roosevelt's primary prisoner exchange. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span. >> the academy awards are tonight, and coming up here on c-span, we are taking a look at some of the real-life stories of people featured in this year's nominated films. first, representative lewis talks about the civil rights movement. then, former navy seal, chris,, discovers -- discusses his autobiography. and later, a discussion with stephen hawking's, whose early adult life is depicted in the film, the theory -- "the theory of everything." the film "selma" occurs in alabama. the movie is up for best picture tonight at the academy awards.

one of the characters featured in the film is representative lewis. congressman lewis wrote about his experiences in a book titled "across that bridge: life lessons and a vision for change ," and talked about it at the 2012 national book festival. this is a half hour. [applause] >> think you so much. david, think of for those kind words of introduction. mr. librarian, thank you for your leadership, for your vision, thank you for never ever giving up or never giving them. thank you for keeping your feet. -- the faith. i am so delighted and pleased to be here this afternoon to see each and every one of you. you heard i grew up in a big city like washington, d.c.

or a baltimore or silver springs or alexander. or atlanta. i grew up on a farm in rural alabama about 50 miles from montgomery. outside of a little place called troy. my father was a sharecropper but in 1944 when i was only 4-years-old, my father saved $300, and with $300 he bought 110 acres of land and there was a lot of cotton and corn peanuts, cows and chickens. on the farm, it was my responsibility to care for the chickens and i fell in love with raising chickens like no one else could raise chickens. does anyone else anything about -- no anything about raising

chickens? can i see your hands? ok let's have a little fun this afternoon. [laughter] he would place them under his sitting hand and wait for three long weeks for the little chicks hatch. some of you may be saying, john lewis, what were they able to? from time to time it began and you had to have fresh eggs. you had to be able to tell the fresh eggs from the eggs that were already under? do you follow me? you don't follow me. [laughter] [applause] it's ok. it's all right. the chick would hatch i would take them and put them in a box with a lantern and raise them on their own or give them to another hen and do this for another three weeks.

when i look back on it, it was not the right thing to do. it wasn't the moral thing to do or the most loving thing to do or the most nonviolent thing to do to keep on cheating on these hens. some of you may be old enough to remember, especially in the midwest and the south, we used to get a catalog. are you old enough to remember the sears roebuck catalog? let me see her hands. very good. that thick book, that heavy book some called it the wish book but they kept wishing. i was never able to save $18.98 to order the most expensive incubator from the sears roebuck store so we kept cheating on the hens.

as a little child of about eight or nine years old, i wanted to be a minister. from time to time, we would get all of the chickens together in the chicken yard. like under a large tent. and we would have church. my brothers and sisters and first cousin would lie in the outside of a guard and the congregation with the chickens and i would start speaking and preaching. when i look back on it, some of those chickens would not of -- nod their heads, someone check their heads. i am convinced some of the most chickens i preached to in the 40's and 50's tended to listen to me better than my colleagues listen to me today in the congress. [applause] as a matter of fact some of them were just a little more productive.

[laughter] [applause] at least they produce eggs. that's enough about that story. but one thing they did is they taught me patience, to wait and not get in a hurry, be patient that the eggs would not hatch in one or two or three days but it would take three long weeks for those eggs to hatch. the civil rights movement taught me patience, to never give up and never give in but keep your eyes on the prize, so this book, "across that bridge," is about patience, about steady hope,

truth love and reconciliation. , when i was growing up in alabama, and visit the little town of troy, tuskegee and later as i stood in nashville, tennessee and lived in atlanta -- when i was a child with my mother, father, parents and grandparents why? and they would say that's the way it is. don't get in the way. don't get in trouble. but 1955 at the age of 15i heard -- 15, i heard of rosa parks. i heard of martin luther king, junior. at the age of 17, i met rosa parks.

the next year at the age of 18 i met dr. martin luther king jr.. the action of rosa parks to the people of montgomery and teaching the leadership of dr. king inspired me to get in the way to get in trouble so for more than 50 years i've been in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble. [applause] so, across that bridge is a lesson about getting in trouble, good trouble. and that's what i think, in america today, we need for people to get in trouble, good trouble. [applause] to believe in something that is so right, so dear, so necessary we have to get in trouble. but before we got in any trouble as students and young people we studied. we didn't wake up one morning and say we are going to sit in. we didn't just dream monday we

-- one day that we were going to come to washington and go on a freedom ride, to march on washington as we did in 1963 from selma to montgomery as we did in 1965. we studied, we prepared ourselves as college students, as high school students in the city of nashville. every tuesday night for an entire year a group of us would meet at 6:30 p.m., what gandhi attempted to do in south africa and accomplished in india. a civil disobedience, we studied the great religion of the world, we studied for what dr. martin luther king, jr. was all about. and we were ready. and we would be standing and at the theater were going on a freedom ride and we would be

beaten. we would be jailed. but we didn't strike back as a way of living in a way of life that is better to love than to hate. we wanted to build a loving community. we wanted to be reconciled. so this book is also about reconciliation to give you one example. i first came to washington, d.c. may 1, 1961 to go on something called the freedom ride. 13 of us, seven white and 14 -- six african-american. we came here on may 1st and studied and participated in nonviolent workshops. and i will never forget it.

someplace in downtown washington, we went to a chinese restaurant. i had never been to a chinese restaurant or had a meal at a chinese restaurant. that night we had a wonderful meal. the food was good, and someone said you should eat well because this might be like the last supper. the next day, may 4th, 1961, we left washington, traveling from here on our way to new orleans. the first incident occurred in charlotte, north carolina. back in 1961 black people and white people couldn't be seated together on a greyhound bus. cannot share the same waiting room and restroom facilities. segregation was the order of the

day. but in trouble at, north carolina, in may of 1961, a young african-american man entered a so-called white waiting room. he went into the waiting room, and later entered the barbershop to get a shoe shine and was arrested and taken to jail. the next day he went to trial and the judged dismissed the charges against him. the same afternoon my seatmate a young gentleman by the name of aber, they wonderful man from connecticut. the two of us tried to enter a so-called white waiting room and we were met by a group of men who beat us and left us lobbying -- lying in a pool of blood. the local authorities came up and wanted to know whether we wanted to press charges. we said no, we believe in peace and nonviolence.

that was may 9, 1961. in february 2009, less than a month after president barack obama had been inaugurated as president, one other young man that had attacked us came to the congressional office here on capitol hill and said i'm one of the people that beat you. will you forgive me? i want to apologize. his son had been encouraging to -- encouraging his father to go out and seek the people that he had attacked. i said yes i accept your apology. i forgive you. his son started crying and he started crying, i started crying. he gave me a hug and i hugged him back. since then, i have seen him three other times.

he called me brother and i called him brother. that is what the movement was about, reconciliation. this book is about reconciliation. [applause] we are one people, we are one family, we are one house. we must be reconciled. that those of us who live here in america, those of us who live here on this piece of real estate must learn to live together as brothers and sisters. the late a. philip randolph, who was the dean of the civil rights movement and black leadership, who had the idea about the march on washington almost 50 years ago said from time to time may be our mothers and fathers all came to this great land in different shifts but we are in the same boat now.

final analysis, it doesn't matter we are black or white latino, asian american or native american. it doesn't matter whether we are a democrat or republican. it doesn't matter whether we are straight or gay. it doesn't matter whether we are jewish or muslim or christians. we are one people, one family, one house. [applause] this book "across that bridge" says, in effect, our struggle is not a struggle to redeem the soul of america. it's not a struggle that lasts one day, one week, one month or one lifetime. maybe it would take more than one lifetime to create a more perfect union, to create the

beloved community. a community at peace with that the -- with itself. you heard david tell you why i got arrested a few times. and young people, been say, how can you be in the congress if you got arrested? [laughter] you violated the law. and i said they were bad laws. they were customs traditions, and we wanted america to be better. we wanted america to live up to the declaration of independence, live up to our creed make real , our democracy. so when i got arrested the first time this books and i felt free. i felt liberated and today more than ever i feel free in the -- and liberated.

abraham lincoln 150 years ago freed the slaves but it took the modern-day civil rights movement to free and liberate a nation. [applause] i know some of you are asking where did you get the name "across that bridge," where do to get the title from, life lessons and the vision for change? just like a few short years ago since this is an election year hundreds and thousands and millions of people come in 11 -- people from the south couldn't register to vote simply , cause of the color of their skin. people stood in line. it took a state like the state of mississippi in 1963, 1964

