Author Carlos Eire from Bob Edwards Weekend by Sirius XM Radio

In 1962, eleven year old CARLOS EIRE and his older brother Tony boarded an airplane in Cuba and left their parents and country behind, becoming not only refugees but also orphans. The brothers were two of 14,000 children airlifted out of "Castroland" in a mass exodus known as Operation Pedro Pan. Carlos Eire is now a professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University. He won a National Book Award for his memoir, "Waiting for Snow in Havana." He picks up where that book left off, the moment he first set foot in the US, with "Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee Boy."

Download the podcast here. See also: Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee Boy, A Very Brief History of Eternity, Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy, Miami y Mis Mil Muertes: Confesiones de un cubanito desterrado, War against the Idols: The Reformation of Worship from Erasmus to Calvin

TTBOOK: Science and the Search for Meaning: Five Questions: Does the Soul Still Matter? from PRI: To the Best of Our Knowledge Podcast

Keith Ward is a prominent theologian and philosopher at Oxford University. Michael Graziano thinks spirits and the soul can be entirely explained by new insights from brain science. Stephen Asma explains what he and his fellow philosophers make of the soul these days. Elna Baker fights to save her soul in New York City. Parker Palmer says the soul still matters in an age of science. Nancey Murphy suggests Christians would be better off without the soul. Marilynne Robinson contemplates the role of soul in the age of modern science.

Download the podcast here. You've got to listen to Elna Baker's reading. It's a little cutesy, but she, a New Yorker, a Mormon, has a way of disarming you, even the most ardent skeptic out there. Utterly charming, and fatally endearing. The walk to the subway reading is worth sitting still for to appreciate. Try not breaking a stride while listening to it on the treadmill at the gym. See also: The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance: A Memoir, The New York Regional Mormon Singels Halloween Dance - A Memoir, Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys

Mark Twain's New, 100-year-old Autobiography (On The Media: Friday, 19 November 2010) from On The Media by onthemedia@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio)

There has been much ado lately over the release of Mark Twain's autobiography after a century-long embargo. But with only a small portion of the material in fact never-before-published, is this merely deft brand management by Twain from beyond the grave? Writer Craig Fehrman describes the tactics behind the embargo and how it has worked well as a modern day marketing strategy.

Download the podcast here. See also: The Complete Mark Twain Collection (Over 300 works, with active table of contents), Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living: A Handbook for the Damned Human Race, Classic American Literature: The Works of Mark Twain, 24 books in a single file, improved 10/6/2010

The Colbert Report - October 26, 2010 - Garry Wills

October 26, 2010 - Garry Wills Views: 0 Aired: 10/26/10 Episode 06135 Stephen prepares for the apocalypse, and Garry Wills writes a book about himself.

See: http://www.colbertnation.com/full-episodes/tue-october-26-2010-garry-wills. See also: What Jesus Meant, Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State, Why I Am a Catholic

'Letters to My Torturer' from KQED's Forum Podcast

Iranian journalist Houshang Asadi spent six years in the notorious Moshtarek prison in Tehran after a government crackdown on opposition parties in the early 1980s. In his book, "Letters to my Torturer: Love, Revolution, and Imprisonment in Iran," Asadi confronts the man who inflicted various forms of torture and "intimate cruelty" on him.

Listen to the podcast here. Download the show here.

Advertising: Find Jay-Z’s Memoir at a Bookstore, or on a Billboard from NYT > Books by By ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN

PRINT advertising by publishing houses tends to boast about books that are being bold and original, but that can seldom be said of the ads themselves, which generally consist of ho-hum photographs of the book and author, a brief description of the subject matter and laudatory blurbs. Pages of Jay-Z’s memoir will be reproduced in public areas around the country and beyond. But a new campaign for “Decoded,” the memoir by the hip-hop performer Jay-Z, promises to be a real head-turner. Beginning Monday, reproductions of entire pages of the book will appear unannounced in locales referred to in those pages. “If in certain pages Jay-Z is talking about something related to Times Square, then those pages might be on billboards in Times Square,” said David Droga, creative chairman Droga5, the New York agency heading the campaign. Mr. Droga declined to reveal locations beforehand (including the veracity of the Times Square example), but did describe the campaign in oblique terms.

