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The Arsenal Of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, And An Epic Quest To Arm An America At War By A.J. Baime chats with Dr. Alvin

AJ Baime Click Here To Listen In 1941, as Hitler’s threat loomed ever larger, President Roosevelt realized he needed weaponry to fight the Nazis—most important, airplanes—and he needed them fast. So he turned to Detroit and the auto industry for help. The Arsenal of Democracy  tells the incredible story of how Detroit answered the call, centering on Henry Ford and his tortured son Edsel, who, when asked if they could deliver 50,000 airplanes, made an outrageous claim: Ford Motor Company would erect a plant that could yield a “bomber an hour.” Critics scoffed: Ford didn’t make planes; they made simple, affordable cars. But bucking his father’s resistance, Edsel charged ahead. Ford would apply assembly-line production to [...]

By |July 9th, 2014|Biography, History, Politics, Transportation, Travel, War|Comments Off on The Arsenal Of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, And An Epic Quest To Arm An America At War By A.J. Baime chats with Dr. Alvin
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The Phantom Of Fifth Avenue: The Mysterious Life And Scandalous Death Of Heiress Huguette Clark By Meryl Gordon chats with Dr. Alvin

Meryl Gordon Click Here To Listen Born in 1906, Huguette Clark grew up in her family's 121-room Beaux Arts mansion in New York and was one of the leading celebrities of her day. Her father William Andrews Clark, was a copper magnate, the second richest man in American, and not above bribing his way into the Senate. Huguette attended the coronation of King George V. And at twenty-two with a personal fortune of $50 million to her name, she married a Princeton man and childhood friend William MacDonald Gower. Two-years later the couple divorced. After a series of failed romances, Huguette began to withdraw from society--first living with her mother in a kind of Grey [...]

By |July 2nd, 2014|Biography, Women|Comments Off on The Phantom Of Fifth Avenue: The Mysterious Life And Scandalous Death Of Heiress Huguette Clark By Meryl Gordon chats with Dr. Alvin
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Scalia: A Court Of One By Bruce Allen Murphy chats with Dr. Alvin

Bruce Allen Murphy Click Here To Listen An authoritative, deeply researched biography of the most controversial and outspoken Supreme Court justice of our time and how he chose to be right rather than influential. Antonin Scalia knew only success in the first fifty years of his life. His sterling academic and legal credentials led to his nomination by President Ronald Reagan to the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in 1982. In four short years there, he successfully outmaneuvered the more senior Robert Bork to be appointed to the Supreme Court in 1986.

By |July 2nd, 2014|Biography, Law, Politics|Comments Off on Scalia: A Court Of One By Bruce Allen Murphy chats with Dr. Alvin
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Blood Feud: The Clintons Vs. The Obamas By Edward Klein chats with Dr. Alvin

Edward Klein-Blood Feud Click Here To Listen They are allies by circumstance, rivals in fact, and enemies by personal animosity. New York Times bestselling author Edward Klein pulls back the veil on the most unreported story in Washington—the jealousy and antipathy that divides the two most powerful Democratic families in the country. With unparalleled reporting and access to the most sensitive sources close to the principals, Klein gives an insider's, behind the scenes view of the mutual loathing between the Democratic standard-bearers. In Blood Feud, you'll learn: Why Michelle Obama’s political ambitions could rival Hillary Clinton's About the “deal”: why Bill Clinton supported Barack Obama for reelection—and why he feels betrayed Benghazi: how Barack Obama [...]

By |June 30th, 2014|African Americans, Biography, History, Politics|Comments Off on Blood Feud: The Clintons Vs. The Obamas By Edward Klein chats with Dr. Alvin
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Experiencing A Series Of Setbacks; Hear Liberty’s Torch By Elizabeth Mitchell On DrAlvin.Com

Elizabeth Mitchell Click Here To Listen   The Statue of Liberty has become one of the most recognizable monuments in the world: a symbol of freedom and the American Dream. But the story of the creation of the statue has been obscured by myth. In reality, she was the inspiration of one quixotic French sculptor hungry for fame and adoration: Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. Bartholdi showed himself to be a talented sculptor at the tender age of twenty-one when a statue he created won third prize at the 1855 Paris Exhibition. His equally prodigious talent for entrepreneurship came to light soon afterwards. Following a trip to Egypt where he was inspired by the pyramids and the [...]

