>> tell us what you're reading this summer. sinden said tweet book tv to read you can find out about upcoming book tv programs by using your mobile phone. 99702 to receive a weekly e-mail and sign up now for a chance to receive a signed copy of henry kissinger's new book, on china. standard message in their rates applied. >> and now aaron pribble recounts his you're playing baseball in the first and only season of the israel baseball leagues. he recalls his experiences in israel from alleged terrorist attacks to his visit to the west bank.

this lasts 45 minutes. [applause] >> i think i got it. thank you, everybody thank you, c-span. all the viewers at home. we love you. thank you for being here. i really cannot stop grinning because there is so much love here tonight. it is unbelievable. we have students. a bunch of my students. that is a neat thing. we have little league coaches that are here. basketball coaches, baseball coaches, people i have known since i was two years old. my guide parents. so many different people from so many walks of life. it's backing me smile and a crane. i'm going to try to not prime artichoke dip or anything like that. we will do our best. thank you for that really nice

introduction. thank you so much for having us. a great bookstore. one of the great things about a community like this is this sense of community and almost like a camaraderie. that is true for the community, but also the bookstore. one of the things that is so great about this bookstore is the community. thank you guys also very much. a lot of want to do, i want to set up a few of these passages. give you a brief introduction and read a couple of short things, and then we will do q&a. a way you can think about this story here is kind of like boulder room until aviv. that is one good way to think about it. there are all the stories in there. fights, and text of partying, knucklehead movement. in the minor-league baseball. anything like that. it is in tel aviv. from the that was a really special parts. it was not just baseball, but

baseball and the holy land, a place that i was passionate about. i had been out of baseball for three years teaching, pursuing this new dream of mine, this new profession. i was back in or i went to school hanging out with a couple of buddies called wild baseball coach. he said, hey, did you know they're having a baseball league in the middle east. i thought he was making fun of me. we like to give each other a hard time, so i took him at his word in did not believe him. therefore we cetera kimmelman million dinner my folks' house. i was bored. i do gold is rail baseball league. to my surprise there was a website. it was a real thing. there is actually illegal. the first thing i did after looking at that site was click on schedule and looked at the calendar. the very next thing was opened up the window for our school district realizing to my surprise that the season was san

what's right in the middle of our summer break. i thought, i think i can make this work. i played a little bit of professional baseball. the minor leagues. i was jewish. at that it would be a good thing for the league. that is really what i said. and gabba the name of dan duquette, former general manager of the boston red sox. they get in on the phone and said, i'm jewish and played professional baseball and think our be a good person for the league. he said you're hired essentially. so i was training for months after school. i was training with the guys. i left the day after school. i would get home two weeks into the start of the school year. sandwiched perfectly right in between. [laughter] i mentioned that it was kind of like bull durham until of beef. another person told me i should

have named the book shekel balks. just as zoom out a little bit and give you guys a little bit of context we had six different teams, and maybe you can tell us. right down year. that is my jersey that of work. we were the tel aviv and lightning. six different teams like us. all kinds of stuff. all kinds of different teams. i'm going to talk about that in the second. we had six teams in israel. of course you can't play on sjambok. six days a week instead of seven. the only problem with that of medical range members the lack of field. we had one really good field, and that was a good start. one real field. the second was a converted softball field. just one second. the third one was built under the cherished still leave soccer

ground three weeks into this season. so coming to place six days a week on 31 half, two and half baseball fields. it makes for some interesting times. things like dr. ruth tearing out his first pitch of the game. things like an alleged terrorist attack on opening day, this really scared. and near strike when the league runs out of money have fled to this season. almost a work stoppage. a trip by myself and the body into the west bank. you know, it would not be a story about that with a little bit of a right to tough love story. there was little love story. that section i will not read for yesterday. so i guess the way that i want to set up this first chapter, when i was thinking about what passes out once to reach you

guys, linda was mentioning last friday i did a little reading. and in san francisco, some of my buddies. kind of like a friday night. a little bit different five. i read about this chapter called the sex doctor. i'm not trying to read that chapter to you, but analysts tell you the story. i'm getting loose. on friday we have to play early in the day because you cannot encroach starting at sunset. so we played early. all the other games in night games. groggy, and the fog. i'm starting. i and grumpy myself and said that i have to pitch this early in the morning. we're playing the blues socks which is the best team in the league. so everyone is kind of tense and nervous. i see someone is getting ready to throw out the first pitch.

i looked and it is a short little blond woman with a white ibm baseball hat. the pa guy goes and valleys in cement dr. ruth, the sec's director. under my warm-up trying to get loose and unarmed -- momentarily break focus and turn around and say holy moly. and since a holy moly. i said something else. i broke focus and tried to get back and costs. i guess we got. it's a close game. one of our guys in some of getting hit. in retaliation one of their guys in submitting it hit. both benches and of clearing. there is a near brawl on the middle of the soccer field, which is a baseball field. we heard over the loudspeaker in the middle of this malate dr. ruth's sex i've says, boys to a few plain nice i promise you great sex for the rest of your lives.

