forward by nelson mandela. well, take care. >> guest: well, thank you. >> host: it's been a pleasure to be with you here today. >> guest: it is my pleasure. thank you, sir. >> host: rubin "hurricane" carter. >> guest: yes, sir. >> that was "afterwords," booktv's signature program in which authors are interviewed by journalists, public policymakers, legislators and others familiar with their material. "after words" airs at 12 and 9 p.m. on sunday and 12 a.m. on monday. you can also watch online. go to booktv.org and click on "after words" on the upper right side of the page. ..

>> filling the term of the late senator ted kennedy. senator brown spoke at the ronald reagan presidential library in simi valley, california. [applause] >> before i get started, i just want to say i had an opportunity to go around and try to meet everybody, and say hello, and i know you talk about the weather here? no offense. [laughter] >> i saw know as high as the

flags. i got a chance to tour this amazing facility and be part of history. it's a wonderful opportunity for not just young people but every person from every walk of life, and i'm so honored to be here. i want to thank you all for the very, very warm welcome, and, john, i appreciate the kind introduction and the chance to visit the ronald reagan presidential library. this is my first time here, and what an honor for me to really meet a living legend, obviously, nancy reagan herself and it's wonderful to be with you, ma'am. thank you. [applause] >> it's a tremendous thrill for me to be here, and it was great to meet so many of you at the book signing. i tried to meet you and get pictures and learn about you and your families you. said such nice things, i hope the reviewers are just at charitable, and there's a lot of

big pressure on a fir -- first-time author, especially talking about your life story. i haven't felt so exposed since i appeared in cosmopolitan magazine in 1982. you can national you do not see many massachusetts republicans coming out this way. [applause] >> so, in this year end month of the ronald reagan centennial, i'm proud to note the connection between our 40th president and the bay state. just for starters, mrs. reagan and i were talking, and she is a distinguished graduate of a fine massachusetts school, smith college in northhampton. it's a wonderful school. and then there's the great -- the portrait of the great man that president reagan give a place of honor in the cabinet

room. the former massachusetts governor, calvin coolidge, and i wager the magnificent air force one i saw and you have seen in the area that is as big -- never seen such a large museum space. i sat down at the air pores base, because reagan carried my state, and you also know that no other republican has won massachusetts in the last 50 years. and the gipper did it twice. [applause] >> so, when i think of ronald reagan, i think of someone who is larger than life, powerful figure who was proud to be an american. i did my small part. yeah. can clap on that. it's true. i did my part in supporting him, and in the working class

neighborhoods where i lived, that put me in the majority. to this day, in american politics, we speak of reagan republicans and democrats and that's the legacy of a man who respected everyone and spoke to everyone. now, a lot of old political assumptions fell away in his time, because his convictions were so clear and his integrity was so obvious, people of every background, even many who had never considered voting for a republican, sized up ronald reagan and thought, you know what? this is my kind of guy. he understoods the country. he wants everybody to have a chance. and he knows in this world, the united states of america is a force for good. the american people, reagan said, are hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, daring, decent, and fair. he was all of these things himself. and everyone could see that. we can all think of leaders throughout history who had qualities of greatness but came

up a little short in the qualities of goodness. and somehow, when we remember this great man, we think of his goodness. >> he was engaged in the biggest events of his time, the kindness, and courtesy were never, ever beneath him. just the way he carried himself, that confident, gentlemanly manner. all class. and in hollywood, you can't even fake that. sometimes the best tributes come from opponents because they're the ones looking for weaknesses, and it was a notable adversary who said of president reagan, a large yes of spirit infused his presidency. he lifted our vision and enlarged our conception of this nation and its mission on earth. his time will long glow in history and in memories. that was pretty high praise

coming as it did from edward m. kennedy, and while nobody could call edward a reagan democrat, he knew the type. and he knew they don't like either party taking their votes for granted. the reagan democrats are a mighty force in my state and acrossty the country, otherwise i would not be here as a successor for the late senator kennedy. there 'twas a little bit of luck working for me last year. when i got into the senate race, aim sure it didn't look like i was a guy about to catch any breaks, as you all know, and after the passing of senator kennedy, most people thought that the special election would be decided in the democratic primary. who wanted to be the sad sack republican who was going to take the front in the general

