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95452-1
Iris Chang
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
More than fifty years since the end of World War II, the horrors of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust remain etched in our memory. Yet most Americans are comfortably unaware of the atrocities committed by Japanese armies in the Far East. In her important new book, The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War ...
1998-01-11T00:00:00
0140277447
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/95452-1
51360-1
Alan Brinkley
The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People
Professor Brinkley discussed his book, Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People, published by Alfred A. Knopf. His intention was to avoid textbook-type writing. He wanted to make history more accessible to all levels of students, creating a concise, yet readable history. He included voting figures an...
1993-10-10T00:00:00
0679425489
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/51360-1
20073-1
Elaine Sciolino
The Outlaw State: Saddam Hussein's Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis
Elaine Sciolino discussed her book, "The Outlaw State: Saddam Hussein's Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis," published by John Wiley and Sons. It chronicled the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. She described the role of April Glaspie, the American ambassador to Iraq, in the days preceding the invasion and t...
1991-08-04T00:00:00
0471542997
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/20073-1
73822-1
James Lardner
Crusader: The Hell-Raising Police Career of Detective David Durk
James Lardner talked about his book, "Crusader: The Hell-Raising Career of Detective David Durk," published by Random House. He described the life and career of David Durk, a New York City police officer who struggled against corruption in the department and who helped others fight corruption in government and business...
1996-07-28T00:00:00
0394576489
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/73822-1
110059-1
Arnold Rogow
A Fatal Friendship: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr
For almost two centuries, historians have had difficulty explaining the extraordinary duel that in July 1804 killed Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury, and ended Vice President Aaron Burr's political career. It was well known that Hamilton disliked Burr—perhaps out of a protective fear for...
1998-09-13T00:00:00
0809047535
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/110059-1
63448-1
James Loewen
Lies My Teacher Told Me
Professor James Loewen described how his book, "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong," published by The New Press, resulted from two years of research at the Smithsonian Institution studying twelve popular high school history textbooks. It focuses on how these books omit certain ...
1995-03-26T00:00:00
0684818868
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/63448-1
159433-1
Nina Easton
Gang of Five: Leaders at the Center of the Conservative Crusade
Easton offers interlocking portraits of the new conservative rebels, among them Bill Kristol and Ralph Reed, who have pushed the country to the right and forever changed the direction of American politics. Also includes portraits of Clint Bolick, Grover Norquist and David McIntosh. —from the publisher's website
2000-10-01T00:00:00
0684838990
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/159433-1
176400-1
Azar Nafisi
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
—from the publisher's website We all have dreams—things we fantasize about doing and generally never get around to. This is the story of Azar Nafisi’s dream and of the nightmare that made it come true. For two years before she left Iran in 1997, Nafisi gathered seven young women at her house every Thursday morning to r...
2003-06-08T00:00:00
0375504907
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/176400-1
10449-1
William Lutz
Doublespeak
William Lutz, professor of English at Rutgers University, discusses his most recent book Double-Speak: The Use of Language to Deceive You. A unique analysis of American English, examples of double-speak are "human kinetics" in place of "physical education," and "pavement deficiencies" instead of "potholes." Double-spea...
1989-12-31T00:00:00
0060919930
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/10449-1
163650-1
Philip Taubman
Secret Empire
—from the publisher's website During the early and most dangerous years of the cold war, a handful of Americans, led by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, revolutionized spying and warfare. In great secrecy and beyond the prying eyes of Congress and the press, they built exotic new machines that opened up the Soviet Union...
2003-04-13T00:00:00
0684856999
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/163650-1
12968-1
Christopher Ogden
Maggie: An Intimate Portrait of a Woman in Power
Christopher Ogden, former Time Magazine bureau chief in London, interviewed Mrs. Thatcher several times. His book, "Maggie: An Intimate Portrait of a Woman in Power," follows the life of the British prime minister from her childhood to her present role. Ogden described Mrs. Thatcher as being exactly what Britain needed...
1990-07-01T00:00:00
0671667602
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/12968-1
37701-1
Benjamin Stein
A License to Steal
Benjamin Stein discussed his book, "A License to Steal: The Untold Story of Michael Milken and the Conspiracy to Bilk the Nation," the product of Mr. Stein's investigations into the "junk-bond king" Michael Milken, and his manipulation of the stock market for profit.
1993-01-30T00:00:00
0671742728
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/37701-1
32597-1
Sen. Paul Simon
Advice and Consent
An insider's view of the Supreme Court appointment process chronicles the Senate's role in confirmation proceedings since the George Washington administration, suggesting that the president discuss potential nominees with the Senate before submitting his final choice. —from the publisher's website
1992-09-20T00:00:00
0915765985
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/32597-1
18335-1
George Friedman
The Coming War with Japan
Ms. LeBard and Mr. Friedman discussed their book, The Coming War With Japan, which hypothesizes that increasing economic and political conflicts between the U.S. and Japan will lead to conflict, political or military, in the next two generations. As the U.S.-Soviet conflict dominated the global political scene during t...