[laughter] [laughter] the kicker to the story is two innings later somebody else got hit and we have another near brawl. we broke our end of that bargain. it would have been nice theories sorry. a little editing. so that was the passage average last friday. i could not resist telling you this story. this passes that i am going to read here to my don't know if it is my favorite, but i like it and think it is symbolic. baseball, but also a story about the mystical quality of playing in the middle east. i hope he will get that from this chapter. the bus ride.

this story takes place, i mentioned, the softball field with the light pole. that is where this one goes down. arriving we cut across fields of sunflowers through the obligatory security gate coming down a dirt road, past houses before reaching a softball field. the softball field? we heard about the odd configurations, but it was a shock nonetheless. housing 90-foot basis planes this charter of field. the winning track, a thick strip of dirt are etched across the middle of the outfield 100 feet from the recently extended fence which is now sitting up of 5-foot hill. i'll let whole -- light pole in the middle of right field. seriously. not to worry. someone beck diplomat trisyllable. [laughter] lest an ambitious outfielder should actually decide to

attempt to make a play. stepping down, guys were convincing at full throttle. can you believe this? what a joke. since i was starting and let everyone exit first, taking my time to leave. that letup pass the spectacle of the field. brittle and whether to pay are ordinarily bright faces were no prostrate and sullen leaving a striking impression. i wonder if they'd sit down in shame from the substandard plan conditions, in honor of our presence, or at are discussed to attempt to bring baseball. hello did was. some legends plan that at the foot of a modest slow play the tomb of king solomon, sun of david and once ruler of the kingdom of israel. a large white alabaster stones canopied with black archaeological tenting protruded really from the otherwise sparse landscape. it appeared the king and his son

far foot soldiers were posthumously observing our every move. we would have only 20-30 fans in attendance. it was clear was pitching from much larger audience. [laughter] warming up in the bullpen or rather the side of the health. i noticed maximum nelson's drolen to get loose. evidently today's battle for second place would feature a high-school history teacher forces a six-foot eight flame throwing dominican. if the teeeight showed up by hope he would announce it as such. and the first inning both teams scored a run. an rbi single command there's came on a home run. one of the top two or three hitters in the league carrying himself with a mixture of arrogance and grace, exuding professionalism which is no surprise given his minor-league experience with the boston red sox. great player or not, his first home run was cheap. i threw him a 0-1 fast hallway

which she popped 290 feet to right. our right fielder was already planning behind the light pole up the hill with his back against the fence. the ball waterfall in just over is glove to tie the score. it would remain 1-1 until the fifth. toulon and 1 ounce. the first baseman pastas shaw left. from shortstop he flew back in camp in indonesia. our left fielder called a mosque but mistrust the pop-up. i thought briefly. after a strikeout he strolls to the plate with two balls in one strike. at through a change knowing he was looking to go back live with the bags loaded think he would jump to the house the. he did just that except pitches closer to his belt and knees. sufficiently ahead, he was nonetheless able to make contact

given the height. he hit another popup and this time to left. left fielder ran up the hill pressing against them. the ball landed just over his outstretched glove for a grand slam. we ended up losing 5-3. hit two more home runs, this time both legit, propelling the marital to another victory pleasant and alone in second place and dropping a step third. it was not right to deny him his props, but also save to save your hurt. i knew in the long run it would probably be out, but that sentiment was of those covered in the short run. my first loss of the year. i've forgotten what it felt like. my last lost in three years earlier, and i was having trouble making sense of the emotions. surging some solace, and a porcelain of the outcome on the field. i was now 5-in-1.

then there was the master of my era. wondered if all five runs were earned and felt only to should have been. i heard the score. what do you think? hit our air. >> give it a hit. it was my team i would have said the same thing, but it wasn't. five big ones in the wrong column. i could talk to someone about changing it, but then i would be affecting staff practices like the rest of them. it still wasn't right. it went against smile mantra. this maxim applied to baseball and life. the best way to get positive results was the focus on the doing. keep your head down and look up to see where you are. ..

and the losses for today let's get back on the bus. [laughter] [applause] that was a dramatic pause or maybe the pause was rapid already. but maybe this last part is worth it. sometimes the ride home takes an instant. this day it took forever. perhaps i was overly pence if after the loss but pulling away from the game i noticed the setting sun. it was a large blood red or casting a glow of the house of the west bank behind is in the

distance. rays of light shone through an the bus windows as the sun had been packed with the horizon. i thought of the largely impoverished arabs in the west bank. i thought of king solomon and his israelite progeny. who cared about baseball and a centuries-old conflict was still raising -- region. if baseball couldn't help unite these two lands what good was it? staring out the window i lost track of space and time. suddenly i was back in france during a trip from paris to our home by news that for all intents and purposes we could have been on a bus in west texas where i played the summer before as the view was identical. a yellow line reads beside us in the foreground followed by metronome and telephone poles and a steadfast plane and the distance illuminated only by the faint light of the fading sun. in an attempt to be like my dad who's right back there, i love you dad, was a working musician until i was born i remembered the hook to a song i once tried

to write. staring out the window baliles pass by as france merges into texas in the twilight sky it's just another ride. how many times under how many conditions and how many places have i've ridden the bus? whatever the final tally i could add to the song one more verse. as i dream of peace in israel and palestine it's just another long bus ride, it's just another long bus ride, it's just another long bus ride. [applause] thank you. if you do end up reading the book there is a chapter in there, the second loss of the season is called losing sox, and i really mad and complaining because i'm sweating so much of the stripping of the brim of my cap and there is no bag and i can't tell what the baseball so at some point i said i'm just going to throw it and we will see where it goes.

