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Literary historian Paul Collins found an odd ad in a rare first edition of Moby Dick author Herman Melville's 1849 novel Redburn. The ad was for another novel -- The Whale and His Captors -- by Rev. Henry Cheever. Collins and Scott Simon discuss the once-common practice of "improving upon" another author's work.

A new documentary tells the story of two rival ballet companies: the original Ballet Russe and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. They were two of the most famous and influential ballet companies of the 20th century. Filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine shot many hours of interviews with surviving dancers, including Irina Baronova.

Actor Tommy Lee Jones stars as a laconic Texas ranch foreman who sets off on an honor quest to bury his murdered friend in his hometown in Mexico. The film marks Jones' directorial debut and has garnered the Oscar-winning actor accolades for his work behind and in front of the camera.

The epic film version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has some flaws, the reviewer says. But in general, he finds the movie true to the "sincerity" of the C.S. Lewis book.

Roni Zulu is a Los Angeles-based tattoo artist who's done work for stars including Janet Jackson, Queen Latifah and Debra Wilson. But he's not your typical tattoo artist. He sees all his art -- including the celebrity tattoos -- as sacred work.

Robert Siegel talks to writer Walter Isaacson about the legacy of Nelson Mandela and what makes a "great man" (with a nod to Thomas Carlyle's "great man theory" of the 19th century). Isaacson has written biographies of other great historical figures, including Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. He says history is made by individuals and Mandela was a person who changed the course of history.

More than 30 holiday movies will open between now and the end of the year -- many of them Oscar hopefuls. Bob Mondello has a selective preview.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt taught school for 30 years. Relationships formed with 12,000 mostly teenaged students form the basis of a new memoir, Teacher Man. He tells Jacki Lyden about life in the classroom.

Two documentaries about nature's pristine complexity are out now on DVD The March of the Penguins and Grizzly Man.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire opens Friday. Critic Kenneth Turan says that new director Mike Newell and his cast have finally done justice to J.K. Rowling's work.