What happened on December 29, 1996

BOOKS

NEWS

ENTERTAINMENT

BUSINESS

CALIFORNIA | LOCAL

OPINION

Presidents Expect History to Justify Them; Don't Bet on It By Robert Dallek, Robert Dallek, who taught at UCLA for 30 years, is currently a professor of history at Boston University. His most recent book is "Hail to the Chief: The Making and Unmaking of American Presidents" (Hyperion)
DreamWorks: To Be a City or a Studio? By Joel Kotkin, Joel Kotkin, a contributing editor to Opinion, is the John M. Olin fellow at the Pepperdine Institute for Public Policy and a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute. He is also business-trends analyst for Fox TV
U.S. vs. Asia: Culture as Diplomacy By Jacob Heilbrun, Jacob Heilbrun is an associate editor of the New Republic
Gingrich Seems a Hypocrite, While Clinton Seems a Cynic By William Schneider, William Schneider, a contributing editor to Opinion, is a political analyst for CNN
U.S. Quietly Abandons the Kurds of Northern Iraq By Thomas Goltz, Thomas Goltz covers the region bounded by the Adriatic and Caspian seas. His documentary film on Chechnya was a finalist for the Rory Peck Award (London)
Predictions? OK: Everything You Won't Be Seeing in '97 By Bruce Mccall, Bruce McCall is a regular contributor to the New Yorker
Killing Minorities Softly With Words Intended to Be Helpful By Gregory Rodriguez and David E. Hayes-bautista
Dennis Ross By Richard B. Straus, Richard B. Straus is the editor of the Middle East Policy Review
Crash Course in Americanism
For Science, 1997 Shapes Up as the Year of the Tight Belt
The Last Barrier Against Chill
We Can't Afford to Lose China Again By Joseph S. Nye Jr., Joseph S. Nye Jr. is dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and former assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs in the Clinton administration
How to Prevent Death by Fire in Unsafe, Illegal Housing By Neal Richman and Danny Krouk, Neal Richman teaches in the Department of Urban Planning in the School of Public Policy and Social Research at UCLA. Danny Krouk consults with the Community Building Institute. Both work on the Neighborhood Knowledge Los Angeles telecommunications and information system

SPORTS

TRAVEL

What happened on December 29, 1996

BOOKS

Culture Shock : LE DIVORCE, By Diane Johnson; \o7 Dutton: 309 pp.\f7 ,\o7 $23.95\f7 By Richard Eder

HITLER'S WILLING EXECUTIONERS Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust By Daniel Jonah Goldhagen; Alfred A. Knopf: 640 pp., $30 By Louis Begley

BLOOD SPORT The President and His Adversaries By James B. Stewart; Simon & Schuster: 479 pp., $25 By J. Anthony Lukas

HISTORY WARS The Enola Gay and Other Battles for the American Past Edited by Edward T. Linenthal and Tom Engelhardt; Metropolitan Books: 291 pp., $30 By Joyce Appleby

JERUSALEM One City, Three Faiths By Karen Armstrong Alfred A. Knopf: 471 pp., $30 : TO RULE JERUSALEM By Roger Friedland and Richard Hecht Cambridge University Press: 554 pp., $39.95 By Jonathan Kirsch

"Black Sea" (Hill and Wang) by British journalist Neal... By Czeslaw Milosz, Czeslaw Milosz was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1980. His most recent book is "Facing the River: New Poems" (Ecco Press). He lives in Berkeley

ENDANGERED DREAMS The Great Depression in California By Kevin Starr; Oxford University Press: 402 pp., $35 By T. H. Watkins

BORDERING ON CHAOS Guerrillas, Stockbrokers, Politicians and Mexico's Road to Prosperity By Andres Oppenheimer; Little, Brown: 367 pp., $25.95 By Ann Louise Bardach

This year, proving that life is large, I read William... By Herbert Gold, Herbert Gold is the author of numerous works, including the forthcoming novel "She Took My Arm As If She Loved Me" (St. Martin's Press) in May. He lives in San Francisco

IN SEARCH OF NATURE By E.O. Wilson Island Press: 192 pp., $19.95 By Edward Hoagland

RUINED BY READING A Life in Books By Lynne Sharon Schwartz Beacon Press: 119 pp., $18 By Frederick Busch

THE SIZE OF THOUGHTS Essays and Other Lumber By Nicholson Baker; Random House: 355 pp., $25 By Jim Krusoe

