his personal and professional life, which includes his tenure in the massachusetts state senate and his election to the u.s. senate on january 19, 2010, filling the term of the late senator ted kennedy. senator brown spoke at the ronald reagan presidential library in simi valley, california. >> well, before i get started i just want to say i had an opportunity to go out and go out and try to meet everybody and say hello, and i know you talk about the weather here. no offense. [laughter] >> i have snow that is about as high as the flags over here. and id get a chance to go to her this amazing facility and be part of history. it such 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. 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 it is for me to really meet a living legend, obviously and nancy reagan herself. it's wonderful to be with you. [applause] >> it's a tremendous thrill for me to be here and it was great to meet so many of you that the books i'm. i tried to meet all of you and get pictures and learn about you and your families. you said such nice things. i just hope the reviewers are just as a charitable. and as you may assume there's a lot of pressure, big pressure on the first time author, especially when you're out there talking about your life story. i haven't felt so exposed since i appeared in cosmopolitan magazine in 1982.

[laughter] >> now, it's just -- you can imagine also that you do not see too many massachusetts republicans coming out this way. [applause] >> so in this year in the month of the ronald reagan centeno i'm proud to note of the connections between our 40th president and the bay state, just for starters mrs. reagan and i were talking out in all and she is a distinguished graduate of a fine massachusetts goal, smith college in northampton. i've been there many times. it is a wonderful school. then there's the portrait of the great man that president reagan gave a place of honor in the cabinet room. it's the former massachusetts governor, calvin coolidge. and i'll wager that the magnificent air force one that i saw and many of you have seen out in the area that is just as big as i can tell, i've never seen such a large museum space.

it has set down more than a few times because as a candidate as you know, ronald 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] >> when i think of ronald reagan i think of someone who was larger than life. a powerful figure who was proud to be an american. i did my small part. yeah, you can clap on that, it is true. it is true. and i'd like you 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 the reagan republicans and reagan 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 would never consider voting for republicans sized of ronald reagan. in fact, you know what? this is my kind of guy. he understands the country. he wants everyone to have a chance. he knows that 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 i called 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, but kindness and courtesy were never ever beneath him. it's just the way he carried himself then, confident, gentlemanly manner. he was all class. and in hollywood you can't even fake fat. -- fake fat. sometimes they are the ones as you all know that are looking for weaknesses and it was a notable adversary who once said of president reagan, a largeness of spirit infused his presidency. ronald reagan was one of those rare presidents who lives our vision and a large are very conception of this nation in its mission on earth. his time a long glow in history and memory. that was pretty high praise coming as it did from edward m. kennedy, and while nobody could ever call ted a reagan democrat, he certainly knew the type, and he knew that they don't like

either party taking their votes for granted. the reagan democrats, many of you know, are still a mighty force in my state, and definitely across this country. otherwise i would not be here today as a proud successor to the late senator kennedy. so i guess as you know there was a little bit of luck working for me last year, although when i got in the senate race i'm 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, simple as that. and who wanted to be the sadsack republican who is going to take the fall in the general election? it to me. [laughter] [applause] >> well, tell you what, i knew what i wanted. i wanted to be the republican nominee. not just a good i could lose by

a little instead of by a lot. and i've never talking to some political pros about getting into the race, and they were sure i couldn't make it, but they did see one outside. 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 state auditor or something like that down the road. and even after i managed to get the republican nomination, i heard the same thing from commentators. with certain defeat a waiting me i must be trying to set myself up apparently for some type of consolation prize later on. this is the wages, it's massachusetts. i never bought into that type of thinking. i sensed opportunity and a chance for change. on the other side, i just sense of a conference. many of you who may know me will know i am a competitive guy. i've always loved the game of

basketball. i learnt 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 it was absolutely no difference. i was going to get my best shot and take absolutely nothing for granted. i was going to run hard and that's going to run to win. in our lives we all know that sometime in allies were all the underdog at one time or another. and i hope my book will help others to get through those trying times. because everyone has moments when others are saying that something can't be done. 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 is truly in your heart to take a big chance, and my

advice is ignored the doubters and give every last thing that inside you. because sometimes just taking a risk and overcoming the fear of failure is actually a kind of victory in itself. don't know if you agree with me but that's how i have always felt. [applause] >> and you never know, you just never know when you might just beat the odds and go all the w way. and against all odds seemed like a fitting title for a story of my unlikely wins last year. and, frankly, for the longer tail that you find in the book, it's my life. it's my life. as you will quickly gather it's not been cleaned up for me to look any more gentle or tidy than it really was. the time, it was suggested i could be a little more vague, a little more vague about some of the things i experience and move a little faster over the rough