and that's kind of life you like up here. i'm sweating, i need like a rossin back to call for a reliever to give me a towel. [laughter] if you guys don't mind, i don't mind. the reason i chose that passages like i said, when i prefaced it for me one of the great things about the summer is the combination of baseball in the holy land. so for me this wasn't to feel i remember having a dialogue with king solomon looking out there seeing the black tending going is the school committee wants us to be here, i'm humbled to be here, i see this king, the son of david, the whole deal and that made a really special for me. i mentioned this and i probably should have mentioned a few of the guys on my team i told you about the six different teams on the lead one of the reasons this secret experiences i was blessed with an unbelievable cast of characters as linda mentioned earlier the third baseman who was one of my friends was najaf and israel bloomberg fish.

he's got shoulder length black curly hair he looks like a combination of howard stern and the biblical solomon and the biblical moses or something like that. crazy guy. our catcher was a wild man from australia and my best friend who was a pitcher was the first israeli to play division one baseball in the united states so i need a little cast of characters there. one of the guys who is probably my best friend or closest of the free but the in the league was jeff hastings and he was also a teacher. the first guy i met and the last guy i would say goodbye to with my friend, jeff. so in the book and mengin with myself not disparagingly we broke about being a red neck jubilees and that sounds kind of funny but my grandma was born on the working ranch, my mom is a jew from new york's we were brought up with books to expose

us to both sides, both traditions, and there was a good thing i think they did it right but because of that coming to israel i got to not only explore why was as a pro but as a jew as well and that was important to me as well. so this next passage i'm going to read to you and this will be the last one about my first dinner in israel. the great thing about living in a place i'm sure you've done traveling but it's neat to travel somewhere but a different experience to actually live someplace and get to know people because every place is about the people it's nice to go to paris and eat crepes and have the food and the wine but it's different to live there and get to know the people and see what life is like. the was a special thing for me getting to know these as families. we arrive at our destination

with a cabernet from the canary region also known as the sea of galilee where jesus purportedly walked on water and jews turned it into grapes and wine. this particular section was the urban planning equivalent of the geological subduction. one of the few places where large scale slow-moving change was evident. there are complete with the archways and geometric tapestry collided with have finished number apartment complexes. three loud shots rang out from just behind the large stone wall. jeff and i jerked our heads down anticipating a firefight. what was that, jeff exclaimed? he muttered to himself, the israeli pitcher, probably nothing. we walked cautiously into a construction zone through two doors to a secret flight of stairs around a corner into a large projected courtyard. just then, too bright green dots

with tales of great smoke sailed into the air. pop pop. the expression faded. kids were having fun with fireworks over the wall. he shook his head, smiled sarcastically and said fucking arabs. we walked in the apartment and past a couple in the oppose a direction. he exchanged pleasantries and hebrews. the grand and referred to the ongoing fireworks display that sounded more like a gun battle. ken, i replied with a chuckle as they walked past showing off my knowledge of hebrew. [laughter] what is that, jeff asked, shaking off tell you later. coach, you've got something, give it to me. he came with the kerchief to wipe my brow. thank you. good grief. [applause] thank you, coach. he's always there for me. i love you. all some. where were we?

the raúl will be dry for just a second. what's that, jeff asked? to you later i said and gave him a shove figuring he didn't want to hear what the palestinian uprising and the west bank and the late 1980's and again at the turn of the century. necessary or otherwise the israeli occupation was controversial and resulted in countless deaths on both sides. we entered the inviting apartment. stone floors cooled to bear feet gave way to a kitchen and living room sandwiched one on top of the other. we were introduced to the brother and the end. the cousin the back upright fielder known for his life skin and strawberry hair was there to back conversing with him i immediately felt at home. after a quick tour of the apartment i found myself on the balcony with dan's mom and aunt leaning over the floor really looking into the dusk. it's beautiful here i said. thank you, reply to his mom

smiling warmly. she spoke english but seemed shy about her accent. i was thinking of something to say when she pointed to the land outside the court guard. she motioned with her hand this is a settlement she said half jokingly. answering with a chuckle i was not certain how to respond. dan did not support the settlement but i was unsure about his mom. shortly thereafter to appear on the table and we were ready to eat. by any store for the rituals returned. flashes in the candle's light seemed to remember the words but couldn't remember what they meant. i started sweating more than usual. give me a break. [laughter] it was a chabot meltdown. i would be laughed at, disowned by my tried, i was toast. so if you do like prayers and stuff i'm going to watch, i don't really know what i'm doing. me too, jeff added. prayer? he left. i don't do that, i just come to

eat. he sensed my trepidation end of patted me on the shoulder. you will do fine except for the heavenly garlic mashed potatoes and devine schmidle there was nothing religious about a meal. we begin with a pepper cabbage slaw and is really salafist cucumbers, onions and tomatoes. the schmidle came next and it did not disappoint. the lightly breaded closer chicken slices were succulent, tender. jeff and i indulged like we haven't had a home cooked meal package colin in weeks which was true. we spoke about the israelis being crazy drivers, our first games. everyone was cognizant of keeping us involved there's often lively dialogue. in addition to chatting with jeff during the moments i reflected in general on the meal limit for the weekly creation of the space to a slowdown, to put