1965, had a more -- had a white population but only about 16 those and were registered to vote. there was a county in my native state of alabama and the heart of the black belt. the black population was more than 80% but there wasn't a single registered black voters in the county. in the little town of selma, alabama, only 2.1% were registered to vote. people were beaten and jailed. they had is -- to pass a so-called literacy test. on one occasion a man was asked to borrow another soap and count the number of jellybeans in a jar. there were african-american lawyers, teachers and doctors , college professors failing the

so-called literacy test. they had to pay a tax. we had to change that. hundreds had been arrested and jailed. in 1964, my old organization, the students for nonviolence, court mandated -- coordinated the project. [applause] thank you. some of you remember. for more than a thousand students, black-and-white color the students came self and -- south and worked. the night of june 1st 1964, 3 young men that i knew, too young -- two young white men and one young african-american men went -- man went out to investigate the burning of an african-american church.

they were stopped, arrested taken to jail and later the same evening they were taken from jail, turned over to the clan where they were beaten, shot and killed. i tell young people all the time that these three young men didn't die in vietnam. they didn't die in the middle east or eastern europe, they didn't die in africa, they died right here in our own country trying to get people to become participants in a democratic process. [applause] and right now there's an attempt for both democrats and republicans to get the postal service to issue a stamp in honor of these three young men. [applause] so, we had to organize and

mobilize and speak up, we had to speak out. we had to get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble. after dr. and -- dr. martin luther king jr. had received a peace prize in december, 1964 after president johnson found -- had signed the civil rights act in 1964, dr. king had a meeting with the president when he returned from europe and told him we needed a voting rights act and president lyndon johnson told dr. king, we don't have enough votes in congress to get it passed. i just signed the civil rights act. dr. martin luther king junior came back to atlanta and met with a group of us have is that we will write that act. my organization sncc was already involved in selma, the heart of the black belt.

the only time a person could even attempt to register to vote was the first and third mondays of each month. you had to go through a set of steps through a set of double doors and get a copy of the so-called literacy test. and very few people were able to pass that test. late february, 1963 1965, there was a protest in marion, alabama, about 30 miles from selma. marion alabama is the hometown of mrs. martin luther king jr.. an incident occurred. a young man by the name of jimmy jackson tried to protect his mother. he was shot in the stomach by by a state trooper and a few days later he died in a hospital and because what happened to him we

decided to march from selma to montgomery. sunday, march 7, 1965, about this time of day, 600 of us have participated in a non-violent workshop. we line up into his to walk the 50 miles from selma to montgomery and to the world the people of color in alabama and throughout the south wanted to register to vote. during those days, i had all of my hair and i was a few pounds lighter. i was wearing a backpack before it became fashionable to wear backpacks. and in this backpack, i had two books. i thought i was going to be arrested and go to jail, so i wanted to have something to read. i had an apple and an orange. i wanted to have something to eat. and toothpastes and toothbrush.

thought i was going to be in jail with my friends and colleagues and neighbors. i wanted to be able to brush my teeth. as we were crossing the alabama river, my colleague walking beside me, a young man by the name of jose williams, said to me, john, can you swim? he saw the water down below i said, no, jose. can you swim? he said yes, a little. we continued to walk and we came to the highest point on the bridge and down below we solve -- saw the alabama state troopers. and continued to walk. we came within hearing distance of the state troopers, and a a member of the state troopers identified himself and said, i

am the major and this is in on wall for march will not be able to continue, i give you three minutes to disperse and return to your troops. he said major, give us a moment to pray. before we can tell the people behind us the same words to pray , the trooper said, troopers, advance. these men put on their gas masks, and came at us with sticks, trampling us with horses. and releasing tear-gas. i was hit in the head by a trooper with a stick, had a concussion and i thought i was going to die. i thought i saw death. 47 years later i don't recall , i don't know how i made it across that bridge, but i do remember inside that little

church, more than 2000 people were trying to get in to protest what had happened on the bridge . and someone said something to the audience. i stood up and i said i don't understand how president johnson can send troops to vietnam and cannot send troops to selma, alabama to protect people whose only desire is to get ready to -- get registered to vote. to march from selma to montgomery. 17 of us were hurt and admitted to a local hospital. the next day dr. martin luther king jr. came to selma to visit with us and he said that he asked religious leaders to come. more than a thousand priests rabbis, nuns, and ministers came and walked across the bridge. [applause]

so, we made a lot of progress but there are still other , bridges that we need to cross to create a more perfect union to create the beloved community , to redeem the soul of america. but because of that day president lyndon johnson came to the congress on march 15th and made one of the speeches that -- one of the most meaningful speeches that any american president had made in modern times on the question of civil rights and voting rights. we called it the we shall overcome speech. he started out by saying i speak tonight for the man and democracy. he went on to say, at times history and fate meet in a single place in man's quest for freedom. so it was more than a century ago, so it was, so it was last

week in selma, alabama. he condemned this violence and introduced the act and before he concluded his speech, he said, and we shall overcome. i looked at dr. and -- dr. martin luther king jr., we were watching dr. johnson and listening together at a local family's home in selma. i looked at dr. king and he started crying. we all started crying to hear the president of united states using a theme song, and we shall overcome. there are other bridges to cross. you must cross them with faith hope love, and peace. and be reconciled with our brothers and sisters because we are one family. we are one house. we all live in the same house the american house, the world house, and continue to cross that bridge. think of a much.

[applause] >> "american sniper" is nominated tonight for six academy awards. the movie is based on the autobiography of former navy seal, chris kyle. who well, serving in iraq, accumulated more than -- more officially confirmed kills than any other sniper in american history. we spoke with chris, about his experiences in an hour-long interview. >> chris collins, why did you decide to join the navy? >> exley, i grew up thinking the marines were the biggest baddest guys on the block. i always wanted to be with -- the one. the marine recruiter was in the strip mall, you have these army

recruiters, navy recruiters all coming out trying to be snipers themselves and pick you off and try to get you to come to them. i talk to each one of them. the navy recruiters hold me funding a seal. that moment you knew you wanted to be a seal? >> guest: yes, sir, i mean everything he was telling me which, of course the recruiter built it up to where it was more of a jason bourne type thing, but he definitely sold me that the navy seals they do all this stuff that you never hear about and all this great adventures, and you're going to be the most highly-trained person out there, you're going to be able to have all these skills shooting and hand to hand, so i thought, all right, that sounds great. if there's a best then i want to be the best. >> host: what was your training like? >> guest: well the initial boot camp to become a seal is called buds and that was, basically felt like seven months long standing there with your feet shoulder width apart getting kicked in the junk. it sucked.

it was just wet and sandy every day, and there were times during buds i thought about quitting but, you know, i don't know if it was just i was too lazy to get up from where i was and go find the bell to ring it but somehow i managed to make it through. >> host: when, when did you serve? >> guest: i went in '99 and then got -- in february of '99 and got out in november of '09. >> host: chris kyle is the author of a 13-week bestseller. it's called "american sniper: the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in u.s. military history," and he is our guest for the next hour here on booktv on c-span2 and we're going to put the numbers up on the screen if you would like to talk with mr. kyle. 202 is the area code 737-0001 for the eastern and central mountain zones, 737-0002 for those of you in the mountain and

pacific, and we have set aside a line for afghan and iraq vets in active duty, 202-628-0205. you can also contact us electronically, send an e-mail to booktv@cspan.org, or you can send a tweet to twitter.com/booktv. chris kyle, in your book you write that you were not the best shot at all. in your class. or at before you went into the seals. >> guest: no, sir. i never claimed to be the great itself sniper. -- greatest sniper. i was, you know, through sniper school i was middle of the pack when we graduated, i almost failed out of sniper school. it's just everyone tends to think when you get these number of kills that all of a sudden you're this great sniper and that's not the measure of a sniper. the measure of the true greatness of a sniper is to roll everything all in one. i mean it's the stalking, the observation, everything. and that's why in my mind carlos

halfcock who, you know i think it's 93 confirmed kills i think he is the greatest sniper ever in history. and not just america, all over the world. he's the guy that would go in by himself, you know, sneak in, take his shot with a lot less you know, capable weapons than we have today and optics but he would take that shot and then sneak back out undetected. and i think that's the true measure of a sniper is being able to get in identify your target, take the shot and get out. >> host: jim erickson sends in an e-mail to you, mr. kyle, how many unconfirmed kills do you estimate you have, or were all of yours confirmed? did you ever train with the m25 white feather rifle? >> guest: no, i never used that rifle, and as far as the unconfirmed kills you never count those. it's -- there's no point in trying to keep track of what could have been or might have been. you're just wasting your time.

