you looked back at history and see that whenever we have risen, whenever we have defended human dignity, whenever we have rescinded the evilish asks of segregation, slavery, fascism, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, communism, we have succeeded in building a better future for all. and today, it's decision time and we have to make sure that we no longer vacillate and remain indecisive. we have to help iran free itself. it would be good for the iranians. it would be great for the world. thank you. ..

>> of what took thank those of you who are here for coming. a want to thank looking ahead, those of you who are turned in on c-span. think you for watching. i hope you will find reason to stay with us.

i also want to play in the the public-service institution, politics and prose bookstore for hosting the seventh. what to say a special word of appreciation for the co-founder of politics & prose who is many of you know cost her fight against cancer about ten days ago. a lot of this her partner corona did a great deal of breen in a .. reading and writing with the city and its environs. popped where there will find someone to carry on that tradition. says joe mysia been told her store at the property value of the neighborhood. this book was inspired, so to speak, but a story in the "washington post" on the anniversary of one of the first protests by american jews against hitler.

it may well have been the first. this was in march of 1933, only days after he had taken power, some 4,000 jewish veterans of world war one assembled in downtown manhattan to warn the threat the nazis posed was not only jews, but to the country's. they carry the stars and stripes and the star of david and march to city hall where they called upon new york's mayor to get the u.s. government to protest the anti-semitic violence which was already well under way in hell is german. some 50,000 new yorkers of various faiths, madison square garden, echoing the demands of the jewish veterans, the call for an economic boycott of germany. as time went on, even has

hillers bork against the gile mounted the public protest faded. american jews were at the time the richest and most influential community in the world. some jews view that even in america visit, the golden land, most americans might resent the cause. others were worried by not see threats to retaliate against german jews because of the protests of american jews. others became discouraged by the difficulty of getting attention from this cause. instead of protesting many american jews, most decided to put their trust in the nation's new president, franklin roosevelt. if in the represented the jews

darkest nightmare, roosevelt was there latest hope. the jews now had it three worlds , this world, the world to come, and roosevelt's. of rose of all died. as you all know, by the time roosevelt died, six lane american jews had been murdered by the nazis. how did roosevelt, the country he led, and american shoe compare this to happen? that is the question this book tries to answer. of course there were terrific social conditions that have to be taken into account. made worse by the depression, anti-semitism was spreading like

a plague. the threat from the axis power, particularly from germany made all of that seem less consequential. yet for all of that people have free will. act or not to lax. made by human beings. it is their judgment that needs to held accountable. now, to analyze the judgment that book tries to -- for the first time a different approach. i tried to look closely at the behavior of a handful of jews so close to roosevelt that they could be considered the presidential -- the president's use, a term that was coined by a distinguished israeli scholar. their actions and often interactions, i think, help explain the conundrum that i

oppose for. they help illustrate one of the traumas and dilemmas of american politics, the conflict between conscious as self-interest and between principle and experience on the other. now it helps to understand what happened. it helps to understand the reasons underlying the jewish faith. he was something of an old friend. tuzes covered him in new york. he succeeded al smith to have begun to incorporate jews into non-american politics. he would run for governor in 1928 against a republican candidate. the formidable candidate.

and roosevelt have bolstered their allegiance by promoting economic and social reforms that embody a jewish cultural or religious traditions. amidst all this could feeling toward roosevelt led to a notes that he rarely spoke out directly on what was considered jewish issues or attacked anti-semitism. over the years he rarely mentioned the excess of the nazis. the night of the shattered glass and brass since of deeply shocked by what was up to then, have a source program. they shared with their fellow americans the tendency to project un to politicians the beliefs and attitudes they wanted and to have. we see some of this today.

besides -- there was tangible evidence of a presence of high regard for jews and the number of jews that the new deal brought to washington. this was a big change in past years. there had not been many jewish appointments and to washington. roosevelt recruited an unprecedented influx of jews. so many that anti-semites began to call the administration did you deal. but for all that the jews could shrug off such influences because they felt they had friends at court. having the presence choose in the white house or near the white house or the access to the white house give them hope credit time when they knew of

the faced the worst threat some things are. canso -- and so the president's jews were not in the inner circle because they were jewish. he certainly knew of their faith, but that was incidental. he brought them in because there were men who he thought could be useful and helpful. it was only later as it was a the presidency went on and the threat to a jury became magnified and so critical that the significance of their jewishness became -- enhance. southbound the first to mention because he was for security and prestige was louis brandies who woodrow

