International Affairs

South African journalist Allister Sparks has written about secret negotiations that started in 1986 between South African leaders and then-jailed political prisoner Nelson Mandela. The meetings ultimately led to the dismantling of Apartheid. Sparks' new book is Tomorrow is Another Country. He served as South African Correspondent for The Observer and for The Washington Post from 1981-1992. He lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Soviet-born journalist Masha Gessen has just edited a new collection of post-Soviet fiction by women, called "Half A Revolution." She says that most of the writers in the collection belong to the "mute generation" that came of age under Brezhnev. Gessen immigrated to the U.S. in 1981 when she was 14 to be with her parents. She's been an editor, primarily in gay and lesbian press, and was international editor at The Advocate. Gessen has since repatriated to Russia.

Manchevski, now based in the U.S., went home to make his first feature film, "Before the Rain." One critic at the Venice Film Festival said the film is "written and directed with surprising skill and ability, wonderfully filmed." Manchevski is also well known for directing the music video, "Tennessee" by Arrested Development which won an MTV video award in 1992.

Engineer Fred Cuny is a relief worker for the International Rescue Committee. He worked in Sarajevo to restore gas and water to civilians in early 1994. He just returned from Chechnya, where he was evaluating the humanitarian situation.

The NPR foreign correspondent has a new book, called "Sarajevo Daily: A City and Its Newspaper Under Siege." During the height of the conflict, the city was in ruins. But one symbol of hope remained constant for its people: Oslobodjenje, the city's multi-ethnic daily newspaper. When the siege began, the paper's editor vowed, "As long as Sarajevo exists, this paper will publish everyday."

Chong is the author of "The Concubine's Children." It's a history of her family, beginning with her grandmother, May-Ying, a concubine brought to Canada by Chong's wealthy grandfather. May-Ying had two daughters in China, and Chong's mother in Canada -- three sisters who hadn't met until Chong persuaded her mother to take the trip to China when she was writing this book. "Publisher's Weekly" says "this superbly told saga of family loyalties and disaffections reads...like a novel."

Journalist Geraldine Brooks is the author of "Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Woman." While Brooks was Middle East correspondent for "The Wall Street Journal," she investigated the role of women in the Islamic societies where she lived and worked.

Journalist Misha Glenny has been covering the war in former Yugoslavia -- first as correspondent for the BBC and now as an independent journalist. He is the author of the book "The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War." He will talk about the decision of the U.S. to no longer participate in the enforcement of the arms embargo to Bosnia.

Anne Maguire and her son Patrick were part of the Maguire Seven, the family who was wrongfully arrested in 1974 on suspicion of manufacturing bombs for the Irish Republican Army. The family was tortured, tried, convicted, and jailed, and was not reunited for eleven years. Anne spent eight years in prison; Patrick spent four after being convicted at the age of 13. Anne has written a book about their experience, called "Miscarriage of Justice."

Grossman has just written his third novel, "The Book of Intimate Grammar." It tells the story of a young Israeli boy struggling with his family and the world he lives in. Grossman's hero has been compared to Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield, as a boy fighting against growing up.

Congress has decided to conduct a study of the role of the Central Intelligence Agency in the post-Cold War world. The agency suffered a shake-up following the discovery of the double agent Aldrich Ames. Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Weiner writes about the CIA for "The New York Times." He talks with Terry Gross today about what changes may take place in the agency as a result of the investigation.

Author and activist Mahnaz Afkhami lobbied for many years for women's rights in her native Iran. For the past fifteen years, she has been in exile from her country for this work. During that time, she talked with other women in exile from all over the world. Twelve of these women's stories are recorded in her new book, "Women in Exile."

China scholar Orville Schell has written nine books about China, as well as contributed to magazines and television. His latest book, "Mandate of Heaven," examines the Tiananmen Square massacre and looks at how the younger generation will come to power. He says popular culture has become the newest arena for dissent and political change.

Journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn were Beijing correspondents for "The New York Times" from 1988 to 1993. They won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. They have just written a book called "China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power." It explores the contradiction in China of a booming economy paired with terrible human rights abuses, as the country struggles to become a new world power.

Journalist Mark Danner has reported from Haiti for "The New Yorker" since 1986. He's in Port-au-Prince, and talks about what's happening there now.

Jonathan Mann, M.D. talks about the connection between health and human rights. Mann is the director and one of the founders of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center For Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health. He was the founding director of the World Health Organization's Global AIDS Program from 1986-1990.

Adrienne Germain is Vice President for the International Women's Health Coalition, which works to improve women's reproductive health care and rights in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. She will serve as one of the delegates to next month's U.N. International Conference on Population and development in Cairo. She is also co-author of "Population Policies Reconsidered," about channelling efforts to control the population not only through fertility programs, but also by offering broad-spectrum health care to women.

Dibango is considered one of the founders of world music. His first album, "Soul Makossa," was a big hit in 1973. His latest album is called "Wakafrika" and blends traditionally African music with European pop. This album features such artists as Youssou N'Dour, Peter Gabriel and Sinead O'Connor. His new autobiography is "Three Kilos of Coffee."

Susan Walker is refugee specialist working with Physicians for Human Rights, an organization of health professionals which investigates and tries to prevent violations of international human rights law. She was recently a member of a team that conducted an "early warning" assessment of Burundi, the country which borders Rwanda. The team warns that Burundi may soon face a bloody civil conflict similar to Rwanda's.

Marty Moss-Coane talks to the Turki about his youth in Palestine and how the Israeli-Arab conflict influence his politics. His new book is called "Exile's Return." Turki now lives in the United States.