election. gee. [applause] >> well, tell you what. i knew what i wanted. i wanted to be the republican nominee and not just to prove i could lose by a little instead of by a lot. [laughter] >> i remember talking to political pros about getting into the race, and they were sure i couldn't make it. but they did see one upside. by getting my name out there, apparently and raising my statewide profile, maybe, just maybe, i could position myself for a run at like state treasurer or stated a didder or something like that town the road, and when i got the republican nomination, i heard the same thing. i must be setting myself up for a consolation prize later on. this is the way it is. it's massachusetts. i never bought into that type of

thinking. i sensed opportunity and chance for change, and on the other side, i just sensed overconfidence. now, many of you who may know me will know i'm a competitive guy. and i've always loved the game of basketball. i learned early on that no self-respecting player ever, ever leaves the court before taking his best shot. the way i saw it, running for the united states senate was absolutely no different. i was going to give it my best shot and take absolutely nothing for granted. i was going run hard, and i was going to run to win. in our lives, we all know that at some time in our lives we are all the underdog at one time or another, and i hope my book will help others to get through the trying times, because everyone has moments when others are saying that something can't be done. that however worthy the goal, it's just not possible.

let me tell you something. when your gut tells you otherwise, you have to go with your gut. and if it's truly in your heart to take a big chance, then my advice is, ignore the doubters and give every last thing that's inside you. because sometimes it just -- just taking a risk and overcoming the fear of failure is actually a kind of victory itself. i don't know if you agree with me. that's how i always felt. [applause] >> and you never know. you just never know when you just might beat the odds and go all the way. >> against all oddded" seemed to be a fitting title for my unlikely victory. and it's my life. it's my life. and as you will quickly gather, it's not been cleaned up or made

to look any more gentle or tidy than it what. a time or two it was suggested i could be a little more vague, a little more vague about some of the things i experienced, and move a little faster over the rough spots, toward the happy ending of being a united states senator. but my attitude was, there was enough self-serving books by politicians, and, quite frankly, i didn't want my name on it. so i left in some stuff i'm quite frankly not especially proud of. in a few moments in my life i would rather have forgotten. i just figure itself i was going to tell my story at all, i ought to just trust you, the readers, and just tell it straight. about some of the earlier experiences i recount, let me say no one will accuse me of idealizing any youth. it's a life story. you have to tell about your

family, and my family was -- when i was a kicked wasn't anyone's idea of a model household. my mom and dad between them had eight marriages. yep, eight marriages. mom is happily divorced and dad is happily married. and is a grew up in various towns outside boston-dad was always in and out of my life, and unfortunately he was mostly out. we moved 17 times by the time i was 18. and it was always either in a cheap apartment or someone else's house. and my mom raised my sister and me basically alone. she did waitressing work, office work, and odd jobs, and at times we were on public assistance. my mom had it hard. sometimes adding to her own troubles, and having a restless kid like me who looked and acted like his absent father didn't

brighten her outlook. the stepdads who came and went -- two of them brought violence and fear into our lives. just to give you an idea how miserable we were with him, when the house came up for sale, i dropped by, it brought back memories, and i said, man, i wish i had some money so i could buy the place and burn it down. it was -- yeah, i know. it would have been trouble. it really was that unpleasant sometimes, and there was no getting around the plain telling of it in my book. but let me tell you, before you take out your receipts -- and you save them to see if you can return the copies -- you should know that things get better in the last chapters. it's a hopeful book, and i'm glad to say my mom and dad are

in my life and play a pivotal role in it, and they know and love their grandchildren, and we're all content to focus on what we have today instead of what could have been or should have been in years past. and besides, when it comes to family, i've got absolutely, absolutely no complaints. my life turned in a big way in the 1980s when i marry my wife gayle, and our girls are ground now, and being the dad in a happy family has been the greatest thing in the world that has happened to me. i'm not going to cry. it's a world away from what we call the family when i was growing up. and when you see the opposite, you can never ever take a loving, peaceful home for granted. ever. most of us, when we think back on our own personal journey. >> i know i'm not the only one