spots toward the happy indian of being a united states senator. but my attitude was, there's enough self-serving books by politicians, and quite frankly i did what my name on them. i did what my name on it. so i left him some stuff on quite frankly not especially proud of. in a few moments in my life that i would rather have forgotten. i just figured if i going to tell my story at all, i ought to just trust you, the readers, and just tell it straight. about some of the early exchanges i recount in his book, let me just say that no one will accuse me of idealizing my youth. it's a life story, you have to tell about your family, and my family was come when i was a kid wasn't anyone's idea of a model household. my mom and dad between them had eight marriages.

yes, eight marriages. just so, you know, mom is happily divorced and dad is happily married. and as i grew up in various towns outside of boston that was in and out of my life and the fortune he was mostly out. we move 17 times by the time i was 18. and is always either in a cheap apartment or someone else's house. and my mom raise my sister and he basically a little. she did waitressing were, office work and other odd jobs. and yes at times were even on public assistance. my mom had it pretty hard, sometimes adding to her own troubles. and having a restless kid like me around who looked and acted a lot like his absent father while getting harder to handle every year exactly didn't brighten her outlook either. the stepdad who came and went in our lives include some pretty sorry characters. two of them had a very violent streak that brought a lot of grief and fear into our lives. just to give you an idea about

visual we work with one of these guys, when house we shared with them that came up for sale years ago, i drove by, brought back a lot of ministry i thought i wish i had money so i could buy the place and burn it down. i know, would have been trouble. it really was that unpleasant sometimes and there's no getting around the plane telling of it in my book. but let me tell you, before you take out your receipts, i know a lot of you say them and to seek you can return the copies on your way out of here -- [laughter] -- you should know that things do get better in the last chapters. they do. they do. it's a hopeful book and am glad to see that my mom and dad are in my life and play a pivotal role in it. and they know and love their grandchildren. and where 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 he becomes the

family i've got absolutely, absolutely no complaints. my luck turned individually in the mid 1980s when i married my wife, gail. and our girls ayla and arianna are grown now, and being a 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 her own personal journeys, and i know i'm not the only one that has had tough times, we can remember the toughest times, clearest of all. i know everyone in this audience has had those tough times and you think back and you say wow. that is how it is and was with me in writing this book.

it wasn't hard to pull the details of some of the 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, i won't lie, it leaves a mark. for me, when there were times in my boyhood when i felt like i couldn't trust anyone on the couldn't trust anyone. for a while i wasn't actually even that trustworthy myself and fell in with some older kids whose idea of an afternoon outing was going to the mall to do some shoplifting. that's how i found myself at age 13 sitting in a big courtroom facing an even bigger judge and feeling like the little thief that i actually was. the judge, a fine man named judge samuel sal didn't know i'd even ripped off the suit that i was wearing that day. but the judge did know, he did know that 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 start to point me in a better direction. there are other great people in my life, teachers, vasco coaches and parents of friends who showed up in my life just in time. from them i learned to take responsibly for the first time in my life, to channel my energy in a structured way and to get disciplined in whatever account that i actually had. and for so long, our member like it was yesterday, for so long i felt like a loser kid who's 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 that are completely came unraveled. and i escaped to beat the odds.

well, let me just take a drink here. i hope you like basketball. how many people here like basketballs? i like the celtics a little better than the clippers and lakers however, but that's okay. don't hold that against me, all right? but i do hope you like basketball because there's a lot of in the book. i love to lose myself in the intensity of the game when i played, on the court, all the chaos and letdowns of my daily life were completely out of my mind. they were clear rules and boundaries that 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 it is younger, probably eight or ninth grade, that i wanted to wear knee pads because that was the cool thing. he told me, serious players are not the guys with knee pads but the ones with the scrapes and bruises because they always die

for the ball and then brush off the pain. those of the guys you have to watch out for. and given my home life i knew exactly what it meant to brush off the pain. so on the basketball court i was in the fastest kid. at being tough and a hard worker counted for an awful lot. now, l.a. baskervilles 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 rather thin and it is relevant today. that type of thinking helped me to see past my own limitations, to solve a financial aid by playing basketball, i held jobs that usually involve a mop or a paintbrush or a shovel to 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 was out there. and when reporters in this most

