In compelling, unconventional novels, from The Book of Daniel to Billy Bathgate to The March, E.L. Doctorow brings modern history to life, often experiences of important Jewish figures: Harry Houdini, Sigmund Freud, Emma Goldman, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Dutch Schultz, and others. Born in the Bronx in 1931, Doctorow is the author of 15 books and the recipient of the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Three of his novels have been adapted to film, including Ragtime, which was also turned into a musical in 1998. He lives in New York, where he holds the Gluckman Chair in American Letters at New York University.

Recorded Thursday, October 19, 2006 at Chicago Public Library.