who had tough times. we can remember the toughest times clearest of all. you think back and say, wow. and that's how it is and was with me writing this book. wasn't hard to pull up details of adversity that came my way. for example, when a six-year-old young boy is taking the best punches of a drunken stepdad, and when a kid can't even find a safe haven at a bible camp, it leaves a mark. there were times when i felt like couldn't trust nip. couldn't trust anyone. for a while i wasn't actually even that trust worthy myself. and fell in with older kids whose idea of an afternoon outing was going to the mall to do some shoplifting, and that's how i found myself at age 134, -- age 13, sitting facing

the judge. a fine named, didn't know i had even ripped off the suit i was wearing that day. but the judge did know, he tide know there was a young kid in there who could still go one way or the other. he gave me the talking to that i needed, and a big, big break that started to point me in a better direction. there are other great people in my life. teachers-basketball coaches. and parents of friends who showed up in my life just in time. from them i learned to take responsibility for the first anytime my life, to channel my energy in a structured way, and to give discipline and whatever talent i actually had, and for so long, i remember like it was yesterday -- for so long i felt like a loser kid who was missing out on everything good. and they showed me how much i really had going for me.

and in part, because of them, and also because of my grandparents, things never completely came unraveled. and i escaped to beat the odds. well, let me just take a little drink here. i hope you like basketball. i'm -- how many here like basketball. i like the celtics a little better than the clippers and the lakers, but that's okay. don't hold that against me. i hope you like basketball because there's a lot in the book. i love to lose myself in the intensity of the game when i played. on the court, the chaos and letdowns of my life were completely out half my life. there were clear rules and boundaries i actually needed. i knew my abilities and how to use them when i played. i once told my coach, as a matter of fact, when i was

younger, probably eighth or ninth grade, i wanted to wear knee pads. he told me, scott, listen, serious players aren't the guys with knee pads but the ones with the scrapes and bruises because they dive for the ball and then brush off the pain. those are the guys you have to watch out for, and given my home life, knew what it meant to brush off the pain. so on the basketball court i wasn't the fastest kid, but being tough and hard worker counted for an awful lot. now, l.a. basketball fans might remember the wisdom of the great and legendary coach john wooden. he said never let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. it was relevant then and it's relevant today. and that type of thinking helped me to see past my own limitations. to supplement my financial aid while playing basketball, i held jobs that usually involved a mop

or a paint brush or shovel. any honest work that would pay the bills and it was good by me because it kept me moving closer to something better, that i knew that was out there. and when reporters in this most recent senate race actually thought i had to chance to win? they did a little research, and on my background, i'm shocked. shocked. and they didn't linger on my 25 year legal career, my years in the state legislature or my 31 years in the army national guard. no, what really got their attention was the work i did in the 80s for cosmopolitan magazine. [laughter] >> let's just say, it seemed like a good idea at the time. [laughter] >> especially when they fedex me a ticket to new york city and a check for a thousand in the '80.

that was good. there i was without a nick toll my name and a mountain of tuition bills ahead of my, so i accepted. and for a while, there i was. i was the cosmo guy. accepting all the duties and privileges you might imagine that would come with such a title. i was even on the "today show" back then. bryant gumle. jane pauley. you remember it. in the green remember, i remember someone asked if being a contest winner might hinder a political future. i said, no, politics isn't for me. and anyway, i figured who is going to care about these pictures 30 years from now. [laughter] go figure. >> stranges it might sound, the experiences, my modeling days, add up to a life i wouldn't trade for anything. it's often like that, as you know. you know exactly what i'm talking about. i'm just like you in those

