Interview

In an age when incisive interviewing has dwindled to asking celebrities what type of tree best describes them, Claudia Dreifus breathes life back into journalism. Here her well-thought-out questions draw sparks, irreverence, and insights from a broad-ranging group of subjects she dubs saints, philosophers, media freaks, poets, or citizens. "Saint" Andrew Young, when asked about the massive welfare cuts the United States Congress recently rallied around, snaps out: "Unless Jesus is lying, a lot of these people are going to hell." Other pithy interviewees include Congressman Barney Frank; civil rights veteran Myrlie Evers; writer Toni Morrison; Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto; bioethicist Arthur Kaplan; and news commentators Cokie Roberts, Nina Totenberg, and Linda Wertheimer, the three graces of National Public Radio.