online audio interviews with the best-known writers of two generations, author updates, and more Wired for Books BACK IN PRINT! Don Swaim's H.L. Mencken Murder Case, originally published by St. Martin's Press, returns to print as a trade paperback through the Authors Guild Backinprint program. Available at amazon.com. $12.95. Swaim is the editor of the Book Beat Site. "...there's a dusty-attic charm to Mr. Swaim's fond evocation of bookshops past, and he couldn't have enticed a livelier ghost than Mencken to haunt them." --The New York Times Sunday Book Review DOWNLOAD THIS EBOOK Satirical and literary, Bright Sun Extinguished: Ode to Norman Mailer is an original pastiche of dark fantasy and horror. The free software to read it can easily be downloaded to Macs, PCs, iPads, Kindles, or any digital device from amazon.com. $5.99. waim is the editor of the Book Beat Site. A literary gem filled with subtleties re pop culture and events leading up to and beyond a literary apocalypse. -- C.G. Bauer ____________________ BOOK BEAT HISTORY Broadcasting was a different world in 1967 when CBS began an all-news radio operation on its 50,000-watt WCBS, New York, flagship of its seven owned-and-operated AM stations. Then, WCBS broadcast a daily book review with contributions from the staff voiced by Dick Reeves. Don Swaim, a former television news editor from Baltimore, contributed regularly to this feature, transcripts of which were distributed to the news media. An excerpt from Swaim's review of an oral biography of Harry S Truman appeared in the New York Post on March 2, 1974: click to enlarge By late 1982, Swaim, who had been reporting on books and authors for the station for several years (as well as a contributor to a CBS-FM broadcast, "Crosstalk"), proposed a daily feature, "Book Beat," to which staff members, one of whom was WCBS political reporter Steve Flanders, would contribute. Flanders' sudden death scotched that idea, and Swaim embarked on the five-day-a-week feature alone. The executives in charge were Mike Ludlum and Lou Adler. Its first broadcast was January 3, 1983, with a profile of William Styron. Later, the network's CBS Radio Stations News Service headed by Joe Durso, Jr., made "Book Beat" available nationwide. Over the years, more than 700 writers, famous and unknown, were interviewed. "Book Beat"'s final broadcast was September 9, 1993, with an interview with Ray Bradbury on the 40th anniversary of Farenheit 451. POSTSCRIPT There was uncertainty as to how to preserve this remarkable archive. Finally, the raw interviews, all on tape, were acquired by Ohio University in Athens, which digitized the material and posted it on its Wired for Books website, founded by Dave Kurz. Wired for Books declined to include the actual two-minute radio features, as opposed to the raw interviews, so the features, as they appeared on the air, are posted on this site. Kurz' retirement left Wired for Books in limbo. MINI-BOOK BEAT PROFILE AT OHIO U's ALDEN LIBRARY SITE Don's in the tie and horn-rims with author John Irving click image above to enlarge the AMBROSE BIERCE site WCBS Newsradio 88 Appreciation Site Best of the Internet cites Don Swaim's Wired for Books interviews Nov. 20, 2007 APPLAUSE FOR WIRED FOR BOOKS: EVE ARNOLD 1912-2012 The famed photojournalist, whose subjects ranged from Marilyn Monroe to Malcolm X, was born in Philadelphia. A leading light in the golden age of news photography, Eve Arnold died in London at the age of 99. Don Swaim interviewed her twice:     On the occasion of her book In America, 12/23/83: LISTEN On Marilyn Monroe: An Appreciation, 10/14/87: LISTEN JOSEF SKVORECKY 1924-2012 The Czech dissident writer survived the Nazi occupation only to defy Soviet tanks and Communist censorship. He found academic freedom in Canada and earned an illustrious career as an author and publisher. Don Swaim interviewed him in 1984: LISTEN. For the unedited interview from Wired for Books listen here RUSSELL HOBAN 1925-2011 Hoban was known for his innovative sci-fi novel Riddley Walker and for his children's books, such as the "Frances" series. Although he lived in London, Hoban was born in Lansdale, PA. Don Swaim interviewed him in 1988: LISTEN. For the unedited interview from Wired for Books listen here TOM WICKER 1926-2011 Journalist and novelist Tom Wicker, author of twenty books, was a political cluminist for The New York Times for twenty-five years. Don Swaim interviewed him in 1984: LISTEN. For the unedited interview from Wired for