WYPL Book Talk

Preston Lauterbach is a former Memphian who has written extensively about African-American music and history and has helped musicians tell their own stories, as well. Preston has appeared on Book Talk several times to discuss his books, The Chitlin Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll, Beale Street Dynasty, and Bluff City. Today, we’ll be discussing his latest title, Before Elvis:The African American Musicians Who Made The King, which is published by Da Capo Press. 

Mark Greaney is a New York Times best-selling author of international thrillers. He co-authored several Jack Ryan novels with Tom Clancy, and continued the series for a few years after Mr. Clancy’s passing. He recently started a new series starring Josh Duffy, a security contractor, but today we’ll be discussing his 14th installment in his Grey Man series, featuring burned CIA asset, Court Gentry. Midnight Black features Gentry trying to infiltrate Russia in order to free his love Zoya Zakharova. 

Guest host Dr. David Mason is back to conclude a special two-part interview with historian Dr. Manan Ahmed Asif. Dr. Ahmed is an associate professor of history at Columbia University. A Book of Conquest: The Chachnama and Muslim Origins in South Asia,  Where the Wild Frontiers Are: Pakistan and the American Imagination, and The Loss of Hindustan. He and Dr. Mason will wrap up their conversation today about his latest title: Disrupted City: Walking the Pathways of Memory and History in Lahore which is published by the New Press. 

Guest host Dr. David Mason is back to host a special two-part interview with historian Dr. Manan Ahmed Asif. Dr. Ahmed is an associate professor of history at Columbia University. A Book of Conquest: The Chachnama and Muslim Origins in South Asia,  Where the Wild Frontiers Are: Pakistan and the American Imagination, and The Loss of Hindustan. He and Dr. Mason will begin their conversation today about his latest title: Disrupted City: Walking the Pathways of Memory and History in Lahore which is published by the New Press. 

We are honored to welcome Rachel Kushner to the program today. Rachel is an award-winning novelist, whose previous work includes the novels, Telex from Cuba, The Flame Throwers and The Mars Room, as well as the collection of essays, The Hard Crowd. Today we’ll be discussing her recent acclaimed novel, Creation Lake, which is published by Scribner. 

We welcome Dr. Russell Muirhead back to the program today for the second of a two-part interview. Russel is the Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics and Co-Director, Political Economy Project at Dartmouth College. He has many publications, including two books co-written with Dr. Nancy L. Rosenblum, who is the Senator Joseph Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government emerita at Harvard University. Their first title together was 2019’s A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy and recently Princeton University Press released Ungoverning: The Politics of Chaos and the Attack on the Administrative State which we will conclude discussing today. 

We welcome Dr. Russell Muirhead to the program today for the first of a two-part interview. Russel is the Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics and Co-Director, Political Economy Project at Dartmouth College. He has many publications, including two books co-written with Dr. Nancy L. Rosenblum, who is the Senator Joseph Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government emerita at Harvard University. Their first title together was 2019’s A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy and recently Princeton University Press released Ungoverning: The Politics of Chaos and the Attack on the Administrative State which we will discuss today and next time. 

Eugenia Bone previously appeared on the show to talk about her books, The Kitchen Ecosystem: Integrating Recipes to Create Delicious Meals and Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms. It’s been ten years since her last time with us, and today, we’ll be discussing her most recent title Have a Good Trip: Exploring the Magic Mushroom Experience which is published by Flat Iron Books. A note, the possession and use of psilocybe mushrooms is illegal in most of the United States, including Book Talk’s home state of Tennessee. A couple of states are exploring medical usage of them and several, mainly college towns, have decriminalized possession. These are the early days of scientific research, and Book Talk makes no claims on their efficacy, and strongly warns against possession and use where such is in violation of the laws of one’s jurisdiction. 

Charles Bock was last on Book Talk for his debut novel, Beautiful Children, which won the 2009 Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His second novel was Alice and Oliver. Today, we’re talking about his recent memoir, I Will Do Better: A Father’s Memoir of Heartbreak, Parenting, and Love published by Harry N. Abrams, which is distributed by Hachette. 

We welcome Charles King back to the program today for the final segment of a special three-part interview. Charles is a professor of International Affairs and Government at Georgetown University. His previous titles include Midnight at the Pera Palace and Gods of the Upper Air. Today we will continue to discuss Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel’s Messiah which is published by Doubleday and was just named to the New York Times 100 Best Books of 2024 list.