When Leon Edel set out to write a biography of Henry James, he thought it would take him three years. It ended up taking him twenty years.  Jean Strouse chose to focus on the life of the diarist Alice James, Henry's lesser-known younger sister.  Both books are considered to be definitive biographies.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Stephen B. Oates discusses his book "Let the Trumpets Sound: A Biography of Martin Luther King;" 2 short excerpts played during the program: one of Terkel interviewing Martin Luther King and another of E.D. Nixon speaking about MLK.

Discussing "The years of Lyndon Johnson, Vol 1: the path to power" with the biographer Robert Caro.

Peter Lyon discusses the book "Success Story: The Life and Times of S. S. McClure." Includes recitation of "Immortality" by William Jennings Bryan.

H. E. F. (Shag) Donahue and Nelson Algren discuss Donahue's book, "Conversations with Nelson Algren," a biographical exploration of Algren's life as a writer. They discuss the creative lives, successes and failures of other authors in relation to Algren's work, including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.D. Salinger, Richard Wright, and others. Includes the author reading excerpts from "Conversations with Nelson Algren."

Discussing the book "The word remains: the life and death of Bishop Oscar Romeo" with the author James R. Brockman, S. J.

Author, professor, and John Keats biographer, Aileen Ward, discusses and reads from the biography “John Keats: The Making of a Poet.” Ward discusses Keats’ schooling, his relationship with Fanny Brawne, and Keats’ work in comparison to his contemporaries such as Percy Bysshe Shelley. Ward reads Keats’ 1818 poem entitled “Isabella, or the Pot of Basil.” Studs plays a recording of Ralph Richardson reading Keats’ 1819 poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn.”*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations