jumping perhaps 2-years-old, and she was alone walking and jumping and celebrating life while i was walking with my sadness mourning. and then i realized she was stopping and then walking again and she stopped each time she was hearing birds singing in the trees. and then i looked at her with more attention to see she would stop, hear the birds and

encourage. so when she applauded the birds, my inner part still alive, still able to celebrate life, was woken up and the same happened with the sources of "mirrors" and all the other books i have written since come a long list of books. ..

>> they're i painted on the walls of caves, women, men, houses, seagulls, they're ageless. they were born thousands upon thousands of years ago, but they are born anew everytime someone looks at them. how could our ancestors of long ago communicate. how could a man who kills wild beast with his bare hands create images in this caves. hough did he manage to draw those lines but break free of the stone and take to the air. how could he or was it she?

or was it she? please, question, was it she? came from a conversation i had in santa fe at the museum, marvelous museum they had there in santa fe. we were the three visiting the museum, and we were talking about the so-called historic art, and this artist -- why not? perhaps it was a woman? and that's why i thought, this is a good story that deserves to be written, and later on i went on writing, and writing a story,

writing 10, 12, 15 times the same story, and cutting and cutting, and till the moment in which i think i feel -- feel-think that the words there deserve to exist. or they tried to be better than silence. >> host: that story affected me a lot because i have always been fascinated by the cave paintings and what struck me most that made me think was of course the beauty, but i was thinking of the intellectual capacity because often we think of primitive man as primitive, as if his brain wasn't as good as our brain, wasn't as smart as we are. i was thinking, approximately 40,000 years ago that these people were doing this works of art with the brilliant powers of

creativity. they're really probably no different than any powers of creativity we have today, and -- >> guest: perhaps they were women. >> host: of course. >> guest: this is not a possibility open in any of the book about prehistoric art. they're always thinking of this artists as men but perhaps they were women. >> host: i wanted to note that your book, "mirrors" is probably one of the most dish willy the word feminist books i have ever read. the overwhelming number of portraits of women are favorable, admiring, adoring. men come in for much moritz simple in your book. >> guest: yes. perhaps we are tough of

humanity. we are not all of humanity, just half of it. so it's time to put forward so many important. >> host: maybe 40,000 years ago before it was written down, before the men wrote down the history, women had that equality and were drawing the cave drawings? >> guest: why not. the book tried to recall or to rediscover the memory of the spies, the scorn, so this is blacks, not only women, blacks. it's very important the fact that the united states have a black or half-black president. very, very important. a lot of the stories about blacks, not only in the united states, and even in one of the

first stories here, adam and eve were blacks because all the experts saying the fact we all came from africa. we are all african immigrants because the human beings began existing there in africa. so perhaps adam and eve were blacks. >> host: most likely. >> guest: i think there were some stories that for me are really relevant, especially because they happens just ten minutes ago, and these stories are very recent. for instance, in 1942, the pentagon, the transfusions of black, when the united states was sent to the second world war, and at that time the

director of the red cross in these islands, was charles view, very important scientist who had not invented the plasma but almost invented it because thanks to him it was possible to save millions of lives in the second world war, and so he was a director of this part of the red cross, and he said, i will not order these stupid order because block blood doesn't exist. there is not such a thing like a black black. and he was, of course, resigned. he resigned. but he was expelled.

he was a scientist, very important, and he was black. he was black himself. so, he knew perfectly well what he was speaking about. and this is an history not very known here in the united states but it's important. >> host: the punchline of your story, because of story is in "mirrors" there's no such thing as black blood, all blood is red. which is total common sense and of course led to his being dismissed. one of the things that is remarkable about the we you tell these stories is that hay have the structure very often of joke, and there's a lot of humor. so i picked out one particular -- a couple examples where i think you developed. one is "echo." and maybe you could read that one for us.

