>> , booktv attended a book launch party for syndicated columnist armstrong williams for his latest title, "reawakening virtues," restoring what makes america great. mr. williams greeted guests and signed his book at a party held in washington d.c.. >> booktv is a washington d.c. home of marty and grace bender wary but party for author and columnist, armstrong williams is being held. mr. williams latest book, "reawakening virtues," restoring what takes america great. armstrong williams why did you write this book? >> you know, many people remember back in 2000, no child

left behind, when i was almost left behind. .. i was wondering if i would never find my way of life backing in, and presence.

in the realized this one particular morning i was lying in bed. in the light just flickered. after four years i had reawakened. something just said virtues, values. just as clear as i standing here talking to you. back to the ritz, the beginning. and i had to reawaken the value of truth and honesty and integrity. had to reawaken the values of the physiology of success. making sure i was in top physical shape. mark -- more importantly and had to reawaken the value of weather what is to be a journalist or something for the republican party, and i decided not only did i want to turn to journalism. my voice should return as a voice of integrity. a lot of people would dismiss

me. i'm lost much credibility, but i wasn't doing it to anybody else. it wasn't about anybody else. it was about me and my truth. so i started back going to church. being alone with god, giving back to that kind of things that my parents taught me about honesty, but trying to be good. you know, sometimes being did we say things about being good. you can't just take it. you have to learn it. it was the confidence that i decided i'd to reawaken the virtues of my life. then i also realize in rail waking and a virtue that things are not as bad as i thought there were. even though i have money from illegal scheme, 80 percent of my business. i managed to well. i manage my money well. i did not spend the nervously. does not have a lot of debt.

when i had people wanted to help me out financially i said, now, put myself in the storm and i need to find a way to get myself out of the storm return to the virtues of the bill what i had at the beginning. so i realize that all had not been lost. for three or four years until i realized that i had to reawaken myself and get back to allow was. >> and he returned to america? >> you know, america is in a financial crisis. america is in a debt crisis. this is to understand. we talk about the debt ceiling. the debt ceiling reflects to we are as america. we spend more. we buy things they cannot afford. we don't want to make sacrifices. so accumulating summer instead. from 10 trillion to $15 trillion

of the last two and a half years. rekey spending and spending in their revenues can keep up with it. we have to get back to fiscal responsibility. increase the debt on the credit card. he have to pay the credit-card off, find a way to restructure debt or you will go bankrupt. you will become bankrupt. return to fiscal discipline. return to being responsible. we get caught up in looking at television. he should only by that receive can afford. allow the start of a toxic loans to the real-estate. everybody thought that owning a home was a right as well as a privilege. he should only on a home the you can afford. more than just buying a home. a lot of upkeep. instead of looking to the government, yes, the government is on the verge of bankruptcy. batman 800-pound gorilla in the

room when we talk about greece. the only way that the united states is going to return the solvency is turning to let people are accustomed to it, the prosperity room once had. >> finally armstrong williams, new chapter published. >> new chapter publishing is out of sarasota florida. chris ackerman, my editor. but sometimes we invest some much in our opinions and views we don't realize. but, i am a liberal editor. and didn't want a conservative editor. added to ma one that had the same values i had. i wanted somebody to make me believe. i was thinking everything. in fact, larry claman, you know, larry claman made the

introduction. chris knew about my views. the mental and the kind of book clubs the right, well, it can be a political book. i owners you can be fair. i didn't realize what a challenge it was for me. the feelings i had to my criticisms i had kind how i was biased toward republicans. it didn't hold in as accountable as in the attacks he did getting to the integrity and the virtue of writing an honest book where people can see this is fair, just, honest. so a blessing for me. what he did, he reawakened my riding. unbiased. >> a book party for armstrong williams, reawakening virtues,

go enjoy your party. >> how are you doing? oh, ron. how are you doing? e-mail id. you get my e-mail. no, my god, ron. how are you doing? [inaudible conversations] >> i was on line. a very interesting piece. i was very intrigued by the article. i was just reading it. sometimes i get stuck. i just read and read and read. i never knew that story. what party? asset d'agata invited to four. and since in many manta never responded. we always agonize. if it is right for the time.

