Eye on Books - Author Interviews

Lidia Bastianich - "Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy"

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:48:49 CST

For a country of less than 120 thousand square miles, Italy produces a disproportionate share of the world's most appreciated cuisine. In her book "Lidia Cooks From the Heart of Italy," famed restaurateur and TV chef Lidia Bastianich takes her readers on a virtual tour of the land of her birth. From north to south, Lidia introduces all kinds of new recipes that she says represent a back-to-basics respect for fresh, wholesome ingredients.

Irene Khan - "The Unheard Truth"

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:46:50 CST

Poverty is not about a lack of money. The secretary general of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, makes the argument that poverty is a global human rights violation, inasmuch as it is really a crisis of insecurity, deprivation, discrimination, and voicelessness. She makes her point in a book called "The Unheard Truth."

Brandon Sanderson - "The Gathering Storm"

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:57:47 CST

Many say Robert Jordan was the greatest fantasy author of our time. His untimely death at age 58 in 2007 left his masterful "Wheel of Time" epic unfinished. His widow and longtime editor Harriet McDougal handpicked bestselling author Brandon Sanderson to complete the Wheel of Time. With access to Jordan's papers, recordings, and notes, Sanderson realized the final book would have to be three books - the first of the series-ending trilogy is called "The Gathering Storm." We talked with both Brandon Sanderson and Harriet McDougal at a recent bookstore event near Baltimore.

Vince Flynn - "Pursuit of Honor"

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:56:06 CST

Do whatever it takes. That instruction, in the hands of Vince Flynn's series hero Mitch Rapp, means two things: one, that there are some really, really bad guys to be taken out. And two, that Mitch will get the job done, whatever it takes. In Flynn's latest, "Pursuit of Honor," a brazen and bizarre act of terrorism has shocked Washington, DC, and Mitch and his trusted cohort Mike Nash have a nasty job to do.

Nicholas Sparks - "The Last Song"

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:03:07 CST

An angry and self-absorbed teenage girl has her eyes opened to the rest of the world - including her estranged father - in the Nicholas Sparks novel "The Last Song." Exiled from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina for the summer by her mother, 17-year-old Veronica Miller must find a way to coexist with her father, who walked out on the family three years earlier. And, as in every Nicholas Sparks book, there will be love found - and love lost.

Sarah Schmelling - "Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float"

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:00:28 CST

Imagine if Jane Eyre had a Facebook page. Or Don Quixote, Dr. Jekyll, and Beowulf. Humorist Sarah Schmelling imagines all that and much more, in her book "Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float."

Mildred Muhammad - "Scared Silent"

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:58:10 CST

For three weeks in October 2002 Washington DC was held in terror by a sniper who was killing random individuals at will. Police finally caught, and prosecutors convicted, the Gulf War veteran who was responsible, a man named John Allen Muhammad. It is now believed that Muhammad elaborately orchestrated the killing spree to divert attention away from himself when his final victim would die - his ex-wife Mildred. She now tells her harrowing story in a book called "Scared Silent."

Diana Gabaldon - "An Echo in the Bone"

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:54:32 CST

The outcome of the American Revolution is in question, as Diana Gabaldon's book "An Echo in the Bone" begins. In question, that is, to all those present except Claire Randall. She, of course, knows exactly what will happen, because she is a visitor from the 20th century. But while she knows the broad strokes, what concerns her is the fate of her husband, 18th century Scotsman Jamie Fraser, in this seventh book in Gabaldon's Outlander series.

Jeremiah Workman - "Shadow of the Sword"

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:17:05 CDT

The small-town Ohio boy grew up to become a distinguished U.S. Marine, recipient of the Navy Cross for gallantry under fire. But while Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Workman came back from the war in Iraq with an intact body, his mind had been seriously injured. Workman suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. And unlike most of his contemporaries, Workman has gone public with it. His book is called "Shadow of the Sword."

Joanne Rendell - "Crossing Washington Square"

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:34:03 CDT

Professor Diana Monroe and Professor Rachel Grey can agree on many things, but one thing they cannot agree on if "Bridget Jones' Diary" should be taught in literature classes alongside Sylvia Plath. Novelist Joanne Rendell's second book "Crossing Washington Square" - which may come down closer to Bridget than to Sylvia - mines this academic conflict for all it's worth. And then throws in a wild card. His name is Carson McEvoy...

Tracy Kidder - "Strength in What Remains"

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:23:49 CDT

A young medical student from the horrifyingly war-ravaged African nation of Burundi arrives in New York City in the mid 1990s, to find a unique kind of culture shock, in Tracy Kidder's new book "Strength in What Remains." The man's called simply "Deo" in Kidder's book, coming to the big city with a few dollars in his pocket, almost no knowledge of English, and a preference for sleeping in Central Park instead of a rundown tenement. But Deo's story will amaze you, when he meets the right people...

Judy Shepard - "The Meaning of Matthew"

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:18:34 CDT

Matthew Shepard has become, in death, an icon of gay rights, a victim of hatred and intolerance, almost a tragically heroic figure to many. But to Judy Shepard, he was just Matt, her son, who had a promising future until his grisly murder in 1998. She is now a gay rights activist and chief advocate for the legacy of Matthew Shepard. Judy Shepard's book is called "The Meaning of Matthew."

Rich Cohen - "Israel is Real"

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:50:21 CDT

What is Israel? It is a physical location, but it's also a spiritual state of mind, a great metaphor, an inspiration that some even think is best left inside the head. Now Rich Cohen sets out to capture the history of Israel and Zionism, seen through a 21st century lens of cultural experience, in his book "Israel is Real."

Ed Nixon - "The Nixons: A Family Portrait"

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:14:52 CDT

For all the books - indeed, all the libraries - written about Richard Nixon, it's safe to say no one has ever been able to provide the perspective offered by the author of a book called "The Nixons: A Family Portrait." His name is Ed Nixon, Richard Nixon's youngest brother. His book is an intimate family story, revealing details of a Quaker upbringing that produced a master politician and one of America's most controversial presidents.

Sara Paretsky - "Hardball"

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:57:20 CDT

V.I. Warshawski is back, and is given a nearly-impossible job, in "Hardball," the latest entry in the groundbreaking series by Sara Paretsky. V.I. - or Vic, to her friends - is tasked with finding a guy who's been missing since, well, since 1967, when Chicago was a much different and in many ways more dangerous place. Blending real history with Vic's own past, Paretsky builds a suspenseful story that .. oh, did we mention, also includes the disappearance of Vic's young cousin from Kansas City?