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The chairman of the Sept. 11 Commission, Tom Kean, and vice-chair Lee Hamilton have written the new book, Without Precedent: the Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission. The two write about the challenges of completing their work on the commission with little money, a tight timeline, constant wrangling to gain access to classified documents, and the necessity of forging a consensus among Republican and Democratic commissioners.

Darrell Mease, a convicted murderer, was scheduled to die in Missouri when his prayers were answered. Pope John Paul II won Mease, a Christian convert, a commutation of his death sentence during a 1999 Missouri visit.

Andrea Giovino got some unusual advice from her mother when she was growing up: marry a mobster and your future will be secure. The Brooklyn native took her mom up on the suggestion, marrying a string of mobsters and thugs.

Fiction writer Claire Messud has twice been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award. Our book critic says Messud's just-published novel, The Emperor's Children, might just be the one to propel her out of the "finalist" category and win her the gold.

Journalist Lawrence Wright is the author of the new book The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. The book is based on more than 500 interviews, some with friends and relatives of Osama bin Laden and examines the circumstances that led to the formation of his terrorist group.

Chris Balish is the author of the forthcoming book How to Live Well Without Owning a Car: Save Money, Breathe Easier, and Get More Mileage Out of Life. He talks with Renee Montagne about how to live without a car, even in Los Angeles.

Elvis Presley confidant Jerry Schilling talks about his new book, Me and a Guy Named Elvis: My Lifelong Friendship with Elvis Presley. When Schilling was 12 years old, he met the teenaged Elvis Presley at a north Memphis pickup football game. As Presley rose to fame, Schilling joined him on the rise, eventually becoming creative affairs director for Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Louis Eppolito was a decorated New York cop who came from a longtime mob family. Then he was convicted of working as a mob hit man. But his conviction was recently overturned on a technicality.

At 92, Nora Percival has lived a long and varied life. But she's still making her way — at 88, she turned to writing full time. She discusses her life with her granddaughter, Emily Wynns.

Heat author Bill Buford finds "his McGee" indispensable — that is, Harold McGee's essential tome On Food and Cooking. "McGee is the most important person alive writing about food," Buford says.