t years ago. inside. two years ago. no doubt left behind. so much i wanted to say. then i realized in order to reclaim virtue in such a threatening yourself. you get lost. i was looking. once i had the premonition, it's you have to redefine your of your chin. once you reach planning your virtue, then you concerned and again. >> things you. >> everything. people who don't like to let the buck. above. >> is strictly dealt with archies. >> finance a corrections of capitalism, savings. >> he is the managing editor in. >> that's right.

>> well, tell me you were coming. confirmed. so ready you live? >> i will be up in new york for the party. >> you will? >> yes. >> had he not call? >> he is my lawyer. >> really? he is coming. i am trying sarah and mark right here. what brings you to be see this evening. >> your meeting at. we are kicking off. >> what? >> an article. >> art collecting. >> you should talk to our host. he is huge in charge. salinger is in jail. that was his idea home. is in job. small world. that's right. i sought to narrow last week testify against the woman who managed. she was still in some of the

art. i read that. yes. [inaudible] >> yes. this kicks off the book party. i'm in new york wednesday and then it goes from there. let me tell you, this party. change so much. my first book since 1995. the publisher would do everything, said of the book party, said that the media interviews, fly you all of the country. basically now it's a partnership. it's a partnership. they publish the book. there is so much to do.

it has changed so much. this is the first book ever written in 16 years. i can only write until i have something to say. i can turn out books every year. nutshell left behind in 2004. i wanted to reawaken my own virtue. that is what started with. you know, you can talk writing a book. that is the easiest thing. actually getting it done is just a huge step. it really is. >> i would like to thank all of you for coming to our house tonight. dr. ben carson and his wife and my husband, marty, and night are happy to have your and our home tonight for our friend armstrong williams' book signing. we met couple of years yo -- we met a

couple of years ago. the secretary of housing at the time. we became instant friends and still our great friends today. i feel that it is philosophical, his biography. i have my -- some issues with some of his comments. [laughter] i've won't elaborate on any of those. the important thing would make me realize that he had something very important to say, and that is we have really great country. and we really were great and we really are great. our compass broke somewhere along the line, and it needs to get fixed. it needs to get fixed both politically.

it needs to get fixed with friends and most importantly with family. i was telling are signed today that it makes me very sad to realize how many kids today are in families that the mothers are working because they have to work. and i grew up the only mother is the work with those of a professional doctors and lawyers and nurses. no one else works. the kids today, the mothers have to work to put food on the table. the other thing is those that are well-educated because the mothers said get a degree and work wanted to work and didn't want to stay at home. these kids are struggling for their identity. it is off hold generation that is being lost. i think our show and book touches on that. you may not agree with everything, but you will agree

that we are great country and have lost our compass in need to get back. families need to get back to being families. armstrong. would you like to say something? [applause] [applause] mike co-host doctor been carson. forgive me. you interest. >> i'm sorry. first of all, thank everybody for coming out for this occasion armstrong has been working on this book for a while, and it has been very exciting project. as you probably know, this is not his first endeavored in double crown. beyond blame and letters to young victims, excellent publications.

on shore and i have an average into the talks several times. for kelly would of driving into work discussing the issues of the day, what's going on. most of the time he is right, and other times it disagrees of me. but, you know, a book about virtues is so timely in that time in which is live right now because people have the tendency to do things and to manipulate situations for their own gain, for political gain, as opposed to doing things that are right. it seems to be a part of being an american that has been lost. you know, in 1831 when alexis took them -- alexis came to america to look at what was going on here because the