By |June 30th, 2014|Biography, History|Comments Off on Experiencing A Series Of Setbacks; Hear Liberty’s Torch By Elizabeth Mitchell On DrAlvin.Com
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Lords Of The Sky: Fighter Pilots And Air Combat, From The Red Baron To The F-16 By Dan Hampton chats with Dr. Alvin

Dan Hampton-Lords of the Sky Click Here To Listen Lords of the Sky is a thrilling history of the fighter pilot, masterfully written by one of the most decorated aviators in American history. A twenty-year USAF veteran who flew more than 150 combat missions and received four Distinguished Flying Crosses, Lt. Colonel Dan Hampton draws on his singular firsthand knowledge, as well as groundbreaking research in aviation archives and rare personal interviews with little-known heroes, including veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In a seamless, sweeping narrative, Lords of the Sky tells the extraordinary stories behind the most famous fighter planes and the brave and daring heroes who made them legend. In the [...]

By |June 27th, 2014|Biography, History, Military, Transportation, Travel, War|Comments Off on Lords Of The Sky: Fighter Pilots And Air Combat, From The Red Baron To The F-16 By Dan Hampton chats with Dr. Alvin
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Going Some-Where By Brian Benson chats with Dr. Alvin

Brian Benson Click Here To Listen Brian has a million vague life plans but zero sense of direction. So when he meets Rachel, a self-possessed woman who daydreams of bicycling across the States, he decides to follow her wherever she'll take him. Brian and Rachel soon embark on a ride from northern Wisconsin to Somewhere West, infatuated with the promise of adventure and each other. But as the pair progress from the Northwoods into the bleak western plains, they begin to discover the messy realities of life on the road. Mile by mile, they contend with merciless winds and brutal heat, broken bikes and bodies, each other and themselves—and the looming question of what comes next. [...]

By |June 26th, 2014|Biography, Travel|Comments Off on Going Some-Where By Brian Benson chats with Dr. Alvin
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Let The Tornado Come By Rita Zoey Chin chats with Dr. Alvin

Rita Zoey Chin Click Here To Listen From an award-winning poet comes this riveting, gorgeous memoir about a young runaway, the trauma that haunted her as an adult, and the friendship with a horse that finally set her free. When she was eleven years old, Rita began to run away. Her father’s violence and her mother’s hostility drove her out of the house and into the streets in search of a better life. This soon led her into a dangerous world of drugs, predatory older men, and the occasional kindness of strangers, but despite the dangers, Rita kept running. One day she came upon a field of horses galloping along a roadside fence, and the [...]

By |June 24th, 2014|Biography, Women|Comments Off on Let The Tornado Come By Rita Zoey Chin chats with Dr. Alvin
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Postcards From Cookie: A Memoir Of Motherhood, Miracles, And A Whole Lot of Mail By Caroline Clarke chats with Dr. Alvin

Caroline Clarke Click Here To Listen Award-winning journalist Caroline Clarke was born in an era when adoptions were shameful and secret and sealed. Her story begins with a happy childhood in the Bronx, as the only child of educators, both with strong ties to their large West Indian families. She never had any desire to know her birth parents until her thirties when some health questions led her to contact Spence-Chapin Family Services. The adoption agency's response sparked a series of stunning discoveries. Caroline knew her biological family and had so for more than twenty years. Her birth mother, nicknamed "Cookie," was the eldest sister of one of her dearest college friends; thus, Caroline's girlfriend [...]

By |June 23rd, 2014|African Americans, Biography, Entertainment, Music|Comments Off on Postcards From Cookie: A Memoir Of Motherhood, Miracles, And A Whole Lot of Mail By Caroline Clarke chats with Dr. Alvin
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Lucky Luciano: Mysterious Tales of a Gangster Legend By Christian Cipollini chats with Dr. Alvin

Christian Cipollini-Lucky Luciano Click Here To Listen Charles Lucky Luciano is one of the most researched, discussed and dissected American mobsters of all time. His name has become synonymous with NY City's high drama gangland days of prohibition bootlegging, the information of the infamous five families, and controversy over his alleged Last Testament. However, there exists many fascinating and lurid tales and theories regarding Lucky's rise and fall from the mobs top spot. Some of these stories are known, but still incited debate, such as the origins of his nickname and menacing facial scars. Other legends are not so well known to the general public With information culled from rare news articles, government documents and [...]

By |June 23rd, 2014|Biography, Crime, Law|Comments Off on Lucky Luciano: Mysterious Tales of a Gangster Legend By Christian Cipollini chats with Dr. Alvin
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