head. he would talk about it. so, you know, i will read about it when i was writing it, lori, you know, worried that if i would share that information i think, you know, what i know of my brother i feel like, you know, that he would understand why i made the decision that made to share what i shared about him because i think that he would be the larger picture. he would understand communal, understand the connection and tried to make in the vote between history and the lives that will lead is present. think that he would believe in me and what i have done.

and i think that if he had a chance to read you would probably get a kick of the fact that i have written about him because i feel like amino, some of my cousins are in the book. some of my friends. they get a kick and the fact that they are on the page and i am writing about them. exciting that he was heard about. >> to are some of the writers that influenced you the most in the same kind of the immaculate? >> let's see. john edgar walden. i think he wrote a book -- hero a book. a very important for me when i read it.

two or three things. i love them one. brutal honesty. savannah was important, think, when i was writing. who else? but think that was important to me, specifically because his structure, it's not the usual, you know, accepted structure. added that it to see that done in in the memoir. it actually could pull it off. it was a lot of work. i was working on this one. and i love -- it's not a memoir, but i love james baldwin

creating nonfiction this is. i love them. and read his essay about his mom's death, which i can remember the title of. i don't know. of course. tsa. is that what is? i love that as a. the way that he -- you know, and i have read it over and over again. the way that he so elegantly talks about the personal and communal, and the larger issues about craze in america so beautifully done, it's amazing to me ever to marry it. and hoping that one day i can, you know, be on his level. he is fantastic. i was the game but his work a lot when i was turning this.

>> what i was reading your book right about the time of the martin trial, jurors zimmerman. and it struck me as sort of the back story for what had happened i don't know if you have anything you would like to say about that. >> when i read it -- because i could not follow the trial on television. i could not. another thing to have the patients for it. i was so driven, i just could not watch it. i felt like i can't take it anymore. reading books. i don't have to be surprised. i could not in the launching a trial on television. and so i was following the trial in some ways on twitter. when i found in the first tweet

that details, i was just stunned. of course it had me immediately thinking about my brother. and you know, thinking about my brother and about how, you know, how thinking about the messes that is conveyed. you know, we get the message. what happened with my brother. i feel like the message is the you are nothing and so when i was thinking about it, how are respond to this and that the only way that i can respond to it is first by knowledge in that message and putting it out there. this is the message. this is what is communicates.

but then also after saying, okay, this is the message i felt like, okay, now i have to. this is our ongoing. in one of going to say to you is, you know his life was worth everything. and just by me speaking in just by making that assertion, that says something. that allows me to own, you know, to assert, you know that i am worthy. his life was worth something. so that was my initial response

to the trade on martin case. i mean, i just want to say that. so that was my reply. of what did testate that fact. tickets important for another mess is to be out there, for people to hear another message. you should, you know, speak up and assert. sometimes that's all we can do, influence something. well, thank you. [applause] [inaudible conversations]

>> you're watching c-span2 with politics and public affairs weekdays featuring live coverage of the senate. on weeknights watched the public policy events and every week in the lead is nonfiction authors and books on book tv. tnc past programs and get our schedules that our website and join in the conversation and social media sites. >> here is a look at some of the best-selling nonfiction books. this list reflects sales as of october 31st. topping the list in his debut week is the latest book

this is about half an hour. >> i, everybody. thank you, harvey. thank you, gail. thank you for coming