europeans were just flabbergasted at how this nation which is barely 50 years old was already competing with all the powers of europe. they said, that is impossible. so we have to go find out what's going on. in the process of looking in our government, they also said, let's let the school. they were absolutely blown away when they saw law was going on in the schools in this country. because first of all commendably finishing the second grade was completely obliterate. you could go out in the mountains and find somebody, and they could read in new all kinds of amazing things. anybody finishing the fifth or sixth grade was like a college graduate today. if you want to be amazed go look in the fifth or sixth grade exit exam from the 1800's. hideout most pulp -- college graduates to they could pass it. not only was there a high economic standard, but in the

schools they taught the children values. you know, one of our founding fathers said, if you educate a person without teaching of values you are creating a menace to society. and think we have seen many examples of that in our society today. i think this book that archer has written really addresses that issue on many, many levels. extraordinarily important for the time in which we live, and i am extremely proud of this man. >> thank you. [applause] [applause] >> an awkward place, but i'll make the most of it. i'm not accustomed to being high and looking low. it i'll do my best. you know, i want to thank grace

and marty for opening up their home in their hearts to host this party. i want to thank to the car since for making time be a part of this. you know, in washington is a lot about being seen, but the business is different. their son has been our producer for the radio show for the last three years. he hit an invoice. that's their son. there is a real relationship here. the car since calamari andros and all of them at some point stayed with me over the last few years.

we bill the real relationship. difficult to build real relationships and get to know people. how we make it work. every morning at 6:30 a.m. we're on the phone. 6:30 a.m. every morning. that is easy for me because every morning at 4:30 a.m. i am on the phone with my mother and my brothers and sisters. that has been going on for a least 15 years. no matter whether i am of the country are not i talked to my mother every day seven days a week between 4:30 a.m. and 4:45 a.m. why? because i get to know who they are. sometimes you don't even know your relatives. so disconnected from them. no, my god. i did know that. i never have that issue because i am in constant contact. that was part of my upbringing and, to communicate. it's nothing to me to call you at 5:00 a.m. but isn't enough for so long. that is celebrate.

he has his gifted hands. i want to talk to him. i respect the virtue of time. but i want to get back to the book. i have some very good people. surely. she has been with me for 15 of 16 years, one of my managers on the book. really. just a blessing. he was one of the -- i have been writing this book for almost two years. where is mary? of, yes, you are. he doesn't want you to see that. that's okay. very helpful with the book. go. very helpful with the is in process. now, a murray west is not here. these are the people. i don't go out and get professional writers to my get the best writers, the best editors, and these other people who work with me for the last three years on this book to make the book possible.

[inaudible] >> i am always irresponsible. >> i want to meet the team of people who make this work possible, and you will see them all. i want to thank them. thanks. [applause] [applause] of would not want to introduce you to my good friend. and now he is not trying to come up, so i will leave that alone. i leave that alone. thank you. kobes year. and because you this. everybody remembers the edge of left behind from 2004. there is the door. msf said something. but anyhow, 2004 was the top left behind. it was a very tumultuous, not just a tumultuous year of my life.

no, my god. yes. you have to follow the spirit of the dog. anyhow, come easily i had my moments. i was trying to figure out because i lost my way of life, 80 percent among business, bol was interesting is i never lost friends. never did. my friends really dug-in in hung in there with me. you say you find that he your friends are. that never happened with me. we have known each other for 30 years. in a realistic together, get our license together. my pastor is frank tucker. i can always touch & device. my relationships never changed. in your relationships never changes says a lot about you and what you really invested in.

her i saw myself out / notes, behind. the good thing, no matter how much got gives you, no matter how much you restore yourself into a better place, you still have to pay the price for your shortcomings and for falling short. that never goes away. that is a price of will always have to pay. the message in life, just because you're forgetting he never stopped paying for your sins and shortcomings. don't ever forget that. that will always be a mark on my history, but that's okay because life goes on here you you just have to keep living, give up in the morning, hold your head up high. you can worry about what people say because you have to keep going. you just have to keep dealing. once in the black at a time. keep building the. i've realized in "reawakening

virtues," used to be so busy writing about everyone else's searches and problems. so easy to read about somebody else. i woke up one morning and something we awakened me. i can't even touch you leafless. is that mean everything is going to be all right. when i realized i had to do was reawaken my own virtues. my first year of integrity. my virtues of capitalism. virtue starts to attend. if you embark nine years of the hardest circuity 24 hours a day is yourself. that is the hardest work in the world, working on yourself trying to be good deal is being good is not easy. it is a difficult process, and that is why it is much easier for you to point out problems of somebody else. you don't have to work and yourself. what i learned of the last several years, the more i work on myself the better the world around her becomes. its starts with you.

