i had a long correspondence a arthur koestler -- with arthur koestler and busiest -- enthusiasts.eople that are interested in the minority -- in the material, but they are a minority. i plan to put a lot of that on my website. i want to save other people having to go and dig up the same stuff. >> how big was his diary and where is it? >> his diary was kept intermittently. there are journals that start and stop. thereñr are detailed diaries tht start and stop as well and then a diary that he kept entire life. >> -- kept his entire life. >> what got you bulk of what you have in this book? -- the bulk of what you have in this book? >> diligence is obviously one of them. i speak in number of languages -- a number of languages. i draw the line at hebrew. that was one element. the other thing is that i have always been a long distance runner. it when i was in school, i was hopeless at the sprint, but i could run long distance. i enjoyed everyñr minute of it. in many ways, rochthis is my no. it is a novel of research. it is an intricate jigsaw puzzle. >> where did you write? >> i wrote i

the thing about arthur koestler, -- i do not put whitaker chambers anywhere near the same league as a writer. koestler was in that same area as camus, in the english speaking tradition, people like steinbeck, hemingway, certainly, who believed that a writer should be not just a writer but a man of action as well. >> what does that mean? >> they should participate in the politics of the day. they should go to the hot spots and visit countries. there were revolutions in the soviet union. >> what do you think of that idea? do you believe that for yourself? >> now, it seems to be much the business of foreign correspondents. it goes to central africa. but it was very much, for the 20th century, it was a very strong phenomenon. a distinct vein of literature grew out of this approach. it was an attraction to left- wing ideas. to socialism, which powered this. in arthur koestler's case, i link it to the idea of the search for utopia. zionism was his first utopia. he did not think palestine would do it. it did not do it for him. he later became a communist because he witnessed the consequenc

. >> this week on to win a, a look back at the life of a writer arthur koestler. >> michael scammell arthur of "koestler: the literary & political odyssey of a twentieth-century skeptic." why did you choose to open your prologue the way you did? >> partly for dramatic effect. partly to achieve my favorite form of literature which is a circle. and partly because i did not see it as symbolic. that is to say, that he had tried in vain to exercise control over what he was doing. he constantly thought about where he was going, what he was thinking, what he was writing. there were three or four attempts at suicide earlier. it seemed to me to have great symbolic effect. >> let me read the first sentence. on tuesday, march 1, 1983, arthur koestler and his wife, cynthia entered their home and sat down facing each other. he in his favorite leather armchair and she on the couch and poured themselves their usual drink before dinner. then what? >> that drink was laced with something else. obviously, it was a drink designed to kill them. they took their drinks with a great deal of morphine. that wa

. >> tonight, the life of arthur koestler, best known for his anti-communist novel. tonight, on c-span's "q&a." >> good afternoon, everyone. the reviews from the christmas attack are complete. it is important that the american people understand that the steps we're taking to keep our country say. this afternoon my homeland security adviser discussed how our government failed to connect the dots in ways that would have prevented a known terrorist from boarding an airplane coming toward america. janet napolitano will discuss how the terrorists got aboard that plane, and how we will strengthen aviation security going forward. but today i wanted to briefly summarize their conclusions and the steps i ordered to in an ever-changing world, our first line of defense is accurate intelligence they shared, integrated, analyzed, and acted upon quickly and effectively. after the 9/11 attacks, that is what the report achieved and what our community does every day. unfortunately that is not what happened in a lead up to christmas day. shortcomings' occurred in three broad and compo

. >> sunday, a biographer on the life of arthur koestler best known for his 1940 anti-, this novel.hat is sunday night on cspan's "q&a." "in fed we trust" on fed chairman ben bernanke and the role he played at the economic collapse of 2008. the offer will discuss his book with alice. rivlin. >> i am always concerned about unforeseen consequences of new regulations. regulations of any kind act as a tack. when you tax or regulate something, you get less of it and to manage it. >> this weekend on "the communicator's," and efforts to create a national broadband plan. that is today at 6:30 p.m., eastern, on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: the president spoke about the attempted terrorist attack on that flight to detroit. >> that is why we must communicate clearly to moslems around the world that al qaeda offers nothing except a bankrupt vision of misery and death, including the murder of fellow muslims. the united states stands with those who seek justice and progress. two events that progress, we have sought new beginnings with muslim communities around the world. we en

but sunday, the life of arthur koestler, best known for his 1941 anti-communist novel, "darkness at noon." sunday night on c-span's q&a. >> from wall street journal economics editor, david wessel on fed chairman ben bernanke and the role he played after the economic collapse of 2008. he will discuss his book with the former federal reserve vice chair, and first director of the congressional budget office. next, members of the electoral complaints commission in afghanistan talk about the country's upcoming parliamentary elections and efforts to avoid allegations of fraud that plagued the 2009 presidential election. from earlier today, the u.s. institute of peace in washington, this is two hours. >> good morning, everyone. i would ask that you please take your seat. my name is john m.c. with the u.s. institute of peace based in afghanistan. -- john dempsey with the u.s. into to a peace based in afghanistan. i have the privilege of being here in washington for the first public event on afghanistan in 2010. i'm happy that we have such a good turnout. i recognize a lot of bases and i see peop