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59640-1
Ben Yagoda
Will Rogers: A Biography
Ben Yagoda discussed his book "Will Rogers: A Biography," published by Alfred A. Knopf. The book examines the life and career of the famous political satirist. Mr. Yagoda also discussed the research he conducted in preparing to write the book.
1994-09-25T00:00:00
0806132388
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/59640-1
153825-1
Alfred Young
The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory & the American Revolution
On December 16, 1773, some 150 men boarded three ships docked at Griffin's Wharf. Dressed as Mohawks, their faces darkened with soot, the men cracked open chests of tea and threw them into Boston Harbor. What began as a protest against the duty on tea became an icon of the American Revolution. But what did the Boston T...
1999-11-21T00:00:00
0807054054
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/153825-1
23740-1
August Heckscher
Woodrow Wilson: A Biography
Mr. Heckscher, author of Woodrow Wilson: A Biography, discussed the life of the 28th president of the United States. He described President Wilson's eight-year tenure as president of Princeton University, his governorship of New Jersey, and his two terms as U.S. president. His book was published by Charles Scribner's S...
1992-01-12T00:00:00
0945707266
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/23740-1
153487-1
Robert Conquest
Reflections on a Ravaged Century
Mr. Conquest talked about his book, Reflections on a Ravaged Century, published by W.W. Norton and Company. He examined the role of ideology in shaping the history of the twentieth century, including communism, Marxism and fascism.
1999-12-19T00:00:00
0393048187
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/153487-1
8269-1
George Wilson
Mud Soldiers: Life Inside the New American Army
The experience of modern day U.S. Army infantryman is explored in "Mud Soldiers" by George Wilson. In 1987, Wilson followed the progress of an infantry company from basic training to their first war exercises. Mr. Wilson was a witness to the rigors of basic training and the boredom of life at a military base. He uses t...
1989-07-16T00:00:00
0020710518
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/8269-1
62252-1
M. Stanton Evans
The Theme is Freedom: Religion, Politics, and the American Tradition
Mr. Evans, the author of The Theme Is Freedom: Religion, Politics and the American Tradition, published by Regnery Publishing, talked about some of concepts found in his book. He said that common belief about the origins of our country, institutions and freedoms are incorrect and are the product of an accepted "liberal...
1995-02-05T00:00:00
0895264978
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/62252-1
154106-1
Michael Patrick MacDonald
All Souls: A Family Story from Southie
In this searing, coming-of-age memoir, told through the eyes of the troubled yet keenly gifted observer he was even as a child, MacDonald describes growing up in Irish South Boston. —from the publisher's website
1999-12-12T00:00:00
0807072125
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/154106-1
10238-1
Arthur Grace
Choose Me: Portraits of a Presidential Race
Photographer Arthur Grace talked about his book Choose Me: Portraits of a Presidential Race, published by University Press of New England. He described his project of covering the 1988 presidential race. Black and white still photography is highlighted in the book that contains a selection of over one hundred photograp...
1989-12-10T00:00:00
0874514916
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/10238-1
26188-1
Lewis Puller, Jr.
Fortunate Son
Vietnam veteran Louis Puller, Jr. discussed his book, Fortunate Son: The Autobiography of Louis Puller, Jr., which details his experiences in Vietnam and his relationship with his father, a career soldier. Mr. Puller, currently an attorney with the Department of Defense, won a Pulitzer Prize in literature for the book.
1991-05-24T00:00:00
0802136907
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/26188-1
102205-1
Paul Johnson
A History of the American People
"The creation of the United States of America is the greatest of all human adventures," begins Paul Johnson's remarkable new American history. "No other national story holds such tremendous lessons, for the American people themselves and for the rest of mankind." Johnson's history is a reinterpretation of American hist...
1998-04-05T00:00:00
0060168366
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/102205-1
168241-1
John Laurence
The Cat From Hue: A Vietnam War Story
John Laurence covered the Vietnam War for CBS News from 1965 to 1970 and was judged by his colleagues to be the best television reporter of the war. He lived with a squad of American soldiers in the jungles of War Zone C to produce an unforgettable documentary, The World of Charlie Company, which won every major award ...
2002-01-20T00:00:00
1891620312
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/168241-1
104104-1
Max Boot
Out of Order: Arrogance, Corruption, and Incompetence on the Bench
Hear about the judge who got busted for selling crack? What about the judge who released from jail a felon who then promptly killed a rookie cop? Or the one who ordered a prison to supply its inmates with hot pots? In Out of Order: Arrogance, Corruption, and Incompetence on the Bench, investigative reporter Max Boot do...