i didn't want to write a political book. and did not want to write a book bashing democrats. i was tired of that. i wanted to write a book about virtue. virtues are not a black-and-white, not liberal or republican. virtues are universal truth. and so we found his publisher, new chapter publishing out of sarasota, florida. chris ackerman, who is very liberal. i saw the amount. i must tell you, never realize just how bias and how walked down i was in my political ideology. i can't even tell you what the truth was unless it or republican, conservative. the technique used to fire eight months to work out my own issues and being fair. this is what happens. we did so by down in either being a democrat or republican every bite into it some months we have no idea what it takes to get to the truth. took me almost a year to get the things i thought i could never

see. they made me see the light. i began to see things in terms of truth and honesty. i began to see the issues with the republican party that i would and power. the conclusion i have come to, there all the same. at the end of the day in our for the country to get back to where it needs to be we have got to get back to the first year of saving and capitalism. if you want to know what is wrong with the country, why we have this debt crisis is because, looking your own home. you will spend what it all have. go home, the country, a corporation. the mother and the father. you have children. those children, while their assets, that of bring revenue into the household. they all go to debt. carper did you have. major dent. would you have to do is sit down with your spouse and set a budget because no end, be

generated. guess what, there will be with you for almost 18 years. you have to calculate that. imagine you have the debt containing and you keep spending more than you have but you make 150,000 together, you're spending 230,000 then you say that i just have over leverets. and need to increase my debt ceiling. can i get an additional five and a thousand dollars. average into paid off. imagine that accumulates over 1015 years. imagine. what is going to happen? dahlia bankrupt. he can't pay. it's trying to affect everything, especially your kids. they don't want to sacrifice -- well, no, maybe i should sacrifice that. this is that simple. maybe i should go on vacation. maybe i should cut off farm. maybe i should see something different. we are not really this

sacrifice. it is easy for me to sit in criticize people, but it reflects a we are. and money managers and has replaced god. we have to get back to the virtue of the salad, which is our buck. we have to find time to be alone with god. we find the time to be alone with our money. we find time to be alone with our pilots. the have to find time to get back to be alone with our creator said that we can redefine who we are and get back to the essence of what once made america great. but doom there are 47 percent of the people in this country that

don't pay taxes. the other 52 percent are carrying and other%. i believe in virtue that everyone should pay the same periods in percent across the board. everybody should have skin in the game. that is not black or white. that is just the way it is. the problem is not everybody is pulling their weight in this country. there has to be shared sacrifice. everybody must suffer in this economy. everybody. no one of the left unscathed as we go through these tough times. you have to make a sacrifice. in thailand programs, the pentagon, the wasteful spending in congress. they're all the same, like a drunken sailors to keep kicking the bucket. we and your generation, our children, will be the ultimate loss to pay the price. we have to get ourselves out of debt. you cannot increase the deficit from 10 trillion to 15 trillion over two and a half years. you can't live that way. then the problem is foreign

countries on our debt. licking your own home. i believe this. if the government minutes to its household the way you man is yours i think america would be a better place. we have got to get back to the virtues of capitalism and saving. a great lesson that my mother taught me. in the bill comes and my mother would pay immediately. she would paid immediately. david ellis says it's because you make money here, you may make money this year but it builds up next year. put something aside. you never know when hard times a coming. all you have to do is go back to the virtues of the bible and the stars of people who have and became the have nots. they have to learn to save money. you never know when your some of it, when you have a crisis to their children. you have to have financial discipline. the other thing is, as we talk about the crisis, it is not the