thoughts. we look back and we see how even the rough times we have had, all those rough experiences, have actually shaped us for the good. they actually made us who we are. and i tried to get that across in my book. it's a story that millions and millions of other people could tell. with different scenes and scenarios and different details about being poor and feeling trapped and wishing you could just get up and run away from it all. to some kids, whether they're in boston or south central l.a., that's all life seems to offer sometimes. let me tell you something. i know for a fact that i'm a better man for having been one of those kids. with no money in my pocket. no father to protect me and my sister. no feelings of pride, of achievement, outside of basketball, and if my story, if my story can reach one kid and show that everything can be better if they listen to the

right people, let me tell you. some i'll take that over even the best book review. [applause] >> woo. it's also a book about second chances, and the people who gave them to me. maybe the only people we remember better than the ones who knocked us down -- and we all have them ---are the airs oneses who gave us the encouragement and direct we needed win absolutely no one else would. they didn't think we would be worth the trouble. i know better than to think that any good thing in any life was preordained. i know that. i have come this far only because long ago, a few people in my life thought i was actually worth the trouble. and thank goodness for that.

recalling a coach from his own youth, president reagan said the man, quote, didn't base his rating on the games won or lost, but what kind of man the boy had become. i had a couple coaches just like that. whose good influence i can still feel today. i still have a relationship with these coaches, these mentorness my life today. and they found a decent work ethic in me and reinforced it daily. they gave me confidence to play with the best, and to never, ever let the other team inside my head. those are the strengths that will serve you well in any line of work. and let me tell you, they absolutely come in handy if you're a republican running for political office in massachusetts. ha-ha. and like many kids in my state and my generation, i grew up respecting the name of john f.

kennedy. even in our messed up houses we often had a picture of jfk on the wall. and ted had the seat and held it from the time i was three years old. i'm 51 now. and on top of that legacy, we're in a state where all of 12% of registered voters are republicca. 12%. and any republican who bothers to run for political office isn't just taking on an opponent. you're taking on the entire democratic state committee and this whole machine of unions and special interests. most times they've can keep a pretty tight hold on thing inside massachusetts. -- things in massachusetts. and my race was different for pa whole lot of reasons. a bad economy, two wars going on. voters were in a serious frame of mind. while the machine was treating the whole thing as a formality. i ran on the issues, and voters appreciated being treated as if they actually had a choice. i said that a government

takeover of healthcare was a bad idea, and i was against it. i also said that we needed to get off the road of big government and dangerous debt and focus on private enterprise and growing our economy and new jobs for our people. [applause] >> and dealing with america's terrorist enemies, i said our tax dollars should pay for weapons to stop them north lawyers to -- not lawyers to defend them. [applause] >> and you know what? the default position of the political machine is always to brush off political republican candidates who are running for offices as right-wing nuts. this time it was different. it didn't fly. and i remember a short time before the final debate, i remember like yesterday. on a bitter cold night -- not as cold as here. [laughter] >> this is tropical. come on.

i shook hands -- i actually went outside -- probably was -- had to have been 10 or 20 below zero. it was cold. a cold night. they were out there holding signs for each other and i went outside and i shook hand with everybody, including those people who were supporting my opponent. they were mostly union guys, and to a person they said, hey, scott, scott, s-h-h-h, we're voting for you. we're here because we're getting paid to hold these signs, scott. [laughter] >> we're voting for you. yes. that was sure a confidence builder for the debates that i was having an your later, which had the usual back and forth, until i got chance to say what was on everybody's mind the question was whether i was really willing to vote against obama care even as the senator from massachusetts holding

courting ted kennedy's seat. with all due respect. it's not the kennedy seat and not the democrats seat, and it's the people's seat and it's still the people's seat. [applause] >> and from that point on, it was amazing. you could feel a real shift in the momentum of the race, and it wasn't long before a quick visit to boston was added to the president's schedule. remember that? and my response was that the president of the united states is always welcome in the commonwealth of massachusetts. i even forgave him for disrespecting my truck. it was too late anyway because something bigger than both of us was happening in massachusetts. the ideals of reagan republicans and reagan democrats were once again uniting us, and is a said on election night, if it can happen in massachusetts, it can happen again all over america.

