the idea that the media is the enemy of the american people. we need to celebrate the first amendment together. we've been thinking about totalitarianism as a humanistic sense and cautionary tale. i mean about cyber threats to america. >> book tv wants to know what you're reading, send us your reading list via twitter, book tv or instagram at book -underscore tv, or posted to our facebook page, facebook.com/book tv. tv, on c-span2 television for serious readers. one of the books that the senator mention he's reading this children of monsters. here is jay northanger talking about his book.

>> this week on q&a, senior editor jane or lender discusses his book, children of monsters which looks at the lives of 20 dictators including stalin, mussolini, and saddam hussein. >> it jay, what were you doing in albania in 2002? >> i was on the state department speaking tour, there's a boast, it happened happened since. but it was interesting. in 2000 to about ten years after the collapse of communism in albania the country was in bad shape and still is,. >> this book i'm holding onto with hundreds of names on it, children of monsters came out of

that. >> albania has suffered under terrible dictatorship, one of the worst that man has ever known. the thing closest to a was the dictatorship of -- and north korea. albania was like the personal dungeon no one left the country, known came in, it was almost the perfect tierney, so i was being shown around, the capital by young men. it occurred to me task did he have children? i cannot imagine being a son or daughter of him, to stand albania #to go out? would you think, would you like? , magazine writer some eyes looking for my next meal which is the next magazine topic.

and i thought it should be his children and he did have three of them. the next thought i thought, you could do a survey of such sons and daughters and make a book of it called children of monsters. i filed that idea way and acted on it years later -- which one of these 20 that you profile them here if they were the most difficult human being? >> that is a close competition. the stones had a lot of trouble, that shouldn't surprise anyone. the children were a mess they

have a daughter who seems well-adjusted, believe it or not, he had her late in his life when is about 60, 61. the young woman got married last year. the book were disastrous. some of our children and dictators, john murray larae, who is he? >> he was a girl in world war i who said that hitler was the father of this child, this boy and she did not inform him of this until he was 30. he was tormented by. he became convinced that he was in fact a son of hitler. most say he had no children in this claim is not true.

what is important for my book is that he saw himself the son of hitler and what affected that have on him. answer, pretty bad. >> he is talking in french,. >> that's a big selling case of that case felipe looks a lot like hitler, one of the things i say is, any number of french women could have told their son that the german soldier, father was hitler. any number of french girls and women. why did this one son had to look so much like hitler. it's a little uncanny. he did have to go that kind of mustache, that's me embracing this believed identity. it's creepy,.

>> did he have any characteristics? >> i'm not sure. i think he was a fairly normal man until he came obsessed with the question. it's a question that i think would make anybody a little bit nuts. i tried to be somewhat sympathetic. say, one fine day you have never known your father, you knew he was a german soldier and all of your light your been called a bad phrase for a son of a german in france. you know adults and your mother says that father you never knew about, he was actually the late chancellor of germany, hitler. that is a card dealt to very few people, so i try to cut him and some of these other some slack, although it is very hard to cut him slack for his admiration of hitler. >> april 29, 1945, benito mussolini and his mistress. . .

>> >> the you say mussolini?. >> yes. this was a grand affair of the italian fascism with a fascist prince who became the selene father-in-law foreign minister but then there was a rift and voted to restorer powers to the king when it was clearly in

war he was imprisoned then snatched by the nazis they set him up on a rogue government in northern italy . he was caught in slated for execution but she pleads with her father who will not stay the execution and he is executed but eventually she forgives her late husband in late father in equal measure >> very strange psychological case. >> this is 1995 but they salute her. >> not yet out of style. >> there are remnants but

they are very enthusiastic for that leader of neofascism is none other than this of the nea grant daughter alessandra. this year she is saying european parliament. >> caddish you look?. >>. >> what is her story?. >> she has had a long political career ben in the house of deputies in european parliament she is sort of a big deal her

father was one of mussolini's son and romano performed with a love fitzgerald said dizzy gillespie and he married his first wife the sister of sophia loren. so alessandra is the granddaughter of mussolini and the beasts of sophia loren one of the great stars of the 20th century. so alessandra has quite a heritage and his grandfather -- faithful to her grandfather's legacy and interestingly enough rather supportive of israel to disavow the anti-jewish laws >> this is one of my favorite clips having to do

with dictators but some of the people what she will remember of the al flood and buckwheat and slinky and our love it here is mussolini?. >> key is a little rascal streaky is the son of mussolini he wanted to write and director and screenplay is as bad day big shot and he was for a while but world war two killed and. i thought the producer that he had come to me to if you listen closely you can hear them say some briefings. >>.