end of the world. much of left behind. you know, for all practical purposes tenfold over. i can't tell you why. other people who believe like i do and don't have as much to show for it. everyone is different. not everyone wants the same thing. created equal, but we don't make the same price to the choices. there is a price you pay. add it back. the criticism of women, but children a better than they have a mother and father. if you think a father is a luxury today, you're kidding yourself. i could not be the man that was today if it were not for my father. for us to believe you don't need a father in the household is lindsay. we have been doing is to tell us what she has been getting in the virtues of the other had. i'd like to think it brought me.

then i lost that. unrealized hard work, discipline, sacrifice, respect and time. anybody in this remote tell you, if yavapai men with me i will be there at 11:45 a.m. because i respect sign. that is just evaporate. it is the one thing you casket back. you can never get time back, no matter how hard you try. you have to respect the virtue of time. i encourage you to read the book. not about me. it's about what works. from the beginning of time more absolute. i don't care what anybody tells you. always obsolete. on the bill either not, we all have some kind of struggle. someone may be starting with breast cancer. sterling with diseases, a terminal disease is pretty things about yourself that you never knew before. you learn how to fight to live. it may be a financial crisis, but everybody is facing a

crisis. the crisis is a blessing because you really learn who you are when you're in the fire, when you try by fire. the bottom line is it will test his character in a way that has never been tested before, and we will tell you and you will see whether i not the stimulus will rise and the ashes. i think about my friend and what he went through. he came back better than ever. there will always rise to the top. you have to look to the virtue in the value and realize where your strength comes from. senator dollar, not your marriage. comes from the deeds you do when no one else is looking and the moral choices you make every day that make your life better, which ultimately makes the lives that around you. thank you for coming. i want everyone to go out briefly in the heat because -- and thank you for the customs.

no way. they pay for the book themselves. they're all paid for. at a trade? [applause] [applause] yap. and i'm grateful. let me tell you, i'm grateful. of want to thank you for coming. you have of a real viking averts is in need. the matter how blessed york. no matter how far some york. you could spend 20 million lose in a flash. the lasting a want to say is a virtue of and relationships. you have to take care of your relationships. now when you hold sunday morning something, but you have to take care of your relationships. let's say i think that you have very good job with my relationships because they are very important to me, my relationships. i'd pick up the phone and called 7%. everyone to see to be here. it was really important that you

come because we want to not just reawaken the virtues in this room, but reawaken the virtues of this nation and get back to the track of financial solvency and get rid of crazy issues like grazing. you know what, we all going to die. when you're on your deathbed the last thing you're going to be thinking about is your empire. you will be trying to save your soul. one of the things the has stayed with me as a child, my parents are so obsessed. they really believed that there was a heaven. believe that there was a life beyond earth. they used to tell me no more sickness, sorrow, sadness, heard, nothing but joy. as a child's him that since they're is a place like that on this release is? even though my father passed away on his deathbed he was talking about the city got

haven't. you have to live right in do good. you have to cheat he will write. even when it is not your benefit and you lose. for me is a gambling man, and i take risks. as a gambling man what do i have to lose if i bet on this place, then he magnified that tiara i to my eyes and be in a place of no more problems. i can't lose on that debt. i also bet is no matter what i do in the back of mind every day i have to work. average thanks on to something. even if i'm wrong and loose. i have to work on that city. >> everybody talks about it, especially quiet. but that was assistant. to get to that city there is a certain will buy you have to it live. there's a certain way you have to connect yourself. if we get back to having go in,

if you really believe that you carry free of all these things and live the rest of your life in peace i don't know much about you, what i wanted. as things you. [speaking in native tongue] [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> that's right. cool that today. >> the index. >> use of its right to name. >> i am. >> you are in this book. ino about the place of heaven, don't you? is true. >> you've got that right.

you're doing much better. >> hey. i was wondering where you were. c'mon. we have to move this line. >> 210 landis. appreciate your remarks. >> and simply bring me a paper towel. >> i have to say goodbye. >> i need to sign your book. i'm not pointing to you when you said. never stop. all right. [laughter] >> retorted. >> i hope so. >> this was a book party for armstrong williams hosted by more the end great spender in their washington d.c. home. for more informational visit his website at right side wired out.

