Government & Politics

Kevin Boyle's group Article 19, name after the United Nations provision protecting free speech, fights against censorship around the world, both in democracies and dictatorships.

Wall Street Journal reporter Brooks Jackson details how election campaigns raise funds by finding ways to circumvent legal donation limits, and coordinating with special interests and political action committees. Corporations and other groups are exploiting these actions in an attempt to influence policy. Jackson's new book is called Honest Graft.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the updated version of the 1960s spy show. He says it's a fun watch, especially seeing the updated technology, but he can't help but notice a few careless gaffes in the script.

James Fenton is a poet who traveled to Southeast Asia without any clear goal in mind. He started writing first-person journalism for a number of newspapers and magazines. Fenton covered the fall of Saigon and the end of the Marcos regime in the Philippines.

Part II of the interview with the folk-rock star. While serving time on drug charges, Crosby joined the prison band as a guitar player. He says it was the first time he performed sober.

New Yorker writer William Finnegan followed back journalists in South Africa who worked for a liberal, opposition newspapers. Finnegan is white, and his presence often put the people he traveled with in danger. His book about the reporters is called Dateline Soweto.

Writer William Shawcross's new book profiles the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown during the Iranian revolution. Despite his despotic rule -- including the brutal deployment of the SAVAK secret police -- the Shah advanced some reforms in education and women's rights. He was an ally to the United States; who provided the Iranian state with money for weapons.

Book Critic John Leonard reviews The Shah's Last Ride by journalist William Shawcross. The book documents the Iranian leader's rise with the help of Western intervention, and his overthrow during the Islamic Revolution.

The writer has also worked as a diplomat. Artistically and professionally, he has explored the cultural and political identity of his home country. His new book is about the poet Sor Juana; Paz says her life mirrors his own in several ways.

Film critic Stephen Schiff bemoans Hollywood's current preoccupation with courtroom dramas -- most, he says, aren't very good. The new Jodi Foster movie The Accused, loosely based on a high-profile gang rape trial, leans too heavily on the lurid details of the case, and not enough on developing an interesting narrative.

Journalist Elaine Shannon's new book, Desperados, looks at the international impact of the illegal drug trade. She says that major banks and state governments have been complicit in drug trafficking by accepting bribes and laundering money. The U.S. government has faced difficulty curtailing these crimes, in part because of its desire to maintain diplomatic relations with the countries involved.

Paul Nitze has advised both Republican and Democratic presidents over the decades on arms control. While working in the Reagan administration, he helped reopen negotiations with the Soviet Union. Nitze also reluctantly advocated for the Strategic Defense Initiative as a deterrence program. Journalist Strobe Talbott's new book, Master of the Game, details Nitze's career.

Book critic John Leonard says that Greene has trained readers to fill the gaps in his novels and flesh out his sometimes underdeveloped characters. Leonard is a longtime admirer of the author, but says his newest book is more of a notebook than a polished novel.

At 85, Dr. Benjamin Spock has written and published a new book of parenting advice. Spock's philosophy is informed by both his medical and psychological training. In the 1960s, when he was in his 60s, Spock protested against the Vietnam War -- a decision which was not popular with all his readers.

Writer Nick Tosches wrote the book Hellfire, profiling rock progenitor Jerry Lee Lewis. Now he has a novel called Cut Numbers, about small-time loan sharks in New York City.

Doyle McManus co-authored a book with John Mayer about the second term of President Reagan. Many on Reagan's staff believed he was unmotivated, uninformed and unfit for office, even suggesting that the 25th Amendment be invoked. McManus says that Reagan's lack of leadership resulted in ineffective policymaking and scandals like Iran-Contra.

Krassner, who died July 21, published and edited the magazine The Realist from 1958 until 1974 and became known as "the father of the underground press." Originally broadcast in 1988.

Krassner publishes the countercultural and satirical magazine The Realist; he founded it in 1958, while he still lived with his parents. He also cofounded the yippies, who sought to combine politics and theater--and participated in the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Krassner now brings his left-leaning politics to the comedy stage.

TV critic David Bianculli compares the recent Bush/Dukakis presidential debate to a boxing match, filled with verbal jabs. He considers the efficacy of their attacks -- one-liners, put-downs, and pre-written ad-libs -- in highlighting their policy differences.

Vachss is based in New York and specializes in child abuse cases. His work extends into his crime fiction, which follows an unlicensed detective named Burke. Vachss also helped manage a juvenile prison.