So, we all can't wait for the web marketers, IM'ers, SEO'ers to make their way out to the brick and mortar world this way. Read the full NYT story here.

Charlie Rose - Ingrid Betancourt from YouTube - CharlieRose's Channel by CharlieRose

Ingrid Betancourt discusses her memoir 'Even Silence has an End - My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle,' the book chronicles Betancourt's six years as a hostage of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia known as FARC www.CharlieRose.com

Watch the video on YouTube. Or check CharlieRose.com for the full interview. This article's utterly depressing. If you're feeling sick about having to pay bills or getting dumped, read it, and you'll feel lucky.

*Autobiography of Mark Twain, vol. I* from Marginal Revolution by Tyler Cowen

[Excerpt:] Finally, in Florence in 1904, I hit upon the right way to do an Autobiography: start it at no particular time of your life; wander at your free will all over your life' talk only about the thing which interests you at the moment; drop it the moment its interest threatens to pale, and turn your talk upon the new and more interesting thing that has intruded itself into your mind meantime. Also, make the narrative a combined Diary and Autobiography. In this way you have the vivid things of the present to make a contrast with memories of like things in the past, and these contrasts have a charm which is all their own. No talent is required to make a combined Diary and Autobiography interesting. And so, I have found the right plan. It makes my labor amusement -- mere amusement, play, pastime, and wholly effortless. It is the first time in history that the right plan has been hit upon. I spent about ninety minutes browsing this new book, but found it only moderately interesting, with more emphasis on the "moderately" than the "interesting." If you're obsessed with Twain, you'll find it worth the $20, but the above paragraphs sum up the main problem with the text.

You can catch the rest of this at Marginal Revolution.

Second Sluthood: A Manifesto for the Post-Menopausal, Pre-Senilic Matriarch by Ruby Pearl Saffire from WUAL Alabama Public Radio - Don Noble Reviews...

Ruby Pearl’s book is, typically, the story of her life: school, work, friends. It has been a long strange trip. A wild sixties girl, Ruby Pearl married four times, with varying degrees of success, the worst being to an Alabama politician who was a lousy husband in every respect, while at home and when away. Second Sluthood: A Manifesto for the Post-Menopausal, Pre-Senilic Matriarch. Ruby Pearl Saffire. River City Publishing, 2009. By Don Noble. Writing comic fiction is hard, a rare art, especially extended, novel-length comic fiction. We enjoy the work of Dave Barry or the late Lewis Grizzard, but those pieces are 500 words long and if you don't like it there will be another one tomorrow. I have always thought the Brits do the comic novel better. Evelyn Waugh, Kingsley Amis, Tom Sharpe, David Lodge, Malcolm Bradbury and the exquisitely funny P.G. Wodehouse, author of the Wooster and Jeeves books, have no equals in the U.S. It is still a good thing to try, however, and deserves our attention.

Listen to the podcast here, in its entirety (download, save as).

'Other People': A Family Portrait Of Depression from NPR by HELLER MCALPIN

"Every family has a secret and the secret is that it's not like other families," Alan Bennett writes in A Life Like Other People's. This family memoir, extracted from his 2006 autobiographical volume, Untold Stories, is at once a touching portrait of his parents, "the tenderest and most self-sufficient couple," and a sobering tale of depression and dementia.

You can find a lengthy excerpt of the book at NPR.org. See also: The Uncommon Reader: A Novella, Untold Stories, Writing Home, The Complete Talking Heads

Charlie Rose's Tuesday, September 7, 2010 conversation with Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

CHARLIE ROSE: Tony Blair was elected prime minister of Britain three
times. In 1997 at the age of 43 he led the Labour Party to a stunning
landslide victory. He created New Labour, which made the Labour Party a
formidable force.

