Author Description

There is nothing quite like an interview on National Public Radio. It leaves room for unrehearsed responses, intimate conversation, and witty repartee. Now marking the third year of the series, The NPR Interviews 1996 offers an especially rich and eclectic roundup. Assembled here are the past year's most entertaining and provocative conversations on the air - with artists, celebrities, intellectuals, and other characters - revealing a vivid narrative portrait of our culture. This year's volume features three new categories," Sports,"" Music," and" Anniversaries," alongside readers' perennial favorites, such as" America Talking." A mainstay of the collection, the" Story of the Year," looks at recent acts of terrorism and local violence, such as the Oklahoma City bombing. Other interviews include: Maurice Sendak's disclosure of his unlikely inspiration for the creatures in Where the Wild Things Are, David Brinkley's admission about inadvertently inspiring Jesse Helms's political care