the fast-paced life on hold was imperative. it might be friday night or sunday afternoon. the important part was spending quality time with friends and family but for the cultural or religious pretense. and there is no to ruin this might. we ate and drank and laughed. some may not have called it asia bought at all. for me it was a wonderful time. at one point the conversation seemed to turn for the argumentative but since it was in hebrew my conversation was limited to volume inflection and the occasional word or two. a fervent exchange such as this could only be about politics. vrieses raised a handful of exasperation and homemade pickles were devoured like ammunition. but no one appeared angry. in fact all seemed to be enjoying it. the discussion turned quiet. she leaned in over the table looking squarely at jeff and me and said he's a palestinian, referring to the sons left for a political view. his family began to laugh and

dan looked slightly irritated. just like on the balcony i cannot tell of his mom was serious. any discussion about the conflict it seemed sarcasm and sincerity were close friends. as the meal went down i could take only shallow breaths a full stomach encroaching on my lungs. i dreamed of desert, watermelon, cantaloupe, some strange fruit of the target price. what's that, jeff asked? percolate hair. his mom interdicted. she explained it was the formal name for the israelis because they were prickly and tough on the outside from years of toiling in the desert and remained suite on the inside. i tried one. the flesh was sugary, the seats were disappointed get rid of. he could chew and swallow them but they went down rauf. you could spit them out but with everyone watching this was a bit awkward, sort of like the israelis themselves. after the meal everyone required

lethargically in the living room which is the same space as the kitchen and dining area. the cardinals game was three running on the tv providing an beyond background stimulation, the modern-day fireplace. when it was time to go we said our goodbyes. thank you very much. it was great i said giving her a hug. dannel whispered to me a bit chagrined about his family dinner table arguments especially his mom's red ink. this made me feel more at home. [laughter] combine equal parts embarrassment, guilt, with an abiding need to see the planet and you have any jewish mother. [laughter] you are welcome. i will see you next week. we are having ravioli. we did come next week as well as the week after that. i did not know it at the time but it would become as regular as my starting against the blue sox. both were exciting though the latter would get a bit older and though the dinner had come to an

end, our friday night was just getting started. [applause] the second passage i read last friday night to what i've already said is a different group the citigroup the next chapter is called sabras, the formal and for israeli. that is the chapter where i meet him who became sabras for the summer and so that is where the love story gets introduced but since this is a family crowd we will leave that one at that. those are the two passages i wanted to share with you if you have a few questions and will give me a break to stop and after that that will be it. thank you

>> one thing remember speaking to the microphone but you're not going to hear yourselves on the p.a. or anything like that. >> how did the draft that teams? >> how the draft the six teams? that's a great question. early on in the lead up to the lead they did a fantastic job. they had all jerseys, team names, everything laid out. they had a draft on espn led by the sports reporter if you know jeremy hulett a draft of the was a lot of hubbub and buzz around it. "the new york times" was covering the league and was a neat things of the had a draft and had players from all over the place. the thing that pushed the lead over the top i would say is once they started to have dominicans in the lead there is an interesting history between israel and the dominican republic or jews and the

dominican republic. i think they teased about a little bit as an excuse to get the dominicans in the week because if you have the same players from one country where they drink the countries in order they are incredible players, most of minor league experience, vladimir's brother was in the league who paid in the major league of japan. so there were some really impressive players and they were drafted as well. >> what made this the last season of the israeli baseball -- >> that's a great question. without getting into the business plan or the finances to watch, it was ultimately insolvent so we didn't receive our final checks. we were close to going on strike halfway through the season but since we were halfway around the world what we were going to do and where they going to do? it was a result of the financial difficulties if you don't have a lot of people coming in paying for merchandise it's hard to

generate revenues of the financial issue, however, for several different years now they've been talking about serving up the lead again the new york yankees were talking about getting a group of financial backers saw the first and only thus far and we will see if they do it again. >> can you talk about 70 being there? >> sandy was drafted in a symbolic gesture but doesn't seem to like publicity too much, so he didn't come. we were thinking of baseball in israel. he's got to be there. he is our guy but he wasn't involved but we decided to draft him any way. i think he was 71 at the time and still could have pitched for one of the teams. [laughter]

>> was the reference to the sea of sunflowers and the ghosts reference to the field of dreams? >> this is what i like camano is the honest answer. but absolutely the book is rich in symbolism -- [laughter] and absolutely. >> did you have to be jewish to be in the league and if you did what was the percentage of jewish players? >> you didn't have to be jewish to be in the lead but it had a bit of an identity crisis. it didn't know if it wanted to be the best league in a jewish country or the best jewish week somebody equation i figured out some into the season is the more jewish york the less good at baseball you had to be. [laughter] we had these dominican guys that

had a great experience and if you oarlocks players and religious jews as well and some of them could have made mabey jr college team or something like that so it was an interesting relationship a former pro in his identity i place myself squarely in the middle. >> what is the public that you mentioned? >> the dominican republic had an interesting role to play during the holocaust in terms of taking shoes in after the holocaust and providing refugees. as of the israelis and jews the world over a certain debt of gratitude and the dominican republic as well >> the question is when it were turned away from the u.s. and that is another part of it as well. >> you and i were coaching the mock trial writing this book i

