In "The Great Transformation," author and religious scholar Karen Armstrong writes a book about how a variety of religious traditions began and how they could possibly answer problems in our society today.  In this interview, Armstrong talks about her appointment to a United Nations initiative called The Alliance of Civilizations, a diverse group of people from around the world who gather to help improve harmony between people across all cultures and religions.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.

Armstrong: The Great Transformation second interview

In "Before, During, After," author Richard Bausch writes about the story of a love affair that blooms and then falters against the background of a national tragedy, the September 11 terrorist attacks.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2015 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.

Bausch: Before, During, After

In "California the Beautiful," Editor Peter Beren talks about the photography book from the late Photographer Galen Rowell which presents a collection of beautiful images from the Golden State of California and pairs them with the voices of fifty California writers.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.

Beren: California the Beautiful

In "Wild Child: Stories by T.C. Boyle," author T.C. Boyle presents a collection of fourteen wide-ranging short stories filled with suspense and imagination.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2010 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.

Boyle: Wild Child: Stories by T.C. Boyle

In "Full Cry," author Rita Mae Brown writes the third novel of her foxhunting series in which "Sister" Jane investigates dishonest hunting practices leading to a shocking connection with what was thought to be an unrelated murder.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2005 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.

Brown: Full Cry

In "Killer Weed," author Michael Castleman writes the fourth in his Ed Rosenbery mystery series in which a Silicon Valley billionaire hires Ed to research the hippie era centered in the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco, while a popular mayoral candidate and ex-hippie drug dealer is assassinated present-day as Ed's wife is serving on the campaign.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2013 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.

Castleman: Killer Weed

In "Simple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea," the late author Frank Delaney writes an account of the 1951 disastrous voyage of the freighter S.S. Flying Enterprise as it encountered an epic storm during the journey from Europe to America.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.

Delaney: Simple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea

In "Fault Line," author Barry Eisler writes a novel about a patent lawyer named Alex Treven who calls upon his estranged brother for help when the inventor of a promising application that Alex was linked to is murdered.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.  Photo Credit: Douglas Sonders.

Eisler: Fault Line

In "Blood's a Rover," author James Ellroy writes the concluding third book in his Underworld USA trilogy with the end of the 1960s laced with violence, greed, and conspiracy theories.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.  Photo Credit: facebook.com/JamesEllroy/

Ellroy: Blood's a Rover

In "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet," author Jamie Ford writes his debut novel about a Chinese American man named Henry Lee who reflects decades later on what it was like growing up during World War 2 in Seattle, the conflict between his father's insistence that he grow up American and the sad history of what happened to Japanese Americans swept up in the internment camps, including a special friend he never forgot.  This discussion with the author took place on a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California.  Photo Credit: Robert Costa

Ford: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Authors from around the world discuss their book with host Jim Foster. "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" aired for over two decades on radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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