and your whole thing is you're out there to try to take, you know, these bad guys off the streets and make it safer for your guys and allow some more of your guys to be able to make it home. i mean, the ideal thing if i knew the number of lives i'd saved. because that's something i'd love to be known for. but you can't calculate that. >> host: what was your reaction at the time to a kill? >> guest: i mean, when you're looking at these people you're not thinking of them more or less as people. they're a target because, you know most of the time they're there actively engaging trying to kill your guys. so you're trying to see yourself as a guardian angel to protect the guys on the ground who are in danger and you just have to dehumanize it and remove yourself from it otherwise you don't want to think about, you know, do they have a family what's their job and what have they done. you're just trying to, in your mind think i want this guy to be able to go home, my guy.

i want him to safely be able to go home, so i'm going to take out this target to allow him to do that. >> host: where did you serve? >> guest: iraq. >> host: for -- when? >> guest: i was over for the invasion in '03 went back in '04 and then was attached to the marine corps for the battle of fallujah, sent back to baghdad and then on to has been knee ya -- habania did a little bit for the elections and went back in the '06, i spent all that time in ramadi for the battle of ramadi and went back again in '08, was sent out west, but then they sent out a call for seal snipers to come to baghdad and help secure the green zone by going into sadr city. >> host: chris kyle, why did you leave the seals in 2009? >> guest: being a seal it's extremely tough on your

marriage. i mean we've got extremely high divorce rate. it was about 95% divorce. and my wife and i constantly struggled trying to keep the marriage afloat, and even when you're not deployed, when you come home your training is not at home. so you're never really, truly home. and it was causing stress on the marriage, and then it finally got to the point to where i needed to decide is it going to be god country, family, or is it going to be god, family country. and i chose to hang it up and quit and give everything back to my family now. >> host: and your wife is tia? and you have children as well? >> guest: yes, sir, i do. i have a son and a daughter. >> host: george learner e-mails in to you mr. kyle: after returning to the u.s. numerous times, did your tours have a regressive impact on your family and if so, what did the

military do to ameliorate it? >> guest: well, the first time i went over it was definitely difficult because at the time we weren't really getting the coverage over there, we weren't being able to watch it as far as all the support behind the troops, but it was everybody protesting us. so we felt like america was against us. and we thought, this is going to be a vietnam. when we come home, are people going to spit on us. but then towards the end of the deployment, you know, we were able to get a few more channels and see a lot more of the actual coverage that was going on and all the support, so it definitely helped it out. but then when i came home, it was difficult because you leave from a war zone one day and then you're home the very next day. they just fly you straight home. and it takes you a little bit. you know, i would always -- you have about a month off to where you just reacclimate yourself and i'd always spend about a week at home and just hang out

with the family, try to get to know 'em again and hope that my kids weren't afraid of me and they remembered that i was daddy. but, you know, especially the first time i was a little upset coming home, and i saw everybody doing their day-to-day normal lives and was thinking y'all don't even know there's a war going on. there's people dying. but as i continued doing this, it came to the realization that that is why we're doing it. we're over there fighting so everybody can lead their normal, day-to-day lives. that's what it's all about. >> host: chris kyle, what was your first confirmed kill? >> guest: we were in the city ahead of the marines, and we were just trying to soften up some of the locations for 'em. we weren't going to make it safe, but just try to make it you know, as little as possible add something to it. and while in the city, the marines started to approach, the people came out to show that

they were supportive of the military they weren't going to fight, and at that time there was a woman that came out, and she had something in her hands. i was watching her. i was relaying back to my chief everything that she had and what she was doing. he informed me that it was a chinese grenade and told me i had to take the shot because she started approaching the marines. at this point i'd never killed anyone so it was definitely made me pause, but also the fact that it's not a man, it was difficult. so we tried to radio the marines to let them handle it. i didn't want to have to be the one to take the woman's life. we couldn't raise them on the radio, so i ended up having to take the shot. but in my mind she, she was dead anyway. she was either going to kill herself by the grenade being a suicide bomber or she was going to die by my bullet. and i would rather shoot her than to sit there and watch her

blow up the marines. >> host: chris kyle writes: as the americans organized the woman took something from beneath her clothes and yanked at it. she'd set a grenade. i didn't realize it at first. looks yellow, i told the chief describing what i saw as he watched himself. it's yellow, the body -- >> host: first call for chris kyle comes from arthur in norfolk, virginia. go ahead arthur.

>> caller: hey -- thank you for your service, everybody's service in iraq and afghanistan. my question is if you could speak to the gold star mothers and wives on behalf of their sons and daughters who died over there, what would you tell them about, about the war and about why their sons and daughters died? >> guest: well, i mean i appreciate their sacrifice and in fact, i'm very close with some of them because some of those sons that did die were my guys. and i remain close with those families. as far as telling them their sons or daughters' sacrifice and was it, was it worth it, you know what? any war no matter where it is, not a single american life is worth it. but for the overall cause to be able to make a place safer in

the world, i mean these guys and girls are out there putting their lives on the line and they are true heroes. there's no pause. they're out there because their country sends you out there. and you don't have to believe in the war, you don't get to choose where you go, it's just you have that sense of honor that you are going to serve this country no matter where the congress tells you or the president tells you that you're going to go, you just go. you do your duty, and you're fighting for the guy or the girl on the right and left of you. you know when we're out there, i wasn't really fighting for iraq. and i hate to say it but i wasn't really fighting for america. i was fighting for my guys. i wanted to make sure every one of those guys came home. >> host: chris kyl writes: the reminder of what we were fighting for caused tears as well as blood and sweat to run freely from all of us.

>> host: and then, mr. kyle, in a different chapter you write: >> host: they >> host: glenn in freeland michigan. you are on with chris kyle "american sniper." >> caller: thank you gentlemen. my question for mr. kyle is in the wake of the trayvon martin case and um, the shooting at the college in oakland last week, i think it was, and a zillion other cases like that virginia tech and those kind of

cases what does he think of this kind of hypergun culture we have in america where, basically, anyone who wants a gun can get one and use it if they like and specifically what's his opinion on gun control? thank you very much. >> host: mr. kyle? is -- >> guest: i am 100% behind the second amendment the right to own and bear arms. i mean, i'm here in texas, and that is a big part of the culture here. it's my right to be able to have it. but it's also everybody's responsibility to learn the safeties and learn everything about those weapons. there are certain people that don't deserve the weapons. the people who are going to go out and actually act stupid. now, as far as the trayvon martin thing i haven't kept up with that, so i can't tell you everything that's going on in there. i haven't heard all the facts, and for the most part, i've heard one of side of the story, so i can't comment on that one.

all these school shootings yeah, especially out in california i know it's difficult to be able to carry a gun, only a few people are legally going to be able to do that. so i don't know why this guy was doing that, but apparently gun control though itself, the only thing it's going to do is take the guns out of the law-abiding citizens. the criminals are still going to have 'em. >> host: carl from murray, kentucky, e-mails in to you, mr. kyle: what inspires you to write the autobiography? >> guest: actually, i was dead set against it. it is something that i felt like these guys who got out and did this kind of thing, they were selling out. and i did not want to be a sellout. it's basically taking my try dent and -- tridepartment and cashing it in for some publicity. i was completely against it. but then as i found out there were two other authors who were actively seeking my story.

they were going to write the book. and if book was going to be written, i wanted to make sure it was done the right way. i didn't know someone else writing a book about me and it being another chest-beating story of, hey, look at me, look at what i've done. when i wrote it, it gives the credit to the proper people, the guys around me that were the true heroes, and the only reason i even look good is because of those guys and their heroics. so this story gives credit to those, whether it was the seals, the soldiers or the marines. those guys that fought around me, beside me, they were awesome, and i owe them everything. so i am calling them out and putting them up on a pedestal letting everybody know hey this is what goes on overseas. because this -- the stories in my book, they're not just unique to me, a seal, they are unique to every combat vet. these are the hardships that they face. they may not have gone through the exact same story as i did, but very similar.