recent senate race thought i had a chance to win, they did a little research come as a research on my background, i'm shocked. shock. they didn't linger on my 25 year legal career, my years in the state legislature or by 31 years in the army national guard. know, what really got their attention was the work i did in the '80s for cosmopolitan magazine. [laughter] let's just say it seem like a good idea at the time. [laughter] >> especially when they sent me a ticket to newark city and a check for $100 $1000. back in 80s that was good or there was a was without a nickel to my name and a mouthful tuition bills ahead of me. so i accept. and for a while there i was. i was the cosmo guy, accepting all the duties and privileges

you might come you might imagine that would come with such a topic i was even on the today show back then. even on the today show. you remember it. and in the green room our member someone asked being to contest winner might hinder a political future, if i had one in mind. i said no, politics isn't for me. and he knew it, i figured he is going to care about these pictures 30 years from now? [laughter] go figure. strange as it might sound, the experiences i write in this book, and yes, even my modeling days, they add up to live that it wouldn't trade for anything. is often like that as you know. you all know that if you know exactly what i'm talking about. i'm just like you do. we look back and we see how even the rough times that we have had, all those rough experiences have actually shaped as for the goodness, they made us who we are. i tried to get that across in my

book. it's a story that millions and millions of other people could tell, with different seen since mayors 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 are in boston or south central l.a., that's all life seems to offer sometimes. i know for a fact 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 can reach one kid and show that everything can be better if they listened to the right people, let me tell you something, i'll take that over even the best book review. [applause]

>> it's also a book about second chances and the people who gave them to me. maybe only people read remember better than the one to knock us down, and we all have them, are the gracious ones who helped us a. and gave us a break in our lives. and encouraged us and give encouragement and direction we needed when absolutely no one else would. they didn't even think we would be worth the trouble. and i know better than to think any good thing in my life was preordained. i know that. and i have come this far only because long ago a few people in my life thought i was worth the trouble. and thank goodness for that. recalling a coach of his own youth president reagan said the man quote didn't base his ratings on gains won or lost but on the record of the player in later life, what kind of man and the boy had become.

i had a couple of coaches just like that. i still have a relationship with these mentors in my life today. they found a decent work ethic in me and reinforce it on a daily basis. they toughened up my inside game. they gave me confidence to play with the best and could 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 actually come in handy if you're every republican running for local office in massachusetts. [laughter] >> like many kids in my state and of 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 followed him and held his seat until the time i was -- on top of that legacy we

are on a state where all% of registered voters are republicans. 12%. in a republican who bothers to run for political office isn't just taking on an opponent. you are taking on the entire democratic state committee and this whole machine of unions and special interests. most times they can keep a pretty tight hold on things in massachusetts, and my race was different for a whole lot of reasons. in a bad economy with two wars going on voters were at a pretty serious frame of mind. while the machine was treating the whole thing as a formality. iran on the issues him and voters appreciated being treated as if they had a choice. i said that a government takeover of health care was a bad idea. and i was against it. i also said that we need to get off the road of big government and dangerous debt and focus again on private enterprise and

growing our economy and new jobs for our people. [applause] >> and dealing with america's terrorist enemies, i said that our tax dollars should pay for weapons to stop them, not lawyers to defend them. [applause] >> and you know what, the default is always a brushoff political republican candidates are running for public office as right wing nuts. this time it was given, it didn't fly in massachusetts are i remember short time before the final debate i remember like it was yesterday, on a bitter cold night, not as cold as it is here -- [laughter] >> this is tropical, come on. i should chance, i went outside, it probably was, had to have been 10 or 20 below zero. it was cold. it was a cold night but they're out there holding signs for each

other, and i went outside and i shook hands with everybody, including those people who are supporting my opponent. they were mostly union guys. and it was a scot, we are voting for you. we are here because we're getting paid to hold the signs. [laughter] we are voting for you, yes. well, that was sure a confidence builder for the debate that i was having about an hour later, which had the usual back and forth until one question was put to me by the moderator. it was a chance to say what was on everybody's mind. the question was, whether i was really ready willing to vote against obamacare, even as the senator from massachusetts holding quote ted kennedy's seat. i begin my answer. look, with all due respect, it's not the kennedy seat and it's not the democrat seek him 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 do a real shift in the momentum of the race and was along for a quick visit to boston was added to the presidents of 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. [laughter] 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 there and as i said on election night, if it can happen in massachusetts, it can happen again all over america. [applause] >> and it did because as we saw again in this past election in november there were 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 rising, if you stand for spending discipline, then the people will stand with you. and with eight, nine or 10% of our fellow citizens out of work and a year and half after we are told the has ended, let our opponents tried to pitch another stimulus bill or go to the barricades to keep obamacare and see what happens. and if our cause is free enterprise, lower taxes and personal responsibility, then trust me, trust me, a lot of working people may keep caring those democratic signs but they will vote republican. [applause] >> well, i've been innocent now for a little now, a year and a

