Doctorow, E. L. (Edgar Laurence Doctorow), 1931-, American novelist, b. New York City. Doctorow is known for his skillful blending of fiction and fact into reconstructions of eras in American history. His first work was a novel of the 19th-century West, Welcome to Hard Times (1960), but he did not win wide recognition until The Book of Daniel (1971), which is based on the Rosenberg Case. Since then his books often have featured a compelling combination of real and fictional characters. Doctorow's other novels include Ragtime (1975), which recreates pre-World War I America; Loon Lake (1980), which portrays American life during the Great Depression; World's Fair (1985; National Book Award), a semiautobiographical work set in the Bronx of the 1930s; Billy Bathgate (1989), a tale of Prohibition-era gangsters; The Waterworks (1994), which is set in 1870s New York; City of God (2000), a late 20th-century exploration of ideas and faith; The March (2005), a fictionalized account of General Sherman's Civil War march through Georgia; and Homer& Langley, his version of the lives of two New York hoarder-hermit brothers. He has also written short stories, e.g., Sweet Land Stories (2004), and nonfiction, e.g., the essays collected in Reporting the Universe (2003) and the literary-critical appreciations of Creationists (2006).

(born Jan. 6, 1931, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. novelist. Doctorow worked as an editor and has since taught at colleges and universities. His best-selling novels have often focused on the working class and the dispossessed of earlier decades in the U.S. The Book of Daniel (1971) concerned the Rosenberg spy case. Ragtime (1975; film, 1981) incorporates actual early 20th-century American figures. Loon Lake (1980), World's Fair (1985), and Billy Bathgate (1989; film, 1991) examine the Great Depression and its aftermath. City of God (2000), concerns the efforts of a New York City Episcopal minister to renew his faith.

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E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front is a hip hop album by Busta Rhymes, released on December 8, 1998 (see 1998 in music). The album has a running theme of (incorrectly) predicting that the world would end at the end of the second millennium.

Extinction Level Event peaked at #2 and #12 on Billboard's Top Hip Hop/R&B Albums and the Billboard 200 charts.

The album presented some of his biggest singles to date, including the DJ Scratch produced, "Gimme Some More". The album contains three skits, one involving a boy who is being criticized by his parents for listening to such explicit music, one involving a young man trying to pick up a young woman at the mall by exaggerating his financial and social status - "Oprah does my laundry" - , and one concerning a group of campers who insist that their leader play a Busta Rhymes song at the campfire, pushing him to the breaking point. In the first two skits, songs from Busta's previous 1997 album, When Disaster Strikes, can be heard in the background. "Get High Tonight" and "So Hardcore", respectively.

Extinction Level Event is the first album by Busta Rhymes to feature production by Swizz Beats, as well as no contribution from longtime collaborator Jay Dee.

Busta Rhymes explained in an interview that the cover was inspired by the disaster movie Deep Impact, showing his image of an asteroid hitting New York City.

Track listing

1. "There's Only One Year Left!!! (Intro)"
2. "Everybody Rise" (produced by Nottz)
3. "Where We Are About to Take It" (produced by Nottz)
4. "Extinction Level Event (The Song of Salvation)" (produced by Nottz)
5. "Tear da Roof Off" (produced by Swizz Beatz)
6. "Against All Odds" (featuring The Flipmode Squad) (produced by Jamal)
7. "Just Give It to Me Raw" (produced by Swizz Beatz)
8. "Do It to Death" (produced by Rockwilder)
9. "Keepin' It Tight" (produced by Rashad Smith and Armando Colon)
10. "Gimme Some More" (produced by DJ Scratch)
11. "Iz They Wildin Wit Us & Gettin' Rowdy Wit Us?" (featuring Mystikal) (produced by 2000 Watts)
12. "Party Is Goin' on Over Here" (produced by DJ Scratch)
13. "Do the Bus a Bus" (produced by DJ Scratch)
14. "Take It Off" (produced by Fantom of the Beat)
15. "What's It Gonna Be?!" (featuring Janet Jackson) (produced by Darrell "Delite" Allamby)
16. "Hot Shit Makin' Ya Bounce" (produced by Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie & Nasheim Myrick for The Hitmen)
17. "What the Fuck You Want!!" (produced by Diamond D)
18. "This Means War!!" (featuring Ozzy Osbourne) (produced by Busta Rhymes)
19. "The Burial Song (Outro)" (produced by DJ Scratch)

Samples

• "Everybody Rise" contains elements from the song "If Tomorrow Never Comes" by The Controllers.
• "Where We Are About To Take It" contains elements from the song "Topless Dancers of Corfu" by Dick Hyman.
• "Extinction Level Event (The Song of Salvation)" contains elements from the song "Early in the Morning" by Terry Baxter and his Orchestra.
• "Keepin It Tight" contains elements from the song "New Bell" by Manu Dibango.
• "Gimme Some More" contains elements from the song "Prelude from Psycho" by Bernard Herrman.
• "Do The Bus A Bus" contains elements from the song "Bubble Bunch" by Jimmy Spicer.
• "Whats It Gonna Be" contains elements from the song "Good Day for Lovin'" by Ann Peebles.
• "What The Fuck You Want!!" contains elements from the song "Apache" by The Incredible Bongo Band.
• "This Means War" contains elements from the song "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath.

Charting singles

Year	Single	Chart	Highest Rank
1999	What's It Gonna Be?!	The Billboard Hot 100	No. 3
1999	What's It Gonna Be?!	Hot Rap Singles	No. 1
1999	What's It Gonna Be?!	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	No. 1
1999	What's It Gonna Be?!	Rhythmic Top 40	No. 5
1999	What's It Gonna Be?!	Top 40 Mainstream	No. 40
1999	Gimme Some More	Rhythmic Top 40	No. 36
1999	Party Is Goin' on Over Here	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	No. 72

References