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The new anthology Mexico, A Traveler's Literary Companion takes us deep inside the imagination of a country through its fiction. Many of the stories are translated to English for the first time. Editor and translator C.M. Mayo tells John Ydstie about the book.

Political philosopher Francis Fukuyama talks with Steve Inskeep about the legacy of neo-conservatism and its impact on U.S. foreign policy. He says the promotion of democracy abroad has become far too militarized.

National Guard Lt. Paul Rieckhoff is the founder and executive director of the organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (formerly Operation Truth). He has written a memoir about his tour in Iraq shortly after the occupation: Chasing Ghosts: A Soldier's Fight for America from Baghdad to Washington.

Danica Patrick placed fourth at last year's Indianapolis 500, earning the best time in the race for a woman driver. A self-described "girl," Patrick discusses how she got her start in the sport and the challenges she faces on the racetrack.

Washington Post senior Pentagon correspondent Thomas Ricks. His new book is called Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. Ricks is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter. He talks about the possibility of U.S. involvement in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. This is the first of a two part interview.

Leonard Cohen's poetry career began 50 years ago with the 1956 publication of Let Us Compare Mythologies. His new volume of poetry is called Book of Longing. Cohen, known better as the deep-voiced writer of songs that straddle the folk-rock fence, is also working on an upcoming album to be released later this year.

Many African-American leaders have lost touch with a hallmark of the civil rights movement — the tradition of self-empowerment, Juan Williams says. Instead, he says, they've embraced "victimhood."

Students at Harvard University are flocking to a new class that they hope may provide hints to the secret to happiness. Psychology 1504, or "positive psychology," has become the most popular course on campus. It focuses on what makes people happy, rather than just their pathologies.

Debra Dean's first novel tells the story of an 82-year-old Russian emigre with Alzheimer's disease whose mind is captured by the past. Dean tells Liane Hansen what moved her to begin writing — and what the book taught her about the preciousness of memory.

Marq de Villiers has written a chronicle of his favorite force of nature — its origins, its mythology and its temperamental side, too. Windswept: The Story of Wind and Weather is a personal exploration and a scientific guide. De Villiers tells Debbie Elliott about his book.