1991-06-09T00:00:00
0312076770
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/18335-1
170563-1
Glenn Loury
The Anatomy of Racial Inequality
Speaking wisely and provocatively about the political economy of race, Glenn Loury has become one of our most prominent black intellectuals--and, because of his challenges to the orthodoxies of both left and right, one of the most controversial. A major statement of a position developed over the past decade, this book ...
2002-08-04T00:00:00
0674006259
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/170563-1
46582-1
David Halberstam
The Fifties
Mr. Halberstam, author of The Best and the Brightest, discussed the research behind his latest book, The Fifties, published by Fawcett Books. He talked about the social climate of the 1950s including the effects of the spread of television across the country, the introduction of situational comedies, the birth control ...
1993-07-11T00:00:00
0449909336
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/46582-1
155004-1
David Haward Bain
Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad
Bain draws on his historical/political savvy and his ability to breathe life into history in this saga of the building of the transcontinental railroad—a story which reads like a novel: color, lively, and dramatic. —from the publisher's website
2000-03-05T00:00:00
0140084991
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/155004-1
10932-1
Peggy Noonan
What I Saw at the Revolution
Former presidential speech writer Peggy Noonan discussed her book "What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era." She answered her critics and talked of the publicity surrounding the book. Once a writer for newscaster Dan Rather, Ms. Noonan was a speech writer for Ronald Reagan during the last half ...
1990-02-18T00:00:00
0449001008
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/10932-1
55947-1
James Cannon
Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History
Mr. Cannon discussed the presidency of Richard Nixon and the turmoil left behind for President Gerald Ford. He talked about his book, Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History, published by Harper Collins, which centers on the effort that President Ford undertook to erase "the deception" of the Nixon pres...
1994-04-17T00:00:00
0060165391
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/55947-1
177312-1
Adam Bellow
In Praise of Nepotism: A Natural History
—from the publisher's website Certain to be one of the most controversial books of the year, In Praise of Nepotism is a learned, lively, and provocative look at a practice we all deplore — except when we’re involved in it ourselves. Nepotism, the favored treatment of one’s relatives, is a custom with infinitely more pr...
2003-08-24T00:00:00
0385493886
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/177312-1
9304-1
Mort Rosenblum
Back Home: A Foreign Correspondent Rediscovers America
An experienced Associated Press (AP) foreign correspondent, Mort Rosenblum shares his views of the U.S. in "Back Home: A Foreign Correspondent Rediscovers America." Having started his career over twenty years ago in the Congo, and then covering events in over 140 countries, Rosenblum takes a look at America and its peo...
1989-10-01T00:00:00
0688077803
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/9304-1
12151-1
Morley Safer
Flashbacks On Returning to Vietnam
Morley Safer discussed his book, "Flashbacks on Returning to Vietnam." In 1989, Mr. Safer returned to Vietnam after serving two tours in the region as a war correspondent in the 1960s. The book details his meetings and conversations with several Vietnamese, tells the stories behind his award winning coverage of the Vie...
1990-05-06T00:00:00
0312924828
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/12151-1
119003-1
Annette Gordon-Reed
Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy
Possessing both a layperson's unfettered curiosity and a lawyer's logical mind, Gordon-Reed writes with an irresistible style and compassion about Thomas Jefferson's sexual involvement with his slave Sally Hemings. Her fascinating and convincing argument: not that the alleged 38-year liaison necessarily took place but ...
1999-02-21T00:00:00
0813918332
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/119003-1
66144-1
Robert D. Richardson, Jr.
Emerson: The Mind on Fire
Professor Richardson talked about his book, "Emerson: The Mind on Fire," published by the University of California Press. It focuses on the life of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the famous mid-19th century author. He also talked about the cluster of famous authors active in Concord, Massachusetts with Emerson, including Henry D...
1995-08-13T00:00:00
0520206894
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/66144-1
14942-1
Blaine Harden
Africa: Dispatches From a Fragile Continent
Blaine Harden spoke of his four year tenure as Washington Post sub-Saharan bureau chief, which is the basis for his book, Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent. The book's format focuses on individual people and their life experiences in different African nations, including Zaire, Ghana, Kenya, Sudan and Nigeria....
1990-11-11T00:00:00
0393028828
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/14942-1
155006-1
Howard Zinn
A People's History of the United States
With more than 300,000 paperback copies sold since its previous edition, this phenomenal bestseller, now revised for the first time, provides a "brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those who have been exploited politically and economically and whose plight has been largely omit...