[applause] >> yep. and it did. as we saw again in this past election in november, there are some convictions that need only be stated plainly. plainly to win a majority. and at a time when the national debt is more than $14 trillion and rising, if you stand for spending discipline, then the people will stand with you. and with 8, 9-or 10% of temperature fellow citizens out of work, and a year and a half after we're told the recession ended, let our opponents try to pitch another stimulus bill or go to the barricades to keep obama care and see what happens. if our cause is free enterprise, lower taxes and personal responsibility, then trust me, trust me, a lot of working people may keep carrying those democratic signs but they're going to vote republican. [applause]

>> well, i've been in the senate now for a little over a year now. a year and a couple weeks. to this day i keep -- on my mant until the office, a picture of ted kennedy. reminds me of one i liked and admired and also a promise i made to friends back home, was to work with good people wherever i find them. i tell my republican colleagues, if you need somebody for the confidence advance of free tom, i say, count me in. that's the cause that earned my loyalty long ago, in the days of

president ronald reagan. and the way of examples to follow, there is still no finer example than president reagan. [applause] >> and let me just say in closing, because i know i hear some grumbling stomachs out there. thank you for braving the weather and coming. i think i'm going to run in my shorts later. truly, mrs. reagan, i feel like i'm dreaming. i'm so honored to meet you. you and your husband were such role models for all of uses a americans, a it's been my privilege to join you at this beautiful place that bears his name, so thank you, god bless,

and have a wonderful dinner. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, please. i want to say hello to mrs. reagan. so i'll be right back. [inaudible] >> senator brown has been kind enough to agree spend 10-12 minutes with us answering questions. so we have a list of questions from you -- >> i haven't seen them so here we good. >> i think you'll find the first one interesting. >> who is going to win the nba -- i'm sorry. celtics. con on. boo! go ahead. i know everyone is hungry.

>> what do you think about what is happening in wisconsin now? >> the question is, what is happening in wisconsin. obviously the people of wisconsin are trying to get a handle on their $3.6 billion structural deficit, and they elected a new governor to teal with that -- deal with that problem, a new legislature to back him up. he september -- sent his plan to the legislature. i encourage the lawmakers to come back and do the people's business, and everything is on the table right now, folks. we're in very deep fiscal trouble-not only federally but in each individual state as well, and everyone needs to get in a room, sit down and hammer things out in a mature and responsible way so the citizens of wisconsin can compete in the country and the world in a global market. [applause] >> in light of the recent

shooting of congresswoman giffords, what are your points regarding the protection of congressmen and senators during publiccances. >> i feel safe that you're protecting me today, and i must say that. >> what happened the congresswoman is shameful, and the deranged individual who did it is actually no excuse for it, and my thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family. i'm so thankful that she is moving along and seems to be getting better. let's not forget the young girl who was killed. the others who were killed, and the political rhetoric throughout this country. while we have the ability to freely and openly debate and criticize, you also need to be respectful. like president reagan and tip o'neill. remember their battle, and they would go have a beer.

right? and i don't use any additional security. i will say i am aware, and when i feel that the threat level rises, i do what i have to do to protect myself and my family, and my deepest wish is that people debate, they disagree, solve problems, and my philosophy, i will debate and then go out and have a beer with you. that's how die my bar gapping and associations. >> what has surprised you most about washington, dc. >> that's easy. >> you laugh. what is surprising the most is i travel -- i'm the luckiest guide in the world. no doubt. and i am blessed to be a united states senator. aside from the birth of my kids and my marriage, nothing i'm more proud of.