wilson had made the first jewish justice are in the supreme court. next most prominent was felix frankfurter who, at the time, roosevelt took office was a harvard law professor. he would join the supreme court himself six years later. then it was sam rosenman who was officially in new york state judge courtesy of an appointment by then governor roosevelt. his to significance reflected his role of chief speechwriter and leading overall adviser. next important, often overlooked, the only cabinet member among the presidents choose. this was treasury secretary to get the ten. and finally there was at benjamin cohen, a relative newcomer who had gained access to the oval office because of his skill as a legislative

craftsman purity drafted some of the most important economic reforms of the early new deal. and he, like felix frankfurter and louis brandies. it was in mix of the early new deal e-bay. healers presence looming ever more threatening abroad. the president's jews became a potential influence. as it turned out the high hopes that american jews had for the president's jews did not work out. the president's jews, specifically the three reputed the most influential, louis brandies, felix frankfurter, and sam rosenman, or not want to once it's been to be. instead of serving as conduits this serves the president as buffers, shielding him from the pleadings of the increasingly

test for jews outside. the explanation was from their shared experience and the precarious terrain of late 19th and early american. this was as much as they felt comfortable and wanted to feel at home in their promise. they were still uncertain. pervasive when i was a kid by my grandmother. later emphasized. she had a pregnant question that she asked whenever there was some great event, and the stock market crashed, when roosevelt was elected, when the japanese approach to the bombed pearl harbor. what does this mean for the jews? it was a question that reflected

the concern that jews had. they were afraid that at some moment memories of the programs under the czar and threats elsewhere. so this, in part, explains the reticence and the response of the president's pledges. in addition they all had particular aspects to their character and background that helps explain how they acted. louis brandies was senior in prestige and age among the president's jews. he was regarded by fdr with such respect approaching reverence that roosevelt referred to him as babesia, after the old testament prophet. no wonder then next to him as a potential key ally.

but as it turned out louis brandies was reluctant to act. plenty he sometimes uses and florists to let the president be. an early example came in april april 1933. garmin and jews were planning a visit to brazil to protest. they were advised that the name of brandeises residents council against the idea. the visit was scrapped. in his misgivings, while he never explain them, they've reflected from his own life experience of being shunned by the upper strata in boston where he first began to practice law and by the anti-semitism.

when he was nominated for the high court by wilson in 1960. brandeis was not reluctant to advocate a whole range of social and economic reforms, however controversial. as he viewed them they were intended to benefit society generally. soggy for a cause that specifically benefit his shoes at the expense, some would argue, of other americans was a high-risk proposition. the case of his protege, felix frankfurter. welcoming he did not quite match the renowned in the pantheon of jewish political leaders. he was close to fdr and had his your consulate. transfers closeness to brandeis and brandeises word as have some

have brother created the potential for a superfamily gifted, are working hand-in-hand for the jewish cause. with this design was flawed by one troublesome reality. ultimately became clear and he was just as reluctant to jeopardize his own relationship with president. so the connection, instead of providing a mechanism to pressure and cajole the president, became a sophisticated apparatus of fending off such efforts. the way it worked, people would be to get the president's help. he would explain that he relayed these requests to felix frankfurter. what felix frankfurter would do is pass these requests on, but almost never to the president. instead to frances perkins, who was the secretary of labor. some other as it -- assistant secretary or undersecretary, anybody but roosevelt, which

made him -- apparently he was uncomfortable doing. so early in life he and a reputation as a liberal fire brand and hemet discretion is offered. his attitude, his response reflected a mixture of apprehension in the mission. sometimes exceeding even his considerable gifts. for once in my life always the for a brief time i were not a jew. then i would not have the appearance of being sectarian in rushing you as i have written. while jewish leaders as an to arrange a meeting to discuss easing restrictions , he would be unwilling to act as a conduit because it would create

applications about his relationship with the president. his counter idea was a seriously nuanced. he would not join such a delegation as had been proposed, but he would be built into a company it provided the president himself asked specifically for felix frankfurter to attend. he get out from under that. the next june in prominence was sam rosenman, who had been a little more than a political juryman until he caught the eye of governor franklin roosevelt. became his chief speech writer. of course he coined the term new deal. he became his chief troubleshooter. sam rosenman was determined to protect his status with the president by telling the president what he believed he most wanted to hear. this was in most cases what he

believed in the town. he belonged to one of the conservative groups of the jewish plot to activism, a group called the american jewish committee. older and more established. his answer to the problems of american jews was through educational efforts to improve public attitude over the long term. tantamount to the booker t. washington approach to combating racial bigotry. he headed an educational foundation which showed that into show the right way to better fills. there was little room for agitation than mine distress or upset that community.