so this is just raising the awareness of hey look what your troops are going through over there. but then the same time you hear my wife, and she's telling the hardships of the family back home. because when someone deploys and goes overseas to fight a war, it's not just them that's in this fight now. it's the entire family that's left behind. so i just this whole, the whole point behind this is to kind of knock myself down because, you know, i don't even care about the numbers, i don't want the hype, but i will stand up, and i will be an activist for the vets to make sure that they get the proper thank you. and, you know, today there's a lot of lip service and i'm not saying people don't mean it when they say it, but going up in an airport saying thank you definitely means a lot to the guys but why can't we take it a step further and show our thanks? you know, random acts of kindness. you don't even have to give money, but mow their yard, cook them a meal, baby sit so they

can take a nap or go on a date. just little random acts of kindness to actually show your thanks, and that's going to blow 'em away. >> host: chris kyle, this week is very much written in the vernacular and a lot of swearing in this book. >> guest: yes, sir. and in the military there is a lot of cussing. that is part of the military culture. it is a rough, gruff type of society, and we're not politically correct, so it's -- i don't talk like that on a daily basis, especially now here in the civilian world, but there in that time it's it's also kind of a way of stress reliever. you're constantly in hectic situations, and this is a way of, you know just voicing it and getting it out and then moving on. >> host: you write about how your wife, tea, heard one of your fire fights. >> guest: yes, sir. it was definitely something that i never intended. i didn't realize that the phone

wasn't turned off, but i also thought i was calling at a good time, usually at night we're not attacked, and it just so happened this night we were. unfortunately, she was still on the line. >> host: and what was her reaction? >> guest: well, definitely upsetting. i mean, there were several times to where when i would call home and when she would answer the phone realize it was my voice on the other line that she would cry. there was a couple times, too, where in a helicopter crash i would always come back and tell her in case you see it on the news because the media calls seals special forces. special forces are what everyone calls the green berets. special operations or spec-op s that includes everybody seals rangers. so i would always come back and say, hey i was in a helicopter crash, in case you hear about it we're fine, no big deal. and another time i wasn't able

to call her back and i wasn't in the helicopter crash this time, it was actually sf guys and it went down killed everybody onboard. and same thing when i called she broke down. >> host: how many helicopter crashes were you in? >> guest: two. >> host: how many times were you injured? >> guest: several. i don't exactly know how many times. >> host: were you ever shot? >> guest: i was shot twice. >> host: where? >> guest: i was shot in the -- well, i took a round across the top of the helmet, took one in the book and then one in the side. >> host: how long did that put you out of service? >> guest: well fortunately for me it was, you know, either superficial wounds, but the one in the back especially was, you know hit the body armor which slowed it down just enough to where it was just basically, just barely punctured my back. it was no big deal. so no time, it was just get it cleaned up, and you're right

back in the fight. >> host: mark in virginia beach, you're on with author chris kyle former navy seal. >> guest: hey, chris, how you doing? hey, listen, i just appreciate so much your work that you've done as active duty and you talked about, you know, not wanting to cash in on your trident and all that other stuff, but what do you think about people who leave active duty and then continue their work as a contractor? i mean, what's your thoughts on that? and what's next for you in your life after the book? thanks a lot for your time. >> guest: thank you sir. as far as the contractors i mean, you've got these guys that this is what we're trained to do and some of the guys have degrees, some of the guys don't, but this is what we know, and it's what we love. and then you go in to be a contractor and you're -- one of the biggest things you miss when you leave are the guys. you hate to give that up. so if you go be a contractor

you're surrounded by those guys again, and then you can kind of do some of the same style of work. it's mainly protection, but at least you're getting paid extremely well and you're spending time back overseas with your guys again. you know, i respect that. the job's going to get done, so why not be the one to make the money doing it? i mean not all these contractors out there are these wild cowboys that are just shooting everybody up. there's only been a few incidents or some incidences to where someone's gone off the reservation and done something stupid but for the most part these guys are out there every day trying to help out still, and you never hear about it because they're not messing up. and as far as me, i'm kraft international which it does have a contracting side, but i am the training side. we train the military trying to give back to 'em, help them prepare before they deploy but also law enforcement. helping those guys.

they are going to, they are the first responders here, and i want to give back to my community and make sure these guys are prepared. not that i am a one-stop shop. it's, you know you come here and now you know everything, but at least i have another tool for you to put in your tool box that hopefully, it comes in handy and helps somebody out. and then we also have the civilian side to where the corporate retreats or take you out to be marksmanship training to where we have all these machine guns. you can go out and things that you can't own the company does own, and we can bring them out and you can shoot belt-fed machine guns and have fun. >> host: chris kyle, you have a photo of charlie platoon of seal team three, and several of the faces are blacked out. why is that, and did this book have to go through official vetting? >> guest: yes. those faces are blacked out. you know, some of the faces blacked out the guys are out but out of respect for them i wanted to protect their

identity, but also the guys that are still active. i mean, we do try to conceal our identities. we're not out there saying, hey, look at me i'm a navy seal. and as far as going through channels yes. when the book was written, it was heavily involved with some of my buddies helped me with the different stories because i couldn't remember all of 'em. so they were relaying some of the stories back, and then all of a sudden it jogs your memory. but then i had to turn it into the dod department of defense did their check over it. it did go to all the seal teams and everybody you've worked for gets their chop on it to make sure you didn't say anything that was classified or anything that, you know, you're gonna -- more or less you don't want to hurt a bunch of feelings if you don't have to. >> host: was anything taken out of the book, the original manuscript? >> guest: there were a few things taken out, yes, sir. >> host: lisa, burlington, north carolina. you're on booktv with chris kyle.

>> caller: hello? >> host: lisa, please go ahead with your question or comment. >> caller: hello? >> host: lisa, we're going to move on. kay in omaha, nebraska. good afternoon. >> caller: hi there. i just wanted to thank you. i never call on the phone and that, and i was just getting ready to hang up, but i just wanted to know that my dad was post commander of the american legion, and on memorial day we all marched out to out of town in that and went up to the cemetery and paid our respects, and the guys shot off the guns and that, and is it was just so awe-inspiring for me as a kid to see this. and my grandmother was post commander of the american legion for the women. and i just wanted to say that it's coming up now and i'm going out there and march by myself in that.

thank you very much. >> guest: well, thank you ma'am. and thank your family for everything they have done and are doing. i really appreciate it. that's one thing that we do as a family on memorial day there's a national cemetery out here and we take the entire family out there, and we'll find a tombstone and lay a rose on it. and it's to show the kids that we are honoring these guys who have come before us and paid the ultimate sacrifice and i want them to understand it and be supportive of the military. you don't have to support the wars, i don't care about that but the men and women wearing that uniform are true heroes. like i said before, they don't decide where they go, but they're willing to do whatever their country asks. >> host: chris kyle is joining us from dallas. and daryl in freemo this -- fremont, california you're on booktv talking with chris kyle of "american sniper."

>> caller: hey, how you doing. >> host: please go ahead. >> caller: can you hear me? >> host: we're listening. >> caller: all right. i just want to let you know that i do appreciate all that you're doing for our country and other countries because it's very important to have someone like you available, and i know that all you guys risk every bit of your lives just to do this. and i just want to, you know, just cry out for you that when some come up missing i do have worries in heart because um, it takes you to help keep it straightened out and to a level that we appreciate every bit of your skills. because that is the most important, key factor to winning the wars, and i just want to the let you know you're my hero and you will always be my hero. my dad fought from 1941 to 1944

in the war, and he's my hero today. you know? and i wish they would open up doors better for you guys to receive compensation for what you do because, you know, it's gallant. and my dad today, he's lived to see on may 4th 90 years of surviving that. so i just want to let you know you are appreciated. >> guest: well, thank you, sir. i really appreciate that, and i really respect your father for everything he's done. and i to longer wear the uniform, so my heroes are all those men and women wearing it. and the men and women that have come before us. they have definitely set the bar high, and those are some high standards to try to live up to. >> host: chris kyle, are there any female snipers? >> guest: not that i know of.

as far as i know, being a sniper is still being on the front line and the last that i was told any anyone in combat the closest they could get to being on the front lines as a woman was to be a pilot. >> host: next call for chris kyle comes from from dave in ida bell oklahoma, on our iran -- sorry, iraq/afghan vets' line. go ahead dave. >> caller: good morning. i'm a seven-year veteran been deployed -- 12-year veteran been deployed seven times, i was a force scout marine and a navy corpsman. i understand everything you're saying, i'm right there with you. thank you for showing me the way, because i failed out of seal school but i graduated marine force school. i was right there with you brother, fallujah and baghdad, sadr city from 2002 to 2009.

