"The Real Frank Zappa" on His Career so Far

Rock historian Ed Ward looks at how country musicians in the age of Elvis took their cues from African American blues and boogie-woogie to develop a new, electric guitar-fueled style.

Cooper says his new novel Closer -- which features explicit depictions of sex acts -- is meant to disturb, but not shock or arouse. While honing in on the experiences of gay men, Cooper sidesteps the issue of AIDS; he says sexuality generates enough anxiety on its own.

Baker's new memoir, a sequel to his book Growing Up, chronicles his career as a reporter during his twenties and thirties. Book critic John Leonard says that the story, like Baker's New York Times columns, twists and turns to explore the fraught inner workings of journalism.