Books listen here ANNE McCAFFREY 1926-2011 As a science-fiction writer, the Hugo and Nebula award-winner Anne McCaffrey was best known for her series of young-adult novels, "Dragonriders of Pern." Don Swaim interviewed her in 1988: LISTEN. For the unedited interview from Wired for Books listen here __________________ NEW BIO OF KURT VONNEGUT And So It Goes -- Kurt Vonnegut: A Life by Charles J. Shields is the first major biography of this popular writer. Even though Vonnegut's family withheld permission to quote directly from Vonnegut's letters, Shields' bio is more than 500 pages. Don Swaim's 1981 interview with Vonnegut: LISTEN drawing of Steve Jobs by John Sherffius, Boulder Daily Camera JOSEPH HELLER Catch-22's 50th Anniversary Joseph Heller graced the world with his satirical anti-war, anti-bureaucratic novel -- and gave the English Language a new word. Fifty years after the book was first published, comes a trade paperback anniversary edition, a first biography, and a memoir by Heller's daughter. Catch-22: 50th Anniversary Edition by Joseph Heller. Introduction by Christopher Buckley with accompanying essays. Simon & Schuster Just One Catch: A Biography of Joseph Heller by Tracy Daugherty. St. Martin's Press Yossarian Slept Here: When Joseph Heller Was Dad, the Apthorp Was Home, and Life Was a Catch-22 by Erica Heller. Simon & Schuster Don Swaim recorded two multi-part broadcasts with Heller plus a special report on Catch-22's 25th anniversary: God Knows10/8/84. listen No Laughing Matter (with Speed Vogle) 3/24/86. listen 25th anniversary report on Catch-22 (1986) listen Also Swaim's uncut CBS interview with Heller, 1984 (length: 33:43): here Swaim's uncut CBS interview with Heller & Speed Vogle, 1986 (length: 23:43): here __________________ click to enlarge Steinbeck, Holicong, PA STEINBECK IN BUCKS COUNTY by Don Swaim "...somewhere in Pennsylvania..." was the way John Steinbeck put it as he decamped in the rural Bucks County home of famed playright George S. Kaufman in 1937. How Steinbeck and Kaufman crafted the award-winning theatrical version of Of Mice and Men at Barley Sheaf Farm is detailed here __________________ DON SWAIM WINS 2011 PEARL S. BUCK NATIONAL FICTION AWARD Swaim, Kaler Dr. Anne Kaler made the presentations under a portrait of Pearl S. Buck at the historic Buck house on April 10, 2011. Three others won prizes in the youth division. Swaim is the editor of the Book Beat site. His winning short story, "Dearest Friend, Annie," focuses on the relationship between Walt Whitman and Anne Gilchrist. Buck, author of The Good Earth, won the Nobel Prize for literature, and her Perkasie, Pennsylvania, home is a National Historic Landmark. She is buried on the grounds. Pearl S. Buck International Don Swaim's definitive article, "Ambrose & Henry," is in the spring 2011 edition of the online scholarly publication Menckeniana, all about H.L. Mencken, published by the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore. To read the actual issue go to: Menckeniana. Courtesy Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore. REYNOLDS PRICE 1933-2011 Don interviewed the North Carolina novelist and poet three times: Good Hearts 7/4/88. listen. The Tongues of Angels 7/10/91. listen. Blue Calhoun 7/6/92. listen. __________________ WILFRID SHEED 1930-2011 The critic and essayist, author of Essays in Disguise, tells Don about a pingpong game he had with J.D. Salinger: listen. THE FORGOTTEN LITERARY GENIUS Pal of Lawrence of Arabia Intimate of Ernest Hemingway Hero of the Spanish Civil War Lover of Tokyo Rose Defier of the communist witch hunts to read his incredible story click HERE PATRICIA HIGHSMITH Independent filmmaker Alexander Roman is working on a documentary about Patricia Highsmith (Strangers on a Train, the Ripley novels). His demos include a montage -- showing Matt Damon and Jude Law -- of questions Don put to Highsmith in a Book Beat interview. Go to: YouTube. To hear the actual broadcast(s) with Highsmith: listen. And for the raw, unedited Wired for Books interview: listen America's literary treasure Ray Bradbury turned ninety on August 22, 2010. Don interviewed Ray twice: Green Shadows White Whale. 7/20/92. Listen 40th Anniversary, Fahrenheit 451. 