Christopher Beha's memoir is called "The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death and Pretty Much Everything Else." Beha challenged himself to read the entire Harvard Classics in one year. During that year he not only completed the reading but experienced the death of a favorite aunt and personal illnesses. Through it all he learned the relevance of great literature to contemporary life as well as the fact that we "have to write our own books."
Listen to the interview at http://www.wvik.org/listings-aboutbooks.htm
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
About Books, September 19, 2009
Dennis Drabelle revisits the Nevada of Mark Twain's "Roughing It" in " Mile High Fever: Silver Mines, Boom Towns and High Living on the Comstock Lode." The Comstock Lode, a large vein of silver, started a silver rush to the Virginia City area and resulted in a bawdy boom, inappropriate treatment of the Native American population and some innovations that we still use today.
Listen to the interview at http://www.wvik.org/listings-aboutbooks.htm
Listen to the interview at http://www.wvik.org/listings-aboutbooks.htm
Thursday, September 10, 2009
About Books, September 12, 2009
Tom Gjelton, whom you hear on NPR and Washington Week, has written a contemporary history called "Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba." Bi-lingual Gjelton, spent a lot of time in Cuba researching the parallel stories of a family owned rum company and 20th century Cuba. You will meet fascinating characters like Facundo Bacardi, Emilio Bacardi, Pepin Bosch and, of course, Fidel and Raul Castro. And you will learn more about the intervention in Cuba by the United States. It's a wonderful saga of a family and a country.
Listen to the interview at http://www.wvik.org/listings-aboutbooks.htm
Listen to the interview at http://www.wvik.org/listings-aboutbooks.htm
Friday, September 4, 2009
About Books, September 5, 2009
Daniel Silva extends his series about Israeli spy Gabriel Allon in "The Defector." The book is a sequel to "Moscow Rules." Silva carefully researches the locations for all the action in his books and exhibits a strong attachment to his characters. He has lots of friends in the espionage business so the action is based in reality. It was interesting to hear him talk about a possible film and how he wants to protect his characters if ever there is a movie.
Listen to the interview at http://www.wvik.org/listings-aboutbooks.htm
Listen to the interview at http://www.wvik.org/listings-aboutbooks.htm
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