>> guest: well, thank you for all your service. and, you know, failing out of seal school that's -- you know, just because i made it through seal school doesn't make me any better than anybody else. it was just different strokes for different folks and there are definitely some outstanding people in all the other branches even just regular grunts. i mean, there are some true fighters and warriors there, and, you know, i just respect the hell out of everyone wearing that uniform. >> host: this e-mail from john of san francisco: mr. kyle, have you read "jarhead" by anthony swaf ord? if so, what did you think of this book? >> guest: honestly, i haven't. most of the books -- well, i've read carlos halfcock's because you know, i idolized the man, but other than that most of the books i've read were all fiction. it was usually reading about mitch wrath and all his duties that he was doing out there.

but, in fact i wasn't even a big reader. >> host: what about marcus luttrell's book? >> guest: i did read that. marcus is a good friend of mine and i definitely wanted to support him, so bought the book. i definitely read it and you know, it's a tough one to read but i appreciate his story. and, again, in that book he's not saying, hey, look at me he's trying to highlight the friends that he lost and show the true heroes that they were. >> host: next call for chris kyle "american sniper," comes from julio in chicago. good morning -- or good afternoon. >> caller: good morning. um, mr. kyle i saw you on your previous publicity tour on "the o'reilly factor", and you had mentioned you had punched governor jesse ventura. now, i saw an interview where governor ventura said that incident did not take place at the bar in california. now, it's obvious someone is lying.

it's either you or governor ventura, so was it -- what was going on here? did this incident happen? if not, why would you call out a navy seal someone who is well respected and a big public figure like governor ventura? >> guest: my intention was never to call him out. it was -- happened on the opie and anthony show. a caller called in and said well, tell 'em this story about this. because there were other people that know this that were there but as far as anything else i'm not even going to talk about it at this time. >> host: and you do write about jesse ventura in your book, and he -- did he not sue you? >> guest: oh, he is. >> host: and that is unsettled at this point? >> guest: yes, sir. >> host: venture or rah california, ralph, you're on the line with chris kyle. >> caller: yeah. kyle -- i'm a marine '68-'70 so

i know who you're talking about when it comes to vietnam. my question for you, though was talk a little bit about honor. civilians don't seem to understand what it means in the military, especially the seals marines, special ops forces, what honor really is. thank you. >> guest: well, thank you for your service sir. and i apologize for the reaction you got when you came home. as far as the honor it's, you know when you -- that flag is flying and the national anthem is playing i feel chills. and sometimes i get a little choked up. it's everything that flag stands for. there are guys who have died to be able to -- to allow me to be at that sporting event or wherever i may be and hear that song and see that flag. it's, i mean, you are willing to put everything on the line you're willing to die for your country whether you believe in

the cause or not just because your country says we need this. you're going to do something for the greater good. and that was one of the big things i had a problem with when i ended up getting out of the military is my whole job, it was all for the greater good. it was for everybody in the country. and now that i'm a civilian, it's for my own good. so it definitely caused some problems and i don't know, i mean, i grew up extremely patriotic. i love this country, i love the troops even before, you know, i enlisted. but i don't want really know how to explain -- i don't know really how to explain it. it's just a burning sensation inside you that you love this country no matter who's in charge, if you're democrat, republican or what or how bad you think things might be here. this is still the greatest nation in the world. i mean, there's no other place i'd rather be. so it's just that love of this country, and you're willing to

do whatever the country asks of you. >> host: where did you grow up, and what were you doing before you joined the navy? >> guest: born and raised here in texas, i was born in odessa but then moved when i was young. my dad worked for the phone company, so we kind of moved around all over texas. when i graduated school, i ended up going to college at this -- it was a smaller college at the time, and it was down in stevenville, texas. and when i was down there, i was working on ranches. i decided that i was going to you know i had two dreams in the life. one was to be a cowboy and the other was to be in the military. so i was down there doing some rodeos and working on the ranches and figured why do i need to be in school? so i did i get college and just kept working as a cowboy for a living traveling around texas on different ranches and new

mexico colorado until eventually i figured out, all right, well, i've done this long enough. i have one other dream, so now it's time to go do it. >> host: who are scott mckind and jim defeliz? >> guest: scott is a lawyer in san diego. he's a man that i met through another former team guy that you know being around and hearing some of the stories from some of the guys and talking with me he's the one that approached me and said you need to write a book, and i want to help you do it. so he got me in touch with harpercollins who ended up wanting to publish this book and then jim defeliz is the actual author. he's the man that i spent the time with, extended periods of time sitting down relaying all my stories back to him and he would record it, take notes and then writing it back into a story format that, you know, would try to grab the reader and

get my points across. >> host: edward in houston please, go ahead with your question or comment for chris kyle. >> caller: yes. what i what it was was i'm watching your program right now, and i wanted to find out if there was any information on the company that he mentioned earlier that he can send me through the mail? my computer's not exactly active, so i'm trying to find out as much information as i can on the company that he mentioned about. >> host: why is that edward? >> caller: well, it's something that i've been curious about for a while and i never really had to do with it raising a family or anything like that. now that i'm older i'm thinking about it, but i don't know if i'll be able to follow through and i'm just curious about it. and i wanted to find out if there was anything he could send me or any information he could give me. >> host: chris kyle. >> guest: well, i think you're talking about kraft international, the company i

mentioned earlier. the training side that's basically, the military outsources a lot of its training. it's awarded to dod contractors that they'll send different units to places all around the united states. there are several training companies, and we just happen to be based in the texas. we have facilities elsewhere throughout the united states, but we're training these guys not only this sniping but offroad driving tactical driving, hand-to-hand, anything that deals with weapons, all the different tactics we are teaching the military and the law enforcement. and for the military we're, we have hired -- it's not just seals, you know? i'm, i am or was a seal but and there's a few more working with us, but i have a lot of, you know, special forces, marines, army. because when i have other units

coming in, i don't want just a seal being up there and people think, ah, he's a seal he has an ego, whatever, he thinks he's better than me. now i have a team of guys from all these different branches that were all coming together and saying look, here's something that can help. and then sometimes army and marines you might have a little different lingo. so now at least you have that guy there that can speak your speak. and we do the same thing with law enforcement. we have the cops involved heavily involved. we still have some military instructors in there because i do feel some of the stuff the military does that it can help, it'll benefit the police. and the same, vice versa. some of the stuff the police do it'll help the military. and just trying to get a little more synergy going between everybody and get everyone to talking and try to come out with the best possible solution for everyone. >> host: chris kyle, what's the web site?

>> guest: it is thecraft.com or craftintl.com. >> host: next call for chris kyle comes from jeff in aiken, south carolina, a navy vet. go ahead jeff. >> caller: hey, chris. i just want to say i appreciate everything you've done. i served from 2000 to 2006 in iraq -- well, not the whole time in iraq, but i did two deployments there. i also did small boat swift teams, not sure you know what they are. and then i got out, and i discovered the same thing that you do that the caliber of people just isn't quite the same that you deal with. became an flt officer i did that for a few years. you know, i really -- [inaudible] and a lot of people maybe don't understand what's going on in your life and as an individual. if you could just kind of go into that for people and explain to them that, you know, you're not a cold-blooded killer as much as you're doing a job. thanks man.