9/18/92. Listen UCLA Birthday Tribute Here VANCE BOURJAILY 1922-2010 A serious novel and a fixture at the Iowa Writers Workshop, Bourjaily founded the magazine Discovery. Don interviewed him about his 1987 novel The Great Fake Book: listen. REDISCOVERING MAILER Recent books about Norman Mailer Norman Mailer was more than a writer. He was also a legend. Three significant memoirs about Mailer have been published so far in 2010. Mornings with Mailer by Dwayne Raymond, Mailer's personal assistant in the author's final years. [Polished, informative account of Mailer's last years.] Loving Mailer by Carole Mallory, sometime actress and model, who details her alleged affair with the author. [Trashy, poorly-written hatchet job.] A Ticket to the Circus by Norris Church Mailer, the author's final and most significant spouse. Don Swaim's 5-part broadcast with Mailer in 1991. listen Swaim's uncut 56-minute interview with Mailer: here About the photo of Mailer above. It was originally published in Publishers Weekly. I was edited out of the picture -- but at least they got the WCBS logo in. --DS JACK MATTHEWS author that “time and the Internet forgot”? NOT REALLY Neglected Ohio novelist Jack Matthews still raises his voice Don Swaim's interview with Jack Matthews: listen Don and Jack debate Ohio's Ambrose Bierce: listen Definitive profile of Jack Matthews by Robert Nagle at TeleRead: here photo of Jack Matthews by Dinty W. Moore DICK FRANCIS The former British jockey, 1920-1010, captivated mystery fans on both sides of the Atlantic with his well-crafted novels, all with a horse-racing motif. Dick Francis, who credited his wife, Mary Margaret, with the actual writing, braved no fewer than seven interviews with Don Swaim: Twice Shy  4/28/82:  listen Banker  4/18/83:  listen The Danger  5/7/84:  listen Proof  5/10/85:  listen Break-in  5/30/86:  listen Bolt  6/12/87:  listen The Edge  4/7/89:  listen BARRY HANNAH 1942-2010 A "discovery" of the prominent editor Gordon Lish, Hannah's wildly stylish prose wasn't for everyone. In 1993 Don interviewed him on the occasion of his story collection Bat Out of Hell: listen. J.D. SALINGER No, Book Beat, never interviewed Salinger, who died on January 27, 2010, at the age of ninety one. But Don Swaim did interview two important figures in the reclusive author's life and career: Joyce Maynard, Salinger's young live-in lover: listen Ian Hamilton, who was sued by Salinger for using unauthorized quotations in a biography: listen LOUIS AUCHINCLOSS 1917-2010 The premier New York City novelist chronicled the patrician world of WASPS. In 1986 Don spoke to Auchincloss about his life, career, and Yuppies: listen. THE WORLD'S BEST-SELLING NOVELIST IS... JAMES PATTERSON! Patterson's so successful he has a stable of writers to write his books for him, nine published in 2009 alone. Click here to read a cover-page article in The New York Times Sunday Magazine [January 24, 2010]. Don Swaim interviewed Patterson for Book Beat before he made it big: listen. Wouldn't it be great to be so successful that you can pay scribes to write your books for you? ROBERT B. PARKER 1932-2010 The prolific, Edgar Award-winning crime writer penned thirty-seven novels starring his Boston-based detective Spenser. Don Swaim interviewed Parker twice: 6/20/84 listen -- 7/21/86 listen THE CULT OF AYN RAND October 2009 marked the publication of two definitive biographies of Ayn Rand [New York Times Reviews], author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and whose "Ojectivist" philosophy led to a cult-like following. Don Swaim interviewed the three most influential people in her career. Nathaniel Brandon, Rand's leading advocate, intellectual heir, and lover: listen Barbara Brandon, early Rand deciple and husband of Nathaniel. His sexual relationship with Rand led to a self-destructive denouement: listen Leonard Piekoff, Rand's literary executor, on the philosophy of Ayn Rand: listen Leonard Piekoff, Rand's literary executor, on the early writings of Ayn Rand: listen STUART KAMINSKY 1934-2009 Detective novelist and screenwriter, Kaminsky was a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America. Don's broadcast with Kaminsky on the occasion of his Edgar Award-winning novel A Cold Red Sunrise: listen. WILLIAM SAFIRE 1929-2009 Speechwriter, language expert, novelist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist, William Safire was a conservative even the Left could admire. Don's broadcast with Safire on the occasion of his Civil War novel Freedom: listen. JIM CARROLL 1949-2009 Poet and punk rocker, whose chaotic life blended sports, drugs, and verse, died of a heart attack at the age of sixty. Poignant article about the end of his sad, near poverty-stricken life by Alex Williams in The New York Times