1998-05-31T00:00:00
0465054323
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/104104-1
8534-1
Michael Kaufman
Mad Dreams, Saving Graces Poland
Michael Kaufman, former New York Times Warsaw bureau chief, discusses his experiences in that capacity in his book "Mad Dreams, Saving Graces/ Poland: A Nation in Conspiracy." The son a communist who was imprisoned for nine years in a Polish prison, Kaufman combines his family history with that of the Polish nation. Hi...
1989-07-30T00:00:00
0394554868
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/8534-1
164532-1
Rick Perlstein
Before the Storm
Before the Storm begins in a time much like the present—the tail end of the 1950s, with America affluent, confident, and convinced that political ideology was a thing of the past. But when John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960, conservatives—editor William F. Buckley, Jr., John Birch Society leader Robert Welch...
2001-06-03T00:00:00
080902859X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/164532-1
157392-1
David Brooks
Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There
In this witty report, Brooks identifies the new dominant class in our ever-evolving meritocracy—it is the Bobos, bourgeois bohemians, the new strivers whose culture, tastes, and attitudes have replaced the older elite by melding into the bohemians. —from the publisher's website
2000-07-30T00:00:00
0684853779
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/157392-1
9652-1
Kenneth Adelman
The Great Universal Embrace, Arms Summitry -- A Skeptics Account
Kenneth Adelman, former director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency during the Reagan administration, chronicles his experience in “The Great Universal Embrace: Arms Summitry - A Skeptic's Account.” Adelman advised the president on arms control issues and he specifically talks of his involvement in three U...
1989-10-22T00:00:00
0671672061
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/9652-1
122024-1
Norman Podhoretz
Ex-Friends
Allen Ginsberg, Lionel and Diana Trilling, Lillian Hellman, Hannah Arendt, and Norman Mailer—all are ex-friends of Norman Podhoretz, the renowned editor and critic and leading member of the group of New York intellectuals who came to be known as "the Family." As only a family member could, Podhoretz tells the story of ...
1999-03-28T00:00:00
0684855941
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/122024-1
155311-1
John Dower
Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II
This study of Japanese society shows how, after Japan's defeat in World War II, the Japanese reshaped their old traditions and incorporated new ideas from the West in a unique mix. They were thus well-positioned to participate in the emerging free-market opportunities. EMBRACING DEFEAT won the 1999 National Book Award ...
2000-03-26T00:00:00
0393046869
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/155311-1
99360-1
Roger Simon
Showtime: The American Political Circus and the Race for the White House
Show Time is about seduction: the seduction of a system, the seduction of a people, the seduction of a nation. It is also a riveting, rollicking, behind-the-curtain peek at the greatest show on earth: the modern American presidential campaign. "This is not a country that elects an entertainer in chief," Newt Gingrich s...
1998-02-01T00:00:00
0812929632
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/99360-1
176834-1
Jon Kukla
A Wilderness So Immense
—from the publisher's website The remarkable story of the land purchase that doubled the size of our young nation, set the stage for its expansion across the continent, and confronted Americans with new challenges of ethnic and religious diversity. In a saga that stretches from Paris and Madrid to Haiti, Virginia, New ...
2003-07-06T00:00:00
0375408126
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/176834-1
179856-1
Walter Mears
Deadlines Past: Forty Years of Presidential Campaigning: A Reporter’s Story
—from the publisher's website Walter Mears had an insiderÂ’s edge—and he made the most of it by serving newspapers and their readers around the country with some of the best presidential campaign coverage to see print. The Pulitzer Prize winner also witnessed enough of “the oddities, inside stuff, and impressions” d...
2004-01-11T00:00:00
0740738526
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/179856-1
13342-1
Michael Shapiro
In the Shadow of the Sun: A Korean Year of Love & Sorrow
Michael Shapiro discussed his book, "Shadow in the Sun: A Korean Year of Love and Sorrow." He compared living in South Korea to being locked in a room with a manic depressive because of his conflicting passions of bitterness and love for the country. Mr. Shapiro says it is important for Americans to learn more about Ko...
1990-07-29T00:00:00
0871133571
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/13342-1
173268-1
Michael Mandelbaum
The Ideas That Conquered the World
—from the publisher's website One of America's leading foreign policy thinkers outlines the new power realities in the world today, and the challenges facing American leadership--his magnum opus and a major new statement in the mold of Samuel Huntington, Francis Fukuyama, Paul Kennedy, and Jacques Barzun. At the dawn o...
2002-10-20T00:00:00
1586481347
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/173268-1
20968-1
Andrew Cockburn
Dangerous Liaisons
The husband-and-wife team of Andrew and Leslie Cockburn discussed their experiences researching their book Dangerous Liaisons, which details collaboration between Israeli intelligence and the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies. They amassed documentation from U.S. and Israeli intelligence sources, Israeli press r...
