The New Science of Weight Loss and the Myths and Realities of Dieting; The Life and Times of Gene Autry; A Passion for the World's Tallest Trees; The History of Tea
The New Science of Weight Loss and the Myths and Realities of Dieting
In her new book Rethinking Thin (FSG/ Farrar, Strauss and Giroux), New York Times science writer Gina Kolata looks at how society's obsession with dieting and weight loss is less about keeping trim and staying healthy and more about money, power, trends, and impossible ideals. In this critique of the weight-loss industry, Kolata examines four determined dieters' progress through a study comparing the Atkins diet to a conventional low-calorie one, dramatizing what it feels like to spend a lifetime struggling with one's weight and fantasizing about finally getting thin. The author joins Larry Mantle to discuss the little-known story of the science of obesity and the history of diets and dieting.
The Life and Times of Gene Autry
2007 marks the 100th anniversary of Gene Autry's birth to be celebrated with events from the Autry National Center's exhibition in Los Angeles in June to a Hollywood Bowl Tribute concert in July. Larry Mantle talks with award winning author and western enthusiast Holly George-Warren about the life and career of Hollywood legend Gene Autry, the only entertainer ever to earn five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. George-Warren has written a new biography of Autry entitled Public Cowboy No. 1 (Oxford University Press).
A Passion for the World's Tallest Trees
Author Richard Preston travels into the perpendicular universe of the world's tallest trees. Mostly California redwoods, they are the colossal remnants of a lost world, some predating the fall of Rome. Preston's new book, The Wild Trees (Random House), chronicles his adventures following Steve Sillett, Marie Antoine, and the tiny group of daring botanists and amateur naturalists into the unexplored forests of 350 foot "supertall" trees. Larry Mantle speaks with Preston about these majestic giants and the people who ascend them.
The History of Tea
Traveling from East to West over thousands of years, tea has played a variety of roles on the world scene in medicine, politics, the arts, culture, and religion. Behind this most serene beverage, idolized by poets and revered in spiritual practices, lies stories of treachery, violence, smuggling, drug trade, international espionage, slavery, and revolution. Beatrice Hohenegger's new book, Liquid Jade (St. Martin's Press), explores tea in all its social and cultural aspects. Larry Mantle talks with Hohenegger about the history of tea.