>> good to meet you i.m. alfalfa. >> of little rascals what is the point?. >> they formed a business agreement they would produce movies together grand operas this was just before the war babies 1938 but he took some heat for this alliance and he said i believe as a direct quote he is the only square politician that i know but the pressure was too much so vittorio could not consummate the deal.

>> and who was the meanest?. >> the sons and daughters or dictators themselves?. >> there is no way you can write pol pot or others you shooting gets into the ranking business like saddam hussein but i will give you an opinion about now. of those close to him. there is something chilling because he has been to avoid of feelings saddam hussein you could understand he had a volcanic temper and not regius human being who

engaged is in breach evil the you could see a person in him but now -- was a robot who use the influence of the chinese as experimental material. he was not happier sad or bad but detached. mao had about 10 kids it knew about four of them the others died in infancy or were given away during the civil war he did not care much about his children. >>. >>cspan: what happened to them?. >> those two daughters live on as ceremonial figures there is a grandson who is a

general in the derby that was promoted people blocked him he is chubby but does not look like he is military but mao has a granddaughter who is one of the richest women and all of china. >>cspan: we only have the mao daughter? this is from northwest china 2015. >> really? this is the only child that mao with a wife that we know as madame mao

he tended to discard his wives about telling the others. >> how long did this --. >>cspan: how long did this take?. >> there is also a code of silence with the legacies of those families it is very tight so i describe myself as a scavenger as a garbage man i was digging around pretty scrappy that i could because the sons and daughters so become dictators but they are footnotes and you really have to dig to find out about them. so you just pick up things

to remark on a dictator so that is gold to you. >>cspan: people today would note names?. >> senator aquino said they are lovable scamps the two sons of saddam hussein's in they were little monsters and example of boys that were a monstrous reflection of their father and in fact, a renegade in a book called sedans secret said they were 100 times worse of saddam himself but as i stated my book once you get to know

then you can forgive the hyperbole because they were awful i shouldn't say too much but he was a monstrous person who tortured and raped and murdered and terrorized his way through life. >>cspan: we have him off firing the ak-47 at a party in a restaurant. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> tel think we can see it but there are light strongly in the form of a happy birthday he shoots the lights out he just does it for fun he had constant chaos around him in a

country of 27,000,001 human being who could stop him and that was his father in sometimes he didn't. >>host: time --. >>cspan: how many times did he marry?. >> he was married twice some say three year four times with the original wife that he never divorced then another with the two sons and three daughters and two of the daughters married brothers that were cousins of saddam hussein's in those couples defected to jordan and they stayed there for half year but then were enticed back home and there was a lot of bloodshed after that. >>cspan: what happened?. >> the residents were promised safety and reconciliation.

immediately they had to divorce their wives and stripped of their military ranks and sent home to their fathers compound then there was a great gunfight and battle and they were killed within 48 hours. >>cspan: could you talk to anybody and iraq directly?. >> yes i could talk to knowledgeable people that brought the members which is the case. they're only so many around to talk to to say what they go or divulged their feelings nor experiences that is touchy to be the son or daughter of a dictator

but one of the daughters is a very public figure one of the defective wives agree loyalists to her father even though he killed her husband she is nicknamed whittle said bob a supporter of isis wanted by a interpol she goes to the finest boutiques with lots of plastic surgery and is in jewelery decide and is the keeper of the saddam hussein's claim kean of to love brainteaser in shelters her we're not sure. >>cspan: the history channel did a documentary on the brothers and a catered to a familiar end in the last 20 seconds. >> a ferocious four