1991-09-01T00:00:00
0060921455
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/20968-1
10541-1
Sig Mickelson
From Whistle Stop to Sound Bite
The former head of CBS news in the 1950's, Sig Mickelson discussed issues surrounding his book, "From Whistle Stop to Sound Bite: Four Decades of Politics and Television." He addressed his career and the evolution of network news coverage since his days with CBS. He focused on technological change and the competition i...
1990-01-07T00:00:00
0275923517
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/10541-1
67617-1
Sanford Ungar
Fresh Blood: The New American Immigrants
Sanford Ungar discussed his book, "Fresh Blood: The New American Immigrants," published by Simon and Schuster. It focuses on how waves of immigrants have renewed U.S. society over the centuries. He also talked about the current political debate over immigration and his journalistic and academic career.
1995-11-26T00:00:00
0684808609
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/67617-1
73280-1
Denis Brian
Einstein: A Life
Mr. Brian talked about his recent book, Einstein: A Life, published by John Wiley and Sons. It focuses on Einstein's private life, which Brian argues previous biographers have ignored for the most part. He also talked about the more controversial parts of Einstein's life, including his alleged communist leanings.
1996-08-04T00:00:00
0471193623
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/73280-1
172901-1
Rick Atkinson
An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943
—from the publisher's website In the first volume of a remarkable trilogy, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson provides the definitive history of the war in North Africa. The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is an epic story of courage and calamity, of miscalculation and enduring triumph. Now...
2002-11-17T00:00:00
0805062882
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/172901-1
20663-1
Liz Trotta
Fighting for Air: In the Trenches with Television News
In this piercing look into the grit and the glamour of television news, award-winning journalist Liz Trotta traces her career from the early days of broadcast news to the slick superficiality of today. The first female television correspondent in Vietnam, Trotta tells the searing truth about being a woman in a male-dom...
1991-08-18T00:00:00
0826209521
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/20663-1
13792-1
Lee Edwards
Missionary for Freedom: The Life and Times of Walter Judd
Mr. Edwards discussed his new book, The Life and Times of Walter Judd: Missionary for Freedom. Judd, who served as a medical missionary in China for ten years, went on to become a U.S. Congressman from Minnesota. He served in the Congress for nearly twenty years. Mr. Edwards credits Judd with being a "doer." He cites t...
1990-09-02T00:00:00
1557780315
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/13792-1
94704-1
Tim Russert
Meet the Press: 50 Years of History in the Making
"If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press!" On November 6, 1947, Meet the Press made its network debut. Now, 50 years and an astonishing 2500 shows later, the most influential news program in the history of television is celebrated in MEET THE PRESS: 50 Years of History in the Making. GRAB A FRONT-ROW SEAT to the world even...
1997-12-07T00:00:00
0070466149
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/94704-1
7198-1
Bruce Oudes
From: The President
Bruce Oudes dicussed his book, From: The President, Richard Nixon's Secret Files," which publishes for the first time many of President Nixon's confidential memos and papers. The editor described the topics of these memos as diverse, ranging from opinions on how to properly decorate the White House to instructions to t...
1989-04-16T00:00:00
B000UD71W2
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/7198-1
106538-1
Richard Holbrooke
To End a War
When President Clinton sent Richard Holbrooke to Bosnia as America's chief negotiator in late 1995, he took a gamble that would eventually redefine his presidency. But there was no saying then, at the height of the war, that Holbrooke's mission would succeed. The odds were strongly against it. As passionate as he was c...
1998-07-26T00:00:00
037550057X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/106538-1
166753-1
Stephen Kinzer
Crescent & Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds
For centuries, no terror was more vivid in the Western imagination than fear of "the Turk." To this day many people think of Turkey as exotic and fascinating but at the same time repressive, wild and vaguely dangerous. In Crescent and Star , Stephen Kinzer offers an intimate report on Turkey today, pulling aside the ve...
2001-10-21T00:00:00
0374131430
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/166753-1
154122-1
Thomas Keneally
The Great Shame, Part 2
Based on unique research among little-used sources, this masterly book surveys 80 years of Irish history as seen through the eyes of political prisoners—some of whom were the author's ancestors, who served time in Australia. —from the publisher's website
2000-01-09T00:00:00
0385476973
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/154122-1
11832-1
Leonard Sussman
Power, The Press & The Technology of Freedom
Leonard Sussman discussed his book concerning the impact of new technology on the ways people communicate and govern. He focused on Integrated System Digital Networks (ISDNs), and the roles they will play in increasing the speed of all forms of voice, data and image communications in his book, "Power, The Press & The T...