think. the question i have is -- >> you have a question or need to do want to talk about -- >> to shape. [laughter] >> can you describe the process of writing? i know you were teaching and getting your master's degree in a coaching. i couldn't figure out when you were writing the book. how did you do that? what was it like? >> i didn't have a girlfriend at times i had spare time to devote to other things like coaching of the mock trial team. coaching basketball, there's your shot out, david, a number of other things but there was a story that i wanted to tell so to back up a couple steps before i went over there i think everybody had on their mind baseball, the holy land, this is a weird combination. so my mom and a good friend of mine who is back there as well who is an unbelievable author is like my literary coach i have a lot of great coaches and

basketball and baseball coaches but russell is my coach and encouraged me to keep a journal. my mom did as well but moms are mom's so somebody in the business to keep a journal then you take a little bit more seriously. [laughter] it's funny a lot of times you talk about journal writings and reflective faults protected journal and wrote a freezing will take and when i got back i had a trove of material so i just had tons of words on the page i would pour out and i had a story to tell. i knew there was a story because of these crazy things that haven't and i try my best to get them out there. with the help of russell and a few other authors that i really respect i try to tell my story and the one thing they said in comment is the one thing the shares if you read a lot you know what good writing sounds like. so i read a lot and i read more and more and more and it's one thing to read and enjoy a story and it's another to read with an

audit towards the mechanics of the language, how do you put beautiful census together would also keep in mind of a larger plot and the climax and stuff like that so i kept reading and went through countless drafts and he looked over a bunch and said this is good this is not so good this is a direction you should go and i just did my best. it's worth it. we have a lot of high school kids which target but don't be afraid to fail. people say they're going to run a marathon. i pitch went along and had to run for too long i'm not going to do it. if i'm afraid of getting shot down this would never happen. but in your chips fall where they may. >> one or two more. >> was the transition hard from becoming a teacher to a baseball

player to a teacher again? >> that's a great question, eliot. it was an interesting thing. yes, it wasn't hard what was interesting and somewhat difficult. are you mr. pribble, and then some way for the summer after you start using the vietnam war regularly and joking around, you kind of work -- you refer to your old ways so during the summer i didn't really think about teaching. as in the back of my mind but i was a basketball player competing and wanted to win. on the last day of the season, before i am getting sent to go home and face with a decision. i've offered a contract to become the first player from the baseball like to pitch professionally back in the united states and it's a heck of a decision. this is my boyhood dream come something i poured my heart and soul to ever since i could walk. there was an important thing in my life and so do you follow your dream, was this another shot to make it to the biggest

dutch grasp one longtime or do you know when it's enough and to call it quits? i came back, on american soil and i made my decision that may be pretty obvious at this point. it's interesting to look into the classroom and remember that he probably shouldn't drop the of, as much on high school students and it's interesting transformations absolutely. >> we heard about some of the baseball stuff but how about your jewish identity and being in israel. >> that's a great question. i never had a bar mitzvah or baptism. i definitely felt connected to the history, and one of the things i feel most passionate about in terms of aligning myself and the jewish tradition is the sense of remedy and

justice the phrase i fillets one of the reasons i got into teaching and local school to be quite honest i feel a sense of duty to get back to others. to whom much is given much is expected. and i always held really tightly to that aspect and a lot of cultures and religions but that was one part of it. the other one is who and why this call her goofy guy but sweats we more than he should. i remember looking around and seeing a very different type of person that you could imagine. every color of the rainbow, short, fat, skinny, pretty, not so pretty and i remember looking around. the girl i have a relationship with this small tender flowing dark hair and we come from opposite ends of the planet, opposite political ideologies and i remember thinking if there's room enough for all these people under the beautiful

rainbow there's probably room for me to. [applause] >> i just want to say we may run out of books here because there are so many of you and this is such a wonderful book. they have a green for you can fill out if you want the book, and aaron who is local will still sign them so you will still get your book at book passage. [laughter] >> do i get the last word? okay, are we good? i could mention every single person by name but that would take too long. from the bottom of my heart, my god family, coaches, my

students, you probably won't know and i can't put into words how much it means that you are all here. it's a beautiful place, a strong sense of community and so i just want you to know that from the bottom of my heart i really appreciate you coming. thank you very much. [applause] to find out more by visiting bookpassage.com. professor adam green of the university chicago, your book selling the race culture community of black chicago. 1940 to 1955 only? >> well, one of the fee is that people have really begun to do

in terms of thinking of not only just african-american history of african-american history and its establishment of a sense of change in relation to the situation and circumstance of black folk many people have tried to move the way that we think about the history back from a the classic years in the civil rights era to think about change, a challenge from a different sense of community and the potential of people going back in many cases decades. sometimes the 30's, 20s, for example some years before i did my work studies on the harlem renaissance were trying to imagine the ways in which the initiative and cultural genius is something that had changed the fortunes of black people in new york and beyond it. i thought was interesting to look at one of course because the ways in which the federal government, the state is

beginning to approach african-americans and their place within the policy and a different way also the ways in which the market society, the consumer society was beginning to pay more attention to how african-americans not only were agents or individuals who need it to be appealed to but in a sense also potentially a source of profit, revenue, various kind of capacities for market expansion, commodities, cultural work and the like. and then i think finally african-americans themselves largely as a result of the migration of mass migration leaking city's larger enclaves, larger communities capable of greater leverage meant that after 19401 was beginning to see a different kind of research become a different kind of claim that african-americans collectively were seeking to advance in relation to institutions they had

relationships within the country. so in that sense, 1940 is an interesting cut off point in terms of thinking about an earlier sense of existence that while dynamic, while open in terms of its possibilities was not necessarily fully realized in terms of being able to leverage the capacity of people to assert their willing agenda. after 1940i began to see much more of that. >> what's the importance of chicago in black history? ..

