as a pushback against the medicalization of child birth and of infant feeding. they were responding against doctors who were telling them that they had to formula-feed their babies, had to formula-feed a particular amount in every feeding, that they had to feed on a four-hour schedule. so it was very regimented. child birth, pregnancy, and baby feeding were all extremely regimented and regimented -- things that were recommendingmented by male doctors, and so it was absolutely a pushback against that medicalization of the female body and things that ought properly to be the purview and responsibility of women and mothers in particular. right? so, there is that history to it, and a lot of people are that

history has not disappeared. that why people are committed to greecing. the point i'm trying to make in my book is that we have swung in the other direct on the pendulum. and so there were those perfectly reasonable commitments and instinks that were -- instincts that were pro women and pro nature and antimedicallization, and now breast-feeding advocates are elying on doctors to push their agenda. so it's swung too far in the other direction, and i think you're making the same point she was making when you say the problemes capitalism, the patriarchy, and that's what mala is saying, you're saying it's all the fault of breast-feeding and in fact it's because we have discrimination in the workplace and it's because women's voices

aren't heard, et cetera. so, absolutely, there are bigger problems in the world. unfortunately, would that this was our worst problem. >> maybe i can conclude with that. >> that was good. [inaudible conversations] >> here's a look at some of the current best-selling nonfiction

books according to the "new york times." starting the list, the win over last year's national book award and finalist for the national books critic circle award looks at the current state of black america in "between the world and me." fox news host brian killmeade is next. who look with don yeager provides a history of the barbry wars in "thomas jefferson and the tripoli pilots." and a look at out the attempted assassination of ronald reagan shamed his presidency in, "killing reagan. "fourth is an examination of end of life care in being mortal. followed by two-time pulitzer prize-winning author, david muck could la's look at flight. and donald trump is next with his book, "crippled america" which outlines his prance to fix the crippled economy, reform the

healthcare system and strengthen the military. "the new york times" list of book downs with helen mcdonnell donald's "h is for hawk". author stacy shifts examination of the 1692 salem witch trials and historian mary beard's exploration of the founding of ancient rome finish off the look at the current nonfiction best-sellers according to "the new york times." many of these authors have or will be appearing on booktv. you can watch them on our web site, booktv.org. >> you're watching booktv on c-span2. this weekend we are visiting hartford, connecticut to talk with local authors and tour the city's rid larry -- literary sites with the help of comcast weapon learn about the hutchinson family and an antislavery singing group with

the author of "singing for freedom." ♪ ♪ >> they're 1844 song "get off the track" a campaign for the liberty party, the first antislavery party in the united states history. one of most popular songs by the hutchinson family singers and beings the anthem of the antislavery moment in the 1840s and 1850s. ♪ ♪ >> the book is on the hutchinson family singers, this group of

antislavery singers who were born in new hampshire in the late 10s in and early 1820s. they are a family group, thus the name, hutchinson family singer. a group of three brothers and one sister. they are antislavery singers who are one of the most popular musical acts of the 1840s and 1850s, and i wrote it because the uniqueness of the hutchinsons and of their story, but also the one really big question, which is how does a group that sings for a social reform, a social activist -- how does this group become so popular. initially there's the three brothers, juddson, jesse, and is a -- assa hutchinson are somewhat captivated by the idea of music. they come from a large farming family in milford, new

hampshire, on the southern border of new hampshire, the southern border right with massachusetts. and large farming family, maybe male children, it's a family of 11 boys and two girls. one of the things that happens in family is they're the two oldest brothers are going to split what is the family farm, or in line to split the family farm. this next series of brothers actually move with their families out to what is considered the west at that thyme, into ohio and illinois. and then you have the youngest series of brothers who are going to form three-quarters of the hutchinson family singers. they move to actually lynn, massachusetts, these somewhat early industrialized areas, in lynn, the hutchinsons connect their background in music that was developed through the baptist church. they come from a family that was very active in the baptist

community in new hampshire, and it taught them -- the church taught them how to sing, how to read music. music is a little bit problematic, particularly in rural new england at the time. it's dangerous. people who are musicians are seen as immoral, perhaps in some way, and so of course the church provides a moral space for people to be able to sing because they're singing the word of god, and the hutchinson family as a whole is very active in the musical community in new hampshire, through the baptist church. one of their brothers is the choreal director of the church and provides music lessons for the community the hutchinsons rye to run with that in lynn, and get this idea that maybe we could become a performing troup. so in 1841 they decide to try

their luck as three brothers, and they tour new england and upstate new york, and it's a complete flop. they grew up, they claimed, in the mountains of the old granite state, the white mountains, even though he hutchinson's milford, new hampshire, the highest point is only a couple of hundred feet and they don't actually visit the white mountain's new hampshire until 1843. nonetheless they present themselves as coming from the mountains of the old granite state, and they try and experiment, which is they bring their youngest sister, abbie, on the stage with them. and these two things connecting to the geographic location of new england, generally, and the white mountains in particular, the soil, along with bringing abbie on stage, creates a