is a travel around the world, around this country, you know what they talk about overseas? from the prime ministers and the presidents and business leaders, down to the poorest farmer pushing a cart, talk about jobs, and since i've been in the united states senate until we got back, we spent 12-15 days talking about nothing do with jobs. we're in the middle of a two-year recession and done anything to do with jobs. are you kidding me? really. so, here we are. we're in a new year. i'm encouraged we are looking at the debt and deficit. and while everyone else is talking about illegal immigration, i'm talking about jobs. they're talking about this or that. i'm talking about jobs. and finally, seems to be they're focusing on jobs. the first issue is a 1099 division. the medical device tax and health care bill. streamline, consolidate, do whatever we took get the economy moving, repate trait offshore

money, work on the tax code. and we're missing such a great opportunity right now to work with the american people in a bipartisan basis to do just that. the people of the united states of america sent a very powerful message in november they're tired of business as usual. so we need to get our fiscal house in order. i'm so anxious to get back and do just that. [applause] >> how did your experiences as a child affect the wail you -- affect the way you raise your children? >> i haven't missed any recitals or basketball games or parent-teacher things. when i was doing work whenever i was, i was like, what time is the game? i try to teach them the things i didn't learn, and the things i did learn, i try to teach them better, and we all can learn and grow from our parents' mistakes,

and i remember growing up and said, i'm not going that. i'm definitely not doing that. and i like that. and you will read in the book -- i hope you all do get the book because it does send a very powerful message that regardless of your circumstances -- and there are many, many, many people who have way worse circumstances than i do. if you have a few good people around them, mentors, you can make a difference. so i tried to just be a good dad. the best way i can. we're a family that, like many other families, work in progress. but so far so good. knock on wood. >> hough -- how did your parents feel about the book? >> my parents have had their own difficulties. they're their first ones to admit they made mistakes, but it was a different time, 5040 years ago. different time for women, different time for young people.

my parents were obviously concerned about everyone knowing their business, but they were also very thankful that i created this opportunity to actually talk about the things that we had dealt with in our family, because probably, like many of you, there are certain taboo things you don't talk about in your family. when i was dealing with the abuse issues at camp, and i called home and wanted to come home, and my mom, three or now weeks ago, said, was that the time when you wanted to come home from camp when you were being abused? i said,ey. she says, i'm so sorry. and that unable -- enabled us to talk about other things, and my dad, four weeks ago, we sad down for breakfast, and he is dealing with parkinsons, battling his own health right now, and he looked me in the eye and said, i'm sorry. i wish i had known. i wish i had been there and that enabled to us -- i said, great. it was like this big weight

being lifted off me. it was like, wow, he gets it now, and then we were able to build on a relationship, and like many other families, we're a work in progress. but i love. the. they love me. all the time they spent battling and doing the things in anywhere rates of, they're now concentrating on our kids, which is a wonderful value to me and to them. >> what compelled you to seek the senate seat in the first a place. >> it was on a dare, first of all. don't ever challenge me. that's why the president doesn't want to play me in basketball. [laughter] [applause] >> that's actually the final question. could yao beat -- could you beat the president in basketball? >> tell him to bring this wallet. [applause]

>> but seriously, i could beat him. [laughter] >> listen, i've been blessed. i have had some good people. i enjoyed playing sports. use a lot of references to sports in the book. and there's so many things we're dealing with right now. it's overwhelming, and you're dealing with them here on a local basis. you know exactly what i'm talking about. i'm going off topic a minute. we are at the point right now in our country that we have to make some very tough and serious decisions about where we go as a country, are we going to be a leader like in the days of president reagan or be a follower, be kind of just going along? and i for one want to be proud to be an american, as i am now. and i want to be prouder. i want to get our fiscal and financial house in order. i want us to bow leaders when

its comes to national security, setting the example, and letting people know that when they invest their dollars here in the united states of america, they're going to be safe. so we need to make some very serious choices, and i'm hopeful we'll do is in a responsible manner. there's going to be plenty of time for politics, 2012, and the commercials and all that stuff and you'll say, oh, my god north again. 2011, we need to get to work. you demanded it. you sent a message. we need leadership from everybody. top to bottom. so, is are there any other questions? >> that's all we have time for. >> thank you very much. and enjoy your dinner. [applause] >> for more information on senator scott brown, visit his

web site, scott brown.com. >> you're watching book tv on c-span 2. 48 hours of nonfission authors and books every weekend. >> the problem with monopoly over the long term is while it starts promising and results in the golden -- often resultness the golden age organization the long term, entrenchment leads to paranoia, stag nancy and bermuda over the long term. cbs and nbc when they started had a lot to say for them. by the 1970s, things had again too far. i suggest in my book, it is important to have the institute, the structure that can support quality things, but not at the cost of entrenching for so long