>> guest: and thank you for your service. yeah, as far as being a sniper like i was saying before i'm not out there trying to rack up kills and get these huge numbers. i don't care about the numbers. and i would love to be known by the number of people i was actually able to save. but i'm out there to insure the safety of everyone on the streets. i want every one of those guys and girls that go over there with me to be able to come home. and it's not just those guys that i'm protecting. i'm also out there to protect the civilians in that location where i'm at. some of these open-air markets we were there -- excuse me -- we were there to be able to provide that security so they could come back out and actually sell their goods without having to worry about someone snatching them off the street or blowing 'em up. i mean, they were out there ruling in fear by cutting heads off and torturing people. so we're just trying to make it

safe. and you can't think of the person that you're shooting as an actual person. i mean, otherwise it's going to tear you apart. you can't think of their family or anything. you're just, you're there to provide safety for your guys and the civilians that are out there. and like you said, it is -- it's a job. it's a difficult job, and, you know, some people -- i've seen the comments where they've called me a coward for hiding in a location where no one can see me and shooting a guy from a mile away. well there's a reason i'm shooting the guy from a mile away, because i wasn't close enough, and there was someone who was close enough that he was fixing to kill. so i, wherever i can reach out and get you, to be able to provide that security i will do it. or did. so it's unfortunate, but war is hell, and we're not going over there to hand out flowers and cookies.

we're being called in because it's hit the fan, and we're there to make it stop. >> host: rachel reuben tweets in to you mr. kyle: on becoming a sniper, is there some kind of aptitude test for that? just have good eye? how does one get assigned as a sniper? >> guest: well, as far as being assigned to sniper, we weren't allowed at that time to be a new guy, a brand new guy that's never deployed to be a sniper. you had to show that you were responsible and mature enough to be able to conduct yourself and possibly pass through the course and then my chief nominated me to be able to go when i got back from my first deployment. when you go as far as the aptitude test, honestly, i think that's something that they've all been trying to figure out what kind of person does it take. honestly? i don't know. i'm not a very patient man, so patience, i don't think, is a requirement of being a sniper.

it's professional -- it's just, it's your professional discipline of doing the right thing at the right time and knowing when you have to pay attention to detail and just take your time, slow down. maybe you have to, we called it reveg, to put the vegetation back on your gilley suit or you're coming into a new environment, and it's not the same vegetation that you have on you, so you have to stop, take the time to take that old stuff off and put the new stuff on. it's kind of like integrity, doing the right thing at the right time. and then being able to concentrate on the weapon and shoot and actually be able to learn all the different things that are involved with the actual shooting portion. there's, actually, a lot of math involved, especially the farther out in distance you go. >> host: you're watching booktv on c-span2 and our guest is chris kyle author of

the best-selling book "american sniper: the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in u.s. military history." we have about 15 minutes left with our guest and robert is active duty in salt lake city. robert, you're on booktv with chris kyle. >> caller: yes, mr. kyle, i just wanted to say thank you for all of your service. um, i joined in 1985, and i'm still currently in. um, i just -- i was away on tdy last week, and i seen your book and i picked it up, and i want to tell ya it's a fantastic book. i haven't been able to put it down, and i think i have like 20 pages left. thank you again for everything. >> guest: well, thank you, sir. and thank you for everything you have done and everything you continue to do for us. you are the reason this book is out there, to draw awareness to your sacrifices. and, hopefully, the public will

then lift you up and say thank you and show you thanks. in fact, you know, the book all of my portion of the proceeds are going back to the two families of the guys i lost. mark lee and ryan job. and then the other third of that money is going back to charities to help vets. so i am out here promoting this book and, you know unfortunately this is not a happy-go-lucky book. that was some of the best moments of the life, but it was also some of the worst. and every time i do this book tour and talk about this you relive it. and then you get stressed, and you know, especially the first time i was talking with the author you feel like you just got run over by a mack truck. but, you know i'm doing this for these guys because i am highlighting them, and i'm not going to sit here and give you lip service. so i'm going to show you too, by i'm giving this money back to these guys. >> host: what was the book tour like for you?

>> guest: it was fun but at the same time it was stressful. you're worried because there's always going to be haters out there, and you're wondering when's that hater going to come up and confront you? and are they going to throw something at you are they going to spit on you? fortunately, i have yet to see that, but it's emotional at times. i've had some of the family members standing in line and wait to be able to get up there and sign a book with me. and i love seeing these people. they come up and they're nervous because they want me to sign their book and i keep telling 'em, you're not as nervous as i am. i am not super comfortable in front of big groups of people and one-on-one. it's difficult for me. but i do enjoy it, and i do love seeing these guys in uniform standing there in line. in fact, you know the first one i did was here in dallas, and it was a rainy night, and it was

the night of the national championship between alabama and lsu. i thought, you know i was mad, actually because i wanted to watch the game, but my publicist scheduled it. but i thought, that's all right, hardly anyone will show up and i'll go catch it. well 1200 people later and the game was over, so it was an awesome, awesome be -- turnout and all these people are now coming out and saying, thank you, you've opened by eyes. i had a woman write me a letter saying i was not only against the wars, i was against the military because she was raised in a military family and she hated 'em. well, then after reading my book she goes i understand. and she said it made her cry and opened her eyes to where now she supports the troops. i just find it amazing that this book is reaching out and actually touching people and opening some eyes. and when i'm doing these book signings, all these people are

standing in line to meet me which it blows my mind. but if they're going to stand there in line to meet me, then i'm going to stand there. i'm not going to sit behind the desk and just sign a book, i'm going to stand up. as long as you're standing, i'm going to stand. and then i sign everybody's book i try to talk to you a little bit. so i want it to be personal. i want you to know that i'm a real person. i'm your average everyday guy and if you want i'll come around the table, and i'll take a picture with you. and i love meeting the kids. they bring me pictures and drawings that they've done. it's nice. >> host: language alert, here's a little bit from chris kyle's "american sniper." this is the subchapter, "don't tell my mom."

>> host: next call is sean in oak choke florida.

you're on with chris kyle. >> caller: hey, chris, i was an army scout in iraq and kuwait. being down here in florida, i did have the honor the last muster down in florida where they dedicated the udtc memorial, and that was very touching, very moving, and it was great to be able to see a lot of the seal guys that get out and do it every day. your comment on seeing the flag and seeing, you know the national anthem, "star-spangled banner," we were at a toby keith concert, and when he played "american soldier," that just -- every hair on my body stood up. my wife looked over, and i had a tear in my eye. they just don't get it unless you've been there, done that. i've got a 17 18-year-old kid, and what's your advice to the next generation of kids that want to join the military and train in special op combatants

or, you know maybe not even special op combatant, but just join the military and support their country? thanks. >> host: chris kyle. >> guest: well, thank you for your service. i appreciate it. as far as the kids, you know i've got two kids myself, and i'm never going to push 'em towards the military and i'm never going to push 'em away because one great thing the military, it is a volunteer force. and if you're going to be there, i want it to be because you want it. and you're going to understand that honor that goes into serving your country. as far as preparing them, i mean, they need to know that when you sign up to go into the military, there's a very high likelihood -- especially now -- you're going to go to war. so just prepare yourself that you may be called upon by your country to put your life on the line and possibly give your life for everybody else's safety here. and a lot of people are saying

well they don't understand why they're fighting over there, and that's fine. just -- you don't even listen to the people who are coming out against the war because what they need to be doing is protesting congress. or protest the president. all these politicians. but leave the military guys alone. they're out there doing a job. it's an extremely honorable job. and you're going to have some of the best moments of your life you're going to have a brotherhood, and you'll never lose contact with those people. they will be your family. but you're going to have some of the worst moments of your life. it's going to be your extreme ups and your extreme lows. so just be prepared. >> host: matt, yakima, washington. go ahead with your question or comment. >> caller: hi, chris. thank you so much for taking so much time and talking with us and speaking today. thanks for your service, thanks for your sacrifice, time away from your family and everything you've done.