2000-03-12T00:00:00
0060926430
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/155006-1
155997-1
Ward Connerly
Creating Equal: My Fight Against Race Preferences
From his impoverished childhood in segregated pre-war Louisiana to his audience with Bill Clinton at the White House, Ward Connerly's panoramic book spans a civil rights story that's making headlines from coast to coast. Since 1995, when Connerly first burst onto the American scene in as the University of California Re...
2000-04-30T00:00:00
189355404X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/155997-1
10797-1
Charles Fecher
The Diary of H.L. Mencken
Charles Fecher, editor of the controversial book The Diary of H.L. Mencken, discussed the life of H.L. Mencken and his work in publishing Mencken's diary. A newspaper man, magazine editor, author, and critic, H.L. Mencken donated his personal writings to a Baltimore library upon his death in the 1950's, with the stipul...
1990-01-28T00:00:00
039456877X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/10797-1
182786-1
Denny Hastert
Speaker: Lessons from 40 Years in Coaching and Politics
—from the publisher's website Mr. Speaker! Denny Hastert is one of the most powerful men in America—and yet chances are you know little or nothing about him. And Denny Hastert likes it that way. Not because he has anything to hide, but because he doesn’t care about who gets the credit, he just wants to get the job done...
2004-08-15T00:00:00
089526126X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/182786-1
116061-1
Peter Jennings
The Century
"We have sought," write Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster, "to distinguish our story from other histories by holding each chapter up to a litmus test: Have we looked at this time from the perspective of someone who lived through it? And in doing so, have we captured a sense not only of the events of a particular era, bu...
1998-12-27T00:00:00
0385483279
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/116061-1
178163-1
Jessica Stern
Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill
—from the publisher's website For four years, Jessica Stern interviewed extremist members of three religions around the world: Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Traveling extensively -- to refugee camps in Lebanon, to religious schools in Pakistan, to prisons in Amman, Asqelon, and Pensacola -- she discovered that the Isl...
2003-10-12T00:00:00
006050532X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/178163-1
150469-1
H.W. Crocker
Robert E. Lee on Leadership
Robert E. Lee was a leader of extraordinary talents who inspired an out-gunned, out-manned army to legendary heights. The man who Teddy Roosevelt called "the very greatest of all the great captains that the English-speaking peoples have brought forth," lived a life that was a model for anyone who seeks to shoulder the ...
1999-08-08T00:00:00
0761525548
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/150469-1
27376-1
Richard Ben Cramer
What it Takes: The Way to the White House
Mr. Cramer discussed the elements needed in a person to be elected president. He started the book in 1986 and examined the presidential candidates for the 1988 election. Mr. Cramer also described the process involved in writing over six years and with getting a 1000 page book published by Random House.
1992-07-26T00:00:00
0679746498
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/27376-1
77425-1
Robert Ferrell
The Strange Deaths of President Harding
Professor Ferrell talked about his book, The Strange Deaths of President Harding, published by the University of Missouri Press. Mr. Ferrell discussed the president's physical death from a heart attack as well as the death of his reputation. He talked about the rumors that still haunt the 29th president, including the ...
1997-01-12T00:00:00
0826212026
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/77425-1
175675-1
Dorothy Rabinowitz
No Crueler Tyrannies
—from the publisher's website IN 1742, Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, wrote, "There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice." Two hundred forty-three years later, in 1985, Dorothy Rabinowitz, a syndicated columnist and television commenta...
2003-05-04T00:00:00
0743228340
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/175675-1
165162-1
Irvin Molotsky
The Flag, The Poet and The Song
Every American knows "The Star-Spangled Banner," even if we can't sing it to save our lives. But how many people know what really happened through the perilous night that led a Washington lawyer to pen his historic ode? Like the subjects of Cod or Longitude , our national anthem is something taken for granted. But it w...
2001-09-09T00:00:00
0525946004
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/165162-1
68823-1
William Prochnau
Once Upon a Distant War
Mr. Prochnau discussed his book, Once Upon a Distant War: Young War Correspondents and the Early Vietnam Battles, published by Times Books. The book is about the six correspondents from various newspapers and news services who were sent to cover the Vietnam War in its early years. Peter Arnett and Neil Sheehan are amon...
1996-01-14T00:00:00
0812926331
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/68823-1
68215-1
David Brinkley
A Memoir
Just how a young man growing up in a small southern town with only one one-hundred-watt A.M. radio station and no network affiliation became one of the world's most respected broadcasters in the nation makes for a "grand and glorious adventure" in itself. Now, in this fascinating and charmingly candid memoir of a caree...