>> the deep water horizon exploded on april 20th 201050 miles off the coast of louisiana i was in houston with a group of black to this. actually not activists. it is the wrong word. people live in or impact to communities around the world. nigeria, kazakhstan, alaska, california, texas, mississippi. there would all come together. he says chevron annual shareholder meeting and explain what it means to live in a chevron impacted community, a place where chevron operates. while we were there it had been a couple of weeks during the course of our time there after the explosion happened, after the loss of life of 11 and. after the oil started flowing. when we realized that this not only was an enormous loss of life and enormous disaster, but of elite crushing reality to

people like myself who have spent a significant amount of time studying the oil industry a significant amounts of time being in place where oriel operations in place. something done dollar bus. the oil industry had absolutely no idea whatsoever what to do about a deep were blocked. nunn and all. they said they did and had planned to know what to do. the reality was that what they knew how to do is somewhat deal with the blot of 400 feet. most of the time since the 1970's most deep water drilling means drilling of 400 feet below the ocean's surface. now read means drilling at 5,000 people of the ocean surface. the ocean floor is here, 5,000 people of.

another 13,500 people of that. actually, we didn't need many more seriously further out. another well that is as far down as mount everest is up. what we found out is that even though they guarantee that they knew what they were doing they were trying to apply technology developed in the 1970's for 400-foot welter of 2000 from well and did not know what they're redoing and they were not able to stop the geezer. and only that, but they guaranteed as that for there to be a blowout, and everyone knows that the candy because that is what you plan for the, the gulf of mexico is one of the most difficult places to drill in the world. it is very gaseous. a lot of gas. polls up and kicks making drilling difficult, and everyone knows this. every plan written for drilling

in the gulf says that we can handle kicks, blancs. well, they have been increasing, happening more and more frequently. people knew on the rate that he was having a difficult time. in fact, this was the second raid to try angeles well be read the previous rate, the mariannas had been kicked so hard it was to trade off of the well and had to go home. the deep water rise and was a replacement. the deep water horizon was $100 million over budget, many days of scheduled. and people knew that they were in trouble. they knew that there could be a blowout. the industry had promised that it could handle an oil spill or the worst happen as 300,000 barrels of oil per day. what we found out is that likely at its worst this bill was 80,000 barrels a day and yet they have no capacity whatsoever

to deal with that. they did not have ships ready to contain the oil. they did not have on order vehicles ready to address the blow out. it did not have to to protect the shore costumers to skin and up. they had not prepared. not only that, even though after the 1989 valdez disaster, they have been committed to responsible for and legally obligated to invest in research arm what to do if they have an oil spill and prepare for it. they hadn't. none of them. we were using the execs and technology that utterly failed to clean up after valdez for only 14 percent of the oil being cleaned up today in response to this. now, to put this and to scale, what happened because they did not know what to do and spent three months walking around -- that is not fair. there were trying hard. there were trying very, very hard. scientists, engineers hard work.

they could not solve the pressure for three long months. and what happened in the course of the three long months, and that is just the time minutes the cash was flowing, right? they finally did figure on how to put a cap on it, thank goodness, what they actually did not -- no one felt secure that it was closed until five months later when something else happened. that was the drilling of the relief well. with the auto industry does not have to do well is joke. what that means, basically what they know how to do is drilled. if we have another blot there is no reason to assume that a cap will be all to be applied because the old thing we are sure that works is the relief well. there is some of about we should anticipate five more months with the oil. what we know, and this is new. only 148 of these operations in the world. basically going on for about 20 years the. this far because they're is a

lot out there. what we know about the deep water is that when you have an accident number is a long way to go to get too big and there's a lot of oil. but the amount of whalen to context, we have all been hampered from being a lot to explain and really put into words the significance of this size of the spoon. that is because we can see the words that would make it that much more dramatic, which is the largest are as poland or of history. only one reason why we can see that, and that is because saddam hussein intentionally in the most blatant way possible used oil as a weapon in an inch and anyone. he intentionally open up oil pipes and tankers to attack american and british troops of the oil in kuwait. that is hands down the largest of the spill in the world history because he did it intentionally.