for the story, i can't wait to read your book. and for your advice that you're giving just with what we can do for really our neighbors, our family members that are coming back not just a is simple hey, thanks for the service but, you know, what can we do for you. can you go more into that? and did you see "act of valor"? did you like that? >> guest: i did see "act of valor." i do like it. i watched it one time, it was a -- i don't know what they called it but they gave us a special showing of it, and it was all us military guys in there. and it was definitely emotional. a lot of those different things. i was involved with because each of those missions were true missions. but it definitely hurt to watch it, and the next time i watch it, it will be in my own home with no one else around. as far as giving back to the

guys and showing your thanks, it's simple little things, you know? if they own their house or, you know, if they have a house that has a yard or something, go mow their yard for 'em. cook 'em something whether it's a meal or cookies, you know, come over and ask if hey, do you need this chore done or that chore, whatever. it's just simple little things and it will take some of your time, you know depending on what you want to do, it could take five minutes or all day long. it depends on how much you want to do. but these guys are out this willing to die for you. i feel like now it's our duty to give back to them and to make sure that they know that we appreciate everything that they're doing. because i don't think most of the public fully understands and grasps what these men and women are willing to do for our safety and security. they're willing to the die for us. people that they don't even know and people they'll never meet but they're willing to die for

us. so the least we can do is take some time out of our days. and everybody's day, i know, is extremely busy. but it's not going to do anything but make you feel better inside because now we've been doing these retreats for these guys taking 'em out hunting, fishing doing doesn't things with them just to get them out and say look, i love you, thank you, this is what i'm going to do for you. so let's go do this. and there's other organizations out there. you know, one of them i've been involved with is called fitco. fitco cares hero project. when i got out i started drinking a lot and then i got way out of shape i refused to work out, and i was depressed. so i started working out again finally, started getting back into shape, and when i did that, my head cleared up. so when i did that, i went to this guy, and i said hey, this helped me. do you have some old equipment or something cheap that i can buy to help put in these vets ooh homes?

because these vets, if they were like me, when you're out of shape, you don't want to go to a gym and then people look at you and go oh you used to be that? whatever. and then you feel bad about yourself or these guys that are coming back injured, they don't want to go to a gym and people stare at 'em. so this guy turned this thing into a huge organization, a nonprofit now to where we're taking brand new expensive equipment and putting it in these guys' and girls' homes so they can feel better within. but then it's also has private trainers if you want it. it has therapists if you need it. we're not only just trying to get the body back we're trying to help you in everything. because ptsd is nothing to be frowned on. these guys, they're still a part of the society. they gave to us. they can still be trusted. i mean, it's nothing to be looked down on. we need to help them. we owe it to 'em. >> host: chris kyle writes:

>> host: debbie in denver, you're on with "american sniper" chris kyle. >> caller: hi, chris. first of all, thank you for serving, and i just want to say that i come from a long line of military family as well, and i remember my dad and my brother both served in vietnam at the same time. and my mother was a tough cookie boy, she just was real tough and thick skinned. and i remember as a child that we weren't allowed to ask or question either of them about

the combat or the kills or anything like that. so now my son is a combat veteran, and he served -- he was in iraq in the second year of the war. but when he came home, he was torn and suffered a lot and he was injured, and i remembered that old, you know, that old thing that you don't question, you don't talk about it. so what's your thought on that? because i really wanted to reach out to my son but i just was instilled with that boundary of you just don't cross. >> host: chris kyle. >> guest: well, as far as the not talking to him about it, you know, i think a lot of these guys that are having problems, you know, i think ptsd is something that no matter how much you talk about it, i don't think ptsd is going to go away. it's something that you're going to have to learn to live with and work around, but it is definitely something controllable and something that could be put to the back of your mind.

.. is be there for them. if they want to talk, let them talk, and no matter how bad or shocking it may be, you them your undying support and let them know. i am there for you. no matter what you have seen and what you have done, i am there for you because you served for me and i am now going to serve you. as far as the rest of your family, thank you so much for everything your family has done and i am really sorry that your son has gone through and made such sacrifices. i definitely wish him the best.

host: here is the book. "american sniper." we have been talking with the author here on book tv. thank you, mr. kyle. guest: thank you, sir. >> "the theory of everything," depicting the early life of steven hawking. at the academy awards tonight the film is nominated for best picture and best actress. much of his career involved a series on the universe. in 2000 -- in 2008 he addressed a part of a lecture series on the 50th anniversary of nasa. this is 45 minutes.

>> cap. welcome to the campus of george washington university in downtown washington, d.c., for what promises to be a remarkable afternoon. i am the director of the space policy institute here at gw's school of international affairs. we are very happy cohost, along with lockheed martin and nasa of this afternoon's lecture by professors stephen and lucy hawking, which promises to be something that will be special. the professor has prepared a brand-new lecture. this is its first showing or talking this afternoon. i think that that is remarkable. my job is to quickly get out of the way by introducing for a

formal welcome the 16th president of george washington university, dr. stephen knapp. [applause] >> thank you very much professor. on behalf of the board of trustees and faculty here it is a pleasure to welcome you all here this afternoon to a third lecture celebrating the series of the 50th anniversary of nasa. i would like to thank our sponsors for choosing george washington university as a venue for this important event. i would particularly like to knowledge the presence here of shana dale, the deputy administrator of nasa. it is also a pleasure to be sitting here with lucy hawking. time does not allow me to knowledge everyone in the audience but i know that you are all welcome for this exciting

lecture. we have worked closely with nasa for most of the agencies existence. the second administrator studied law in the 1930's and was a member of the board of trustees from 1961 to 1963. in 9064 he asked them to turn to the policy administration's and for more than 40 years since then they have made as the focus of the research and graduate efforts. we have established the -- we established the institute in 1987 as part of the school of international affairs and the institute as become the leading center space policy in the world. much of the research and outreach activities have been supported by nasa grants and contracts and we appreciate their confidence in the quality of the space institutes work. we also appreciate the continuing support being provided by lockheed martin

since the very inception. this focus on policy is typical of the innovative character of the elliott school of international affairs, one of the leading schools of international affairs they seek to create knowledge and inspire action to address global challenge. my role is not to introduce perfects her hollands. i will note only that his pioneering mind is one of the greatest of our era and that he has combined profound insights into the nature of the universe with an admirable commitment into making those insights available to the general public. it is a privilege and an honor to have him on our campus. it is now my pleasure to introduce ambassador russell who serves as the associate director and deputy director for technology.

nominated by the president and some to the senate in 2002, he served as the president bush ambassador to the 2007 world conference and first came to our staff in 2001 following a decade of service on capitol hill where he worked on science and technology issues in both houses of congress. ambassador russell? [applause] ambassador russell: thank you. it truly is an honor and a pleasure to introduce the speaker's for the third in the series of nasa lectures 50th anniversary year. these are unique opportunity for prominent leaders to address areas of space, exploration, aeronautics, research to audiences of key policymakers, corporate leaders, and the public sector.

i would also like to acknowledge the deputy administrator of nasa for establishing the series. it really is going to be a treat this afternoon to listen to professor and lucy hawking. today we have the unique father daughter pair with us. not much needs to be said about professor stephen hawking, the one of the world's foremost cosmologists and astrophysicists. he has been a professor of mathematics at cambridge university. i am a stand-in for the president's science advisor, who has the flu today but he wanted me to recount the story to you about how important the professor's work is in terms of being able to translate science into something understandable for the public. while he was there he -- they attempted to start up the

relativistic heavy ion collider. that caused the lawsuit. there was a claim that if it turned on we would create a black hole and it would eat the world. now, that may sound funny, but unfortunately the public actually believed a black hole might be created and professor and at that point director of the laboratory marburger turned to professor hawking and asked for advice and for him to give advice to the press. it is because of his advice that we should not worry about being consumed by a black hole if the collider is turned on. the doctor wanted to expressed his sadness at not being able to be your today but also his pleasure and thanks for the wonderful work that professor hawking has done, not only in terms of understanding physics

but also being able to relate to the general public directly and move science forward. professor hawking's lecture entitled why we should go into space, was written especially for this event and he considered it a 50th birthday present for nasa. his daughter, lucy, is a journalist and author and they have co-authored a book for children called the secret key to the universe, published in october, there is a second book on the way. professor hawking will initially speak for a few minutes, followed by lucy. then professor hawking will complete his lecture. with that i would like to introduce and welcome professor hawking and lucy. thank you so much. [applause]

professor hawking can you hear me quit -- because her hawking: can you hear me? crowd: yes. professor hawking: space a justification for spending money and getting a few lumps of moon rock? are there not better causes here on earth?

in a way, the situation is like that in europe for 1492. people might well have argued that it was a waste of money to send columbus on a wild goose chase. yet the discovery of the new world made a profound difference. just think, we would not have had the big mac or kfc. [laughter] spreading out into space will have an even greater effect. it will completely change the future of the human race and maybe determine if we have any future at all. it will not solve any of our immediate problems on planet earth, but it will give us a new perspective on them and cause us to look out.