couple of weeks. to this day i keep on my mantle on the office a picture of ted kennedy. it reminds me not only of some i liked and admired, but also of a promise i made to my friends back home, which was to work with good people, wherever i find them. i've always told my fellow republicans, if you're looking for a full on ideologue, i'm not your guy. but to someone who needs an ally in the cause of limited government, individual liberty, and a competent advance of freedom in this world, then i say count me in because that's the cause of that earned my loyalty long ago in the days of president ronald reagan. in the way of example to follow, there's still no finer example then-president reagan. [applause]

>> let me just say in closing, because i know i hear some grumbling stomachs out there, thank you for braving the weather and coming. [laughter] >> i think i'm going to go run in my shorts on little later. [laughter] a 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 us in america. and it's truly been my progress to join each and every one of you at this beautiful place that bears his name. so thank you, god bless and have a wonderful dinner. thank you. [applause] >> you want to take some questions? >> yes.

thank you please. i know we're getting hungry. i just want to go down and say hello to mrs. reagan to i will be right back. >> senator brown has been kind enough to agree to spend about 10, 12 minutes with is answering some questions. we got a list of questions from you as you came to the library. spent and i haven't seen them, so here we go. >> i think you'll find this first one interesting. >> who's going to win the nba -- celtics, come on. blue. [applause] >> go ahead. i know everyone is hungry. >> what you think about what is happening in wisconsin right now in? >> the question is what's happening in wisconsin. the people of wisconsin are trying to get a handle on their $3.6 billion deficit, and they

elected a new governor to deal with the problem. they elected a new legislature to back him up. he said his plan to the legislature. i encourage ascenders come back and do the people's business. [applause] >> and everything is on the table right now, folks. we are in very deep fiscal trouble not only federal but in each individual state as you know and if we need to get in room, sit down and hammer things out in a mature responsible fairway. so the citizens of wisconsin can actually compete not only throughout this country but throughout the world in a global market. [applause] >> in light of the recent shooting of congresswoman fudge efforts, what are your opinions regarding the protection of congressmen and senators during public appearances? >> i feel say that you're protecting me today. i must say that.

[laughter] first of all, listen, what happened to the congresswoman is shameful, and the deranged individual who did it is absolutely 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, but let's not forget the young girl those killed any others the others that were killed. and the political rhetoric throughout this country, while we have the ability to freely and openly debate and criticized, we also need to be, you know, respectful. like president reagan and tip o'neill. remember, they would battle and battle but then go out and have a beer. right? no, i do use any additional security but 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, they solve problems, but in my personal philosophy is i will debate to death and i would argue to death in a respectful, responsible manner, and then after, if i go out and have a beer with you after, that's how i try to do my bargaining and negotiating. >> what has surprised you the most about washington, d.c.? >> that's easy. [laughter] you laugh but what surprised me the most was i travel, listen, i am the luckiest guy in the world, no doubt about it and i'm blessed to be a united states senator that could mean anything aside from the birth of my kids and my marriage, but as i travel around the world and around this country, do you know what they talk about overseas? from the prime ministers and presidents and business leaders all the way down to the poorest farmer pushing a cart full of pomegranate, talk about jobs,

and since i've been in the united states senate we have spent 12 to 15 days talk to anything but to do with job. we have done nothing to do with anything to do with jobs. are you kidding me? really? so here we are in a new year, i'm in anchorage that we're looking at the debt and deficit. and while and then else is talking about illegal immigration, i'm talking about john. when the talk of this with that, i'm talking about jobs. and, finally, it seems to be that they're focusing on jobs and we'll see the first issue of the 1099 fix will deal with that. fix a lot of things, streamlined, consulting in what is the we can to get this economy moving. work on the tax cut, there's only things we can do and we are missing such a great opportunity right now to work with the american people and a bipartisan, bicameral basis to do just that. the people of the united states