>> guest: yes. echo. she was not accepted by the names. olympus. in earlier times, the names echo knew how to speak. when she spoke with such grace that her words seemed always new, never before spoken by any mouth. but the verbalist was exposed, talked to her during one of their secret fits of jealous si -- jealousy, and echo suffered the worst of all punishments, she was deprived of her own voice. ever since, unable to speak, she

can only only repeat. nowdays that curse is looked as a virtue. >> host: so that's one of the many examples. i wanted to read just one, a quote that you pulled out from -- i don't know where -- about st. joseph and contraception. and just led me read it. >> guest: it's in spanish. an old spanish -- >> host: i had never heard it. st. joseph, all about contraception. st. joseph, you who had, without doing, make it so that i do without having. >> guest: yes. in the spanish. [speaking in foreign language]

>> host: the irony of the joke, it's great. st. joseph, you who had without doing, make it so that i do without having. >> guest: yes. >> host: your translator is wonderful. mark reed is your translator. you cannot tell this is a translation, and i did not have a spanish copy of the book so i couldn't make any of these comparisons, but i am really impressed with the quality of the translation. the other. >> guest: the other -- before mark, we had -- >> host: he translated this. >> guest: the book of voices.

and we had a special relationship. very, very special. he had such a close connection with me that when he was translating, i think he references -- yes, and he died during the translation of the book of voice, and when he arrived to a chapter, one of the stories, which he would not write, i wouldn't say that. i wouldn't say that. i disagree with thisit was his right, of course -- he sent me letters insulting me. how could you say something so stupid, such unright?

the entries about charlie chaplin i think he hated. i didn't know how young he was. and this was the proof, the evidence that we were becoming the same person because i think otherwise he would have allowed me to have my ground. but, no we were the same person. >> host: right. so,. >> guest: so when he died a passport of me died also. >> host: well, i haven't -- mark freed has done well by you. >> guest: i tell you, poor mark, but we are becoming sort of the same person. when we worked together on images, very, very good letters. >> host: i wanted to talk about a couple themes you develop, revolution and ideology, then talk about religion, but let's

start with ideology. you said in an interview i read, i'm strongly influenced by marxism. and i love this -- perhaps i belong to the supersuspicious wing of the marxist movement to the magic wing. i eave hauls had problems with the dogmatic parrots that don't have ideas, only repeat them. i don't want to get into a discussion of the works of marx but who are the marxists that actually have had influence, that you see as your guiding lights? >> guest: i read marxisms and one of the students, people who -- when i was very young and i looked during two years -- i

read the bible also. two long books. it was impossible to imagine such a thing. i was 18, 19 years old, and the world was starting to be aware of doing that, and this marked me forever like the bible also, no? these are my two fingerprints, and perhaps i am mixing of both and later all kind of experiences i had in different places who convince me that i am a pagan. i am religious but i am religious because i believe in the sun and rain and the moon and the process of nature, and

history, because most of the histories of history doesn't have -- don't have -- they don't have a end. they have a bright and happy end. we are destroyed or betrayed, but history has no end. when history says, goodbye, history is saying, see you later. >> host: so, what is -- much about 100 pages is devoted to the 20th century. the revolutionary 20th 20th century, that's our century main limp you talk a lot about the latin american -- a good deal about the latin american revolutionaries. you speak highly of -- i made a

list -- lenin, not stalin. zappatta, fidel castro. >> guest: the only one who invaded the united states. in 18 126789 but in british -- in less than three days. he was drunk and and -- that's y it's good at wars and good at defense. >> host: and the others, sandio, salvador allende. these are the -- i don't know if i left anybody out but these are the great revolutionaries you

write about in at least several places in "mirrors." >> guest: the main one was a woman. you see speaking about her, i left -- >> host: you quote here, 277. >> guest: this is a become of quotations. this was an exception because i owe to her the certitude that another world is possible, and she was the prophet -- you don't wave a -- have to read the emote -- quotation because she was the prophet of though 20th 20th century. the 20th century was the divorce between justice and

freedom. half of the world sacrificed justice in the name of freedom, and the other half of the world sacrificed freedom in the name of justice. and russia wanted socialist revolution. >> host: and so it's called democratic socialism. >> guest: yes. yes. but not in the way some people speak about democratic socialist and making up of capitalism. i don't know. >> host: makeup, yeah. when i asked you that question of which marxist you admired i had in mind rosa because that's the person you quote and i had me placemaker here.