my book is really trying to think about the ways in which the emergence, not only of individual african-american artists, not only individual episodes are instances of black creativity, but what could be called a media infrastructure, almost a culture industry. chicago more so than los angeles, more so the new york city, the center of that sort of the activity. in that sense it is almost as if one can think run an amplifier affect. black perspective, black acts -- aspiration, black and density. in that way what is going on this chicago whether it relates to music, magazines, trying to influence advertisements and the kind of innovation of african-americans in to the consumer market system, chicago is the moral points.

that is what i based my argument on on the ship to understand the chicago as pivotal. >> host: professor green, some examples of chicago music and media. >> guest: short. chicago, of course, is the center of genres in terms of music. many people see it as a foundational to the turn toward modern popular music. most signified by rock-and-roll, rhythm-and-blues and eventually soul music. gospel, for instance, is a musical form that is really taking root in chicago. again, being institutionalized by virtue of the emergence of national administrative bodies, virtue of the establishment of producers and songwriters who are really thinking about how to move gospel from the hymnal to something that is going to appeal to a broader audience and a crossover audience. to some degree secular from

sacred. blues similarly is undergoing a transformation in terms of its modernization. record companies are emerging in chicago and elsewhere to be sure, but the central companies like chess records, for instance, are centered here in chicago. as well radio and the capacity of radio to establish playlists, to create deejays who are going to be able to be known primarily at broadcasters of the style of music, people like hal vincent and sam athens, this means the bill is not only will be disseminated broadly with the chicago, but by virtue of word of mouth and in some cases relate is actually going to be something that people recognize as a distinctive style moving out to areas outside of chicago and even down the road or line to seven centers. when one thinks just about these two genres, blues music, one can

see the way the synthesis of gospel and blues, to forms thought to be and to set a goal is eventually going to give rise to live in the blues and soul. >> host: the importance of ebony magazine speech to ebony magazine is in many ways the first movement on the part of african americans with journalism and publishing to come up with a successful life style formula from media. and as several components, one is editorial. ebony was very interested in not -- in trying to find ways to encourage african-american readers to think about individuals coming out of their community as being a will to convey stories, narratives, a trajectories, part of unquestioned success. and so you would have, whether it was a major movie actor,

musician, an important entrepreneur, increasingly organizational and political leaders, civic celebrities, and a sense would be brought out and not only thought about or covered in terms of their work but also family life. their tastes in relation to clothing or food or fine wine and spirits and such. for some people this was a disregard any of the realities of life for most african-americans because it was a decidedly booze what approach or of bushwa view on how to think a lot of african-americans. but conveying and since that blacks could identify with aspirational narratives. the stories of black people who aspire to higher station that historically have been available? ways in which their success can be understood as a potential road to success for other individuals? second, because ebony was a

picture magazine as well as a text magazine. indeed i think a great accomplishment during the 1940's and 50's was to assemble such an extraordinary group of photographers who each brought their own often modernist style to how they were portraying the individuals being covered. that meant that there was a visual appeal to the stories presented in the magazine and indeed of visual appeal, or, or charisma, if you will, to the ways in which those individuals corresponded to others. third, the fact that ebony was a magazine that sought to revolutionize the ways in which consumer marketers thought about african american consumers meant that in addition to the stories and the photographs you have all of these different examples of advertisements. chesterfield cigarettes, seagram whiskey, cavelike automobiles kamal of which i using african americans as possible stage consumers for those products.

we are so used to thinking about african americans as inserted within the language of advertising, to see that as inconsequential or beside the point. never 04 had there been a publication that had successfully been able to get national marketers to see african-americans as agents of conception. one example of this. chesterfield cigarettes and seagrams was the prior to the advent of ebony magazine if he saw an african-american in advertisements that would present an african american in relation to the product, it would usually be above libor gain glass of whiskey to all white who was supposed to be consuming and buying that whiskey. the message was, of course, african americans were fit to be the conduit for commodities, but never the end point in terms of where the address and appeal needed to get to. there is a great deal of

lobbying and surveying of consumer markets and a great deal of making the black consumer market legible to national marketers. he would see people like joe louis, nat king cole, lena horne, dorothy bam bridge and hosts of others who would be presented as the exemplar of the black customer the home that company now needed to appeal. in its own way beyond laws and the capacity to vote, this was a softer form of desegregation, but one that is no less significant given that this is a country that is billed as much on the capacity to generate consumer markets as it is the capacity to enjoy rights and reform laws. >> is that where the title, "selling the race," comes from? >> guest: yes. and in that tyler want to convey we have to understand the inherent contradiction. we don't want to simply see this as a theological story about how everything became better for

african-americans. being integrated as it were into the world of the consumer market meant, for instance, that much of the five -- vitality, idiosyncrasy, the eclecticism of african identity began to be a sort of pushed down and softened up and scrutinized and homogenize so that when someone like nat king cole, joe louis, lean toward, presented with one authoritative hand version rather than all of the successful somewhat fascinating stories of how people made their waists. another important contribution is the history of african-americans going back to the founding of the country is one in which their relationship to the market is not only as individuals who are presented from being able to consume, but as entities who are being

consumed. after all african-americans come to this country large the for slavery. much of what one sees during the 1940's, ebony and the american negro exposition which i write about, some of the different initiatives to attempt to bring african-americans in greater alignment with the market. puzzling over how to make this seem credible in the face of a much longer history in which black folks were faced with a heritage of their enslavement within the united states. to some degree today going well past the spin of this book and thinking about what kind of loss is a principal in the second to the present-day battle of the fact that we still see many african-americans are economically dispossessed him put in situations where they do not have the capacity to exit at -- exercise to change their lives.

