you can freeze us, send us an e-mail booktv@c-span.org. all those ways to connect will be on screen during 30 minutes with our guest for your questions or comments. how did this book come about? co-wrote it with lisa pulitzer. you said there is a story here, how did you bring this story to this form? >> one of the things, i had so many stories i grew up in as part of my career and very dramatic stories. a lot of success in those stories and after i retired i started writing some of those stories and putting them to paper and it was a very interesting story to tell the american people. lisa pulitzer joined me. she was a great writer out of new york and a best-selling author with a number of books that she published her self. it was great being able to join up with a fantastic writer in telling our story. >> host: what did you learn about writing a book in the process? >> guest: i realize it is a tedious process and there can be a lot of emotions. when you read my book it tells a story how i grew up and tells a story of my family being very

you can also tweet a look tv or you can send an e-mail, booktv@c-span.org.is discussion about the political impact of hollywood. on the left and right untypical discourse and policymaking. stephen ross teaches at the university and has done much of his academic work and the effects on the history of the film industry and effects on american society. you've given us names that are it is. could you do a series of biographical portrait of these folks and how they have been influenced by 80. were the people people on the left? >> i've taken five people on the left i on the right. they are not young activists, that erin of them tend most prominent activists. the people on the left i look at our charlie chaplin, edward g robinson, harry belafonte, james fonda and warren beatty. >> some of the later named familiar to us i was surprised to find that charlie chaplin was political. tell me how. >> charlie chaplin was the first legal movie star. one of the things i argue in the book is politics take many forms. most americans when they think of hollywood and politics t

booktv on c-span2 at liberty university, lynchburg, virginia. >> is there a nonfiction author or book you would like to see featured on booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org. or tweet us at twitter.com/booktv. >> is a look at some books that are being published this week. >> up next on liberty university, history professor david snead who would a biography of president john f. kennedy. this interview is just under 10 minutes.

an imperial presidency." lyons press is the publisher. this is book tv on c-span2. >> is there a nonfiction author or book you would like to see featured on booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org. or tweet us at twitter.com/booktv. >> and now more from liberty university and lynchburg, virginia. book tv interview professor brian melton about his new biography of confederate general robert e. lee. this interview was part of booktv's college series and is about half an hour. >> on your screen is brian melton's new book, "robert e. lee: a biography." professor melton, why have over 2000 books been written about robert e. lee speak what he such a fascinating man an integral part of american history. it's that simple. and then, of course, there's the fact that after the war was over with, when so many people, particularly south of the mason-dixon, were so desperate to revisit the war and try to scare out where could they run, leaking sort of epitomizes that idea. that only if lee been in charge whole time, if only lee been able to leave them better. then perhaps the south could have won the civil war. that would be a bit of a change to u.s. history. >> was lee a successful military

applause] >> is a nonfiction author or book you would like to see featured on booktv wax send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org. or tweet us at twitter.com/booktv. >> my connection to this foundation goes back quite some years. i have, with great honor, and posting, use a lot of the work of robert rector in my own research and in writing. his work has been particularly helpful for me in terms of my own attempts to think differently about both political and economic liberation for african-americans. the united states is an incredible place. it stands out among other nations and in the world. and i recently had an opportunity to be reminded of how great this place is at my family reunion and escambia county, alabama, in the city of atmore, alabama. escambia county is the county that my families citation was. and so i stand here before you as a descendent of

booktv? send an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org or two us at twitter.com/booktv. >> a silver 0. cars that everyone in iraq drives and no one in america knows about. but again the suspicion was raised when i realize the back of a car was a little lower to the ground than the front. given the rules of engagement you can't just shoot someone because they look suspicious. why did you shoot him? i got scared. you've got scared? so you killed a man? >> yes, sir. i have a gun. you can't do that. given the rules of engagement you can't just shoot someone unless they have a weapon and you know they are aiming or you know they have killed some one. for they are in the action. given the rules of engagement i couldn't just shoot someone that looks suspicious. i knew the best thing to do was to yell at him to get out of his car. i did and i was looking over my left shoulder facing him and the lead striker vehicle had metal up to my name and all around me. i was inside the striker standing up. i still have my m frames on and looking cool and had my cutler on doing everything i was supposed to

booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org or please us at twitter.com/booktv. >> 16. sweeping the youth of america. >> just sign please. >> nice to meet you, young lady. hello. >> friends in seattle. >> nice to meet you. we love that. >> you wrote a new book. [talking over each other] >> by the book. when can we do that? >> you have your e-mail on this? ya mean in person? >> that would be [talking over each other] >> well. i am miking of the sound of that. >> really interesting because europe and france have two presidents. >> you read this book. france is all over it. we are going to try to do an interview. [talking over each other] >> can you call me? >> okay. >> i am just getting off [talking over each other] >> thank you. >> could i be the same as you? >> to get that -- >> the collections. >> oh! sir you are not in hiding. >> not any more. i am still doing volumes. >> what happened to that cartoonist? the witness protection program? >> could i be the same -- >> okay. >> thank you very much. hello. >> nice to meet you. >> viewing college? >> university of michigan.

booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org. or tweet us at twitter.com/booktv. >> here's a look at some books that are being released this week. los..

booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org. or tweet us at twitter.com/booktv. >> get back the last 10 years and draw three lessons. one, the most important lesson is that the most important thing to happen in united states in the last 10 years was nothing. the last 10 years never saw another successful terrorist attack in the united states. and i think the most important question to ask is, why, and whether it was worth it. to me, the most important decision was one that president bush made as commander in chief and chief executive with the constitution on the very night of 9/11 which was to treat the i think the way we thought about it in the justice department at that time was that if any country had attacked us in the same way on september 11, as al qaeda did. no one would've had any doubt we were at war. the only difference was that al qaeda was not a nationstate. only issue is could we be at war with a non-nation state. i think president bush made a decision for the country that night. that was an important decision becau

booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org. or tweet us at twitter.com/booktv. >> up next on booktv john stossel contends that the government and politicians, regardless of political affiliation, are incapable of addressing the political and social issues facing the u.s. the author, host of fox business network's "stossel," argues that americans need to think as individuals and stop looking to the government for assistance. this is just under an hour. >> thank you all for coming. i'm larry, the president. we're delighted to provide a forum for our good friend john stossel to talk about his new book, "no they can't: why government fails - but individuals succeed." and here to introduce john today is his colleague and intellectual collaborator, judge andrew napolitano. as you all know, he was a fox news judicial panels provide daily and houses on the fox news and fox business channel's. judge is the youngest life tenured superior court judge in history of the state of new jersey serving on the bench from 1987-95. he also served a

booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org. or tweet us at twitter.com/booktv. here's a look at some of the upcoming book fairs and festivals happening this month. >> we'd like to hear from. tweet us your feedback, twitter.com/booktv. >> coming up next on booktv, nikki haley, recounts her life and political cricket she was elected south carolina's first female governor in 2010. governor haley is the daughter of sikh parents who immigrated to the u.s. and settled in bamberg, south carolina, describes her childhood and the prejudice her family faced. this is about 45 minutes. >> thank you, arthur, and it's a privilege to be here. i noted that at about this time yesterday you were on the view being questioned by joy behar. hopefully we can elevate things a bit, a low bar spent quite the experience, i will tell you that. >> it's a privilege to be here for because it's a wonderful book. arthur touched on your personal story. i brought with me to my daughters today because i think it's so important for all of us to be a blue spend with strong confident leaders, and be

booktv. send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org tweet us at twitter.com/booktv. >> here are some of the top-selling nonfiction titles according to the new york times. this list reflects sales as of april 19th. covering the list is drift by rachel madnow. shea talked-about america's history of creating war and our use the executive branch of government is too powerful. tiger woods's former golf coach is second on a list with the big miss. he describes what it was like to coach the championship golfer 56 years. michael savage critiques president obama's foreign and domestic policy in trickle-down tyranny. this is third. fourth is imagine followed by mrs. kennedy and the. mr. hill was first lady jacqueline kennedy's personal secret service guard and was there at the time of the assassination of president kennedy. cheryl straight recount her hike along the pacific trail. her book is sixers. killing lincoln by bill o'reilly is seventh and number eight, the science of forming and breaking good and bad habits with the power of habit. chris kyle is ninth with american sniper, and eyewitness accounts of war

booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org or tweet us at twitter.com/booktv. now booktv's coverage of the 2012 national black writers conference concludes with a panel discussion titled the role of social media. black writers take literature to the web. panelists include angela dodson, content manager and "kweli journal". troy johnson of the african-american literature book club. montague kobbe, writer and blogger. akoto ofori-atta, assistant editor at "the root". laura pegram, founding editor of "kweli journal" and joel dreyfuss, senior editor at large of "the root". this panel is an hour-and-a-half. >> thank you. at the sunday, everybody. wow. we are going to change that. i want to say special thank you to dr. brenda greene who has the remarkable job organizing this production. they have done the job of heroes. wherever you are in the audience thank you for putting this together. we are going to spend the next hour or so looking at how a committee of writers and publishers and journalists are using social media to amplify the voices and the work of black wri

booktv? send us an e-mail at otb at c-span.org. or twitter us at twitter.com/"book tv." >> there is a little something for everyone here. in a little celebration of the written word. >> greetings from the campus of usc in los angeles. welcome to day two of "book tv"'s coverage of the los angeles times festival of books. we will be here with nonfiction panels and authors of the latest nonfiction books. let's take a look at a rundown. coming up next, an interview with eric alterman. his new book is called "the cause." that is followed by an interview with lori andrews, who has a new book on social networks and the death of privacy called, i know who you are and i saw what you did. in an hour and a half from now, a panel session from usc in the los angeles times, three others including edward hughes, anna sklar, and peer leaves. kareem abdul-jabbar has a new children's book. three hours from now, another panel session live from usc. it is called surveillance and secrets. lori andrews, our earlier guests, is part of the panel. four hou

booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org.witter.com/booktv. >> it's been nearly 10 years since the release of robert caro's third part of the years of lyndon johnson, and in just a few weeks the fourth line will be published. it follows 1980s to the path to power, and 2003 master of the senate. here he is on q&a in 2008 with an update on how volume four was taking shape. >> this is really a book not just about lyndon johnson but about robert henke and jack kennedy and the interplay of the person us, particularly roberts. it's a very complicated story, but i don't think people know of two very complicated people are and robert kennedy and lyndon johnson. and i had to really go into that and try to explain it because it's part of the story all the way through the end of johnson's presidency, and i suppose chronological it's the moment johnson is passing in 1955 voting rights act. and that's sort of a one way we are up to now. >> watch the rest of this and other appearances online at the c-span video library. and watch for upcom