1990-04-08T00:00:00
0932088392
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/11832-1
64626-1
Tim Penny
Common Cents
Former Congressman Tim Penny and Mr. Garrett discussed their book, "Common Cents," published by Little, Brown and Company. The book focuses on Washington culture and how Washington politics is riddled with many nonsensical activities and practices. It also provides tips for people who feel disaffected with national pol...
1995-05-14T00:00:00
0380727196
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/64626-1
81209-1
James Humes
Confessions of a White House Ghostwriter
Mr. Humes talked about his new book, Confessions of a White House Ghostwriter: Five Presidents and Other Political Adventures, published by Regnery. Mr. Humes talked about his influences early on in his life and his love of history and the English language. In his book, Mr. Humes talks about what he learned during his ...
1997-06-22T00:00:00
0895264331
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/81209-1
53447-1
David Levering Lewis
W.E.B. DuBois: The Biography of a Race, 1868-1919
Professor Lewis discussed his book, "W.E.B. Dubois: The Biography of a Race, 1868-1919," published by Henry Holt and Company, Inc. The book is the first volume of a two volume biography covering the 95 years of W.E.B. Dubois' life. Topics included the events which influenced his life and the influences he has had on Am...
1994-01-02T00:00:00
0805035680
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/53447-1
10430-1
Hedley Donovan
Right Places, Right time
Right Places, Right Times: Forty Years in Journalism Not Counting My Paper Route is the autobiography of former editor-in-chief of Time, Inc., Hedley Donovan. In this interview, he discusses his childhood, his education, and his experience as a Rhodes scholar. He traces his career steps as a reporter for the Washington...
1990-02-27T00:00:00
0671731602
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/10430-1
179911-1
Nikki Giovanni
The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni: 1968-1998
—from the publisher's website For the first time ever, the complete poetry collection spanning three decades from Nikki Giovanni, renowned poet and one of America's national treasures. When her poems first emerged during the Black Arts Movement in the 1960s, Nikki Giovanni immediately took her place among the most cele...
2004-02-08T00:00:00
0060541334
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/179911-1
62456-1
Steven Waldman
The Bill
Steven Waldman's book, "The Bill," published by Viking Penguin, describes the process of transforming a presidential idea into a law. It focuses on President Clinton's National Service Initiative, which founded Americorps, and how this idea was changed by the contentious political environment of Washington.
1995-01-29T00:00:00
0670853003
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/62456-1
15600-1
Ben Wattenberg
The First Universal Nation
Ben Wattenberg explained why his book, "The First Universal Nation: Leading Indicators and Ideas About the Surge of America in the 1990s," concludes that America will remain a vital nation into the 21st century. America's success will, in large part, be due to the broad spectrum of ethnic groups which contribute to the...
1991-01-06T00:00:00
0029340020
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/15600-1
155182-1
Arianna Huffington
How to Overthrow the Government
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for a people to rise up in protest . . . When a handful of bull-market bullies and corporate profiteers amass vast fortunes while 35 million citizens languish in poverty . . . When average Americans decide they're sick of the burden of credit card-fueled lifesty...
2000-02-13T00:00:00
0060393319
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/155182-1
26692-1
John Jackley
Hill Rat: Blowing the Lid Off Congress
Mr. Jackley, former press secretary to Representative Ronald Coleman (D-TX), discussed his experiences in Washington, DC and his book Hill Rat: Blowing the Lid Off Congress.
1992-06-21T00:00:00
089526529X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/26692-1
171133-1
Ann Coulter
Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right
Read the New York Times Review The immutable fact of politics in America is this: liberals hate conservatives. Ann Coulter, whose examination of the Clinton impeachment was a major national bestseller and earned widespread praise, now takes on an even tougher issue. At a time when Democrats and Republicans should be ov...
2002-08-11T00:00:00
078624819X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/171133-1
179036-1
Matthew Pinsker
Lincoln's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers' Home
—from the publisher's website Lincoln and his family fled the gloom that hung over the White House, moving into a small cottage in Washington, D.C., on the grounds of the Soldiers' Home, a residence for disabled military veterans. In Lincoln's Sanctuary , historian Matthew Pinsker offers a fascinating portrait of Linco...
2003-12-21T00:00:00
0195162064
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/179036-1
183270-1
James Chace
1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs- The Election That Changed the Country”
—from the publisher's website Four extraordinary men sought the presidency in 1912. Theodore Roosevelt was the charismatic and still wildly popular former president who sought to redirect the Republican Party toward a more nationalistic, less materialistic brand of conservatism and the cause of social justice. His hand...
2004-08-29T00:00:00
0743203941
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/183270-1
60099-1
Shelby Foote
Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign
The author discussed his book, Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign, published by Random House. The book focuses on the role of "fate" in determining the defeat of General Robert E. Lee at the Civil War battle of Gettysburg. The book is a chapter excerpted from Mr. Foote's three-volume Civil War narrative.