my question was to the latin americans, looking now back at that era of revolution in latin america, which is pretty much over, at least in our generation, what do you think we came out of it with? with the -- >> guest: with the certain certitude, i told you before, that history doesn't end. when history say goodbye, he saying, see you tomorrow. so in latin america, growing, new forces, energies, that are changing reality. so bolivia, and venezuela, and nicaragua, common sense, the president says we are not going to pay foreign debt unless it's proved that the foreign debt is

real. because most of the foreign debt that have imprisoned our latin american countries are false debts, that never existed, or are the result of the generosity of the international financial institutions like international monetary fund and world bank and so on, and the great big bankers that were so generous with the military dictatorships to finance, and the question coming from common sense is, why should people pay for the stick that beated him or her, and why should people finance the corruption of the politicians who ran away with the money,

saved in swiss banks. so we are going to pay but to pay real debts, not the other ones, and he was attacked. saying, this is a scandal. he is mad. what is this? all this trembling, a catastrophe is going to happen. but the catastrophe didn't happen. it happened in the streets, which is away from -- >> host: is -- which of the current leaders in latin america do you admire the most, do you think has the most -- is moving in the right direction? >> guest: well, i don't like speaking about the u.s. it's a world i don't like at all. in the world leadership,

leadership, most of obama's speeches, but he talks to much about -- we must recall our leadership. he needs to stop speaking about leadership. let's speak about friendship. that's a way of giving birth to a new relationship with the -- between the two americas, north america and latin america, friendship instead of leadership, because leadership was the conduct you described in your book, spreading military dictatorships all over our countries in the name of democracy, in the name of -- i don't know what -- in the name of the leadership. the right to take examination to countries and say, are you democratic or not? are you behaving well or not?

like a professor and a pupil. so this is a world i don't like at all. >> host: we're almost ready to wrap up and i wanted to note that in many ways "mirrors" is a very dark book in many ways there's a lot of very terrible things told in this book. religion comes in for enormous criticism. europe comes in for terrible criticism. the united states comes in for terrible criticism. latin america is in many ways a victim. but i don't think of it was a pessimistic book, and i wanted to ask you as the final statement about your sense of optimism in the history you say is still unfolding.

>> guest: well, the certitude that history doesn't end and also the certitude that we may be contemporaries and compatriots of people born far away from your country, then far away from your time. if you share with them a common love for justice and freedom, like happened with -- must have -- you were born in the united states and not in latin america. mark twain. and i remember mark twain was a -- 1930 league, and he wanted to change the stars in the banner with the skulls when the united states began imperial advance in the time of president

mckinley, who heard the voice overgoads saying you -- the voice of god saying you should save the philippines from the danger of the pill -- philippines. so you know perhaps better than i. >> host: well, thank you very much eduardo galeon know. and it's been an honor to talk to you. i have wanted to do this for many years and it's been really great i have been able to do it. and i'm john dinges, and i'm spinning with eduardo galeano, and we will init there thank you very much. >> guest: thank you. i forgot i was in a tv studio. i was nice talking conversation

with a friend in a cav cafe. >> oo thank you. i enjoyed it. >> john talbot described as the oracle of the financial world exposes what he says are the biggest myths about the current recession. wall street's role it in and how to get out of it. barnes & noble in new york hosted this event. it's an hour. >> thank you all for coming. it's a rainy flight out there as i found out the hard way. i'm going to give you short opening remarks remarks remarksy of time for questions i would like to thank the folks at c-span for being here today and filming us. i just returned from an economics conference in italy. one of the sessions was a mock trial in which the economists of the world were put on trial, accused of completely missing

the warning signs of the current crisis, not predicting it, doing nothing to prevent it, and thus far, doing little to help enact smart reforms to end it. i had to give a talk on my book at the same time as the mock trial across town in italy, but i didn't want to miss it so i sent roberto, the chief prosecutor of the child, and himself a top economist, the following memo. it was entitled, witness for the prosecution, and it read as follows: roberto. i see you are speaking at noon today as the prosecutor asking whether economists are to blame for the current financial crisis. i wanted to attend but i'm speaking across town on my in the book. i wish you success in your prosecution, and although i am generally against the death penalty, i think i would make an exception in this