they lose any sight of what they have to do. and i think that's what happened with the media organizations in this country by the '60s and '7s. >> i'll do the descriptive one first. you do a wonderful job in the book of describe this tragic process you just described briefly where a new communications medium comes along, all things are possible, there are these wonderful dreams of how fabulous. the title comes from the period when there were dreams about cable television. and you remember those days. and then inevitably the bad guys take over and get their hands on the master switch. how can that not happen again if it happens everytime? >> well, journalists need to understand is the importance of creative destruction in the journalism industry. people say, we have to have a

dynamic industry. we want to see companies die and be destroyed. journalists are made of death. a horrible relationship with -- journalists have a very -- look at these brands. have any sort of turmoil or natural market process. to have brands that last hundreds of years and have dominant positions, journalists are exactly two -- what is needed in journalism is a little creative destruction, and it's not comfortable and journalists will be upset but it will be good for you. >> you're switching from descriptive to prescriptive. let's switch back to descriptive. the model richard would say this, basedman reading of his back -- tim, you're dreaming because, you know, any

communications medium as powerful as the internet just cannot -- the liberal reformer public interests advocate cannot build a big enough fence around it to keep the process that always happened in the past from happening again. so, just as a practical matter, how do you think we can prevent this process that you have convinced is cyclical from happening in this instance. >> sure. this is the answer is neutrality. which is there always needs to be channels, whether it's the internet or other channels, where the new can challenge the old. where "the new york times" gets a run for its money. nbc is facing off against youtube videos. the problem -- i'll go on the offensive and they the problem is the capitalism in your book

is too insensitive to the fact that managing your own capitalism makes market entry difficult. >> the problem with your argue; tim, is that there's no getting around the inevitable of the cycle. i read your book. i would come away very depressed because every single case you tell is one in which you have the old innovate temperatures and great ideas who were stomped down upon by these sort of either money mad or reactioner in prewitt ocrats, -- plutocrat, and it starts in someone's attic and that isn't so. there were major public policy triumphs. the don't get to control the

telegraph and the telephone. the principles you write about so persuasively and movingly in your final section, radio act of 1927, keeps at&t out of the content business. content and conduit are divided. if you had not had the studio system in hollywood, the coming together of the people making the movies and the ownership of the theaters. the united states might never have established a dominant position in the world film business. in the 1930s and 40s. we have 80% over the world market. the europeans couldn't get their act together. we did. that made possible the creativity that led to the self-sustained development of hollywood. >> didn't have the hollywood studio system, you also wouldn't have hatt had the most heinous example of private censorship in american history. >> that's a ridiculous claim.

the most fame. >> private censorship. >> let me explain. >> i'll tell you why you're wrong. >> consolidation of the industry into the hollywood studio system -- every -- the catholic church was finally able to enforce production codes. and set up a system which you're familiar with and many people in the audience are, where one man, joseph broken, had to company every single film before it was released, called prior restraint, and so illegal if it was the government system. and let me give you one example. warner brothers wanted to make a movie in the mid-30s about what thionates sunday were doing in germany. they were like, listen, this is bad. bad things are coming. joseph breen, who described his job as shoving ethics down the throats of the jews.

the movie was never made. i don't know -- this is a form of censorship that should be intolerable, but one man can decide. >> this is the problem with the whole book. heroic individuals who rise out of nowhere. the recent breen did because states were going to enact codes of their own and they could create a patchwork of regulations. the studios work with him because it was an alternative to government censorship at the state level over all sorts of matters. >> book tv is covered over 9,000 nonfiction authors and books since 1989 when i began with become notes. c-span's original author program. you can watch the programs