hour-long firefight later that day after the troops stormed the central command for people were killed during an operation. and removed from the building and we have since confirmed both are among the dead. >> two days later this confirms their identity the death of hussein's two sons was cause for celebration. >>cspan: what would those two men do to others physically when they were alive?. >> made people in my book were torture and killing a few like to do it themselves

he like to get his hands dirty he would torture and kill a great many people. >> and never suffered he could do would be he wanted? >> it goes without saying he committed up -- he could high officials he was untouchable except saddam there was the assassination attempt he took some bullets a partially paralyzed him with this a bomb regime fell they found in his collection about 100 cadenced -- caves that functioned as firearms. >>cspan: how?. >> i went for a the worst of

the worst of the modern dictators. i didn't go into antiquity i could have done middle-age is sort caligula or ivan the terrible i pick the ones that i thought there was some sensitivity but a couple of really don't belong one that i feel guilty about for a ago doesn't belong in the book of stalling and mao and pol pot he was a dictator we would not want to live under

hands but sometimes we grade on occur if -- john a. curve. but i will give you my reasons he is famous, people know of him they wonder where he is said he had a daughter who will lead an interesting life and he was a dictator after all. i erred on the side of the including him. >>cspan: we have some of video this is from his daughter's wedding. how many children?. >> just though one. >> it was a very grand affair she married a surgeon

playboy dr. barnardo's did the first transplant in spain. >>cspan: what happened to carbon?. >> she lives on and her children and grandchildren have quite difficult lives she has lived with a great deal of grace employees she is the symbol of neofascism but she is a grand lady in one big discovered that father's prized their daughters especially the firstborn. and franco only had one child and it was said girl

and he absolutely adored her as the greatest failing in his life she thought this save about him and they lived pretty near each other in spent a lot of time together the most prized relationship in his life by far. >>cspan: one number booking is this?. >> my second real book i have a collection that i do not count as real. >>cspan: wanted to ask the question all along what is that like to read about monsters and their children and the horrible things the report compared to all the time he spent writing about music? and explain how much worry the new do about music >> cry of a political kurdistan to music critic i have the day job beded my job idle think i'll like to

do all of one but i was pretty happy fishing children of monsters. i was glad to do it and glad to wash my hands of it. i enjoyed doing it as the big issues of "war and peace" to meet those characters that our unsavory but to write this book you rub up against a lot of unpleasantness but my friend paul jensen a british historian he wrote a book called creators or intellectuals or comedians he was going to do one

called monsters but he called off because he did not want to spend so much time with the material but he did write a brief life of stall and i said was that leftover from your research? he said yes he wanted to use that material. >>cspan: he wrote about stalin and mussolini but that hitler so what is it about these dictators with that life that day live compared to who you rightabout with the symphony and opera is how does that come out of this a body?. >> i have a great will and thirst for power and imagine themselves doing good. they deluded themselves they were doing good for the great masses.

they almost always add a rationale so the composers and other artists really i think the best of them were born to do with they did they are compelled to do it but i afraid to say some of these dictators from boyhood feel themselves fit to rule like to listen over and over again he thought he would be a great imperial leader but people often talk about

hitler but his davis work of art -- favor a work of art was a composer. >>cspan: you write for the senior editor how long?. >> since the late nineties before that i was at "the weekly standard" it was a joy and later to work with william f. buckley, jr. >>cspan: did you write speeches for george w. bush? >> in the 2000 campaign i took a six week leave of absence of the last six weeks of the campaign off from national review and went to austin texas to assist in the speech writing team the day after the election it was not decided intel did december so that was my experience i remain a

great admirer of bush 43 and his father. i am from ann arbor michigan a small citadel of the left sometimes i described by self as the backlash to baby i really do have a fondness for ann arbor they feed you can tell when i write about it. >> what to mom and dad do?. >> my father was an educator primarily as a teacher and principal coach. my mother has long ben an artist and painter. >>cspan: if people want to read your writing about the composer's?. >> i am a music critic i used to do a national review as well which is the arts and letters journal founded