1995-12-10T00:00:00
067940693X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/68215-1
178161-1
Erik Larson
The Devil in the White City
—from the publisher's website Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s m...
2003-09-14T00:00:00
0609608444
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/178161-1
78894-1
Sam Tanenhaus
Whittaker Chambers: A Biography Part 2
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. In this portion, Mr. Tanenhaus talked about...
1997-03-02T00:00:00
0375751459
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/78894-1
20346-1
Len Colodny
Silent Coup: The Removal of a President
In a controversial new book on the Nixon resignation, Silent Coup: The Removal of a President, the authors said that White House aide John Dean was responsible for the cover-up of the 1973 Watergate break-in, that General Alexander Haig was attempting to unseat President Nixon, and that General Haig was also "Deep Thro...
1991-08-11T00:00:00
0312051565
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/20346-1
111331-1
Juan Williams
Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary
From the bestselling author of Eyes on the Prize , here is the definitive biography of the great lawyer and Supreme Court justice. Thurgood Marshall stands today as the great architect of American race relations, having expanded the foundation of individual rights for all Americans. His victory in the Brown v. Board of...
1998-10-11T00:00:00
0812920287
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/111331-1
22477-1
Larry Sabato
Feeding Frenzy
Larry Sabato discussed his book, "Feeding Frenzy: How Attack Journalism Has Transformed American Politics." In his book, Mr. Sabato discusses what he sees as the major changes that have occured in modern journalism in recent years. He believes that along with a decline in journalistic ethics, there is an increasing ten...
1991-11-03T00:00:00
0029276357
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/22477-1
159925-1
Michael Howard
The First World War
—from the publisher's website The First World War is an insightful narrative history, focusing on why the First World War occurred, how it was fought, and why it had the consequences it did. It examines in turn the state of Europe in 1914 and the outbreak of war; the onset of attrition in 1915 and the extension of the ...
2003-03-16T00:00:00
0192853627
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/159925-1
18786-1
Donald Ritchie
Press Gallery
Mr. Ritchie, the associate historian for the United States Historical Office, traced the evolution of Washington print reporting from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the advent of radio in 1932. He received his bachelor's and advanced degrees from the University of Maryland and spent several years teaching i...
1991-07-07T00:00:00
0674703758
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/18786-1
80477-1
Jill Krementz
The Writer's Desk
Ms. Krementz talked about her book, "The Writer's Desk," published by Random House. It is a collection of photographs of writers near their desks from 1967 to the present. She also talked about many of the writers she has met and photographed over the years, including Kurt Vonnegut, her husband
1997-06-01T00:00:00
0609000489
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/80477-1
64862-1
Ari Hoogenboom
Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior & President
Professor Hoogenboom discussed his book, Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President, published by University of Kansas Press. He talked about President Hayes' life and career and compared his post-presidential career to that of President Jimmy Carter, who also became active in social movements.
1995-07-02T00:00:00
0700606416
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/64862-1
179913-1
Abigail Thernstrom
No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning
—from the publisher's website Black and Hispanic students are not learning enough in our public schools. Their typically poor performance is the most important source of ongoing racial inequality in America today. Thus, say Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom, the racial gap in school achievement is the nation's most critic...
2004-02-01T00:00:00
0743204468
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/179913-1
56895-1
Cal Thomas
The Things That Matter Most
Cal Thomas discussed his book, "The Things that Matter Most," published by HarperCollins. It concerns what he terms the "nine broken promises of the sixties." These promises include such things as the Great Society. He believes that America must return to these "things that matter most," such as traditional religious, ...
1994-07-10T00:00:00
0060926376
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/56895-1
69901-1
Robert Merry
Taking on the World
Robert Merry discussed his book, "Taking on the World: Joseph and Stewart Alsop - Guardians of the American Century," published by Viking/Penguin. The Alsops were journalists and members of an old New England family. Mr. Merry chronicled their lives and careers with many anecdotes, including their close relationships w...
1996-03-24T00:00:00
0140149848
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/69901-1
97109-1
Daniel Pipes
Conspiracy
Many of the greatest tragedies in human history are the result of the successful spread of conspiracy theories, from atrocities committed during the Crusades, to the Holocaust. Today, conspiracy theories are swirling with renewed vigor. CONSPIRACY, by eminent scholar Daniel Pipes, offers much needed perspective on the ...
1998-01-25T00:00:00
0684831317
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/97109-1
38281-1
Kay Mills
This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer
Kay Mills discussed her research for "This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer," published by Dutton Publishers. Ms. Hamer was a major figure in the American civil rights movement and an activist in the Democratic party during the middle part of the twentieth century. Ms. Mills discussed Ms. Hamer's role...