here. Don's broadcast with Jim Carroll: listen. E.L. DOCTOROW Imprint of an American Literary Icon Doctorow, celebrated for Ragtime, publishes Homer and Langley (Random House, September 2009), his sixteenth book Don Swaim's five-part interview with Doctorow: listen Doctorow vies with John Updike, International PEN Congress 3/10/86: listen Doctorow receives 1986 American Book Award: listen Doctorow publishes classic essay about a failed president, Easthampton Star, 9/9/04: here Doctorow booed by George W. Bush supporters at Hoftra University, Newsday, 5/24/04: here Doctorow at home, The New York Times, 9/2/09: here Don's unedited Wired for Books interview with Doctorow: listen HENRY LOUIS GATES Pluck & Scholarship The noted black studies scholar was caught in a firestorm when he was arrested for being impertinent to a white cop in Gates' Cambridge, Massachusetts, home. But far more important is that Gates unearthed what is believed to be the first novel written by a black woman in America. Hear Don's interview with Gates at Wired for Books -- and the actual broadcast listen. BUDD SCHULBERG 1914-2009 Schulberg shook up Hollywood with his novel What Makes Sammy Run, and he won an Oscar for On the Waterfront. Hear Don's 1990 interview with Schulberg at Wired for Books -- and the actual broadcast listen. INTERVIEW WITH ALIX OHLIN Montreal-born Alix Ohlin is the author of the novel The Missing Person and the story collection Babylon (both Knopf). She earned a BA in English from Harvard and an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers in Austin, Texas. Ohlin teaches creative writing at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania. To hear Don Swaim's 2009 interview with Ohlin click LISTEN SIDNEY ZION 1933-2009 Coloful writer and lawyer, whose daughter's untimely death led to major improvements in working conditions at New York hospitals. Hear Don's 1991 interview with Zion at Wired for Books -- and the actual broadcast listen. Richard M. Nixon discusses books, authors, and his own writing in an interview with Don Swaim on February 6, 1984. listen. Updike JOHN UPDIKE 1932-2009 Arguably, the acclaimed Pennsylvania-born novelist should have won the Nobel Prize. Don Swaim interviewed Updike in 1984. Listen to the unedited interview at Wired for Books. For the actual broadcast: listen. ONE OF MURROW'S BOYS WILLIAM L. SHIRER, pioneering news broadcaster and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, talks about the first days of CBS News and Edward R. Murrow, godfather of broadcast journalism in a thirty-minute interview with Don Swaim on July 7, 1984. listen. ANOTHER OF MURROW'S BOYS DAVID SCHOENBRUN, one of the original CBS News correspondents in World War Two, talks about the old radio days in an interview with Don Swaim on October 6, 1984. listen. MURROW: HIS LIFE AND TIMES Definitive biography of EDWARD R. MURROW and the history of CBS News by Ann Sperber. listen. Purdy JAMES PURDY 1914-2009 Hard to categorize although with a cult following, the Ohio-born Purdy never enjoyed a wide audience, but he was truly an original. Despite his severe image, Purdy was friendly and courtly. Don Swaim interviewed him three times. The unedited interviews can be heard at Wired for Books. Purdy's obit here. Gore Vidal's profile of Purdy: The Novelist as Outlaw. MICHAEL CRICHTON Early Enthusiast of Personal Computers Crichton (1942-2008) was the Harvard Medical School-trained writer who blended science and technology into thrillers and sci-fi, such as The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park. In 1983 -- before Macs, Windows, email, and the Internet -- he published a ground-breaking non-fiction book aimed at educating Americans about personal computing, Electronic Life: How To Think About Computers, and how, as he put it, "everybody's going to have to learn." He was prescient. In a two-part series, Don Swaim spoke to Crichton about computing: listen. For Don's four unedited Wired for Books interviews with Crichton go here. Unfortunately, in his last year, Crichton's fiction was used by the presidency of George W. Bush in a crude effort to prove that global warming is a hoax. SECRET MUSINGS click photos to enlarge Stanley Elkin, Don Swaim 4/16/85 "Stan, lemme try to explain something to you about the craft of fiction." listen John Irving, Don Swaim 5/24/85 "John, now if I'd written 'Garp' I would have ended it this way..." listen Jane Ann Phillips, Don Swaim 5/21/85 "This gal needs a personal writing tutor, and I'm just