the rabbi, the most prominent american jew on side the government circle said, i am sure -- is jewish the his influence is all to the bad. well, he had reason to suspect that early in the spring of 33. only a few months into his first term when hitler's outrages or at their height, he told a group of american political leaders that the did not need to bother the president because he knew that fdr was concerned over the jury situation, whatever that meant. it was never explained. following is prompting been laid off. five years later psst -- five

years later in the wake of crystal like rosalyn without being asked sent a memo urging him not to make any change in immigration laws. he said any such movement that would let in more refugees would produce a jewish problem. as for benjamin kalends, he wasa brilliant, otherworldly during council. he was often asked by jews outside of the government circle to pressure fdr one way or another. he refused to do it. he did not discourage them from doing things but said he would not because there was no point in trying to as the fdr to do something he was not interested in doing.

so at benjamin cohen was a bitter and i'm not see. he devoted himself to helping britain, which at that time was the only country in the field against germany. conceived a legal rationale for a plan of dubious constitutionality for the u.s. to trade british 50 all destroyers in return for naval bases. very helpful to burn. best letter suggested that he could have been impeached. he must have known that this plan, the big impact of laws that it was sure that the u.s. would enter the war against hitler and that it would

ultimately lead to his destruction. it did. all of that worked out, but it was somewhat too late for 6 million jews in europe. that was felt course he took. now, these are not all -- there is a hopeful sen here, a good guy that emerges. it was an unlikely hero. bo longtime friend and neighbor of roosevelt in this county. but the prestige of his colleagues. they did not ask him to pressure roosevelt because they did not think it was that significant. he could be considered the rodney dangerfield. but once he got involved bobbly he provided a striking contrast to the hypocrisy that undermined

the jewish community. he had taken advantage of his personal rapport with the skipper, which was the president's shoes name for roosevelt, an allusion to his nautical interest. take the advantage of that and it gave him the confidence to overcome his insecurities and to take on the u.s. to department. so he was drawn into the fray by a proposal of 1943 by the romanian government which saw the handwriting on the wall and knew that they were doomed. there were trying to save themselves by offering to ransom some 70,000 jews for a considerable sum of money. it was somehow not go to the actions in toe after the war. in charge of making the

financial arrangements, but as hard as he worked he found that every move was frustrated by this to the departed. officials involved were suspected of anti-semitism to support that. anyhow, carried the facts directly. he was not afraid of reluctant to do that, unlike some colleagues. he said he and one of his aides, report to the secretary of the acquiescence of this government in the murder of the jews. look, that caught his attention and helped gain the president's approval for a broader goal in the romanian mansion, the creation of a war refugee board official tally of save the lives of about 20,000 jews teeseven

sorry, 200,000 jews. in addition to his rescue efforts the board backed a proposal for american jewish leaders to bomb the gas chambers at auschwitz. the board refused, even though allied planes were repeatedly hitting military targets. the main problem, it was late in little. rarely suspected of eloquence in a remark. he provided the best labours of the presence. when the characters the erst not him to take his case because word might lead to the press, he shrugged off the advice. don't worry about the publicity. one of what is intelligence and courage. carriage first and intelligence

second. more of his colleagues followed the formula, the history of the jews and the 20th century might not have been quite as tragic as it turned out to be. in no way the attitude of the president's shoes with the notable exception of henry morgenthau and many american leaders can be illustrated. they made the rounds, and does agitating for action on behalf of the jews cit trapped in hitler's europe. the story goes that there are facing in nazi firing squad. he comes for tougher plan falls and cigarettes. it tears the blindfolds off and spits in the not his face. don't make trouble. in a larger sense this attitude simply represented the latest element it was behind by

grandmothers question, what does this mean for the jews? they have the urge to assimilate and summers there special identity in the american melting pot. yet the list the call to conscience and concern about them abroad which implies some to spit in the executioners' i. so while the question arises what else could get done direct book, here are some of the mistakes. for some of their undersold the jewish case. it the idea of the to did not press hard enough the plan that did not make any difference. there was evidence to the contrary.

