Terry Gross

Richard Ford, author of The Sportswriter and Independence Day, has written a new novel entitled The Lay of the Land. Independence Day was the first book to win both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award.

Kenya political activist Wangari Maathai won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Her new memoir is called Unbowed. She is the founder of the Green Belt Movement, which has planted over thirty million trees across Kenya. In 2002, she was elected to Kenya's parliament, and in 2003 was appointed assistant minister for the environment.

Gambian attorney Fatou Bensouda is the deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which deals with genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The court's first case concerns crimes involving child soldiers. She has served as Attorney General, Secretary of State and Minister of Justice for The Gambia. She is also an authority on gender and violent crimes against women.

Lou Dubose's latest book is about Vice President Dick Cheney. Dubose, a former writer for the Texas Observer, has covered Texas politics for more than two decades. He's also the co-author (with Molly Ivins) of two books about George W. Bush, and has also written about Tom DeLay and Karl Rove.

Journalist Tina Cassidy was inspired to write about cultural birth practices after hearing many accounts of birth experiences. Cassidy is a former reporter for the Boston Globe and writes for other publications including The New York Times Magazine.

Record executive Jac Holzman founded Elektra Records in 1950, initially focusing on recording folk and ethnic music. In 1964 he founded Nonesuch Records. In the 1960s he signed on some of the big pop and rock voices of the era like Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, Jackson Browne and The Doors. He talks about working with The Doors. Holzman headed Elektra Records for 23 years.

Manzarek talks how he came up with the famous piano riff from "Light My Fire."

Keyboard player and record producer Ray Manzarek was part of the rock band The Doors, which broke up after the death of lead singer Jim Morrison. This month marks the 40th anniversary of the band's formation. There's a new book out next month called, The Doors that gives an inside look at the band. It includes interviews with the three surviving members. Never before seen photos and previously untold stories are revealed.

After the breakup of The Doors, Densmore went on to play reggae music and got involved in theater and writing projects, penning his autobiography and publishing magazine articles. His current project is the group Tribal Jazz. Their self-titled debut album is now out in stores.