of america sent a very powerful message in november that they are tired of business as usual but we need to get our fiscal house in order i'm so anxious to get back to do just that. [applause] >> how did your experience as a child affect the way you raise your own kids? >> well, i haven't missed any battle games or recitals or parent-teacher things. i am probably, it's funny when i was doing work wherever i was, what time is the game? and i tried to teach them the things that i didn't learn, and the things that i did learn i tried to teach them better. and we all can learn and grow from our parents mistakes, and a member growing up, i said i'm not doing that, i'm definitely not doing that. i made it up and going to try to do it better, and yeah, i like that. and you will read in the book, and 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 go to worse circumstances than i do come if you have a few good people around you, you can make a difference. so i have tried to just be a good dad, the best i can. we are a family like many other families, a work in progress. but i think so far so good. knock on wood. >> how did your parents feel about the book? >> well, as you saw, my parents have had their own difficulties. they are the first ones to admit they made mistakes but it is a different time. 50, 40 years ago, different time, different time for women, different time for young people. my parents were 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 certain taboo things you don't talk about in your family. i remember when i see with some of the abuse issues at camp and i called home want to come home, my mom, to for weeks ago said, was that the time when you wanted to come home from camp when you're being abused? i said yeah. she said i'm so sorry. and that enable us to then talk about a few other things, and other things and other things. and my dad, for weeks ago we sat down for breakfast, and he's getting with parkinson's, he's battling his own health right now. you look me in the eye and he said, i'm sorry. i wish i had no. i wish i had been there. that enabled us to say great, like this big weight being lifted off. okay, he gets it now. and then we were able to build on our relationship. and like many other families we are a work in progress but i love them, they let me. all the time they spend battling

and doing the things in their lives, they have now concentrate on our kids, which has wonderful value to me, and to them. >> what compelled you to seek the senate seat in the first place that was so traditionally democrats because it was on a dare first of all. don't ever challenge the. that's why the president does want to play me in basketball. [laughter] >> if i could use it in the other answer them that's the final questionfrom good to be the president at basketball? >> tell him to bring his wallet. [applause] >> but seriously, yeah, i could beat him. [laughter] >> listen, i've been blessed.

like i said, i had some good people, i use a lot of references to sports in the book, and there's only things that we're dealing with right now, it's overwhelming. and you all are dealing with them here at a local basis. you know exactly to talk about. i'm going to go off the topic for just 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 are we going to be a follower, kind of just going along? and i for one want to be proud to be an american, as i am now, i want to be proud about to be able to get our fiscal and financial house in order. i want is to be leaders when it comes to our national security, setting the example, and letting people know that when they invest their dollars here in the united states of america they will be safe. so we need to make some very

serious choices, and i'm hopeful that we will do it in a rational responsible manner because listen, 2011, this is the time to do. dolby plenty of time for politics. 2012, he was the other commercials and all that stuff and say oh, my god, not again. 2011, we need to get to work. we've got to get to work. you demand it, you send a message, we need leadership from everybody. top to bottom. socom is there any other questions? >> that's all the time we have spent thank you very much. enjoy your dinners. [applause] for more information on senator scott brown visit his website, scott brown.com. >> c-span's local content vehicles are traveling the country visiting cities and towns as we explore our nation's

history and some of the office of touched upon it through their work. this weekend on booktv we take you to downtown indianapolis for a look at the new kurt vonnegut memorial library. spectrum market was perhaps the greatest american writer. he was a world war ii veteran. he was a hoosier. he was a satirist. he was a political activist. he was a husband. he was a father. he was a friend. he was a friend to his fans. he would write back to his fans. he wrote more than 30 pieces of work, including plays, novels, short stories. some of his more familiar books are "slaughterhouse-five" and the which is perhaps his most famous. breakfast of champions, cat's cradle, and many other books. vonnegut always brought in his

midwestern roots and often wrote about indiana and indianapolis specifically. and if i may read a quote, many people asked him why should this vonnegut library here in indianapolis, and i have many different answers but then i found this great quote. that says, all my jokes are in indianapolis. all my attitudes are indianapolis. might add our indianapolis. if i ever separate myself from indianapolis i would be out of business. what people like about me is indianapolis. so we took that as a green light to go ahead and established the vonnegut library here in indianapolis. we have an art gallery, a museum room, a reading room, gift shop. and i'm going to share details about these with you today. this is a kurt vonnegut timeline. if you would allow me i would like to read the quote at the

