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Fintan O’Toole was born in the year the revolution began. It was 1958, and the Irish government, in despair because all the young people were leaving, opened the country to foreign investment and popular culture. So began a decades-long, ongoing experiment with Irish national identity.

"The American Theatre as seen by Hirschfeld 1962-2002" is a new book that showcases Hirschfeld’s greatest theater work from five decades, including some of the most important productions from the last sixty years.

Gregory Maguire turns his trademark wit and wisdom to an animal adventure about growing up, moving on, and finding community. In his latest, Cress Watercress, when Papa doesn’t return from a nocturnal honey-gathering expedition, Cress holds out hope, but her mother assumes the worst. Mama moves what’s left of the Watercress family to the basement unit of the Broken Arms, a run-down apartment oak with a suspect owl landlord, a nosy mouse super, a rowdy family of squirrels, and a pair of songbirds who broadcast everyone’s business. Can a dead tree full of annoying neighbors, and no Papa, ever be home? Gregory Maguire is the author of the incredibly popular books in the Wicked Years series, including "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," which inspired the musical. He is also the author of several books for children, including "What-the-Dickens" and "Egg & Spoon."

This year, income taxes in the U.S. are due for most residents on Monday, April 18. Usually they are due today, April 15, but the deadline is pushed ahead to next week because Emancipation Day, a local holiday in the District of Columbia, was observed today. If you happen to live in either Maine or Massachusetts, you have until Tuesday the 19th to file because the 18th is Patriots Day in those two states. Tonight, we'll file our taxes, sort of. Each correct answer will be a two-word name, title, or phrase in which the second word rhymes with "tax."

Danica Roem made national headlines when –as a transgender former frontwoman for a metal band and a political newcomer—she unseated Virginia's most notoriously anti-LGBTQ 26-year incumbent Bob Marshall as state delegate. Danica is the nation’s first openly trans person elected to US state legislature. Her new book: "Burn the Page: A True Story of Torching Doubts, Blazing Trails, and Igniting Change" is her memoir-meets-manifesto. The book takes readers from Danica's lonely and closeted childhood to her position as a rising star in a party she's helped forever change.

This week's Book Picks come from Suzanna Hermans of Oblong Books in Millerton and Rhinebeck, New York.

Everybody has regrets, Daniel H. Pink explains in "The Power of Regret" (Riverhead Books). They’re a universal and healthy part of being human. And understanding how regret works can help us make smarter decisions, perform better at work and school, and bring greater meaning to our lives. Drawing on research in social psychology, neuroscience, and biology, Pink debunks the myth of the “no regrets” philosophy of life. Using the largest sampling of American attitudes about regret ever conducted as well as his own World Regret Survey — which has collected regrets from more than 15,000 people in 105 countries — he lays out the four core regrets that each of us has. These deep regrets offer compelling insights into how we live and how we can find a better path forward.

The 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival is an annual Pittsfield, Massachusetts event, spanning 10 days and featuring events with a theme of “10.”As part of this year’s festivities, Berkshires Jazz will present a special edition of the Ted Rosenthal Trio on Feb. 26 at the Berkshire Museum with a repertoire that focuses on music about New York. The title of the 7:30pm concert, "Ten by Tin Pan Alley.” In addition to the repertoire, the performers, Ted Rosenthal, Martin Jaffe, and Connor Meehan, all have roots in both New York and the Berkshires.Ted Rosenthal is one of the leading jazz pianist/composers of his generation. He actively tours worldwide with his trio, as a soloist, and has performed with many jazz greats. Winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, Rosenthal has released numerous CDs as a leader. He’s been a featured soloist with major orchestras including the Detroit Symphony and Phoenix Symphony. An active composer and the recipient of three NEA grants, Rosenthal has been commissioned by New York City Opera, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre. He is on the faculties of The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music.