. >> alan taylor is a historian and a scholar. they wrote a book published two years ago and the civil war of 1812. a fine study of what happened between detroit and montreal. particularly on the niagara frontier. they brought the new concerns and considerations that historians have about how to write history. race, genter, borders and approached his matter from this new perspective. i think it's a good book. taylor parachuted in. he is not someone who studied the war. of all the scholars who wrote a book on the war, his and my view is undoubtedly the lest. they are more critical than i am. if i had to name one of the best published, i would include his as one of the best. worth reading. bruce? we have threats of dissolution. was this after the war that new england might disassociate and join the maritimes? >> during the war of 1812, there was talk of is you session, but no serious is you sessionist movement. those who were chosen to attend the hardford convention were virtually all moderates and they adopted a report and in the e

one of the arguments that alan taylor makes in his book and it's a good one, that there were these two conflicting visions about what was going to happen in north america. or was our republican experiment going to collapse and who knows what would happen in its place. where i think taylor is wrong is he argues that a number of british and canadians actually believe the u.s. would collapse and they were eager to reestablish the british empire below the 49th parallel. british leaders or subjects that seriously envision that. the fact that the united states had failed in the revolution and the war of 1812, to conquer canada in no way diminished our interest in canada. even though looking from today's perspective, we see the westward movement as a westward movement. it was also, a move that looked north and south. and i would say that we really didn't give up our designs on canada until about the end of the century. as late as 1886, the detroit newspaper ran an editorial, and i can quote this directly, from the editorial, they were talking about a problem with great britain. and the editor

on this truck have seen it so we're going to reveal it to you this morning and we're here with alan taylor expert on trucks. what makes this so unique? >> before i show it to you, there's a lot more going on than just the skin of the truck. it's all underneath from the frame of it. it's got a new frame. it's got an eight speed transmission. it's a first. air suspension. >> then stop talking about it! >> all right. world debut. here it is! >> there it is! >> it's like the $6 million man truck. it may not look a whole lot different. it is completely different. inside -- >> did i hear someone say venetian blinds? >> yes, inside the truck is different. they've done everything to make this a better truck. but venetian blinds, yes. truck guys and gals love to haul things. they have to have the ability to keep that engine cool. there's a set of blinds behind the grille that will open and close as the truck needs to cool off. everything. you're talking best in class fuel economy with this and the best in class right now is 23. this may get 24, 25 miles to the gallon. >> and v8 engine. >> and v8 an

alan? yes, allan swartz, executive chairman of guggenheim partners llc. next to him is john taylor at the hoover institute and raymond professor of economics at stanford university, also has a new book relatively new book "five principles," correct? and then steve forbes whom you heard from earlier today, the chairman and editor-in-chief of forbes media. eddie lazear, the jack steel parker professor of human resources management and economics and he's also the morris around cox senior fellow at the hoover institution, and he is a member of the george w. bush institute advisory board. and next to him is governor sam brownback of the great state of kansas. and next to him is larry lindsay, whom you've already heard from today who is president and chief executive officer of the lipped say group. now i'm going to kind of move down here. so this session has been called by amity who is our -- actually, i sort of figure, this is amity's world, we all just live in it. so amity, we call it blitz solutions, right, amity? so i've been asked to start this off by going around or down and asking

taylor might appeal. he has nothing much to lose. otherwise, his journey from presidential palace to prison cell is nearly over. alan little, bbc news, the hague. >> ban ki-moon has said he is greatly alarmed at the continued killing in syria. he has urged the government to withdraw heavy weapons from populated areas. he spoke after a big explosion which 70 people were killed. the facility was being used as a bomb making a tackle -- factory. >> we condemn what remains of the government's refusal to abide by its commitments, its continued intense use of heavy weaponry which continues to result in large numbers of civilian deaths every day. this is precisely what we have been concerned about. it is further indication that the government is ready to make commitments and then break them just as swiftly. it certainly casts further doubt where there was already a great deal on the core elements of the kofi annan plan. >> we spoke to richard murphy, a former ambassador to syria and saudi arabia. thank you for speaking to us. just the fact that we are still seeing the violence in syria, is it simply because the plan is not

taylor into sierra leone's war. the court's verdict will be eagerly awaited in these streets. for sierra leonens it's another mild stone on their journey back from the horrors this lived through. alan little, bbc news, free town. >> being president of the united states is a job like no other and perhaps the only people who understand the pressure of those who actually held the post are the democrats are republicans, these men seem to share a special bond explored in a new book "the presidents club." its co-author, mike duffy, spoke to the bbc's kathy kay. >> a firsthand report on u.s. relations with europe is made to president kennedy by former president eisenhower. >> the president are are bound together by having simply done the job. only four exist now. at the moment in the history there have only been five. secret clubhouse across the street. they have special rules. they also have black sheep. they're bound together because they have done this most difficult job. they all come out with scars and they all know what that's like. >> you uncover lots of stories about conversations presidents had with former presidents. what's the one that surprised you most, relationship that surp