>> that's this week's nonfiction

bestsellers according to barnes & noble. >> booktv asked what are you reading this summer? >> well, i'm looking ahead because we have the iowa first in the nation caucus, and iowa has made a recommendation to new hampshire, south carolina and along of the rest of the country. so i've been involved in that process for a number of these cycles and as the president did this come to i want to make sure i have the considered judgment of a couple of scholars that are written on the topic. so one of them is "grassroots rules" written by christopher hull who happens to be my chief of staff. i want to poke through that carefully and analyze the studies he has done and probably challenge a moment about any other conclusion to a strong and see a that fits with what i know and my expense in working with the iowa presidential caucuses. and also "caucus chaos," a new book written by dave price. dave is a journalist and a reporter for the television

station in des moines and he's really paid a lot of focused to this and he's interviewed a lot of the players involved in the iowa caucus. it's real new. i want to read both of those and then this is the first year we've been able to celebrate the placement of dr. norman borlaug's statute in stature help in the united states capitol building. dr. bert vargas -- dr. borlaug was born 100 years ago on march 25 and it happens that there is a book that's been sitting on m my table called "or daily bread" the rights of the story about dr. norman borlaug. what he did in his life was he saw poverty during the great depression in the 30. he decided he wanted to do something about that. and so he went to work, was i to sit down to mexico and started working with different wheat strains. strains. on those wheat strains a select committee selected it for the vigor of the disease-resistant, the rough resistance and blight

resistant. and through his work mexico could raise enough food to feed themselves in a matter of 13 years he reversed that to where mexico had a surplus. then there's also another book that is really written by ambassador ken quinn that he put together on the alliance of dr. norman borlaug. it is an illustrated story about the life of norman borlaug, who is credited with saving the lives of a billion people with his research on food. and after his success in mexico, he went to asia, places like pakistan and india, and then on into different countries in africa and begin to continue to develop and improve the production of wheat, rice and other products. in a matter of 30 years within his lifetime the work of norman borlaug more than doubled the grain production of the world. and because of that, the people

forced saved from starvation, a billion people, the statue or and statuary hall which we place 100 years to the day from his birth and happened to place it within 10 feet where the author of the book on norma's bore log, ambassador ken quinn was standing with congressman latham when w we presented the congressional gold medal to dr. borlaug. i was standing about 10 feet from ambassador quinn and congressman latham talking to dr. borlaug. as of talking to them i got the idea that we should place its statue did i do know what dr. borlaug fought at the time but as i stepped away from that meeting, i would work to see what does it take to approve a statue, get one built in place in the united states capital. as i walked away from that circle of inspiration from this great, great man, this great iowa, i learned a few years later on the morning that replaced the statue that congressman latham, ambassador quinn were having a discussion

about placing the statue of dr. borlaug there. to whether it was profit, whether was happenstance, whether it was serendipity, we all got the same signal at the same place and we'll stand within 10 feet over his statue stands today. so want to get up to speed on two things this summer. dr. norman borlaug, december the second century of his birth, and also up to speed on the caucus, caucus rules and the "caucus chaos" and imagine will have a little caucus chaos going forward in the next two years in the iowa. >> what are you reading this summer? tell us what's on your summer reading list. tweet us at booktv, posted or facebook page or send us an e-mail, booktv at c-span.org. >> robert weil is a publishing director of liveright. first of all, what is liveright? >> liveright is a newly launched division of ww norton. it was begun in 1917.

was the home of the first books of hemingway, faulkner, american tragedy, it was bought in 1973. we relaunched it in 2012 and we are in our third season with already many bestsellers. >> what's the point of having a lot of imprint under one publishers because it gives a diversity of books. we have differences from norton, many similarly. we like more translation. we like sometimes a cheesier books. we go to high quality books but it's a way of branching out the norton into in many ways we are a like but we express our editors differently. >> let's start with a couple of books you have coming up this fall. let's start with xhosa prizewinner edward o. wilson. >> yes. he has won the pulitzer prize twice for books. he has written a book called the meaning of human existence with

15 essays really examining how we came to be and the challenges of human existence in the future. he says we have passed the line on which natural selection of babies has ended and that we're designing our own children. he examines the genetic implications or this for our future. in another piece he examines what it would be like if there really were an et, an and extraterrestrial. he talks about the ending of biodiversity, that challenges to the environment. so it's a work of very thoreau would like meditation all scientific-based assays. >> terrence holt is another awfully of coming out of this fall. >> terrence holt is a position in north carolina. this is his second work. his first book was a collection of fiction short stories. this is nonfiction. it is 11 short stories about

being a doctor, the challenges of a resident, a doctor. he's a great doctor/right. one of the best i've ever seen. he gave up writing in order to practice medicine. he shows you what it's like in the emergency room, in an intensive care ward, and the challenges that the doctor faces, all with extraordinary language. >> "our declaration," what is that the book? >> "our declaration" is actually coming out in july. danielle allen is the leading philosopher and scholar at the institute for advanced study at princeton. she feels that we don't know what the declaration of independence is about. we've never studied it. she's done courses on it for adult students, also

undergraduates. she says that the declaration as much about equality as it is about personal liberty. she has also discovered errors in the version of the declaration we use, and some of this will be revealed in the next month. she's an extraordinary figure, and you'll hear a lot about this book, which she makes us love our primary documents. one of the most important in world history, not only in american history. >> bob weil, how long have you been working with danielle allen on this book? >> i've been working with danielle allen two to three years on this book. i've known her a bit longer. it is a major work. the serious historians and critics are paying attention to it. the news material in it will surprise people and make scholars debate how we interpret what it means and why and why

does the declaration of independence means something to everyone? and she shows that it really is and why it works so successfully. >> what's your background in publishing? >> i've been in publishing about 35 years. my original background is just i've worked with a lot of historians. i've done a lot of serious nonfiction and literary fictions. you know, many of the books i've done but i've worked with scientists, philosophers, historians. we tried to do books of consequence that matter that will last. >> and finally, can't leave liveright without talking about a book that's coming out by frances larson. doesn't look like a coffee table book. >> no. frances larson has any history of severed heads. how they been severed and also who has collected them, what they admit throughout history.