U.S. Presidency

Journalist James Traub writes about the Wedtech company in his new book, Too Good To Be True. The Bronx-based, minority-led defense firm bribed politicians in order to earn government contracts with the support of the Reagan administration.

Vargas Llosa lost a bid for president of Peru last year. His latest novel is called, In Praise of the Stepmother, is an erotic tale about a family love triangle. His best-known work is Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews the new three-hour profile of the rise and fall of Richard Nixon, presented on the American Experience show. The documentary comes on the heels of Ken Burns' Civil War series, and continues PBS' streak of excellent programming.

Contributing editor to Harper's Magazine L.J Davis recently reported on the history and current crisis of the savings and loans system.

Baltimore Sun reporter Roger Simon has a syndicated column that originates from the Baltimore Sun. He's covered several presidential campaigns; his new book about the 1988 presidential election is called Road Show.

The political journalist is a former Jesuit seminarian and professor of public policy at Northwestern University. His new book is called Under God. It's a collection of essays about the frequent collison of politics and religion in America.

For 40 years, Tames was the White house photographer for the New York Times. He's collected some of his best-known pictures in a new book called "Eye on Washington."

Moyers worked as President Lyndon Johnson's press secretary, and has since become a mainstay of public television. He's best known for his popular miniseries featuring Joseph Campbell, called The Power of Myth.

Roger Fisher, director of the Harvard Negotiation Project and Professor of Law at Harvard, joins Fresh Air by phone to talk about alternatives to military intervention in the current conflict between Iraq and Kuwait.

Veteran journalist Tom Wicker has written a new examination of Richard Nixon, titled "One of Us." Wicker claims that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the former president was weak on foreign policy but strong -- and effective -- on the domestic front.

We speak with two reporters about the aftermath of the Gulf War:

Book critic Maureen Corrigan review Kitty Kelley's salacious Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography. Corrigan, who is no fan of the former first lady, says it's perversely entertaining.

Investigative journalist Bob Woodward. His new book, "The Commanders," examines the key defense figures of the Bush Administration, and their role in shaping policy during the Middle East crisis.

Cannon is Los Angeles correspondent for the Washington Post. As a reporter for the "San Jose Mercury News," and later as "The Washington Post" White House correspondent, he covered Ronald Reagan as Governor and President. He's just written a third book about the Reagan presidency, called "President Reagan: A Role of a Lifetime."

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Open Letters," the new collection of writings by the playwright and former President of Czechoslovakia.

Former Costa Rican president Oscar Arias. Arias received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring peace to Central America, a task he still pursues.

Historian Robert Dallek. Dallek's new biography of President Lyndon Johnson, "Lone Star Rising," has been praised for its scholarship, and for painting a more balanced portrait of LBJ than some other recent biographies. Dallek was nominated for an American Book award for an earlier biography, "Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy." ("Lone Star Rising" is published by Oxford University Press).

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. He's written a new memoir, called "Koop: The Memoirs if America's Family Doctor." (It's published by Random House).

News anchor Dan Rather. As anchor of the CBS Evening News, Rather's probably the most visible journalist in America. He has a new memoir called "I Remember." (It's published by Little, Brown).

Gary Sick was an aide to President Carter during the Iranian hostage crisis. Now Sick charges that in 1980, the Reagan campaign made a secret deal with the Iranians to hold the release of the American hostages until after the election. In his new book "October Surprise" (published by Random House), Sick tries to reconstruct the story.