1982 by the late art critic kramer. >>cspan: but if you want to read what you write about composers you can get it through google and also for the new york sun?. >> i did. that was during the 2000's from the duration of its existence which was about eight years. >>cspan: this person is not a monster but this is svetlana who is speaking in english how she came to the united states. >> studying the social

sciences there are things that i can see from other socialist countries but it was not what we were taught. >>cspan: how did she relate to stall and? how many children did he have?. >> officially he had three. he did have others one with the first negative to with the second and two sons and the daughter he and svetlana had a wonderful relationship until she was about 16 and they adored each other she was the light of his life and she worshipped her father and her mother killed herself when she was six but

when she turned 16 she had problems of growing up and stolid got tired of her and dropped her and she never saw him after that. >>cspan: how did she get to the united states?. >> cutting to the chase she had a relationship with soviet number one with an indian man that was met in moscow she proceeded to ask permission to marry and was denied but as requested his ashes be spent on the ganges that spell on a needed permission and they said i would give you two weeks you cannot speak to the press so

off she went to india she loved being there and outside the soviet union so then she walked into the u.s. embassy and ask for political asylum in the american official said are you the daughter of the stolid? one of my great stories of svetlana i just learned about this because i wrote a magazine piece of colleagues said he was on the internet found a show from woody allen and bill buckley from 1967 somebody asked woody allen are you surprised hamilton went to the wedding? what was that

all about? reactor had dated johnson's daughter that she married chalk and apparently hamilton was invited and was there he just said all i want to know will he announce his impeachment to is that are not? paths that lead said that if the dealer at that wedding?. >>cspan: did you not escort her down the aisle?. >> i did. i was in the military. >> speaking of moments in history i did not know what that crack was about but that was that wedding and she was very much in the news she was a sensation but

did she grew discontent and then defected back to the soviet union in 1984 immediately regretted and wanted to leave almost as soon as she got there luckily gorbachev rose to power after 80 months what turn out she landed in chicago and then a very turbulent life more difficult than most as i argued my book i think a great mislaid it her if she told the truth to have a rebellion of conscience. >>cspan: she died in wisconsin. >> a nursing home. >>cspan: soldier far was one

of how many?. >> i think 60 was the last count. >> key was a dictator of uganda in the '70s a vicious man some people's idea of a dictator. he spent one year under the royal family protection and gadaffi and he kept having kids almost to the very end and the first born 1948 to the last one in the mid-90s that is the speed of his children believe it or not he seems to have been a pretty good dad they called

him big daddy he was jolly and fun-loving the kids are a mixed bag. >>cspan: to far is interviewed on television soap pay close attention to what he says about his father. >> he was a very motherly individual children who live with their mothers are incredibly sensitive. today of those negatives he was strict he was the quiet

type of a brooding presence despite the fact he had 58 children. >> he had enough love to go around. >> is an outrage some house orioles the thousands of people who he murdered but yet i called jafar a stand-up guy a he white washes his father's crimes but at the same time he believes in reconciliation efforts of uganda in is pretty honest despite what you have heard, he took on me in the e-mail interview i admire him and he is conflicted and i don't like

part of that's but i the aquinos the wrong his father committed that is why he leads those reconciliation efforts and he does have some clear on this confessional moods which i believe. >>cspan:. >> this is when the wall came down during that time period. >> this is the and. christmas day. [inaudible conversations] >>cspan: what is the story?.

>> ruling tyrolienne together for decades. he was a vicious dictator and a full partner in his wife they were brought down and executed christmas day. everyone has religion but i think it is a prayer that is how the two of them got -- go out. he takes over the '60s and last all that time almost as tight over of tedium almost a perfect police state in

totalitarian environment everyone was held in the thrall and though security agents controlled the entire country how long was he in charge? i remember we didn't know anything about that country before. >> yes. korea called it the hermit kingdom. >> until he died in the '80s >>cspan: here is what he looked like and sounded like >> [speaking in native tongue]