THE POET By Michael Connelly; Little, Brown: 436 pp., $22.95 By Lucian K. Truscott Iv

THE STORIES OF VLADIMIR NABOKOV Edited and translated by Dmitri Nabokov; Alfred A. Knopf: 659 pp., $35 By Tatyana Tolstaya

TALES OF BURNING LOVE By Louise Erdrich; HarperCollins: 452 pp., $25 By Verlyn Klinkenborg

THE COLLECTED STORIES OF MAVIS GALLANT By Mavis Gallant: Random House: 887 pp., $45 By Michael Dorris

PUSH By Sapphire: Alfred A. Knopf: 179 pp., $20 By Paula L. Woods

THREE GOSPELS By Reynolds Price Scribner: 288 pp., $23 By Christopher Tilghman

THE LAST OF DEEDS & LOVE IN HISTORY By Eoin McNamee; Picador USA: 185 pp., $21 By Frank Mccourt

Every writer has heard "rules of writing": "Show, don't... By John Rechy, John Rechy's most recent book is "Our Lady of Babylon" (Arcade). He lives in Los Angeles

"The Leopard" (Pantheon) by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa... By Leonard Michaels, Leonard Michaels is the author of, among other works, "Sylvia" (Mercury House), "To Feel These Things" (Mercury House) and "A Cat" (Riverhead Books). He lives in Berkeley

OUT OF SIGHT By Elmore Leonard; Delacorte Press: 296 pp., $22.95 By Ed Mcbain

ALICE MUNRO Selected Stories By Alice Munro: Alfred A. Knopf: 545 pp., $30 By Kate Phillips

It was published in November 1995, but that's close enough... By April Smith, April Smith is the author of "North of Montana" (Ballantine). She lives in Santa Monica

GOOD HAIR By Benilde Little Simon & Schuster: 237 pp., $22 By Karen Grigsby Bates

HEAT WAVE By Penelope Lively; HarperCollins: 215 pp., $22 By Fay Weldon

STORIES FROM A SIBERIAN VILLAGE By Vasily Shukshin translated by Laura Michael and John Givens; Northern Illinois Univ. Press: 255 pp., $35 cloth, $16 paper By Martin Cruz Smith

THE LAWS OF OUR FATHERS By Scott Turow; Farrar Straus & Giroux: 534 pp., $26.95 By Edna Buchanan

THE GIANT'S HOUSE A Romance By Elizabeth McCracken; The Dial Press: 259 pp., $19.95 By Antonya Nelson

WE WERE THE MULVANEYS By Joyce Carol Oates; Dutton: 432 pp., $24.95 By Beverly Lowry

I am writing a novel set in France and Algeria in the... By Brian Moore, Brian Moore is the author of many novels, including most recently, "The Statement" (Dutton). He lives in Malibu

DANCE REAL SLOW By Michael Grant Jaffe; Farrar Straus & Giroux: 242 pp., $20 By Amy Bloom

THE WOMAN WHO WALKED INTO DOORS By Roddy Doyle; Viking: 208 pp., $22.95 By Francine Prose

BIRDSONG By Sebastian Faulks; Random House: 402 pp., $25 By George Garrett

A MAPMAKER'S DREAMS The Meditations of Fra Mauro Cartographer to the Court of Venice By James Cowan; Shambhala: 151 pp., $18 By Alan Lightman

INFINITE JEST By David Foster Wallace; Little, Brown: 1,079 pp., $29.95 By David Kipen

I found Melissa Fay Greene's "The Temple Bombing... By Alice Adams, Alice Adams is the author of numerous books, including "A Southern Exposure" (Fawcett) and "Medicine Man," forthcoming from Alfred A. Knopf. She lives in San Francisco

I read Henry James' "The Tragic Muse" (Penguin) at the... By Maxine Hong Kingston, Maxine Hong Kingston is the author of several novels, including "China Men" (Alfred A. Knopf). She lives in Northern California

"Santa Evita" by Tomas Eloy Martinez (Alfred A. Knopf) is... By Carolyn See, Carolyn See's most recent book is "Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America" (Random House). "The Handyman: A Love Story" is her novel in progress. She lives in Topanga

HELLMAN AND HAMMETT The Legendary Passion of Lily and Dash By Joan Mellen HarperCollins: 549 pp., $32 By Allen Barra

