Tom's guest for the hour today is John Sayles, a man of many talents.
He's directed award-winning films like The Brother from Another Planet, Matewan, Passion Fish, and Lone Star. He’s acted in numerous films and on television, and he’s written screen plays that have been nominated for Academy Awards. In 1983 he received a coveted MacArthur fellowship.
John Sayles has also written numerous works of non-fiction and he has penned eight novels. His latest is Crucible, a sweeping work of historical fiction about America from the late 1920s through the second world war.
Crucible chronicles the work of Henry Ford as he built the Ford Motor Company into an economic powerhouse that sought to transform American society.
With its enormous cast of characters and its trenchant insights into our troubled national history, Crucible is an important exploration of the issues that have shaped our national identity.
John Sayles was in Baltimore in early March for an appearance with Emma Snyder at her Bird in Hand cafe/bookshop. He stopped by the Midday studio to talk with Tom about the new book, and about his versatile artistic craft.