>>cspan: and many children?. >> two sons and a daughter. >>cspan: did you meet them?. >> no. they don't meet with people like me. they are real loyalist. the children. you never know some of these people they may harbor doubts that we know not also people say things that believe it and others. >> how did they keep the lid on obedient?. >> he had these concrete bunkers all over the country it is relatively small in

fact, one of his nicknames and in albania that was true >> avenue is elena fernandez ?. >> she defected in the 1990's with a false passport and a wig and then she got out and wrote a memoir of her life in cuba as castro's daughter is a searing book to tell the truth and she is is as hard on herself as the old man and now she is in miami. >> here she speaks english ohio university. >> you get to know what to

do to control with the fall of the soviet union because of the economy it wasn't possible to find electricity if you try to do something they were sent to jail. >>cspan: how many children and wives of castro?. >> tanner 15 children there is no official count we trust that he knows but maybe not he probably does. he buried early long before he came to power a beautiful girl high society, the

sister of castro good friend and law school classmate he had a couple of sons to become u.s. congressmen. there on to was briefly married to fidel castro but it isn't clear if he married again most people think he did but he himself denied that with oliver stone. >>cspan: the pope was recently in cuba what was your reaction?. >> i have met and interviewed of the former political prisoners they are the people of wiedmaier the

most i think those democratic forces should back them what the dictatorships most wanted that their names are not mentioned in what the democratic opponents want is a sign the world has not forgotten them i remember jeane kirkpatrick ambassador to the un would name the names of the prisoners of the gulag later in she would visit sakharov said to her the building was dark he said which a view is this name? your name is known in every cell because of what she had done for them at the un just to save their names

that is how he used his nobel although she was tough but he just pauses in the middle of the address to reel off 100 names. that is what they wanted. >>cspan: the next one?. >> the son of gadaffi that tried to go straight to try to be a western liberal or a performer he went that direction but in the end with the libyan civil war started he was loyal and went home and fought now he is in prison and wanted by the hague. >>cspan: here he is 2011. >> i am the fifth person i

said this many times. but no. >> now you have the uprising >> and i you have killings. >> that was held to sarah -- algeciras. >> he acted as his father's prime minister they fired on unarmed civilians and was charged with war crimes libyan forces captured him and those libyan authorities

failed to extradite. >>cspan: the other six children? three of them were killed in the libyan civil war to managed to escape one was sent back to niger he is in prison the other two were in exile. >>cspan: how many times was he married?. >> twice. one child with the first the daughter of a general and very, very briefly then hooked up with a nurse from when he was hospitalized and they had seven for their children. >>cspan: the next?. >> 866 with one wife as far

as i know. >> what happened to the sun that was killed?. >> he was to be the successor and a the golden boy and the heir to the next dictator and was killed in a car crash he was late for his flight to germany it was foggy and he was in his sports car he flipped and died bin next oldest brother was in london practicing eye surgery that was his goal to be the ophthalmologist very quiet and shy no interest in the dictatorship for politics our power fell when his brother was killed the old man called him home immediately to groom him for succession.

i think this was 2000. >>cspan: of president of syria presently. >> stop supporting the terrorist. >> this is just a few weeks ago. >> that would take longer than we have he has killed more than his father ever dreamed but his right-hand man these are freely businesses and dictatorships . he never wanted this but he took it up with a vengeance and all the killing necessary to keep the family business going what some

might say is if he falls his fellow members are smart it is kill or be killed. >> how long did this take?. >> i spent one year right to get. >>cspan: what you want to get out of it?. >> it is a collection of very interesting stories and fascinating lives but there are also points of charity and loyalty and the nature and nurture and politics and democracy some said they

felt so grateful democratic country was a rule of law negative gifford from two or three readers. >> of these 20 which would be like to interview the most?. >> probably the one who has said the least. i the guy with no owe darr answers but so that a forthcoming frankly you saw jafar may be a to get something from his brother. >>cspan: leer out of time there is a lot we did not get to discuss there is a

lot of details the book is called children of monsters. thank you very much lamp said j. brian lamb fat and. ♪ ♪

. >> tonight we want to show you books members of congress are reading every summer we ask the members what is on their summer reading west . >> i have a couple a books and never read one book at a time i am finishing a novel a terrific book written in the early '90s also rereading jfk profile since couragee