Authors on the Air: The Soloist; Jack & Jill; A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University

Compiled by Diane Patrick -- Publishers Weekly, 4/24/2009 11:43:00 AM

Movies opening today:

The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr. and Catherine Keener. It’s based on Steve Lopez’s The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music (Berkley mti, 978-0425226001, $15; Blackstone Audiobooks unabridged CD, $19.95). PW starred its review: “With self-effacing humor, fast-paced yet elegant prose and unsparing honesty, Lopez tells an inspiring story of heartbreak and hope.”

The Informers opens in select cities. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, and Mickey Rourke, it’s based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel (Vintage mti, 978-0307473325, $13.95; Brilliance Audio unabridged CD, $29.99). 

Authors on this morning’s Today: 

• Today show correspondent Jill Rappaport, whose Jack & Jill: The Miracle Dog with a Happy Tail to Tell (Collins, 978-0061731365, $17.99) is just out this week. 

• Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent, authors of How To Love Like a Hot Chick: The Girlfriend to Girlfriend Guide to Getting the Love You Deserve (Collins Living, 978-0061706448, $14). 

Good Morning America chatted with Bethenny Frankel, star of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City and author of Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting (Fireside, 978-1416597988, $16). 

Authors on yesterday’s Early Show: 

• Stylist Sherrie Mathieson, whose latest is Steal This Style: Moms and Daughters Swap Wardrobe Secrets (Clarkson Potter, 978-0307406767, $22.95). 

• Matt Titus, co-author of Why Hasn't He Proposed? Go from the First Date to Setting the Date (McGraw-Hill, 978-0071614962, $16.95). 

Last night, MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann talked with federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega, author of United States v. George W. Bush et al. (Seven Stories Press, 978-1583227565, $14.95). PW’s review had this to say: “Whenever she focuses on the issues at hand—most compellingly in her final analysis of the administration's spurious claims about Iraq's nuclear weapons program—de la Vega makes a persuasive case.” 

Authors on this weekend’s Book TV: 

• Financial Times world trade editor Alan Beattie, whose False Economy: A Surprising Economic History of the World (Riverhead, 978-1594488665, $26.95) pubbed last week. PW said “Thorough research, eclectic examples and a sprightly tone should make this a hit among those interested in world economics—and a must-read alternative for those who couldn't get through Guns, Germs and Steel.” 

• Kevin Roose introduces The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University (Grand Central Publishing, 978-0446178426, $24.99). PW wrote “In what could be described as religious gonzo journalism, Roose documents his experiences as a student for a semester at Liberty University, the largest Christian fundamentalist university in the United States.” 

• History professor Paul Escott, author of "What Shall We Do with the Negro?" Lincoln, White Racism, and Civil War America (Univ. of Virginia Press, 978-0813927862, $29.95). 

• Washington Post education reporter Jay Mathews, author of Work Hard. Be Nice. How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America (Algonquin, 978-1565125162, $14.95). PW thought “Mathews’ innate ability to be at once observer and commentator makes this an insightful and enlightening book.” 

• Yale historian John Merriman discusses The Dynamite Club: How a Bombing in Fin-de-Siecle Paris Ignited the Age of Modern Terror (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 978-0618555987, $26). PW’s starred review declared “Those who think of terrorism as an inexplicable evil produced by an alien culture will have their eyes opened by this fascinating study of 19th-century anarchist terrorists. It’s also an absorbing true crime story, with Dostoyevskian overtones, about high ideals that motivate desperate acts.” 

• David Kilcullen, adviser on counterinsurgency to General Petraeus and author of The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One (Oxford Univ. Press, 978-0195368345, $27.95) PW’s starred review declared “Kilcullen's compelling argument merits wide attention.” 

• Journalists John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, whose book is God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World (Penguin, 978-1594202131, $27.95). 

Due to the nature of live programming, scheduling is subject to change. 

Booksellers can order these titles through Ingram at ipage .

For information about author appearances on these shows and others as well as listings of book mentions and book reviews, visit TitleSmart at www.titlesmart.com. 

Authors on the Air is compiled by Diane Patrick. To be included in this compilation, email author appearance information to DPatrickPW@aol.com (at least TWO days in advance, please).