ever caught up in the great depression. the idea that they might lose was enough to turn the whole thing around. he would have slowed the deadly in casting the nazi german prosecution it as another outbreak of antisemitism, even more effective in in the long run more realistic to portray his early brutality as the tip of a military and political expert which apart from and injuring the jews threatened all of western civilization. the connection between fascism and jew hatred is accidental. fascism having nothing for sale by dictatorship and a selling

point but the necessity for force required civil rights and ordered to advertise its goods and a civil trial to complete the sale. fortune magazine came to that conclusion early in the 1930's. spread and propagated against other americans. it might have helped reduce the feeling. the apprehension that the reprieve for a special cause it affected the nation and eventually caused the nation to plunge into will work to. perhaps the most fundamental was that they underplayed the jewish political. they failed to take advantage of their electoral strength. it is true that the jews were relatively few in number at the time. 304% of the population, but they happened to live in clusters in key states.

in the 1940 election after are carried new york by a hairbreadth, to order 25,000 votes. it was an advantage that could reasonably be linked to its huge jewish vote. some argue that juries loyalty worked against him because it allowed him to take their support for granted. but the labor movement was just as loyal. yet but the aggressive labor leaders called for action and roosevelt listened. the magnet carted guaranteeing his right to collect. in the midst of the sit-down strikes that rocked american middle-class in 1937, roosevelt took no action because he did not want to offend or disturb his labor leaders. then there was the strategy of

the leading civil rights spokesman of the day become a spokesman for a group that was even more isolated than the jews , black americans. black americans did generally begins racial discrimination imbedding in the early u.s.-born when the defense program began in 40 back randolph catlin 1941, announced plans for all march on washington. at that time it was a new idea. 50,000 people demand fair treatment. avoid a national embarrassment is about the five the will of the southern barons and got

randolph to call off his march by establishing the fair employment practices commission. the potential payoff was the impact of the palestinian giuba will one of the leaders for who was very effective as an organizer and pressured congress to adopt resolutions calling for immediate action on the refugee crisis. it was his tactic as much as morgenthaus pressure that persuaded roosevelt's to create the boer war refugee board rather than face the embarrassment of having congress act in an area where he should have.

incidentally his film idly by, a prize-winning film maker. energized by the tragedy of the holocaust american jews cited political action. they fought openly for u.s. recognition which was made possible. they were helped in this case by a presidency to. truman was a presence to. a shrewd political operator. he saw that tremendous, whose heart was in the right place supported the idea. have some sympathy for zionism parity also had an old partner in the haberdasher's tort years he also understood the reality

of politics. he said during the battle over u.s. political, i have -- he said i have hundreds of thousands of constituents who are for the zionist cause. add g not have hundreds of thousand arabs as constituents. so and it was terrific. opposition was no less a figure it out that it would be a threat to u.s. security. getting along so well today. it was hardly anything. nevertheless the point, of course, is that for the jews and blacks, latinos, and the minority of significance, what i believe and what i've been your experience as a country is this is a political arena.

democrats and interest groups are allowed to make their case pier reedbuck. padauk sort of an abdication, not only of irresponsibility to their own members, but to the country at large into the whole idea of democracy. it may be as some scholars have suggested, that the various strategies i have mentioned my not have saved a single life. we do not know that because they were never tried. what we do know is that it is impossible to imagine a more terrible result then the ultimate toll of the holocaust. the brutal efficiency of the nazis pervasive anti-semitism and the military burden, it's true, they all stood in the way. there was another more subtle, and that was indifference.

the government, the media, the public along with most of the president's jews have higher priorities. as edmund burke put it two centuries ago, all the necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. thank you very much, and i love to take questions. [speaking in native tongue][app] >> the microphone is they're waiting for somebody. >> to your right, sir. >> i heard a meeting described. he escaped from poland. he really gave the first reports on the holocaust as it was unfolding. i think there is a footnote in your book.

frank treader said i am unable to believe you. did he do anything in all? he did get to meet with roosevelt, although nothing came of it. wonder, did he follow up on that and all? >> no, i talked to people about what that meant. i am unable to leave you. i can't believe you or your story is so bad. i don't know what it meant. would it really amounted to, here is a guy who as you pointed out and being an eyewitness to these horrors. this was not some second hand account. but he seemed to be sane was you probably are telling the truth, but i can't accept that. i don't know why he couldn't. he didn't want to do anything about it. he couldn't say, well, yes. that is a sad story. it is too bad. make a big headache. it wouldn't do any good.