the guy." listen Paul Theroux, Don Swaim 5/27/85 "Paul, you may have gone to Timbuktu, but never to Asbury Park in January." listen BOOK "MARKS" TV DEMOS Two six-minute TV pilots with Don Swaim interviewing humorist Roy Blount, Jr., and novelist Hugh Nissenson for a show taped in 1987 for Walden Books. The project went nowhere, but the demos survive. Click on images below to start the Quicktime movies. Roy Blount Hugh Nissenson BOOK BEAT'S CHINESE AUDIENCE click to enlarge BOOK BEAT, a daily feature about books and writers, was broadcast on WCBS-AM in New York from 1982 through 1993 and distributed nationally by the CBS Radio Stations News Service (CBS RSNS). Not mere commentary, the broadcasts featured the actual voices of hundreds of prominent writers interviewed by Don Swaim at CBS in New York. Organized chronologically, they're posted in the ARCHIVE section below as mp3 files. Use Search Site at the top of the page to locate a specific author. The unedited, never aired interviews, used as the basis for each Book Beat feature, are posted separately at Ohio University's WIRED FOR BOOKS. Don Swaim ARCHIVE Some 3000 daily Book Beat broadcasts are archived below in chronological order: To find a specific author -- out of several hundred -- type name in search box: Book Beat 1982 Book Beat 1983 Book Beat 1984 Book Beat 1985 Book Beat 1986 Book Beat 1987 Book Beat 1988 Book Beat 1989 Book Beat 1990 Book Beat 1991 Book Beat 1992 Book Beat 1993 Among the authors interviewed by Don Swaim on CBS Radio's Book Beat & posted on Ohio University's Wired for Books: American Book Award winners: Russell Banks | Sandra Cisneros | Henry Louis Gates, Jr. | William Kennedy | Paule Marshall | Toni Morrison | Gary Snyder | Art Spiegelman | John Edgar Wideman Booker Prize winners: Margaret Atwood | John Banville | Ian McEwan | Kazuo Ishiguro | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | Thomas Keneally | Bernice Rubens | Graham Swift | Barry Unsworth Edgar Award winners: Lawrence Block | Mary Higgins Clark | Dick Francis | Frederick Forsyth | Tony Hillerman | P. D. James | Stuart Kaminsky | Elmore Leonard | Ed McBain (Evan Hunter) | Robert B. Parker | T. Jefferson Parker | Ruth Rendell | Joseph Wambaugh | Donald Westlake Hugo Award winners: Isaac Asimov | Ray Bradbury Anne McCaffrey Lewis Thomas Prize for Science Writing : Oliver Sacks Literarian Award winner: Lawrence Ferlinghetti Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters winners: Judy Blume | Ray Bradbury | Joan Didion | James Laughlin | Norman Mailer | Toni Morrison | Adrienne Rich | Studs Terkel | John Updike National Book Award winners: John Barth | Kevin Boyle | James Carroll | James Dickey | Joan Didion | E. L. Doctorow | Richard Eberhart | Allen Ginsberg | John Irving | James Jones | Tracy Kidder | Maxine Hong Kingston | Jerzy Kosinski | Jonothan Kozol | Louis L'Amour | Barry Lopez | Paul Monette | Toni Morrison | Joyce Carol Oates | William L. Shirer | Susan Sontag | Robert Stone | William Styron | John Updike | Gore Vidal National Book Critics Circle Award winners: E. L. Doctorow | Stanley Elkin | John C. Gardner | William Kennedy | Toni Morrison | Reynolds Price | Jane Smiley | John Updike Nobel Prize winners: Gunter Grass | Doris Lessing Elie Weisel| Toni Morrison PEN-Faulkner Award for Fiction winners: T. Coraghessan Boyle | Michael Cunningham | E. L. Doctorow | John Updike | John Edgar Wideman | Richard Wiley | Tobias Wolff Pulitzer Prize winners: Carl Bernstein | Robert Olen Butler | Michael Cunningham | Richard Eberhart | Oscar Hijuelos | William Kennedy | Tracy Kidder | Alison Lurie | Norman Mailer | Toni Morrison | Jane Smiley | Gary Snyder | Studs Terkel | John Updike New York Public Library Literary Lion: Kurt Vonnegut Copyright Note: Permissions to use Don Swaim's interviews in any form must obtained from Kelly Broughton at the Ohio University libraries. 740-593-2709 -- email. Radio Dreams A broadcast-journalist's early career through and including Book Beat—mp3 [runs 17 minutes] Email PO Box 1232 Doylestown, PA 18901 DON'S OTHER SITES WCBS Appreciation Site  Book Beat: The Podcast  Wired for Books   Radio Days   Aspinwall High School   Ambrose Bierce Site   Bucks County Writers Workshop  Errata   Steinbeck in Bucks Co   Pennsylvania Sunsets   Growing Up in WW Two   Fighting the Hun in WW One   Stuart Cummings Ripley Site Swaim Name in History The Swaim in America The Swimsuit Issue Bucks County Writers Workshop

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