mosquito Coast," which became a film starring Harrison Ford. In his latest book, " The Happy Isles of Oceania," Theroux explores the far-off Pacific Islands, traveling from island to island in a one-man, collapsible kayak.

Pro Golfer Charlie Sifford. He was the first black admitted to the PGA in 1961. Even so, he's found that blacks are still not welcome in the game of golf. His new book is "Just Let Me Play," written by Sifford with James Gullo (by British American Publishing, 19 British American Boulevard, Latham, New York, 12110).

Glenda Lockwood. She and her family were living in Kuwait when the Iraqis invaded in August 1990. Later the family was taken to Bagdad as "human shields" and Glenda's son, Stuart Lockwood, was seen on international television being coaxed by Saddam Hussein. It was a propaganda effort on Hussein's part that failed, and ended up infuriating viewers around the world. Glenda Lockwood's new book is " Dairy of a Human Shield." (by Bloomsbury, distributed by Trafalgar Square, North Pomfret, Vermont 05053).

Writer and professor Gayle Pemberton. She is associate director of Afro-American Studies at Princeton University. Her new book, The Hottest Water in Chicago: on family, race, time, and American culture, is a collection of autobiographical essays. Pemberton was born into a northern black middle-class family in the late 1940s. (by Faber & Faber)

Frances Lear founded Lear's Magazine. At one time she was married to TV producer Norman Lear, and though her life, from the outside, seems quite pleasant and successful, her new memoir "The Second Seduction" details a life full of pain.

Writer Aram Saroyan ("AH-rum"). His father was William Saroyan; his stepfather is Walter Matthau. In the Sixties, he went through a minimalist poetry writing phase. Then he turned to autobiographical narrative, concentrating on his parents' turbulent marriage, his father's death, and his own family. His new book is called "Friends In The World: The Education of A Writer." (Coffee House press)

Book critic John Leonard reviews "New York in the Fifties," a new memoir by Dan Wakefield. (Published by Houghton Mifflin)

Bob Simon is the CBS News correspondent who was taken prisoner during the gulf war and held for six weeks. He's just written a book about the experience called "Forty Days." (Putnam) In it, he describes the indignity and loss of control he felt as a captive. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

We air our previously scheduled interview with Patti Davis, Ronald and Nancy Reagan's daughter. While the Reagans stressed family values while in the White House, their daughter says they didn't practice them. Davis has a new autobiography called "The Way I See It." (G.P. Putnam's Sons)

Writer Geoffrey Wolff. His new collection of essays, "A Day At The Beach" (Alfred A. Knopf), is about the worst vacation ever. It started with over-priced dinners and ended in open heart surgery. Wolff is best known for his book "The Duke of Deception," a memoir about being the son of a con man.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Talking To High Monks In The Snow," Lydia Minatoya's memoir of growing up a Japanese American (It's published by Harper Collins).

Former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne. She’s written a new memoir of her years in Chicago politics, called My Chicago. It’s published by W.W. Norton).

British actor Michael York. Over the years he's starred in such films as "Romeo & Juliet," "Cabaret," "Logan's Run," and "The Three Musketeers." He's written his autobiography, "Accidentally on Purpose." (published by Simon & Schuster).

Social Worker Sattareh Farman-Farmaian (sa-TAH-ray FAR-mahn far-m'YAN). She's the daughter of an Iranian prince of a fallen dynasty. She spent her childhood in a harem in Persia in the 20s and 30s. She's 70 years old and has spent a life time challenging Iran's conventions. She became the first Persian to study at the University of Southern California where she earned an advanced degree in social work. Returning to Iran she founded the Tehran School of Social Work.

Dame Edna Everage. Dame Edna describes herself as a housewife, megastar, investigative journalist, chanteuse, swami and polymath. She's become a media star in England and Australia, and has just written her memoir, called "My Gorgeous Life: The Life, The Loves, The Legend" (published by Simon and Schuster). Dame Edna, in case you didn't know, is a fictitious creation, the alter-ego of Australian comic Barry Humphries.

Author Norma Field. Field teaches Japanese literature at the University Chicago and was born to a Japanese mother and an American father. Her new book, "In the Realm Of A Dying Emperor," tells the true stories of three Japanese who went against the ultra-conformist Japanese society, and the condemnation they suffered. (It's published by Pantheon). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Journalist Nan Robertson. Robertson spent more than three decades at the New York Times. Her new book, "The Girls In the Balcony," is a look back at the sexual inequality that for many years was part of working life at the Times, and throughout journalism in general. (It's published by Random House). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Nancy Lieberman-Cline dominated women's college basketball and was the youngest woman ever to play on the women's Olympic basketball team. She was also a star of the short-lived women's pro basketball league. She also spent several years as companion and trainer to tennis star Martina Navritilova. She has a new autobiography called "Lady Magic." (Published by Sagamore). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)