they might be in places in which the wage scale or costs make it difficult for one to realize the kind of viable economic condition. these, in a sense, remind us that coming into the market is not necessarily a wholly in in powering think for individuals. the same time we celebrate and learn from the individual stories we also have to think about the ways in which the stories distract us from other realities and distract us from the heritage of that i was speaking about before. the market was not always african-americans. >> professor green, you mentioned the position. >> it was interesting to read it was a world fair put on specifically by african americans made to commemorate the 705th anniversary, not thinking about the ways in which the story of sliver economics of the story of modern black life filamentous celebrate the 705th anniversary of emancipation in 1965.

in that sense the exposition was both an attempt to think about all of the different ways in which progress could be marked, whether agriculture, industry, the ways in which black enclaves and cities like memphis, los angeles, detroit, chicago were putting together their own sorts of exhibitions and kiosks which conveyed a sense of how people advanced, particularly important was the story of african-american artists, visual artists who put together this tremendous bigger than anything that had been seen before in relation to african-american art, some 200 different black artists and from works. the same time, and i read about this to the end of the chapter, one of the things that the expedition could not really addressed because in a certain sense it was going to jam the message of this idea of black progress. what sense to make of the fact of the 75th anniversary of

slavery was something that made clear that one has to reckon with the history of slavery in order to understand the condition of the present that people found themselves in. you would have some essences of dioramas by the same a sociologists that would convey the life of the black family during slavery in the black family during the latter part of the 19th century in the black family post migration. you have individuals to like the assistant our associate curator of the schaumburg library in new york city who among other boards that he exhibited at his table conveyed some of the slave narratives that were written by fugitive slaves, runaway slaves and eventually abolitionists' during the time prior to the end of slavery. would you didn't see was a real historic bustling with an engagement with with the heritage of slavery meant to african americans today. this was going to come later in

relation to black communities in new york and chicago in the form of what kind of black power oriented approach to knowledge, the form of emergency as a black studies. a form of revisionist approach is slavery. in 1940 it was a sense of history that dare not speak its name. because of that at one learns, has won often does, seeing what it is people don't say that reveals something about who they are. >> host: adam green, who is on your cover? speech to a disk jockey. this is actually a picture that wayne miller, the photographer who supplied me very graciously with most of the photographs are used to my but. i would be remiss in speaking about this book without thanking him for being so generous. wonderful, wonderful photographer who incidently worked as a freelancer. sitting in his office receiving a pitch from somebody who is

representing an anonymous woman, actress, singer, likely singer. in the background there are other pictures of women who have been contacted to appear at clubs or come on to ready a shows. the point of the photo in many ways is to encourage us to think about the fact that cultural initiative, cultural accomplishment, cultural product is something that emerges out of a process, not just simply a statement that comes out of the artist's mind and mouth. there needs to be a series are different mediating points. in some cases a disseminating mechanism or a disseminating institution like radio station. in some cases the capacity to convene and organize the market such as this sort of turns the to place an advertising. in this case a publicity agent, middle person, who finds a way by looking at that individual

who is being presented as a potential candidate to go on to greater publicity and fame in the claim, to look at that person and say, well, how is that person going to translate? what are the steps that need to be made in order to package that persons are in the appeal? something that is complete ubiquitous with publicist's all over the place for any number of different people from musical artists and movie stars to politicians. at this point this was a novel in the case of african-american life. to think about the fact that in 1940-19501 is looking at turn in black five for people are beginning to really understand that there needs to be these different institutional mediators in order to create the capacity to broadcast african-american identity and that appeal out to a wide audience, all familiar national audience which is something that in many ways is at the heart of

the chicago stories. i begin with this story in a sense. and the book with a story about martin luther king and the fact that we all understand martin luther king is an iconic figure of the last half of the 20th century. many people understand this to be the results of the ways in which whites, when the rules, and mainstream media in brisking as exemplary. we know, perhaps, that many years before king was actually brought up to that level of prominence he was being presented as an iconic and exemplary african-american public celebrity figure by ebony magazine. directly in the wake of the boycott. so that ability to make people appear larger than life and the impact for good and sometimes for l that it had on african-americans individually and collectively is something that comes out of the black community even more so than the

broader mainstream community. >> what courts is to you teach at the university of chicago? >> african-american history class which crossed off of this research as well as looking at a great deal of wonderful scholarships being done before writing and after. that goes for approximately 1893-2007-2008. i generally and with the election a barack obama as president. i teach a class on a great documents or texts in american history during the 19th century called american civilization. that has to do with the 19th century running all the way from total to dreiser in sunland and william grant sumner and others. i do graduate class is that relate mainly to 20th-century african-american history of, often and are refocus and context. this year i am preparing to put together a class on approaching

american popular culture from the standpoint of its industrial structures. how do markets begin to merge in relation to the music industry from the copyright act of 1909 to the reemergence of new platforms of disseminating music in the 70's and 80's. how does the move is the -- movie industry move from its consolidation tourists disintegration and three tradition in and around fine and structures and so on and so forth. so it is a wonderful, wonderful opportunity and a great deal -- treat. >> we have been talking with professor adam green of the university of chicago. here is his book, "selling the race: culture, community, and black chicago 1940-1955". >> and here at book expo america, the publisher's annual convention in new york city. regnery publishing into is here as well.

