kogan's bike misses his head by mere inches. >> oh, two bikes down. >> a dazed kogan gets to his feet there was panic around and there were bikes falling everywhere. >> amidst the chaos rene leaps over the barrier and on to the track. >> the first reaction was, help, i got to help them because they have fallen and maybe they're injured. i have to help them. i wasn't hesitating with what to do. go to that guy. >> riders are down and motionless on the ground as more bikes come soaring through the air. fisher bends down to help a rider, his back to the circuit. >> i heard the crashing sound of metal over the tarmac and this is going seriously wrong. i have to get out of here. i just stood up and i think two or three bikes at the same time and they torpedoed me. >> he's hit by multiple bikes and crushed against the safety wall in a blaze of metal and smoke. >> oh, dear me. that was horrendous. >> officials red flag the race as a half dozen riders lose control of their bikes and crash. >> i thought i have to change my life because my leg's gone. at the end they said, okay, it's still attac

rick kogan of "the chicago tribune." [cheers and applauset] >> that's enough of that. [laughter] is anybody does anybody in here not know who erik larson is? [laughter] you walked in and said, well, that sounds like an interesting name maybe i'll go see this character. he is, without argument and you can argue david mccullough if you want to, the finest narrative nonfiction writer alive. [applause] he is also a terrific human being, and you unfortunately have to listen to larson and kogan. this is the first time we've ever had a conversation that did not involve cocktails. >> thats is true, that is true. >> so we may not be as wildly fun as we normally are, but we hope to be fun. [laughter]sa erik, right now the lucetania you describe as a floating village in steel.ng i'm not going to concentrate much on the book. t my editor, jerry kern, is a huge fan of the book. he has specific questions. i'm goingdi to talk more about int a sense the process. sense. you are now in what you call the dark country of no ideas. >> that is a term i didn't come up with. my good friend an

rick kogan of "the chicago tribune." [cheers and applauset] >> that's enough of that.[laughter] is anybody does anybody in here not know who erik larson is? [laughter] you walked in and said, well, that sounds like an interesting name maybe i'll go see this character. he is, without argument and you can argue david mccullough if you want to, the finest narrative nonfiction writer alive. [applause] he is also a terrific human being, and you unfortunately have to listen to larson and kogan. this is the first time we've ever had a conversation that did not involve cocktails. >> thats is true, that is true. >> so we may not be as wildly fun as we normally are, but we hope to be fun. [laughter]sa erik, right now the lucetania you describe as a

[applause] >> he is also a terrific human being and you unfortunately have to listen to larson and kogan. this is the first time we are having a conversation without cocktails. you describe this as a floating village in steel. you get 15 minutes to ask specific questions so i will not focus too much on the book. my editor has specific questions. but i want to talk more about the process in a sense. you are now in what you call the dark country of no ideas. >> that is a term i didn't come up with. my good friend and publicist came up with it when i am looking for a period to describe my next book. when i finish a book i have no other idea on my plate and start from scratch. it is a long-ish process taking about a year before starting the next project during which i am unpleasant and snappish and pissy. >> that process -- do you sort of read not indiscriminate and go from there? >> i wish i had a way to distill the process. it is mostly chance. i do things that i hope will try to jog things lose in my mind. i will walk through the stacks in my favorite library in seattle and just pull book