1993-02-28T00:00:00
0452270529
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/38281-1
8062-1
Sen. Robert Byrd
The Senate: 1789-1989
Senator Robert Byrd commemorated 200 years of Senate history in his recent book, The Senate: 1789-1989. The book consists of speeches Senator Byrd delivered on the floor of the Senate about its history. Senator Byrd includes stories about senators such as Daniel Webster and Henry Clay as well as his personal experience...
1989-06-18T00:00:00
0160064058
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/8062-1
8380-1
Simon Schama
Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
Simon Schama, former professor of history at Harvard University, discusses his work, "Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution." He discusses and contrasts the outcome of the French revolution with the American revolution, as well as with the recent events in China. He examines the French constitutions and compar...
1989-07-14T00:00:00
0679726101
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/8380-1
101451-1
Douglas Wilson
Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln
In HONOR'S VOICE: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln, a highly original . . . absorbing and first-rate contribution to Lincoln studies" (Kirkus Reviews), historian Douglas L. Wilson exposes the part of our sixteenth president's life we know the least about: his painful early years, when he proposed to no less than f...
1998-03-29T00:00:00
067940788X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/101451-1
33238-1
George Will
Restoration: Congress, Term Limits and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy
George Will discussed his book, "Restoration: Congress, Term Limits, and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy," published by The Free Press, in which Mr. Will criticized the American political process that encourages career politicians. He contrasted the original intentions of the Founding Fathers in creating the fed...
1992-10-18T00:00:00
0029347130
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/33238-1
51801-1
William F. Buckley Jr.
Happy Days Were Here Again
Author and commentator William F. Buckley, Jr. talked about his compendium titled Happy Days Were Here Again, published by Random House. The book is a collection of more than 120 articles and speeches written between 1985 and 1993. Beginning with Mr. Buckley's 1950 Class Day speech while a student at Yale, he addresses...
1993-10-24T00:00:00
9780679403982
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/51801-1
110653-1
Linda Davis
Badge of Courage: The Life of Stephen Crane
World famous at twenty-four, dead at twenty-eight, brilliant, reckless, and ultimately tragic—Stephen Crane is a dramatic study in contradictions. His most famous work, The Red Badge of Courage , is a classic antiwar novel. Yet Crane longed for military honors of his own and pursued a career as a war correspondent that...
1998-09-06T00:00:00
0899199348
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/110653-1
72551-1
Paul Greenberg
No Surprises: Two Decades of Clinton Watching
Mr. Greenberg talked about his recent book, No Surprises: Two Decades of Clinton-Watching, published by Brassey's. It is a collection of his articles and editorials written about President and Mrs. Clinton in the 1970s and 1980s for newspapers in Arkansas. He described the ambivalence about President Clinton among the ...
1996-07-07T00:00:00
1574880055
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/72551-1
87686-1
Peter Maas
Underboss: Sammy The Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia
"They say I broke the oath. But it wasn 't the oath I thought I was taking I thought it was about honor and brotherhood. I mean, when you took the oath, that honor stuff got you as high as a kite when you were being made. You really believed in it, that it was worth living for and dying for and going to jail for. It wa...
1997-08-24T00:00:00
0060182563
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/87686-1
66766-1
Robert Leckie
Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II
Robert Leckie talked about his book, "Okinawa: Last Battle of World War II," published by Viking Penguin. It focuses on the U.S. invasion of Okinawa in April 1945 by 180,00 troops, the last major step toward the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands. He also talked about his service in the Marine Corps in Guada...
1995-09-03T00:00:00
067084716X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/66766-1
15684-1
Daniel Roos
The Machine That Changed the World
Daniel Roos discussed the book, The Machine That Changed the World, which he co-authored with James P. Womack and others. It an analytical comparison of American and Japanese auto manufacturing practices. According to the authors, the Japanese have developed a better way to make cars and other mass-produced goods. Deve...
1991-01-13T00:00:00
0743299795
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/15684-1
171882-1
Michael Oren
Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East
A gripping account of one of the pivotal events in modern Middle Eastern history--on the 35th anniversary of the war in Israel and the West it is called the Six Day War. In the Arab world, it is known as the June War, or simply as "the Setback." Never has a conflict so short, unforeseen and largely unwanted by both sid...
2002-08-25T00:00:00
0195151747
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/171882-1
124794-1
David Kennedy
Freedom from Fear
In FREEDOM FROM FEAR: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945, the first comprehensive study that spans the Depression, the New Deal and World War Il eras, Bancroft Award-winning historian David M. Kennedy tells the story of three of the most formative events in modern American history. Here Kennedy situat...