UNDAUNTED COURAGE Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West By Stephen E. Ambrose; Simon & Schuster: 496 pp., $30 By Patricia Nelson Limerick

REWRITES By Neil Simon; Simon & Schuster: 397 pp., $25 By Steve Allen

JACKIE ROBINSON An Intimate Portrait By Rachel Robinson With Lee Daniels Harry N. Abrams: 240 pp., $29.95 : STEALING HOME An Intimate Family Portrait by Sharon Robinson, HarperCollins: 213 pp., $24 By Roger Kahn

A TALENT FOR TROUBLE The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler By Jan Herman; Putnam: 500 pp., $30 By Steven Bach

This year I finally read Plato's "The Laws" (Penguin... By William Vollman, William Vollman is the author of 10 books

JESSE The Life and Pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson By Marshall Frady Random House: 552 pp., $27.50 By Robert Sherrill

LIGHT YEARS: A Memoir By Le Anne Schreiber; Lyons & Burford: 160 pp., $20 By Susan Cheever

IN THE OPEN Diary of a Homeless Alcoholic By Timothy Donohue; University of Chicago: 204 pp., $22.95 By Alec Wilkinson

JAMES THURBER His Life and Times By Harrison Kinney; Henry Holt: 1,238 pp., $40 By Bill Barich

AN ACCIDENTAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY By Barbara Grizzuti Harrison Houghton Mifflin: 396 pp., $24.95 By Susan Isaacs

AN EASY BURDEN The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America By Andrew Young; HarperCollins: 550 pp., $27.50 By Julian Bond

DOING BATTLE The Making of a Skeptic By Paul Fussell Little, Brown: 320 pp., $24 By Russell F. Weigley

PROSPECT The Journal of an Artist By Anne Truitt; Scribner: 221 pp., $22 By Alix Kates Shulman

"Translating Woman," by Ruth Behar (Beacon Press), is a... By Cristina Garcia, Cristina Garcia is the author of "Dreaming in Cuban" (Alfred A. Knopf) and "The Aguero Sisters," forthcoming from Knopf in May. She lives in Los Angeles

The best book I read this year, hands down, was David... By T. Coraghessan Boyle, T. Coraghessan Boyle is the author of several books, including "The Tortilla Curtain" (Viking). He is finishing work on his next novel, "Riven Rock." He lives in Santa Barbara

NEWS

Inn Hollywood By Irene Lacher, TIMES STAFF WRITER

Whose Childhood Is It Anyway? By Marnell Jameson, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Family Hour Provides No Haven From Sexual Messages By Lynn Smith, TIMES STAFF WRITER

Debutantes Presented in Time for Holidays By Mary Lou Loper, TIMES STAFF WRITER

Valley Catholics, Interim Leader Await Naming of Area Bishop By John Dart, TIMES STAFF WRITER

Doctor Accused of His Baby's Death Caught in Tragic Dilemma By Catherine Crocker, ASSOCIATED PRESS

End of Trail May Change for Imprisoned Navajo Leader By Julia Prodis, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Canada Coaxes Painful Memories Out of Abused Schoolchildren By David Crary, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Britain Hopes 10,000 Ringers Will Chime In By Sue Leeman, ASSOCIATED PRESS

World Population Growth Stabilization Advocated by 2025 \o7 Reuters\f7

Son Wins New Murder Trial for Mother By Elizabeth Hudson, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST

NASA Seeks to Prove Safety of Privatizing the Shuttle By Marcia Dunn, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Powerful Snow and Ice Storm Rakes Pacific Northwest By Rory Marshall, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Despite Efforts, the State Department Attracts Relatively Few Minorities By George Gedda, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pianist, 14, Sneaks Out of Cuba to Pursue His Dream By Eddie Dominguez, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Stowaways Found in Ship Container \o7 Reuters\f7

Some Scientists Question Ban on Peacetime Use of Nuclear Explosions By Ian Mader, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Experts Cite Frustration in Shaken-Baby Deaths \o7 From Associated Press\f7

Besieged by Bills, Transplant Patient Dies By Erich Smith, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thousands of Addicts, Alcoholics to Lose Aid By Virginia Ellis, TIMES STAFF WRITER

U.S. Probes Death Row Record Label's Money Trail By Chuck Philips and Alan Abrahamson, TIMES STAFF WRITERS

Voting Dispute Deepens Rift Over Latino Group By Nancy Cleeland and Dexter Filkins, TIMES STAFF WRITERS