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THE NPR INTERVIEWS 1994 by Robert Siegel

THE NPR INTERVIEWS 1994

edited by Robert Siegel

Pub Date: Nov. 15th, 1994
ISBN: 0-395-70741-2
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

All Things Considered host Siegel selected the nearly 100 interviews here, all broadcast on NPR in 1993, with an eye to material ``that read well on the page.'' Capturing the breadth of subjects covered by NPR's shows, the book groups the interviews under ten section headings, including ``Arts and Letters,'' ``Science,'' ``The Story of the Year: Bosnia,'' ``Washington,'' and ``Animal Life.'' Robert McNamara reveals his intention to write an autobiography that will contain previously unpublished information about US intervention in Vietnam; Karen Armstrong talks about her book, A History of God; and the General Aviation liaison for the Anchorage International Airport unwittingly tells a story of worker exploitation in the tale of three pigs—Larry, Moe, and Curly—who, after successfully fulfilling their mission of gorging on gulls' eggs (to reduce the population of birds posing a hazard to aircraft), were respectfully turned into bacon. The interviews are remarkable for their brevity. Among broadcast media, NPR is notable for the comparatively evolved attention span it expects of its listeners; but laid out on the page, these interviews are so short that the book is an occasion more for pleasurable grazing than for the ``in-depth'' coverage on which NPR prides itself. (Author tour)