1999-06-20T00:00:00
0195038347
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/124794-1
169320-1
Jennifer Toth
What Happened to Johnnie Jordan? The Story of A Child Turning Violent
On an icy night five years ago, Johnnie Jordan -- just fourteen years old -- brutally murdered his elderly foster care mother, leaving the state of Ohio shocked and outraged. He could not tell police why he did it or even how it made him feel; all he knew was that something inside him made him kill. At the time, few pe...
2002-05-12T00:00:00
0684855585
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/169320-1
86638-1
Sylvia Jukes Morris
Rage for Fame: The Ascent of Clare Boothe Luce
Rage For Fame: The Ascent of Clare Boothe Luce is, as its title implies, a soaring story. No American woman of this century aimed so accurately, or rocketed so far, as Clare Boothe Luce—legendary playwright, editor, politician, wit, and social seductress. "Her method was simple, aim for the top," wrote an envious colle...
1997-07-27T00:00:00
0394575555
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/86638-1
161891-1
Jason Epstein
Book Business: Publishing: Past, Present, and Future
The book industry stands at the edge of a historic transformation. Jason Epstein tells us what the future holds. Jason Epstein has led arguably the most creative career in book publishing during the past half-century. In 1952 he created Anchor Books, which launched the so-called quality paperback revolution and establi...
2001-03-18T00:00:00
0393049841
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/161891-1
112280-1
Simon Winchester
The Professor and the Madman
A fascinating portrait of Dr. W.C. Minor, an American Civil War veteran confined to a British insane asylum, who contributed more than 10,000 definitions during the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, known as one of the greatest literary achievements in the history of English letters. Its creation began in 1...
1998-11-08T00:00:00
0060175966
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/112280-1
152171-1
Patrick Tyler
A Great Wall: Six Presidents and China, An Investigative History
A revelatory history of the complicated and combative relationship between the world's biggest and the worlds most powerful nations by the former Beijing bureau chief of the New York Times. A Great Wall is the definitive work on U.S.-China relations since the Cold War. Veteran journalist Patrick Tyler utilizes brillian...
1999-10-31T00:00:00
1891620371
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/152171-1
67372-1
Pierre Salinger
P.S., A Memoir
Pierre Salinger was only 35 when he became Pres. John F. Kennedy's press secretary. During those amazing years, he found himself at the center of many world events. After leaving the White House in 1964 (he stayed on for awhile as LBJ's press secretary) Salinger was, briefly, a senator from California &, even more brie...
1995-11-12T00:00:00
0312135785
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/67372-1
121918-1
Amity Shlaes
The Greedy Hand
The Greedy Hand is an illuminating examination of the culture of tax and a persuasive call for reform, written by one of the nation's leading policy makers, Amity Shlaes of The Wall Street Journal. The father of the modern American state was an obscure Macy's department store executive named Beardsley Ruml. During Worl...
1999-04-11T00:00:00
0375501320
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/121918-1
154827-1
Gina Kolata
Flu: The Great Influenza Pandemic
The fascinating, true story of the world's deadliest disease. In 1918, the Great Flu Epidemic felled the young and healthy virtually overnight. An estimated forty million people died as the epidemic raged. Children were left orphaned and families were devastated. As many American soldiers were killed by the 1918 flu as...
2000-02-27T00:00:00
0374157065
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/154827-1
72926-1
Eleanor Randolph
Waking the Tempests: Ordinary Life in the New Russia
Ms. Randolph talked about her recently published book, Waking the Tempests: Ordinary Life in the New Russia, published by Simon and Schuster. It focuses on how Russians of all backgrounds are handling their new political, economic and other freedoms at a very personal level. She also talked about the Russian elections ...
1996-07-21T00:00:00
0684809125
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/72926-1
54538-1
Bill Emmott
Japanophobia
Author Bill Emmott discussed his recent book, f2Japanophobia: The Myth of the Invincible JapanesefR, published by Times Books/Random House. The book deals with the popular perception during the 1980s that the nation of Japan was unstoppable in the business arena. He discussed the role of government intervention in the ...
1994-02-13T00:00:00
0812919076
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/54538-1
70728-1
Wayne Fields
Union of Words: A History of Presidential Eloquence
Mr. Fields talked about his recent book, Union of Words: A History of Presidential Eloquence, published by The Free Press. He talked about how American presidents use acceptance speeches, inaugurals and State of the Union speeches to define their administration's agenda. He described various ways U.S. presidents have s...
1996-04-14T00:00:00
0684822857
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/70728-1
31965-1
Terry Eastland
Energy in the Executive: The Case for a Strong Presidency
Mr. Eastland discussed the main ideas of his book, Energy in the Executive: The Case for the Strong Presidency published by The Free Press, which addressed the powers and ethics of the presidency in contemporary politics. He discussed the governing methods of previous presidents, and spoke on the relative powers grante...