1994-09-11T00:00:00
0679601120
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/60099-1
164139-1
Robert Slayton
Empire Statesman: The Rise & Redemption of Al Smith
Franklin Roosevelt is said to have explained Al Smith, and his own New Deal, with these words: "Practically all the things we've done in the federal government are the things Al Smith did as governor of New York." Smith, who ran for president in 1928, not only set the model for FDR, he also taught America that the prom...
2001-05-13T00:00:00
0684863022
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/164139-1
91396-1
Nat Hentoff
Speaking Freely: A Memoir
In 1995, when Nat Hentoff was honored by the National Press Foundation for lifetime distinguished contributions to journalism, Meg Greenfield said of Hentoff, "In an age when so many of us claim courage for taking on individuals and institutions that they couldn't be more safe in attacking, Hentoff takes real risks, ch...
1997-10-19T00:00:00
0679436472
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/91396-1
32833-1
Walter Isaacson
Kissinger: A Biography
Mr. Isaacson discussed his book, Kissinger: A Biography, which examines the life and times of the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who served during the Nixon and Ford administrations. He discussed his research on Mr. Kissinger, and the political philosophy that drives the international diplomat.
1992-09-27T00:00:00
0671872362
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/32833-1
67506-1
Ben Bradlee
A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures
Mr. Bradlee discussed his recent book, A Good Life: Newspapering, published by Simon and Schuster.
1995-10-29T00:00:00
0684808943
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/67506-1
34276-1
Barbara Hinckley
Follow the Leader: Opinion Polls and the Modern Presidents
Professors Brace and Hinckley, co-authors of Follow the Leader: Opinion Polls and the Modern Presidents published by Basic Books, discussed the relationship between the modern presidents and opinion polls on their job performance and other issues. The two political science professors discussed how presidential decision...
1992-11-08T00:00:00
046501335X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/34276-1
78890-1
Sam Tanenhaus
Whittaker Chambers: A Biography Part 1
Sam Tanenhaus discussed his book, "Whittaker Chambers: A Biography," published by Random House. Whittaker Chambers was a communist author and Soviet agent in his youth and later became a writer at Time. He was the main witness in the case against Alger Hiss as a Soviet agent. This segment focused on Chambers's early li...
1997-02-23T00:00:00
0375751459
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/78890-1
178917-1
James Bovard
Terrorism and Tyranny
—from the publisher's website "The war on terrorism is the first political growth industry of the new Millennium." So begins Jim Bovard's newest and, in some ways, most provocative book as he casts yet another jaundiced eye on Washington and the motives behind protecting "the homeland" and prosecuting a wildly unpopula...
2003-11-02T00:00:00
1403963681
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/178917-1
105026-1
Edward Lazarus
Closed Chambers
Racial integration, abortion, the rights of free speech—the Supreme Court is responsible for handing down decisions that dramatically affect the way we live our lives, but very little is known about what really goes on behind the scenes. Isolated in a marble temple, supposedly insulated from the pressures of politics, ...
1998-06-14T00:00:00
0812924029
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/105026-1
63370-1
Alan Ryan
Introduction Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America
Democracy in America has had the singular honor of being even to this day the work that political commentators of every stripe refer to when they seek to draw large conclusions about the society of the United States. Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat, came to the young nation to investigate the functioni...
1995-02-26T00:00:00
0679431349
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/63370-1
36670-1
Michael Medved
Hollywood vs. America
Film critic Michael Medved discussed his book, "Hollywood vs. America: Popular Culture and the War on Traditional Values," in which he criticizes producers of American media including television programs and popular music for maintaining cultural themes in opposition to traditional American values. He argues that movie...
1992-12-27T00:00:00
0060924357
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/36670-1
155775-1
Philip Short
Mao: A Life
The definitive biography of the man who dominated modern Chinese history. When the Nationalists routed a ragtag Red Army on the Xiang River during the Long March, an earthy Chinese peasant with a brilliant mind moved to a position of power. Eight years after his military success, Mao Tse-Tung had won out over more soph...
2000-04-02T00:00:00
0805031154
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/155775-1
155716-1
Walter Mosley
Workin' on the Chain Gang: Shaking Off the Dead Hand of History
The author of Devil in a Blue Dress offers a powerful examination of the American economic and political machine and challenges readers to cast off the chains of yesterday's society, insisting that the nation and its potential are ours to command. —from the publisher's website
2000-04-23T00:00:00
0345430697
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/155716-1
154513-1
Arthur Herman
Joseph McCarthy
Mr. Herman offers a biography of Joe McCarthy that examines this central figure of the "red scare" of the fifties, and looks at his life and legacy in the light of newly declassified archival sources from the FBI, the National Security Agency, the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon, and the former Soviet Union. After more tha...
