“Who They Was,” an autobiographical novel about life in public housing and prison, is relentlessly bleak. It had to be, the author, Gabriel Krauze, says.
In 1947, the legendary journalist John Gunther published “Inside U.S.A.,” a best-selling 900-page portrait of the country. Robert Gottlieb revisits the book, revealing a reporter with an eagle eye and a limitless appetite for facts.