1992-09-06T00:00:00
0029086817
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/31965-1
53222-1
John Podhoretz
Hell of a Ride: Backstage at White House
Mr. Podhoretz, former speech writer for President Reagan and former special assistant in the Office of Drug Control Policy, discussed his recent book, Hell of a Ride: Backstage at the White House Follies 1989-93, published by Simon and Schuster. The book describes the White House from the perspective of mid-level staff...
1993-12-19T00:00:00
0671796488
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/53222-1
13176-1
Caspar Weinberger
Fighting for Peace: Seven Critical Years in the Pentagon
Caspar Weinberger discussed his book, "Fighting For Peace: Seven Critical Years in the Pentagon," which chronicles his tenure as defense secretary for President Ronald Regan. He discussed the build-up of American arms during the time he served as secretary of defense. Mr. Weinberger stated that he feels it is essential...
1990-07-15T00:00:00
0446392383
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/13176-1
72573-1
James Thomas Flexner
Maverick's Progress: An Autobiography
Mr. Flexner talked about his autobiography, Maverick's Progress, published by Fordham University Press. He is best known for his four-volume biography of George Washington. All 25 of his books, the first of which was Doctors on Horseback, published in 1937, remain in print. He talked about his development as a writer a...
1996-06-02T00:00:00
0823216608
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/72573-1
181902-1
Joseph Califano
Inside: A Public and Private Life
—from the publisher's website Joe Califano grew up in a tight-knit working class family in Depression-era Brooklyn. His parents instilled in their son a work ethic, sense of self, and devotion to Church that stayed with him as he rose through the ranks of America's ruling class. From Jesuit undergraduate schools to Har...
2004-05-23T00:00:00
0786737786
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/181902-1
165212-1
Jeff Greenfield
Oh, Waiter! One Order of Crow
The one account you won't want to miss. From the bestselling author and television commentator comes a brilliant, hilarious, incisive look at just what happened on Election Night, and after. "Circumstances have changed dramatically since I first called you." - Al Gore to George W. Bush, November 8, 2000 Few people know...
2001-07-22T00:00:00
399147764
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/165212-1
40730-1
Anna Quindlen
Thinking Out Loud
Anna Quindlen, syndicated columnist and author of "Thinking Out Loud: On the Personal, the Political, the Public and the Private," published by Random House, discussed her approach to journalism and her work as a columnist at the New York Times. She also spoke on her sources and inspirations for columns, and her career...
1993-05-16T00:00:00
0449909050
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/40730-1
169625-1
Richard Posner
Public Intellectuals: A Study of Decline
In this timely book, the first comprehensive study of the modern American public intellectual--that individual who speaks to the public on issues of political or ideological moment--Richard Posner charts the decline of a venerable institution that included worthies from Socrates to John Dewey. With the rapid growth of ...
2002-06-02T00:00:00
067400633X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/169625-1
21239-1
Reuven Frank
Out of Thin Air: The Brief Wonderful Life of Network News
Mr. Frank was president of NBC News from 1968-1973 and 1982-1984. He is author of the book Out of Thin Air: The Brief Wonderful Life of Network News. He shared his insights as an insider in the business for 40 years, and described the late 1950s to the 1970s as "the best years." He also shared his views on how decreasi...
1991-09-15T00:00:00
0671677586
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/21239-1
23510-1
Martin Gilbert
Churchill: A Life
British historian Martin Gilbert discussed the life and times of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the subject of his book Churchill: A Life. Gilbert, who served for twenty-five years as Sir Winston Churchill's official biographer, discussed the public and private lives of Britain's two-term Prime Minister. He t...
1991-12-22T00:00:00
0805023968
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/23510-1
64308-1
Michael Klare
Rogue States and Nuclear Outlaws
Michael Klare discussed his book, "Rogue States and Nuclear Outlaws: America's Search for a New Foreign Policy," published by Hill and Wang. The book focuses on the first full-scale critical analysis of Pentagon strategy in the post-Cold War era and shows how the Pentagon's planners have created a new agenda that will ...
1995-04-30T00:00:00
0809082438
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/64308-1
14513-1
Harold Stassen
Eisenhower: Turning the World Toward Peace
Harold Stassen, former adviser to President Dwight E. Eisenhower, discussed the book he co-authored with Marshall Houts, "Eisenhower: Turning the World Toward Peace." The authors used their personal experiences to chronicle President Eisenhower's two terms in the White House, from 1953-1961. Mr. Stassen, who assisted D...
1990-10-14T00:00:00
187792704X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/14513-1
162904-1
Jeffrey Meyers
Orwell: Wintry Conscience of a Generation
A revealing look at the human face of the great writer and political thinker. Experienced biographer Jeffrey Meyers delves into the complex personal history of the man whose visionary work gave us the great anti-utopias of twentieth-century literature. Meyers draws on a close study of the new edition of George Orwell's...