online at book tv.org. >> here at the national press club's book and author club, talking to eugene robinson, about his book, the splintering of black america. can you tell me how you came to four these groups. >> it seemed to work out that way. this is four seemed like an arbitrary number, seemed to be the way it worked out. clear it there was one group was the mainstream, the middle class black america. clear one group was the abandoned, nonmiddle class black america, and then the other groups were, you know -- i did think that the existence of a small but very powerful elite was something new. and so i called that the transcendent group. and then i needed a category to deal with groups that didn't fit

the other categories, like immigrants, for example, from the caribbean and africa, and also bi-racial element. and that's how i got to four. >> you put new immigrants and byracial people together, and you were comfortable grouping them under the same umbrella. >> i was mostly comfortable with that. it was not precise. and it didn't make for as clean a category as the other categories. however, i thought that the similarities were -- the concept of emergent groups that were becoming more prominent, hadn't been around in larger numbers before, or at least acknowledged in those numbers before. and that i thought were going to

be more important in the future. so, comfortable with that aspect of it. i kind of wish it hatt -- had worked out. but i didn't think they stood alone as separate groups. >> and can you tell me which of the four groups do you think hat expanded the most in recent areas? >> was what? >> expanded the most in recent years? >> well, in strict numerical terms, would say probably theman stream because its numbers are so great that relative to any of the others. that i would say it had expanded. depending on what you consider recent years. in the middle of this recession -- >> let's say the last decade. >> i would say the mainstream group has expanded the most in real terms, and the emergent

group, the ims immigration, has expand adenose. >> what are the more surprising fining you came upon in ride writing the book? >> there are were tons of them. animations figure from a pew research study that shows that 37% of african-americans didn't believe black americans would still be thought of as a single race. after a certain age, there's a -- something like a 40% chance that a black woman in her early 20s would never marry as opposed to a 20% chance for white women. i thought that was an interesting figure. so there were lotted of these things i stumbled across. >> any stark comparisons to white americans in similar

groups? >> well, yes, there are some. one of is even if you compare middle choose class to middle class, there's a stark difference between income. wealth is a huge gap, and that is something that some people have been talking and thinking a lot about, including bob johnson, the billionaire. >> do you tap into any solutions for stopping the splintering? >> i think it may be a process that kind of happens. a lot of organic. what i do hope i identified some possible solutions for the plight of this abandoned group which i think is the group that is-needs our urgent attention right now, and calls attention to that, then i think it's been a success. >> thank you very much for your time.

>> here's a look at the upcoming back fairs and festivals happening around at the country.

>> every weekend, book tv brings you 48 hours of history, biography and public affairs. here's a portion of one of our programs. >> why are white people called caucasian? have any of you asked yourself that? do you know why? no. and this was when the russians were having tremendous struggles, so why are white americans called ketchens? i did find the answer. the answer took me to germ my, took me to germany in the 18th

18th century. now, the idea of race was invented in the 18th century. it doesn't go back to an an antiquity. there were not white people in antiquity, but since so many people thought that, i thought i should address it. so my book actually starts with the greeks and the romans, and their commentary on the people who became europeans, and what the greeks and the romans discovered were people who lived in various ways were the greeks -- they talk about what we call culture. and for the romans, who warred in various ways, because the romans were imperialists and were enter interested -- very interested in who was good fighter and who had to be vanquished. i followed this german idea into the united states via madam

defarge, a french intellectual, and thomas carlisle, british intellectual, and ralph waldo emerson. so i spent a long time with ralph waldo emperson, who was the kind of genius of 19th 19th century white race theories. ralph waldo emerson didn't have a great deal say about black people but he had a lot to say about white people. now in the 19th century, the idea prevailed that there were many white races. so there were people who were considered white -- no one can question they're whiteness. very clearly the irish were white. very clearly people descended from english people or scottish people were white. or german people, but they

belonged to different races. they were white but they belonged to different races. so, for instance, the irish catholics were thought to become to the celtic race. and people descended from english people were thought to belong to the saxon race, and they were part of the celts. it wasn't until the middle of the 20th century, which many ofs us remember vividly -- that the idea of one big white race came into being in which everybody was who was white was the same as everybody else. and it is not an accident that happened through politics. it happened through the natural mobilization of the great depression, the second world war, and