top of this beautiful painting which was created i've the artist christine and by a scholar named rodney. both of these individuals lead in louisiana. the quote reads all moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist, the tralfamadorians can look at all the different moments just the way we can look at a stretch of the rocky mountains, for instance. they can see how permanent all the moments are there it's just an illusion we have here on earth that once a moment is gone, it's gone forever. it and something that is unique about our timeline is we actually start on the right side and move to the left, rather than the left side to the right. one thing we want to mention about this quote, we hope that vonnegut would know that while

he may think, may have thought that once the moment is gone it's gone for ever, we like to think that the moment of kurt vonnegut will live on forever here at the vonnegut library. he went to cornell university. he was studying chemistry. he did not plan to go into architecture like his father, but he did think he would move into a science career and discovered at cornell that he was not very much interested in doing that. so he enlisted in the army during world war ii. and that like to point out a moment here on the timeline that started important in the life of kurt vonnegut, and that his 1944. dying from an overdose probably intentional, of alcohol and sleeping pills the vonnegut answers come in your. is captured by germans and belgians during the battle of the bulge.

then he is writing in a boxcar with other american pows to dresden, a supposedly safe german city, unlikely to be bombed. so dresden was this beautiful cultural city that was not a military target. as a vonnegut wrote in on a train, he was able to do this beautiful city, and then he was placed in a slaughterhouse where the rest of the prisoners of war were held, his slaughterhouse is "slaughterhouse-five." ..

>> he received the purple heart for frostbite. and kurt vonnegut was embarrassed to have received the purple heart for frostbite when so many of his friends had, had suffered from other type of physical problems and disease. we have a signed first edition of the book "slaughterhouse five." this is important because "slaughterhouse five" is probably the most well known book written by kurt vonnegut of the 30-some pieces of writing that he completed. this was possibly the most famous, excuse me, famous. >> why? why? >> why was "slaughterhouse five" famous? so vonnegut, let me give you a little bit of history about what happened to him in germany and any impressions of why it affected people so much.

vonnegut, as i read, he was taken to this slaughterhouse. while he was in dresden, the allies bombed dresden, and so his own countrymen as well as allies bombed this city. it was a horrible bombing. it was a, literally, a firestorm. and tens of thousands of people were killed, and these were noncombatants. these were women and children, you know, and old people. and vonnegut, one of his tasks as a prisoner was to go out and remove the bodies, you know, from these burning buildings. and he also was required to bury the bodies of women and children, and that affected his life tremendously. he came back from his world war ii experience being completely against war. he was searching for peaceful resolution to conflict and supported diplomacy and other

approaches to, to solving problems. i will also point out a photo that was taken after he came back from the war. he got married to jane cox vonnegut who was from indianapolis as well. this photo was taken on their honeymoon, and as you can see, he is in uniform. vonnegut and jane had three children; mark, edie and nannette, nanny. and then many years later his sister alice died just a day or two after her husband had died in a freak train accident. alice had four children, and three of them came to live with the vonnegut family, so they had quite a large household, seven children, and vonnegut at that time was writing books that at that time were less familiar, but he had published several

books and articles for magazines as well as working a job as a car salesman for saab. the experience of writing about dresden and what happened to him was tremendously difficult for vonnegut. it took him about 20 years to be able to publish the book, "slaughterhouse five." jane, his wife had, you know, encouraged him to write it. she worked as his editor on the book, she asked questions and got clarity on issues and helped him to retrieve a lot of those memories that he had repressed. because of the family situation with the addition of more children and the success that was coming with the publishing of "slaughterhouse five," his

marriage with jane was rocky. just, his daughter edie had mentioned about a month ago that that experience and the publishing of the book and all that fame brought to vonnegut contributed to their marriage dissolving. and at that time vonnegut had met the photographer, jill cremens, and eventually married jill cremens, and he was, you know, his second wife and was the only other person he was married to during his lifetime. i'll move you over here to the, what we call the political activity exhibit. and vonnegut continued to, um, talk about his interest in finding peaceful solutions to