2001-03-11T00:00:00
039304792X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/162904-1
163674-1
Andrew Burstein
America's Jubilee
On July 4, 1826, the United States celebrated its fiftieth birthday with parades and speeches across the country. But what ultimately sanctified the national jubilee in the minds of the celebrants was an extraordinary coincidence: the nearly simultaneous deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the last pillars of th...
2001-04-15T00:00:00
0307424715
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/163674-1
159630-1
Bonnie Angelo
First Mothers
First Mothers tells the captivating stories of the mothers who played such large roles in developing the characters of the modern American presidents. The book covers a wide range of memorable personalities, from formidably aristocratic Sara Delano Roosevelt to diehard Democrat Martha Truman, from zealous pacifist Ida ...
2000-11-05T00:00:00
0060937114
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/159630-1
100446-1
Joseph Hernon
Profiles in Character
Hernon's title is a deliberate take-off of Kennedy's Profiles in Courage. Unlike Kennedy's patriotic portrayal of various Senators, Hernon takes the position that the best-known U.S. senators throughout history don't deserve their renown as much as some lesser-known (or completely unknown) ones who served at the same t...
1998-02-15T00:00:00
1563249375
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/100446-1
105855-1
Edward Larson
Summer for the Gods
The 1925 Scopes Trial marked a watershed in our national relationship between science and religion and has had tremendous impact on our culture ever since, even inspiring the famous play/movie Inherit the Wind. In addition to symbolizing the evolutionist versus creationist debate, the trial helped shape the development...
1998-06-28T00:00:00
0465075096
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/105855-1
168640-1
Frank Wu
Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White
In the tradition of W. E. B. Du Bois, Cornel West, and other public intellectuals who confronted the "color line" of the twentieth century, journalist, law professor, and activist Frank H. Wu offers a unique perspective on how changing ideas of racial identity will affect race relations in the new century. Often provoc...
2002-03-31T00:00:00
0465006396
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/168640-1
69485-1
Dan Balz
Storming the Gates
Mr. Balz talked about the book he wrote with Ronald Brownstein, Storming the Gates: Protest Politics and the Republican Revival, published by Little, Brown and Company. It focuses on the relationship between voter discontent and Republican electoral success. It also examines the future of this relationship and the impa...
1996-02-18T00:00:00
0316080381
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/69485-1
77824-1
David Boaz
Libertarianism: A Primer
Mr. Boaz talked about his new book, Libertarianism: A Primer, published by the Free Press. The book contains the history of libertarianism, as well as its central tenets and its positions on various current public policy issues. He also talked about how he became aware of libertarian ideas and named some of the most we...
1997-01-26T00:00:00
068484768X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/77824-1
165148-1
Herbert Bix
Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan
In this groundbreaking biography of the Japanese emperor Hirohito, Herbert P. Bix offers the first complete, unvarnished look at the enigmatic leader whose sixty-three-year reign ushered Japan into the modern world. Never before has the full life of this controversial figure been revealed with such clarity and vividnes...
2001-09-02T00:00:00
006019314X
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/165148-1
36020-1
Brian Kelly
Adventures in Porkland
Brian Kelly discussed his research for the book, "Adventures in Porkland: How Washington Wastes Your Money and Why They Won't Stop," published by Villard Books. He described the process of pork-barrel legislation in which members of Congress of both parties secure money and benefits for their own districts.
1992-12-13T00:00:00
0679406565
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/36020-1
161216-1
Arlen Specter
Passion for Truth
Imbued with rugged individualism and fierce independence from his youth on the Kansas plains, Arlen Specter became a renowned big-city prosecutor and then a respected, powerful U.S. senator. His remarkable forty-year career has encompassed such milestones as originating the Single-Bullet Theory for the Warren Commissio...
2001-01-28T00:00:00
0060198494
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/161216-1
34630-1
Derrick Bell
Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism
Professor Bell discussed his book, "Faces at the Bottom of the Well," published by Basic Books, which addressed the problem of racism in America and the class differences involved in discrimination against minorities. In the book, he discusses the civil rights movement in American society, and concludes that racism is ...
1992-11-15T00:00:00
0465068146
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/34630-1
51559-1
Christopher Hitchens
For the Sake of Argument
Mr. Hitchens discussed the recent publication of his book, For the Sake of Argument, which is a compendium of articles that he has written. He stated that the purpose of this book was a reply to the widespread notion that society no longer needs critique from the left. He hopes to restore the left as a "very necessary ...
1993-10-17T00:00:00
0860914356
https://booknotes.c-span.org/Watch/51559-1