An Engineering Miracle.

Writer and adventurer Lawrence Millman. His new book, "Last Places," recounts Millman's journey along the old Viking route across the North Atlantic from Norway to Newfoundland. He traveled as primitively as possible, fought off dive-bombing skuas (pterodactyl-like birds with five-foot wingspans), stayed with an Eskimo hermit endowed with supernatural powers, and camped in some of the world's most pristine spots. His writing has been compared to Bruce Chatwin and Edward Hoagland.

Rock historian Ed Ward looks back at the birth of the country music industry, during the early days of Fiddlin' John Carson, A.P. Carter and his wife, Sarah, and the Tenneva Ramblers.

Leonard Koren. He's written, "283 Useful Ideas From Japan," which lists innovative products and services in Japan. It includes such things as the two-headed public telephone, a combination sink/toilet, and capsule hotels. Koren has been an architect, graphic designer, and publisher. He works and lives in San Francisco and Tokyo. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)