had that not happen to this would be hands down the largest or a spell in the world history. 200 san machine guns of oil or released. one thing we know for sure, and when this happened and we learned that it was going to be bigger than we thought in a teeeleven menu guide, the store was not contained within engines of contend with their families. it was coined to spread, and it was trying to spread of the people across the five states to live around this palm of the ninth largest body of water, and it was trying to affect the sea life and everything that lived in the ocean. the thing to know about the gulf coast is everything the lives in the ocean is part and parcel to everything the lives of land, part and parcel to all of the people and their livelihood san. the affect on the sea is the effect on the people and the livelihood and the communities of those people.

what i learned in going down was why this was a huge story. transparency was so difficult. getting information was so difficult. from the first time i went down private security guards, police officers, shares, keeping us off the beaches. you could not go look. you could not take pictures, record the event. one of the things that happened was controlling the story became very important to everyone involved. one tool that cpu licenses very powerful. if he saw the picture, so -- i hope you saw them in the beginning. greenpeace says tax -- greenpeace took such important photographs. the photographs that capture it, and they are used to route by look to try and make tangible or imagery the story of this event. catching this photographs begin more and more difficult. one reason why, the photographs

of the oral that really captured people's souls. but people organize aggressively in the response. they shut down exxon's stations from a protest to demand policy. they got out of the bush a administration, the senior administration, a critical piece of legislation, the auto pollution act. some of the in 1969 of the coast of santa barbara when an oil well blew people organized. galvanized, ready. they saw injury that captured their hearts and souls. years later they at earth day, the clean water act, clean air act, the environmental protection agency and 11 long years of organizing later began a moratorium on offshore drilling in some places. what happened here was that those photographs, particularly of the brown pelican soaked in oil, the state bird of louisiana captured people.

captured our hearts and minds. those pictures are to go away and what most people assumed was that the pictures were going away because of oilbirds are going away. that is not what happened. i was able to track. is the number of births increased the photographs are decreasing. the reason why was because we started seeing the -- turn to be turning jeffrey levitt and 40 miles -- 40 feet of boom. if it went on to beaches where there was a loyal. i was trying to go out on boats to take pictures and to talk to people to go on into the water. and when the person who was driving the boat down out of was a book author that would not take me because they set out a $40,000 fine and you'll be thrown in jail. i went on to beaches even though it meant risking being thrown into jail and directed to try to tell the story. we all did our best to do it. but the story became very

difficult to tell. i knew that was going to happen, and that is when i decided early on that this was born to require more than an article on more than a few days. it was going to require a full book of investigation, and it was going to require spending as much time as possible and as communities. i basically spend my time and my previous books for those of you that have read them, really policy books. my background is public policy. united states members of congress. now master's in public policy from georgetown. this is going to need to be a very different book, and it is one that is the human story of the human impact and the people who are impacted on all sides. i talk to people employed in the oil industry. of executives. a fisherman, environmentalist, policy makers. as been a good deal of time in washington d.c. talking to people here in down there.

and the story is told. justice say i was overwhelmed by the gracious as a people at the hardest point in their lives taking me in. >> you can watch this and other programs online at booktv.org. >> what are you reading this summer? book tv wants to know. >> high. i'm monica crowley, and i am reading two books. currently "the storm of war," which is the new history of the second world war written by a phenomenal british historian and andrew roberts. masterful lift. also writing a book called the fight of home lives written by bill bennett which is laying out the real threat, the essence of that of the united states say from islamic fundamentalism. >> visit book tv to see this and other summer reading lists.