hopefully it will unite us to face a common challenge. this would be a long-term strategy. by long-term, i mean hundreds or even thousands of years. we could have a base on the moon within 30 years, reach mars within 50 years, and explore the moons of the outer planets within 200 years. we have already driven rovers on mars, landed on titan, the moon of saturn but if one is considering the future of the human race, we have to go there ourselves. going into space will let be

cheap, but it would only take a small proportion of world resources. the budget has remained roughly constant in real terms since the time of the apollo landings, but it has decreased and 23% of gdp in 1970 to 22% now. even if we were to increase the international budget 20 times to make a serious effort to go into space, there would -- that would only be a small fraction of gdp. there are those who would argue that it would be better to spend our money solving the problems of this planet, like pollution and climate change, rather than wasting it on the possibly fruitless search for a new planet.

i am not denying the importance of fighting climate change and global warming, but we can still one quarter of the percent of world gdp for space. isn't our future worth a quarter of 1%? we thought that space was worth a big effort in the 1960's. in 1962, president kennedy permitted the u.s. to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. this was achieved just in time by the apollo 11 mission in 1969. the space race held a creative

fascination with science and technology, including the first large-scale integrated circuit the basis for all modern computers. however, after the last moon landing in 1972, with no future plans for future manned spaceflight, public interest in space declined. this went along with the general dissent of science in the west. although it had brought great benefits that have not solved the social problems that increasingly typified public attentions. a new manned spaceflight program

would do a lot to restore public enthusiasm for space. robotic missions are much cheaper and may provide more scientific information. but they do not catch the public imagination in the same way. and they do not spread the human race into space, which i am arguing should be our long-term strategy. the goal of a base on the moon by 2020 and a manned landing on mars by 2025 would reignite the space program and give it a sense of purpose in the same way that president kennedy's moon target did in the 1960's. the new interest in space would also increase the public

standing of science generally. the lowest theme in which science and scientists are held is having serious consequences. we live in a society that is increasingly governed by science and technology, yet fewer and few young people want to go into science. as the small step moves forward my daughter, lucy and i, have written a children's book. i will now let lucy talk about how to get the next generation of children interested in space and in science, generally. lucy: hello and good afternoon. im very honored to be here at the nasa 50th birthday lecture series.

you have heard my father telling you about why we need to travel into space. well, i would like to take just a few minutes to tell you why we think we need to have a next-generation who wants to travel into space as well. as my father said, at the moment we face a paradox. never before have science and technology played such big parts in our lives. and yet at the same time it seems that children are turning away from science and losing interest in science, they are not studying it. i would like to talk a bit about what we learned from children. what we learned about children and science education. and how to make a great contribution to ensure that the next generation does engage with science. last year my dad and i published a book for kids. it is an adventure story in which all of the adventures are based on real science. it is about a little boy who

lived next door to a scientist. the scientists has an amazing computer called cause most it is so powerful and intelligent, it can draw a doorway through which you can walk to any part of the known universe that you want to visit. when we told some people at nasa about this fictional computer they said -- i wish we had one of them, that would help our budget or mostly. [laughter] now, my father wants to work on this project because of his high level of concern about children and science education. that is not saying that we set out to persuade every child to be a scientist. because our world needs people with a wide variety of skills. but science affects all of us and matters to all of us and will do even more so in the future. the children of today are the adults of tomorrow and they need to have a basic understanding of science if they are going to make the kind of decisions that

will affect us all. we believed scientists to work not just on space travel, but to work on food production and fuel sources. now, some recent research has highlighted the fears about children and science education. in the united kingdom a recent survey found that one third of u.k. schoolchildren believe that warm time -- wartime prime minister winston churchill was the first man to walk on the moon. i am sorry about that. nasa, neil armstrong. there were statistics that came with this survey that were not heartening either. 40% of children thought that mars was a chocolate bar. 35% of children said that the earth was not an official planet .

extraordinarily, 72% could not identify the moon from pictures. just in case you are sitting there feeling smug i am afraid the results in the usa are not looking much better. only 4% of u.s. adults, when asked, could name a living scientist who they would nominate as a science role model . although at the same time, 96% a stunning 96% of u.s. adults think that it is important for the u.s. to be a leader in science education. it all sounds rather gloomy. but there is hope. as i found out when i went on a worldwide lecture tour with the talk professing the solar system . it is about the sort of concepts of astronomy and theoretical physics that we set out to cover in our book. we estimate that i have spoken to about 20,000 kids worldwide.

what i've discovered was an and or is appetite and enthusiasm for science. we were asked so many questions that we have to write another book in order to be answered -- able to answer them. they are great questions like -- can you skateboard on jupiter? [laughter] my personal favorite is -- what happens if you do get to the edge of the universe? you could say that we are just lucky. that we have got the rockstar end of science at our disposal. without a doubt i can tell you that black holes, as presented by stephen hawking, explained for kids is a winner. we had them with us all the way. but more seriously, some research at universities in the u.k. showed a significant percentage of students studying sciences -- across the board not just physics report that

their interest in science was sparked by exactly these topics. they went on to become scientists because of an early interest in astronomy and the exotic phenomena of theoretical physics. space has the power to capture the imagination of children and engage their curiosity. there is no doubt. we have never needed to do this more urgently. of course, it is not just what we say to kids, it is what we show them. images set -- sent back play such a huge part in capturing the attention of children in an ever increasingly crowded world with many demands on them. this means that we can show kids something of a cosmic environment that surrounds them. from the rings of saturn to getting them to think about what it would be like to see a sunset on mars.

now, manned spaceflight is a topic that children never tire of. because of -- the cousin of nasa, they can hear about it, read about it, visit space centers and space programs. nasa has a huge number of educational programs inside and outside of school. for the kids, spaces are not limited to science fiction. we have exciting new missions planned. there may be kids who now grow up wanting to be astronauts, as excited as generation of astronauts today. the ones who watched the apollo moon landing in their pajamas with their parents and decided that they were going to grow up to be an astronaut. that is suddenly more aspirational than wanting to grow up to appear on reality tv or become a popstar. because of nasa, we can also show kids what our planet, what

the earth looks like from space. they can see what a beautiful planet we live on. how vulnerable it is. how fragile it is. we can make it clear to them that they need to look after it. when we look around in space we see all sorts of other fascinating, extraordinary, and exciting worlds, but we do not see another planet nearby exactly like the earth, which is a strong message to kids. we are not saying that all children need to grow up to go into space. but we are saying that the work on by nasa has a profound and lasting impact on the way the children view their life on earth, their cosmic environment it can influence the choices that they make in the future and their careers. i would like to close with a signed letter that we had from ben, age six. his mother told us that he was not a confident child, but that he loved reading about space so

much that it had changed his life. he wrote to us to say -- now that i know i am good at space i have decided to become a scientist when i grow up." thank you for listening. i hand you back. [applause] >> what will we find when we go into space? is there life out there? or are we alone in the universe? we believe that life arose spontaneously and the earth, so it must be possible for life to have done the same on other

planets, of which there seemed to be a large number in the gallic. but we do not know how life first appeared. the probability of something as complicated as a dna molecule being formed by random collision in an ocean is incredibly small. however, there may have been some simpler macromolecule that builds up through another molecule capable of reproducing itself. still, even if the probability of life on a suitable planet is very small, since the universe is infinite, life would have appeared somewhere. if the probability is very low

the distance between two independent instances of life would be very large. however, there is a possibility that life could spread from planet to planet, or from steller's stellar system, carried on meteors. we know that earth has been hit by meteors that came from mars. others may have come from further afield. we have no evidence that any meteors carried life, but it remains a possibility. an important feature of life spread in this manner is that it would have the same basis, dna, for life in the neighborhood of the year. -- of the earth. on the other hand, it would be

extremely likely to be dna-based . so watch out if you meet and ambien. you could be infected with the disease against which you have no resistance. -- an alien. you could be infected with the disease against which you have no resistance. feasibility on the probability of life appearing is that we have energy the earth was formed 4.6 alien years ago and was probably too hot for the first half a billion years. so life appeared on or within half a billion years of it being possible, which is short compared to the lifetime of an earthlike planet. this would suggest either transfer mia or that the probability of life appearing independently is reasonably high.