family-based presentation that instantly resonates with audiences, and so this quartet creates the foundation in 1842 the hutchinson's play at dartmouth college, and this is one of the early concerts with abby hutchinson, and the first night they go out, play to the audience, it's all men. they applaud, it's all great. next night, they come out, and it's a mixed gender audience with children. men, their wives, and children have come. the first night the men are literally checking them out. right? is this going to be acceptable for my wife and my children to experience? and so this is the kind of gender dynamic that the hutchinsons are kind of playing around with in their stage presentation at this particular moment in time. but in 1842, there is an

important event in the fall that starts to push the hutchinsons in new directions in october of 1842, a fugitive slave, george lattimer, and his wife, rebecca, arrive in boston. seven days later they're recognized by a friend of their virginia master who then contacted the master. the master contacts the united states marshal in boston, and they are immediately thrown into jail as fugitive slaves and there's going to be a trial over whether or not the lattimers are fugitive sleeves and whether or not they should be re-enslaved under the fugitive slave cause. the hub hutchinsons are involved by virtue of living in lynn, massachusetts, and they begin their kind of steps towards perhaps becoming antislavery singers. so, this idea of immediatisms

which the hulk hutchinsons pick up on from their own clip background is an idea in play, the idea of social betterment that connects to a youth movement. many of their fans were younger, the younger generation, generation that is increasingly mobile, socially mobile, and geographically mobile. they're moving to cities from rural areas, the united states at this moment in time is predominantly a rural nation. not until 1890s and then after we consider the united states an urban population. in the northeast, eye continue rat ministers would travel from town to town, stay for one or two weeks, create revival. people would literally come in camp out for a week, have variety of celebrations, have awakened -- personal spiritual awakenings, and in many ways the

reese vials are the earliest -- this revivals or -- these mast entertainment, thousands of people at the largest ones would show up. so, these kind of very personal live performance, whether they be of religion or be soon of music, are the -- one of the earliest sites of entertain independent the united states, and the hutchinsons branch the divide, if there is a divide, but branch these two areas, the religious realm and the musical realm. the hutchinsons will be -- bear witness to the greatest slavery send layings of their the sensation of the antislavery circuit of 1842, who is fred rick douglass. he becomes the most -- one of the most notable persons through his speeches at antislavery meetings in the northeast in 1842. so throughout this moment of

1842, the george lattimer incident, seeing frederick douglass and perhaps hearing -- of course hearing him speak, the hutchinsons decide to take that step and they will actually perform at the american antislavery society meeting in 1843, and perform in boston a little about that. their first forays into antislavery, and they do it brilliantly. so they were quite literally used tunes that other people are using, they often come from revival tents, songs that people were singing in a church setting. or in certain cases there will be tunes that are circulating in popular consciousness. this is an era of black-face minstrels who are creating a variety of popular tunes and can

the hutchinsons borrow the tunes and create their antiminstrel lyrics on top of it. one example of a minstrel tune will be "old dan tucker." it's -- they're 1844 song, "get off the track," a campaign song for the liberty party, the first anne slavery party in the united states history. one of the most popular songs of the singers becomes the anthem of the antislavery movement, in the 1840s and 1850s, ised" dan tucker" sped up. they used a faster tempo. but again, they're using a tune that everybody can recognize and putting their own lyrics on top of it. they refuse to sing to segregated audiences. concert spaces in the 1840s

and 1850s are -- and of course certainly throughout the 19th 19th century and the 20th 20th century, are almost always accepted hutchinson family singer shows and a few other examples -- almost all segue degree gaited. african-americans are given the seats in the way back. often a special section, but at the very least, whites and blacks are not to sit together in the same rows. certainly not interspersed. the hutchinsons try their best to promote a desegregate it audience. this gets them a lot of criticism. boston, this creates a famous mob incident in 1847 in philadelphia where a mob threatens to shut down musical fund hall where they're playing because they're playing to a desegregated audience, and the mob dictates to the theater owners that if they allow the hutchinsons to play to blacks and whites together, that they will literally burn down the hall. this is a somewhat common threat

that has been played out in pennsylvania and philadelphia in particular on several over indications, where halls -- buildings have been burned down for accept slavery activist, and abey hutchson sin is known as the jinny lin of america before jinny lin makes her visit. she is upheld also this ideal of american womanhood, and ludlow followed the group wherever they go. his clippings are still available in folders at the public library in milford, new hampshire, still. and the two -- ludlow and abby mary in 1849, and abby's forced to retire from the group. in the immediate aftermath, the brothers quite literally start resorting to fies city cuffs before shows. they get into fights and seem to have lost their grounding