Cosmic and commonplace collide Donna Seaman, Seaman is an associate editor for Booklist and book critic for Chicago Public Radio. Her author interviews are collected in "Writers on the Air," and at www.openbooksradio.org.
Mary Austin and the American West Peter Richardson, Richardson lectures on California culture at San Francisco State. His forthcoming book on the history and influence of Ramparts magazine is scheduled for publication this fall.
California, Golden State of constant crisis Joe Mathews, Mathews, author of "The People's Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy," is an Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
'Poe: A Life Cut Short,' by Peter Ackroyd Nicholas Delbanco, Delbanco is the Robert Frost distinguished university professor of English at the University of Michigan and the author of 24 books, including, most recently, "The Count of Concord: A Novel."
Change for cartoonists too Joel Pett, Joel Pett is the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist of the Lexington Herald-Leader. His work also appears in USA Today.
Obama: a special man for a serious time Andrew Young, Andrew Young served three terms in Congress. In 1977, he was appointed ambassador to the United Nations, and in 1981, he was elected mayor of Atlanta. He is a co-founder of the consulting firm GoodWorks International and the producer and host of a series of nationally syndicated television specials, "Andrew Young Presents."