2000-02-06T00:00:00
0684836254
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/154513-1
36906-1
Jeffrey Birnbaum
The Lobbyists
Mr. Birnbaum discussed his book, The Lobbyists: How Influence Peddlers Get their Way in Washington. He described the role of lobbyists in the legislative process and the effects of donations by special interest groups to congressional campaigns. He detailed the careers and probable influence of many individual lobbyist...
1993-01-10T00:00:00
0812920864
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/36906-1
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Thomas Byrne Edsall
Chain Reaction
Mr. Edsall, co-author of the recent book, Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights and Taxes on American Politics, is a political reporter for the Washington Post. He discussed the changes in national voting trends during the last twenty-five years. He explained how certain issues, such as race and taxes, have become...
1991-12-15T00:00:00
0393309037
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/23404-1
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Linda Chavez
Out of the Barrio
Ms. Chavez discussed the social, economic, and political implications of the integration of Hispanics into U.S. culture and she described the ramifications of current public policy programs such as immigration policy and affirmative action programs on their assimilation. Ms. Chavez served as executive director of the U...
1992-03-22T00:00:00
0465054315
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/25129-1
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Georgie Anne Geyer
Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro
Ms. Geyer, a foreign correspondent and syndicated columnist based in Washington, DC, talked about her book, Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro. She said that she wrote the biography because of Castro's tremendous influence on the United States, the Soviet Union, and the Third World. She described Castro...
1991-03-10T00:00:00
0316308935
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/17009-1
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Patricia O'Toole
Money and Morals in America
Patricia O'Toole discussed her book, "Money and Morals in America: A History," published by Clarkson Potter. The book examines historical incidents where the "super rich" attempted to use their wealth to change the lives of lower economic classes.
1998-08-16T00:00:00
0517586932
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/109116-1
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Andrew Carroll
Letters of a Nation: A Collection of Extraordinary American Letters
Six years in the making, LETTERS OF A NATION is the most comprehensive collection of American letters ever assembled, offering over 200 extraordinary letters—many published here for the first time—by presidents and prisoners, soldiers and slaves, explorers and expatriates, artists and activists, Nobel laureates and Nat...
1998-07-05T00:00:00
1568361963
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/106121-1
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Sally Satel
PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness is Corrupting Medicine
Drawing on a wealth of information, much of it never before revealed, PC, M.D. documents for the first time what happens when the tenets of political correctness-including victimology, multiculturalism, and the rejection of fixed truths and individual autonomy-are allowed to enter the fortress of medicine. Consider the...
2001-07-15T00:00:00
0465071821
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/164282-1
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Carolyn Barta
Perot and His People: Disrupting the Balance of Political Power
Ms. Barta discussed her book, Perot and His People: Disrupting the Balance of Political Power, published by The Summit Group of Fort Worth. After several months of interviewing Perot supporters around the U.S., she wrote about "Perotism," which is neither conservative nor liberal, but a very enthusiastic grassroots cam...
1994-01-16T00:00:00
1565300653
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/53808-1
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Stephen Oates
The Approaching Fury: Voices of the Storm, 1820-1861
Professor Oates talked about his book, "The Approaching Fury: Voices of the Storm, 1820-1861," published by Harpercollins. The book examines the events leading up to the Civil War, beginning with the Missouri Compromise of 1820, through the eyes of 13 major historical figures, including Henry Clay and John Brown.
1997-04-27T00:00:00
006016784X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/80568-1
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Gregory Fossedal
The Democratic Imperative: Exporting the American Revolution
Mr. Fossedal talked about his new book, The Democratic Imperative: Exporting the American Revolution. He discussed the advantages of democracy and the duty of the U.S. to "export" democracy around the world. He also analyzed recent events in countries such as the Philippines, Argentina, and Chile.
1989-05-21T00:00:00
0465098010
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/7655-1
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Neil Sheehan
A Bright Shining Lie (Part 3)
Neil Sheehan gave five 30-minute interviews about his book, “A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam.” The third interview was titled "The Press in Vietnam."
1988-10-19T00:00:00
0394484479
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/4282-1
53975-1
Gary Hymel
All Politics is Local and other Rules of the Game
Mr. Hymel, former aide to the late Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, discussed the book he wrote with Mr. O'Neill, All Politics Is Local and Other Rules of the Game. The book contains a series of "political principles," each one illustrated by a story Mr. O'Neill loved to tell. The book was published by Times Books/Ran...
