the question asked. when was that moment? he really believed in taft a lot that's why he was the hand picked successor. it wasn't big game hunting he had to do. he was collecting for the american museum collecting what is today roosevelt so much this explained who he was.

he was the naturalist one of the four or five. he saw himself as the bridge between the laboratory scientist his role was to sell it to the american people. it was called the citizen bird movement roosevelt was the promoter one of the reasons he felt comfortable picking taft. when taft breaks, taft was finished.

>> he prefered to be a supreme court justice. >> wife wanted him to be president. interestingly enough, at the taft inaugural in 1909, it was a blizzard. if was one of the worst weathers for an inaugral, roosevelt in his form says history will know it asj(y a roosevelt blizzard roosevelt turns it in to the media. he was -- it was hard for taft to

succeed. somebody ropes one and caught one. there was no fair chase. showing him not killing the bear. it became heir the tedy bear. >> dear mr. president, i'd like to make a bear called tedy bear. his response was i don't think there is much of a market he then made poss um stuffed toys

he new taft was a bit of history then the 1912 raise that's an assassination attempt you don't hear much about. he went to give a speech in milwaukee. a crazed an arkift took a shot at him.

he had always carried bird glasses with him. he had his case, metal-like case so he could see the coloration details. that's what the bullet hit. it wounded him but this is thinking if it hadn't gone through those bird watching glasses, he would have died. here he is bleeding, shot. much like when ronald reagan was shot, he becomes a follow being lore moment.

why do you think people are so fass knitted by eagles or eagle northwests? >> it's easy to find. can you watch it live. jo in resent years, i've heard people talking about nascar.

her bert k. job. this guy went and filmed birds up close being born. he saffed key west. he took these photographs down there. he would write the inter row to his book believing nothing like imagery with was going to make people feel the need to preserve nature. you can't just talk about a bird. on the internet then it was the photography 100 years ago was beginning as an art form. roosevelt championed all of these back then. why would american people want to pay this price.

just pick one. roosevelt saved the barrier items there. he boasted in his american ix. his langwadge always born. the american characternb even

character building, soldiers were the best at surviving for throw or four days. his writings were a good for the cal rarry attitude. he goes to live with the hopey i wrote an he is a about the rattle snake. right near fort sill called

wichita mountain. it's spars in the plains. they believe that had the 60 million that ran before disappeared and went down the top of it and left. he believed the north messed it up. philadelphia had sewage dumped in the rivers. it smelled and it wasn't healthy for you.

the south was stigma tiesed due to racism. in order to do it differently in the south and east, you had three people that have cities like boulder, you don't want a met rope list and told the cities, don't get too big. you could go on day trips and on the crunch. he didn't even look at laws.

i so declare a federal bird reservation. wants the federal government to protect for future generations. >> you like that? >> i think it is spot on. do you know what would have happened with yellowstone. they were going to cut through and build it up as a commercial center and allow all these people to build there was a

moment to save america. he had hiked to the top of the matter attorney. anybody who has ever interacted, you go to yellowstone you get a chance to see the black bear he wanted to wipe out predators and would collect cougars. knew all about them they would

do predator control you do presidential history so much. the first book published by a president as president was roosevelt. using charts of where they lived. 100 years ago, we were dying out. we used to have the carolina par keet.

flamingos gone. they thought that added to the charm of american life. he tooked with the jackson turner."s back to doug brinkley, when did you start writing the first chapter? i started writing my proloug and how we started saving. >> i have been collecting my files i had people take me to

watch sea turtles. at night with the great turtle expedition it will get like the birth of mankind. it was like biblical. i was trying to experience some of the wild life there wouldn't be manete in florida today if it wasn't for roosevelt.

gerald ford is a very small book. this book was the book i was going to live and die by. i was putting everything i had as for my childhood experience at national parks to my knowledge of theodore roosevelt. many women have written great books recently on t.r. kathleen dalton. there's great literature out there. i've been going to t.r. conferences really since the 1980s. my hobby was less t.r. than the

sites that he saved. when happened with the reagan diaries is i wasn't expecting it. about our rangers and d. day. peat wilson, the former governor of california. there was a stiplation. one with mrs. reagan that ended it up quickly. i had been working on rose velt. this is such an important thing to do.

you were living in new orleans? >> yes. i was professor at tulane. i named my study center. the theodore roosevelt study center. >> at rice university nourks i teach a class on theodore roosevelt and conservation. meaning, i have been informing myself lady bird johnson. up until the present time viewing in the warming. i wanted to see all that.

when did dot reagan diaries? >> what we have doing this year is bringing out the complete diary in a boxed set. i was working on this book for a long time. i picked one. when you go there. on my field-o notes you are the

expert. help me. in the main office, we have the clippings. at that time when i'm writing it, it becomes chronological. in 1988, he wrote this whole

book. i can't write about 80 of them >> before i forget it, your wife ann and your three kids. what are their names? >> so nice of you to ask. my oldest daughter is six named after the painter thomas heart benton.

second i had an unkell that was killed before i met him. i'm going to call him johnny. ke make that decision when he gets older. >> he's four? >> yes. my youngest is two, cass eddie is her name. it's from a character from on the road. it's an irish sounding which i like a lot. cassidyy, johnny, benny and my wife is formerly ann goldman of new orleans. we met there and got married. i have become a family man. it's changed my life.

more than changing your life, i love taking them out. all they want to do now is go to the wild basis. we have a place in austin. i take them all the time to the study center. if they see a fish, they say a pemp. i have trained them to get them to start knowing all of them. they each have faff rite animal that's they've hoaned in all. without scag operation, my daughter probably has 200 toy ducks.el we have a lot of those the

writing of all this, do you still write longhand? >> i'm mixed these days. it's really my first draft. it's like going to a civil war scholar and taking notes >> are you left handed? >> i am. obama is left handed, clinton is left handed. bush 41 is left handed. >> what does that mean? >> we're a tribe. >> last question, who named it willederness warrior.

john hilton cooper has a book the warrior and the prees. he liked to have fights about everything and believed it. he was very bold. he was a warrior fighting to save wild america. the title came naturally. the subtitle has the word crusade in it. it was. he was a crusader in this. to confront roosevelt on wanting to save the grand canyon or cave or the bird refuges in florida was an act of, you better be strong. t.r. nokeded everybody over. i don't know a president as old as roosevelt. nothing interfere yates me more when i read, bill clinton is

like theodore roosevelt. they are nothing like him. he whats a deep intellectual writer who had such moral conviction. he never lied. >> we are out of time. we haven't had time to talk about your bob dylan interview. we'll attempt to do that later. >> all right. thanks, brian.

>> join us next sunday for part two on our conversation with douglas brinkley. here on c-span. >> up next, prime minister gordon brown. congressman eric can'tor and homeland security. after that, a reporter's round table on the political news of the week.

tomorrow on washington journal, the chief congressional correspond ant previews this week's action. corey boles talks about the pass which offers consumers cash vouchers to buy more fuel ee fish yept cars. washington journal live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> how is c-span funded? >> i think you get a little bit from the federal government. >> grants and stuff like that. >> maybe from others? >> it might get some federal funding? >> 30 years ago. america's cable company created c-span as a private business.