E-mail a friendDecember 3, 2009
Best-selling author and staff writer for The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell, explains his motivation for writing and assesses his body of work. Cultural historian Robin D. G. Kelley shares stories from his new biography of Thelonious Monk.
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell
Best-selling author talks about the importance of seeing the world the way others do. (1:16)
Full Interview (12:11)
Award-winning journalist and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell is a staff writer with The New Yorker. Named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People, his books are provocative and thought-provoking. Gladwell originally planned on a career in advertising, but a job with the conservative monthly The American Spectator changed his course. He's reported on business and science and was The Washington Post's New York bureau chief. The British-born Canadian's new book, What the Dog Saw, is a collection of his famous New Yorker pieces.
Robin D. G. Kelley
Robin D. G. Kelley
Web exclusive - Dr. Kelley explains the relationship between jazz icons Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. (2:32)
Full Interview (11:22)
Robin D. G. Kelley is professor of American studies and ethnicity and history at the University of Southern California. Previously on the faculties of Emory, the University of Michigan, Columbia and NYU, where he chaired the history department, he was one of the youngest tenured professors in the U.S. Kelley earned his Ph.D. from UCLA and has published several prize-winning books on African American history and culture. His latest, Thelonious Monk, has been described as the definitive work on modern jazz' most original composer.