1994-01-23T00:00:00
0812922972
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/53975-1
164859-1
Roger Wilkins
Jefferson's Pillow: The Founding Fathers and the Dilemma of Black Patriotism
A civil rights advocate and historian reconsiders life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness As the recent fervor over the confirmation of Thomas Jefferson's black descendents demonstrates, Americans have yet to reconcile American ideals with the legacy of slavery. In Jefferson's Pillow, noted journalist, educator, an...
2001-08-12T00:00:00
0807009563
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/164859-1
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Marshall DeBruhl
Sword of San Jacinto: A Life of Sam Houston
Mr. DeBruhl discussed his book Sword of San Jacinto: The Life of Sam Houston, published by Random House, on the life of the once-president of Texas and U.S. senator. He discussed his research for the book, including research on the Texas revolution and other historic events in the Far West during the 19th century.
1993-05-02T00:00:00
0394576233
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/40390-1
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Eleanor Clift
War Without Bloodshed: The Art of Politics
Ms. Clift and Mr. Brazaitis talked about their new book, War Without Bloodshed: The Art of Politics, published by Scribner. They focused on the careers of eight political figures as representatives of various roles in the political machinations that occur in Washington, D C. Their subjects included Newt Gingrich, Stanl...
1996-08-25T00:00:00
0684800845
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/74534-1
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Paul Taylor
See How They Run
Paul Taylor discussed his book, "See How They Run: Electing the President in an Age of Mediaocracy." As a political correspondent for the Washington Post, Mr. Taylor covered the 1988 presidential election from start to finish. The book includes profiles of the major party campaigns and candidates, and commentary on why...
1990-11-04T00:00:00
0394570596
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/14837-1
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Anthony Lewis
Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment
Anthony Lewis, a New York Times columnist, discussed his book "Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment." In the book he recounts the historic legal battle waged in the early 1960s that affirmed American freedom of the press. In 1960 Alabama Commissioner L.B. Sullivan brought a libel suit against The New ...
1991-10-20T00:00:00
0679739394
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/22178-1
116649-1
P.J. O’Rourke
Eat the Rich
A conservative, prosperous, American journalist gadding around the world laughing at all the ways less successful nations screw up their economy—this might not sound like the recipe for a great read, unless you're Rush Limbaugh, but if that journalist is P.J. O'Rourke you can be sure that you'll enjoy the ride even if ...
1999-01-03T00:00:00
0871137194
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/116649-1
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John Keegan
A History of Warfare
John Keegan, who has written twenty books about warfare, especially World War II, talked about his book, "A History of Warfare." This book attempts to summarize the story of war over the past 40,000 years. He examines the origins and nature of warfare, the culture of both the primitive and modern warrior, and the devel...
1994-05-08T00:00:00
0679730826
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/56542-1
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Katharine Graham
Personal History
Ms. Graham talked about her new book, Personal History, published by Knopf. It is an autobiography which through her own stories deals with the history of the Washington Post, over which Ms. Graham's father, husband and then she watched, over the past fifty years, as well as the many of the main characters in Washingto...
1997-02-16T00:00:00
0394585852
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/78359-1
14730-1
Pat Choate
Agents of Influence
TRW's former director of policy analysis, Pat Choate, discussed his book, Agents of Influence: How Japan's Lobbyists in the United States Manipulate America's Political and Economic System. The premise of Mr. Choate's work is that for over two decades the Japanese manipulation of the American system for their country's...
1990-10-28T00:00:00
0394579011
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/14730-1
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Richard Norton Smith
Patriarch
Mr. Smith discussed his book Patriarch, published by Houghton Mifflin, about the life and times of President George Washington. The book focuses on the last ten years of Washington's life. Mr. Smith is the director of the Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa.
1993-02-21T00:00:00
0395524423
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/38239-1
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David Hackett Fischer
Paul Revere's Ride
Professor Fischer talked about his recent book, Paul Revere's Ride, which tries to recreate the experience of the famous trip made over 200 years ago.
1994-07-17T00:00:00
0195088476
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/58074-1
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Dan Baum
Citizen Coors: An American Dynasty
With enough private dramas to put them on par with the Ewings of Dallas, and enough business crises to keep them constantly in the business hot-seat, the ultra-right-wing Coors of Golden, Colorado, represent one of the more riveting family sagas of our time. Their billion-dollar empire grew out of a single brewery begu...
2000-06-11T00:00:00
0688154484
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/157234-1
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Jane Holtz Kay
Asphalt Nation
Jane Holtz Kay, the architectural and planning critic for The Nation talked about her new book, "Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take it Back," published by Crown. She examines how U.S. society became dependent upon automobile transportation and points out successful efforts to make ...