i don't know. i know that to answer your question here and do anything about. he didn't respond. well, i don't know that denier would be the case, but does deliver. the people were coming to. rabbi stephen white who i mentioned, became the instrument for trying to other people to the holocaust. he received what was the first really direct to of i'm sorry. thanks. he received probably the first hard evidence of the holocaust. what he did was he went to this the department. for tenures in this department during a briefing that he could to stop any kind of action on

behalf of the jews. but they told him was, this is so terrible we cannot believe it. i mean, they said privately, what can we do? so they told him, wait. finally he waited for a while until it gets to be impossible. bad him in the news public, but he himself, how horrible, i can't believe it. an expression of disbelief this seems to be the rationale and for not doing anything. as he said, this is terrible. what are you doing? you can say, well, i don't want said c. russell because of demand. sir you just say, well, it can't be true. i think that explains a lot of the people who express, jewish leaders that were reluctant to

admit. and it was horrible, but after a while when you have all this evidence piling up. this is the latest and biggest, but perhaps there is something to be done. its you for your question. >> sir, you started your talk by noting that neither roosevelt nor the american jews lifted a finger to alleviate the plight of the jews. i would like to raise the question of the plight of the jews on the s.s. st. louis.

the state department's and warehouse denied landing rights of the ship which contained a shipload of jews who were allowed to leave germany. the result was that many of them when the ship turned around were killed in concentration camps. the question i have is, why, why did the white house -- why did this to departments, why did the jewish and advisers to the president who must have been consulted turn a blind eye and a fever? >> well, thank you for the question. the only answer i can give you is that they've turned, as you put it, blend 9-year.

they chose to ignore it or not to respond to offer the same reason that they chose to ignore everything else that had gone on . anything touching on immigration they regarded as too sensitive and dangerous. i don't know. excuse me. i don't know that the president's shoes were consulted directly. i doubt it's. those were things that the government preferred. what roosevelt did with most cases was elected to the state park and purity and a pretty good idea of how they would react. that was how they reacted. but would like to mention, the broad question of immigration which was a battle. they accepted the idea that because we had 10 million unemployed, whenever the terrible number was, that anybody would just add to that.

well, there are arguments to be made, all of them may seem counterintuitive. americans and refugees, you don't look for one person who will take the job. he led in the family. one person and look for a job. the other three get to the treasury or the department stores. so it was a whole attitude. san louis was perhaps the most dramatic incident. for them to have done anything would have meant they had to go back are all the other things. they just were in no mood to do that. roosevelt and would have had to hit him in this to department. so i can't -- i don't mean -- i'm not justifying it. i'm just saying it was part and parcel of a policy that went on for decades. >> thank you. >> in queue.

faugh. >> i have a question of the subculture of anti-semitism. but they were politically powerful. >> well, worst of all, it is hard to measure. we know, hard to measure how powerful politically people are. as spent part of my life trying to make a living figuring out things like that. what i understood about politics my friend helped me to grasp this idea. the fundamental character of politicians is beyond everything else, there are risk averse. don't like to take chances. it may be and these groups were not part of the problem.

those people were not powerful. maybe they were. they made a hell of a lot of lawyers. that was their business. just as some might say, not making the analogy. there are folks today you have some kind of a party. no one knows for sure. but if you are in politics you're not going to take the chance. so i can't explain to you. if you ask me why anti-semitism exists, that is a different question. i am sure the you have explored that issue. people have turned to anti-semitism. but different things unseen. people are really going to vote that way. if you have a congressman or senator running for reelection and he has or has not been some kind of things and labor law or economics or foreign policy, the

presuppositions is whatever that is, because he happened to do one thing or didn't attack the jews the people will be so caught up that they will vote against him. book, that is kind of a dubious proposition. not many politicians. but. >> once they were robbed hedblom of their stated is believed by facts and reality commended any of these prominent roosevelt advisers who were jewish. >> i don't know. there was no public action on their part. nor was there any from roosevelt or people who were not jewish. there was not a lot of -- publicly. and there was a feeling among jewish leaders, not necessarily

the president's jews were people in government, but to jewish leaders of they had not done enough or anything. i am just presupposing that. i think that helps account for the tremendous mobilization of jewish political support for the behind bad the effort. you are mark shields. as senior. is this your first time on television? >> i am just a fan of robert shogan. >> fortunate. >> we're running out of time. >> this is point to be the last question. he talked about the man. the wanted to talk about the influence and just get your

opinion weather friend and listens to elinor. traditionally it is heard that a little was far more sympathetic and her husband to the jewish cause. >> i could not find much evidence for that. i think the evidence, that maybe, but neither were very concerned with these issues before they got to washington. the mean, both of them had certain, what you might call the social anti-semitic tendencies. she changed in many ways but, but by don't know of jewish groups particularly seeking your help or hurt intervening. and then she tried down racial issues. at think she tried to get him to support something as safe as and silencing legislation. he would not do that. well, they keep reedbuck.