Blair was a centrist with a vision of a third way that focused on
social justice and free market capitalism. He forged close relationships
first with President Clinton and then with President Bush.

His most significant decision by far was supporting the U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq. He has come to understand the controversy of that
decision and reaffirmed the convictions that led to it.

Since leaving office in 2007, he has led a full and engaged life. He
converted to Catholicism, he established the Tony Blair Faith Foundation to
promote interreligious dialogue. He teaches at Yale University. He is a
consultant to a number of private enterprises around the world.

Here's the full interview, and here's the transcript. See also: New Britain: My Vision Of A Young Country, Tony Blair: Prime Minister, Decision Points

Charlie Rose's Tuesday, August 17, 2010 conversation with Harold Ford

CHARLIE ROSE: Harold Ford Jr. is here. He began his political career
at the age of 26 when he succeeded his father in the United States House of
Representatives, representing Tennessee’s ninth district in 1997 to 2007.
In the fall of 2006, he lost a closely contested race for the U.S. Senate
to Bob Corker.

Ford now lives in New York City and serving as chairman of the
Democratic Leadership Council and written a book about his life in politics
called "More Davids than Goliaths -- a Political Education." I’m pleased
have him back at this table. Welcome.

See the entire interview here, and read the full transcript here.

Charlie Rose's Friday, August 13, 2010 conversation with Author Christopher Hitchens

CHARLIE ROSE: Christopher Hitchens is an English-born, Oxford-
educated writer and journalist who has lived and worked in Washington for
many years. He is well known for his wit, his sharp arguments and strong
opinions on religion, politics and especially the war in Iraq. David
Brooks of "The New York Times" says "There are few people in this country
who bring such a literary perspective to political and policy
controversies." And here is what his friend Martin Amis said on this
program this week.

Check out the full length conversation and interview here. The transcript can be found here. See also: God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever, Letters to a Young Contrarian (Art of Mentoring)

Charlie Rose's Thursday, June 10, 2010 conversation with Doris Buffett

CHARLIE ROSE: Doris Buffett is here. She is the older sister of
Warren Buffett. Like her brother, she plans on donating her entire fortune
to philanthropy, but unlike Warren, she plays a hands-on role in the day-
to-day activities of her foundation.

In the past 15 years, she’s given away more than $100 million, much of
it in small, personal donations amounting to less than $10,000 each. She
is now the subject of a new biography called "Giving it All Away: The Doris
Buffett Story" written by Michael Zitz and includes a forward by Warren.

I am pleased to have Doris Buffett at the table for the first time.
Welcome.

Read the full Charlie Rose transcript here. Or you can watch the full show here. See also: Charlie Rose - Chris Matthews / Doris Buffett (June 10, 2010)

Charlie Rose's Wednesday, May 19, 2010 conversation with Jules Feiffer, Cartoonist and Author

CHARLIE ROSE: Jules Feiffer is here. He is a Pulitzer Prize winning
cartoonist, a playwright, he is an author. His self-titled comic strip ran
in the "Village Voice" for 41 years. Now he’s written a memoir about his
life and his art. It is called "Backing into Forward."

I am pleased to have Jules Feiffer at this table. Welcome. Great to
have you here.

JULES FEIFFER: I’m delighted to be here, Charlie.

CHARLIE ROSE: So why did you finally decide to do this memoir?

JULES FEIFFER: I didn’t decide. I backed into it. I was nagged by
friends.

CHARLIE ROSE: Right.

JULES FEIFFER: I would tell these stories over the years, usually a
drink or two and my tongue would unroll, and somebody would say "You’ve got
to write that down." And I would say "I don’t want to write down anything I
already know."

What I loved in my work in doing it was that I could start out not
knowing what I was going to do and tell the story. And I wouldn’t know how
it would come out anywhere more than the reader or the audience would
eventually know.