>> you are watching book tv on c-span2, 48 hours of nonfiction authors and books every weekend. >> tom allen is president of the american association of publishers, a former congressman, democrat from maine. congressman alan, describe, if you would, the state of the book industry as you see it today. >> six single-b-1 word. it is a time of enormous transformation. primarily because of new technology in the movement of contents from being in town paper to digital. people liable to take in and read your serial in a lot of different ways of a lot of different devices wherever they may be. it is a very exciting time because the industry is changing. lots of virginities, and some significant risk. >> are people beating last? >> i don't think so.

i think in some ways proliferation of e-readers is leading them to read more presentable can be imposed by airs 24 / seven or at least those hours are there are 08. alysian a very dramatic rise in the number of the books and revenues from the books. i think that the reading is picking up. we had the example of some young adult books. harry potter series, tied series , a whole generation, your honor generation has done interbreeding long box. that is a healthy development. this. >> tom allen, the advent of the books, has it hurt the publisher? >> no. the publishers and mitchell about how people take the material. what uc fist there is some decline because of the recession, less so because of that e-book. some decline in hardback.

you do see a significant by in e-book. revenue in the number of books sold. i think as long as they can get the business model right there are going to be. i would say also that they would say as long as piracy does not come -- become the kind of problem it was to the music industry. >> a former congressman, what kind of involvement to you still have with the hill, particularly now as president of the american association of publishers'? >> i am involved in making the case occasionally, members of congress or the executive branch about what the needs of the industry are. to give you one example : dissolve piracy is a significant problem for the industry in could be worse in the future than it is today. we really need legislation from congress that would, of the u.s.

attorney general to go after some of these row websites. what i mean by that i websites that basically make a living by uploading copyrighted material and allowing others to take it down for free. and give you another issue. we are very worried about one part of the consumer product safety commission improvement act which affects children's books. air china to make sure there is a reasonable testing program for children's books that won't disrupt the market and still make sure that our kids are safe, which they are. frankly books are not a fred -- fed. >> what is the issue? >> well, if you remember a few years ago there was a big scare a lot levinson of his choice. i have voted for the dell and a lot of others did. a dozen states of his choice. is this children's products. that is the buy. a breeze and clothing.

a whole host of other products that don't contain lead. children's books is one example of a product that poses no risk to children. you can't say it never contains the tiniest amount of lead. you have to figure out how to work with that legislation in a practical way. >> what is your view on the on settlement of the googol but settlement. >> is not much i can say about that except that the judge asked us to consider another way of resolving the matter. there are ongoing conversations, and that's about all i can say. that's not it. >> how long do you see the publishing industry being in the transition it has been in for the last several years to back. >> awhile. because books as you and i know that, whether there are educational or the kind of butchery by in the bookstore, they are not going away. printed books for as long as we

are around. on the other hand, the transformation movement to dissolve is providing customers with ways to read novels were steady educational material in all those different ways. that is going to continue. one of them, one of the most interesting and fundamental differences is that seniors are now the way our students learn first and higher ed indian in k-12 will be a dramatically different, it's more of it will be with a computer on an interactive program suggestions can learn at their own pace come and get feedback from the program itself with the instructor getting all sorts of help from the publishers, materials, all of them. nafta might think, is going to transform and improve american education. that kind of transition is going to go on for quite a while. in the consumer sector are

people are reading fiction and nonfiction, readers are continuing to get better. their i think you will see at some point different content, more of a multimedia experience coming in what was traditionally thought of as a book. >> former congressman tom allen. this is book tv on c-span2. good to be with you. >> visit booktv.org to watch any of the programs easy online. ted the of the researchers are and click search. you can also share anything you see on booktv.org easily by clicking share of the upper left-hand side of the page and slept in the format. streaming live for 48 hours every weekend with top non-fiction book and authors. but tv. >> now