1997-05-25T00:00:00
0520216202
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/80419-1
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F. Carolyn Graglia
Domestic Tranquility: A Brief Against Feminism
The principal targets of feminist fire in on going "gender wars" are not men but traditional wives and mothers, says a lawyer-turned-housewife in this powerful critique of contemporary feminism. With a profound understanding of the quandary of modern women, Carolyn Graglia shows that the cultural assault on marriage, m...
1998-08-02T00:00:00
0965320863
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/109114-1
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Earl Black
The Vital South: How Presidents are Elected
Twin brothers Professors Earl and Merle Black discussed their book, The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected, published by Harvard University Press. They talked about the politics of the eleven states comprising the old Confederacy, which they argued were of vital importance in presidential elections because of thei...
1992-05-03T00:00:00
0674941314
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/25857-1
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David Atkinson
Leaving the Bench: Supreme Court Justices at the End
Life appointments make Supreme Court justices among the most powerful officials in government and allow even dysfunctional judges to stay on long after they should have departed. For that reason, when a justice leaves the bench is often as controversial as when he's appointed. This first comprehensive historical treatm...
1999-08-22T00:00:00
0700609466
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Bryan Burrough
Public Enemies
—from the publisher's website In 1933, police jurisdictions ended at state lines, the FBI was in its infancy, the highway system was spreading, fast cars and machine guns were easily available, and a good number of the thirteen million Americans who were out of work blamed the Great Depression on the banks. In short, i...
2004-09-19T00:00:00
1594200211
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John Taliaferro
Great White Fathers
—from the publisher's website Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, hoped that ten thousand years from now, when archaeologists came upon the four sixty-foot presidential heads carved in the Black Hills of South Dakota, they would have a clear and graphic understanding of American civilizati...
2002-12-15T00:00:00
1891620983
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/173700-1
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Jimmy Carter
Always a Reckoning and Other Poems
Former President Carter discussed his book, Always A Reckoning and Other Poems, published by Times Books. The book contains poems about his life and the lives of other members of his family.
1995-02-19T00:00:00
0812924347
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/62763-1
164172-1
Alan Ebenstein
Friedrich Hayek: A Biography
This book tells the story of one of the most important public figures of the twentieth century. It is the first full biography of Friedrich Hayek, the Austrian economist who became, over the course of a remarkable career, the great philosopher of liberty in our time. In this richly detailed portrait, Alan Ebenstein chr...
2001-07-08T00:00:00
0312233442
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/164172-1
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Winston Groom
A Storm in Flanders
—from the publisher's website From the acclaimed author of Forrest Gump and Shrouds of Glory, a riveting historical account of the longest and bloodiest battle of World War I. Shrouds of Glory established best-selling author Winston Groom as an electrifying narrative historian. Now, in A Storm in Flanders , the Pulitze...
2002-09-01T00:00:00
0871138425
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/170936-1
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Michael Parenti
The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People’s History of Ancient Rome
—from the publisher's website Most historians, both ancient and modern, have viewed the Late Republic of Rome through the eyes of its rich nobility. They have generally regarded Roman commoners as a parasitic mob interested only in bread and circuses, as Cicero’s “starving, contemptible rabble.” And they have cast Caes...
2003-09-07T00:00:00
1565847970
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/178020-1
116077-1
Dava Sobel
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius
Dava Sobel's Longitude tells the story of how 18th-century scientist and clockmaker William Harrison solved one of the most perplexing problems of history—determining east-west location at sea. This lush, colorfully illustrated edition adds lots of pictures to the story, giving readers a more satisfying sense of the ti...
1999-01-17T00:00:00
0802713440
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/116077-1
183651-1
Hendrik Hertzberg
Politics: Observations and Arguments, 1966-2004
—from the publisher's website Cause for jubilation: At last, one of America's wisest and most necessary voices has distilled what he knows about politics, broadly speaking, into one magnificent volume. Imagine if the Rolling Stones were just now releasing its first greatest hits album, and you'll have some idea of how ...
2004-10-10T00:00:00
1594200181
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/183651-1
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William Taubman
Khrushchev: The Man and His Era (Part 1)
—from the publisher's website The definitive biography of the mercurial Soviet leader who succeeded and denounced Stalin. Remembered by many as the Soviet leader who banged his shoe at the United Nations, Nikita Khrushchev was in fact one of the most complex and important political figures of the twentieth century. Com...
2003-04-20T00:00:00
0393051447
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Richard Barnet
The Rockets' Red Glare
Richard J. Barnet discussed his book The Rockets' Red Glare: When America Goes to War, the Presidents and the People. The author examined the role of public opinion in presidential administrations from George Washington to Ronald Reagan. The premise of the book is that war is "the great test of democracy." Mr. Barnet w...
1990-03-04T00:00:00
0671732870
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/11365-1