we are here to preview some of their fall 2011 book titles, joined by the publisher of kids to, marji ross regnery. i want to start with the but you don't have out yet because you just signed the deal today. >> you're right. the big news today is that we just signed a big book with donald trump and obi doing a political book with him this fall. we are really interested in doing this but because we feel that he touched a nerve with our marketplace and with a lot of people out there in america he said to my gosh, he is saying a lot of things i agree with. i kind of agree with what he has to say about oil in china and trade and taxes and the economy. isn't it refreshing to have someone who can say these things and not be afraid.

so we are very excited. it is about how to put america back on top, how to make america number one. frankly, there is no one better than donald trump's taj, how to be competitive, have leaders, get what to one out of any deal and negotiation whether it is real estate or whether you are a country negotiating with another country. >> this book comes out and 122011. >> we are that experts and crashing books because we do so many current and then books. we do something that most of the rest of the industry doesn't do. we know when we captured the imagination we want to get it out as fast as possible. we're putting this on the fast track and we will have it out there before christmas. we are excited about that. >> you have a couple other books

we want to talk about. let's start with newt gingrich's most recent book. >> variate says it to be having our next book with newt gingrich. we have done several books with him over the past six years that have all been big best sellers. of course he is a leading figure in the conservative market place on our public and stage. in fact, he has driven in a lot of ways, the discussion about the important topics that are going to be coming up in this election cycle. this book is a little bit different from the books we have done with him before. previously his books were buried policy heavy talking about a lot of solutions for problems that we face. what he's done with this book which is called a nation like no other is taking a more historical viewpoint. perfectly poised because he is historian and talking about what makes this country exceptional. what makes this country great and how we are in danger of losing that.

one of the most interesting things is said to me was that when you ask americans if you believe in american exceptional is and they say, yes, we do. and you follow up with what that means most of them don't know or can answer. his argument that is given the liberal medium, the liberal elite in our virginity to denigrate it and say, though, american exceptional as an is just xenophobic. his bragging about how wonderful we are. he and no better than anyone else. is not about us being more talented or smarter but actually about being luckier than everyone else. having good fortune to be born in the country that is really based on freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom to work hard report results of that and live your life with great

individual liberty. >> for the first time in six years and new book coming out. >> she does. we avoid a long time. one of the best writers and the most insightful riders on the scene. he wrote a book for us six years ago called america alone. it was an instant best seller. a wonderful book. we have been waiting another six years to have a follow-up. we have it in a very excited. it comes out in august. it is called after america, and it is as ominous as it sounds. his previous book argued that america was alone in sticking to the principles that made western civilization great. unfortunately the follow-on is not so sure that america is on the right path and more. if we abandon those things which made as great we're very much in jeopardy of losing it all. >> now, mr. stein, i use the word recluse.

maybe i am wrong. >> i use it to. >> will he be going on tour? >> see absolutely well. one of those rare author sue has said to us before, why would i be on tv if i don't have a book to promote, which is wonderful words to here as a publisher. very excited about promoting the book. he is a terrific spokesperson. witty and funny and incisive. you know, because what he is saying is so frightening and devastating you need to add a little slimmer and wit to make it palatable. he has a perfect combination of all those things. >> marji ross regnery, the publisher of regnery. they have a new projects coming up the call the regnery history. >> thank you for asking. we are very excited about launching and the bucks on history. military history and american history in particular.

we published history books in the past and they have done quite well. we have done the occasional history book. we realize that this is a category that our market is very interested in and lights a lot. we were publishing our history works on the same sort of crash breakneck schedule that we were publishing our current event books on which was not serving the mall. almost successful despite our best efforts. so the sum of round with several dedicated team and put these books on the kind of time line that makes sense of that we can give them all of the support. the media will be allowed to let them have galleys and get them in the hands of reviewers long in advance and frankly already it is proving successful because our first book out which is called a omar bradley which is a biography, of course, of the great world war ii general, that book has been picked up by both the military book club and history book club.

we give ourselves enough time we see that these books really will fly. we are excited about that and a couple of the books we have coming as well. >> which one of the history and part two of imprint book is coming out. >> another book that we think will do well is a book called bully. not surprisingly about teddy roosevelt, but one of the really unique things about it is that includes 200 plus original vintage political cartoons. so we feel that there are a lot of people out there who are big fans and have had a lot of wonderful books written about him. this is unique. these cuts is a unique because most of them have never been seen since they were powerless in a magazine and newspaper. we feel like it is a wonderful way to illustrate his life and to give some flavor to a biography of one of the most

interesting and beloved presidents. this is going to be a lot of fun for us. >> and we have been talking with marji ross regnery. >> up next on book tv, adam goodheart, civil war columnist recounts the first year of the civil war in 1961, examining the revolutionary fervor that ran through the nation prior to the start of the war and the momentum that led to early crashes. april 12th to hands -- 2011. this is just over an hour. [applause] [applause] >> thank you very much. i am a great lover o