conflict. i think that's another thing that made him very popular during the vietnam year ors and after. years and after. this photo which was given to us by "the new york times" was taken during the first gulf war, and there's vonnegut out there at columbia university, you know? i'm sure it was a large crowd because even to his dying day, vonnegut would attract a large crowd. it was -- i have been told he was like a rock star coming into his different speeches in large auditoriums, always filling the auditoriums. so here we are in the art gallery portion of our library. i'd like to take you over here and show you a vonnegut quote that's signed that was given to us by his around the u.s.ic collaborator -- by his artistic collaborator. it says, "i don't know what it

is about hoosiers, but wherever you go there is always a hoosier doing something very important there." this quote was in the book, "cat's cradle," and it's a very funny exchange the main character has with a fellow traveler on a plane. and that fellow traveler gives this quote. so next we have possibly his most famous piece of artwork, the sphinter. vonnegut, in his humor, he associated the asterisk with this anatomical feature. and we, we actually have used this asterisk in other pieces of our exhibit including our timeline which you may have thought had stars in the sky. but they're actually vonnegut's asterisks in the sky. we also have "life is no way to

treat an animal." this is the tombstone for his famous character, kilgore trout, who appeared in many of his books. and it is understood that kilgore trout is based on vonnegut himself. and interestingly, the character, kilgore trout, died at the age of 84, and vonnegut also happened to die at the age of 84. >> what did kurt vonnegut die from? >> he collapsed, he fell down the steps of his new york city home, and he went into a coma and never came out of that coma. he often joke withed that pall mall cigarettes would kill him, and he would sue the makers of

pall mall because the warning label on the cigarette package said pall malls would kill him, and they had not yet done so. but he actually happened to be smoking a pall mall while standing on the steps. so next we have here two pieces of artwork created by morley safer of "60 minutes" fame. morley is one of our honorary board members. he was a close friend of kurt vonnegut. they also both shared a close friend who wrote the introduction for the last vonnegut book that came out. but these two pieces of art, the first on the occasion of vonnegut's birthday was created in 2003 as a gift to vonnegut. and then the second was created when, when morley found out that vonnegut had died. and that was 2007. we are in the front of the kurt

vonnegut library in the gallery room. we have his typewriter that was used in the 1970s. this was donated to us by his daughter, nanny. he wrote many of his famous books during the 1970s, and we're happy to have this typewriter. he was not a fan of high technology, and he did not use a computer. he preferred to, to use a typewriter through his dying day. he liked to work in his home on an office chair and a coffee table. he would slump over his typewriter. he, vonnegut would go out into the world every day. he talks about how he had learned that you could buy postage stamps over the internet, and he just thought

that was horrible because then, you know, if he chose that route, he would not have the everyday experience of going to the post office. and those everyday experiences and the people he encountered during his daily walks were the basis for some of his stories. he met a number of very interesting characters in new york city, and going out and meeting people, you know, was a way for him to capture new material for his works. vonnegut is timeless because these issues, you know, we still have the same issues. we're still suffering with war, disease, death, famine, environmental issues, you know? he said, your planet's immune system is trying to get rid of you. i mean, he, he thought we should take care of the planet. these issues, you know, have

resurfaced, and it does not look like we've found any viable solutions to these problems. so, you know, i think his work is timeless. >> c-span's local content vehicles are traveling the country visiting cities and towns as we look at our nation's history and some of the authors who have written about it. for more information go to c-span.org/lcv. >> why this subject, why write about jews and money? why write about an age-oldster yo type -- age-oldold stereotyp? well, because it persists. because it's there. because it's pernicious. because it's everywhere. and that's why we fight bigotry, that's why we fight prejudice,

that's why we fight anti-semitism. and every once in a while one has to focus on a specific aspect of the prejudice. this element, this stereotype goes back several thousand years. if you examine the roots of western anti-semitism, you will find that it is one of the two basic pillars of western anti-semitism, the first being the charge of dee yo side, the charge that the jews -- not the romans -- killed jesus. that became a major legitimizer that enabled the teaching of contempt. that was the basic foundation for so much of western anti-semitism. it was the foundation of the inquisition, it was the foundation of expulses --

expulsions, and it made it reasonable and rational. well, the other pillar at that time was the pillar relating to who sold jesus out and why. and so the second pillar dealt with the issue of money, jews and money. jesus was not sold out by judas for theology, for philosophy, for ideology. we are told and taught. sold him out for 30 pieces of silver. and so throughout at least western civilization the elements of anti-semitism were rooted in both elements. and it grew. finish and -- and it grew and became more and more legitimate. >> you can watch this and other programs online at booktv.org.