Read the full transcript of the show here, or watch the full episode here. See also: Explainers: The Complete Village Voice Strips (1956-1966), A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears

Charlie Rose's Tuesday, May 11, 2010 conversation with Norris Church Mailer - a memoir called "A Ticket to the Circus" about her life with Norman Mailer

CHARLIE ROSE: Norris Church Mailer is here. For 27 years she was
married to one of this country’s great writers, Norman Mailer. When she
first met him at a party in Arkansas she was a high school art teacher
named Barbara Jean David and she wanted her book signed. A relationship
ensued, and she followed him to New York City for the rest of his life.

In addition to a career in acting and modeling and painting, she is
also a writer. She recently published her third book, a memoir titled "A
Ticket to the Circus." I’m pleased to have my friend Norris Church Mailer
toe this program. Welcome.

NORRIS CHURCH MAILER, AUTHOR: Thank you, Charlie.

CHARLIE ROSE: When you first met him what did you think?

NORRIS CHURCH MAILER: Well, when I first saw him I was expecting this
old guy because I knew he was as old as my father, anyway, since he’d been
in the war.

And I had walked into this party which I finagled to invite myself to
because it was for the English faculty of the college and I was teaching at
the high school. I heard he was going to be there and I really wanted to
get my book signed because I had aspirations to be a writer. I subscribed
to the "New Yorker" and I thought I was an intellectual in Russellville,
Arkansas.

So I was allowed to come to the party and walked to the door, and he
was sitting in front of the window. And I was wearing blue jeans, and I
thought I’m not going to change clothes for this. I’ll be very casual.
And everybody was dressed hundred their suits and ties and English faculty

You can view the full interview here, or you can read the transcript here. See also: A Ticket to the Circus: A Memoir, Charlie Rose - British elections / Nouriel Roubini / Norris Church Mailer (May 11, 2010), Cheap Diamonds: A Novel

Charlie Rose's Tuesday, October 20, 2009 conversation with Madeleine Albright - Former secretary of state Madeline Albright discusses her book "Read My Pins" - Current Affairs, Books

CHARLIE ROSE: Madeleine Albright is here. She became the first woman
to serve as secretary of state. She served in that position during the
Clinton administration. During the 2008 presidential campaign she was an
advisor to Hillary Clinton, who is now secretary of state.

Her latest book is called "Read my Pin, Stories from a Diplomat’s
Jewel Box." I am pleased to have her back at this table, and she will
understand that that we will spend not much time talking about jewelry.

But here’s the cover of the book. And just give me the idea behind
this.

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: The idea was that I was at the U.N. as secretary
of state. I like pins, and they give signals. And it all began because
Saddam Hussein called me an "unparalleled serpent" and I had a snake pin.
And I thought, this is fun.

So -- but mostly, Charlie, it gives me an opportunity to talk about
foreign policy.

SEE: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10680. SEE ALSO: Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership, The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs, Madam Secretary: A Memoir

Marianne Schnall: Jane Fonda on Joining the Blogosphere from The Huffington Post Blog by Marianne Schnall

In her memoir, My Life So Far (Random House, 2005), Jane Fonda reveals how it wasn't until age 60, after many life lessons in what she calls her "third act," that she felt she discovered her voice. Now that she has it, she is determined to find meaningful ways to use it, through the many channels that she finds opening up to her. Ironically, Fonda was in the process of writing her next book on aging for Random House, when playwright Moises Kaufman sent her the script for a play called 33 Variations. Fonda had just been writing about how many renowned artists like Matisse and Beethoven did some of their best work later in life, and the part Kaufman was offering to her was an American musicologist who becomes obsessed with why Beethoven, in his later years, was driven to write 33 variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli. Fonda, who loved the script, took it as a sign, and returned to Broadway after 46 years to star in the play, currently performing to rave reviews and standing ovations.

Read the full HuffPo post here.