>> thank-you. back. >> well, another los angeles times reporter from the beijing bureau has been nominated for the national book award in the nonfiction category. her book nothing to indy, ordinary lives in north korea. how did you get access to north korea? >> i spent about seven years interviewing north koreans, not in north korea, but in south three of in their round the chinese border. you can't get to anybody in north korea.

i found north koreans to be quite talkative when they get out of the country. painstakingly keeping together the story which in my mind, 1984. >> these number three is that you spoke with talented they escape? with a visiting south korea? >> everybody had to escape. basically it is a large prison. there are not allowed out of their country. these are people partially when they were starving to death crossed rivers the border china and tried to make new lives for themselves.

the funny thing is that when they were in north korea although they were starving they had fed his propaganda that they lived in the best country in the world. we have nothing to indian the world. then they come out and realize that people eat rice and have television and can read whatever they want. >> you found that there were pretty unaware of the outside world? >> that is what they call themselves. it is one of my chapter titles. eritrea is maintained by the regime, almost hermetically sealed. but and of course the greater the lie the greater the power. >> can you give us a snapshot of the daily life of an urban dweller in the world trawler? >> sure. mostly from the sitting commended out to the first light

of dawn. serbs and you look for a grass that is edible. a lot to the countryside. look for something that is eat. basically people spend their whole day looking for something to eat. they get to bed early to conserve energy. maybe they go out to the woods to collect firewood. this was the situation in the 1990's. it got better. unfortunately it has done worse again. >> when you travel to north korea what was the process like? >> very difficult as an american and as a journalist. i was rejected. i don't know why.

in 2005i finally got the proper visa. i think they let some of us in basically because they needed money. there aren't a lot of people who want to visit north korean. a badly needed source of hard currency. >> what was your experience like? >> p'yongyang is a lovely city. it is a huge village. it is one, the least polluted cities in all of asia. very few cars. the people are friendly. completely brainwashed. they will only talk about their green, green earth. you don't really have any kind of honest conversation. i would say that there is a war of the people. one of the reasons i wrote the book is that i felt both regions were some mysterious. a lot of the very negative stereotypes, the communists, all

of this garbage was applied to north koreans. i want to show them as real people. after trade these people. still no them, and their wonderful people. grace did you find yourself being stared at? >> no. there are taught not to stare. they don't stare at you. a sign of how control the environment is. >> were you relieved when you cut out? >> yes. it is not nearly as scary as you might think. once you get a proper visa, as opposed to working across the river, your chaperoned every moment. you don't say anything that gets you in trouble.

but. >> how long have you been working on nothing to in the? >> it's embarrassing. was about seven years. bass started interviewing -- a started interviewing north koreans in 2001. a team because i could not get into north korea that became a journalist. you tell us we can't go some place and we want to go. this kind of like a cat and a string. i was really upset bid. i imagined it was a little bit like 1984. in fact it is. >> you're already won the samuel johnson prize. down nominated for the national book award on nonfiction category 2010. >> we are here at the national press club talking about his new

book poisoning the press. tell us what this book is about. >> you bet. the title comes from the fact that during the nixon white house actually plotted to boys and a journalist, an investigative reporter. nobody under the age of 60 probably remembers or knows who he was, but that is peaky was the most famous and feared investigative reporter in the country. he drove richard nixon crazy. the white house tapes are filled with attempts to give him, altman the culminating in an actual plot to poison him. >> to you know if anyone else who previously written about this particular aspect of the nixon history? >> no, no one had. it was surprising to me. i was an investigative reporter myself. this into seconds between history in journalism, a lot of great there in the past can be

found if chino were in have to look. there are amazing tales found in my book, sex scandals and love letters and blackmail and burglary in bribery. all of the juicy stuff that textbooks leave out. >> with of the more surprising things that you found? >> i am not sure i can sit in on the air. one of them was the way that j. edgar hoover back sly and the martin luther king. that has been known. a gunman of the transcripts and memos that described actually what was distributed to the press. stories of him chasing prostitutes. i mean, they were made up allegations. so that was pretty startling to me. another was an allegation i came across co-president for many was still in cars was involved in the call girl