dr. james billington and i'm also a writer and formerly the editor-in-chief of book world at "the washington post" for many years, and also a veteran of the publishing world. i worked for harper is a senior editor and vice president for many years and went on to work at simon & schuster as well. so i have been around the block. i'm a bit of a veteran in all fields, but we have learned so many things in this conference so far. it such a delight, such a pleasure to the wonderful keynote speech about the importance of words and the report from the frontlines of so many countries, south africa and russia, marvelous and to learn that the first encounter between europe and the new world, between the conquistadors and the quinta was over a book and on and on with the heritage of thomas jefferson and the wonderful discussions that you just heard. at such a vibrant discussion. and wonderful to know that it will go on on in the sum of as we go forward around the world. now what we have learned in the whole process is that the book culture is changing, although we all know i think in our hearts that th

dr. james billington, a great man and great librarian of congress. thank you.pplause] i will start at the beginning. as a child, and loved to read. in the midst 50s, like in the outer boroughs of new york city, in my case the bronx, was comfortable but provincial comments and my curiosity extended far beyond the bounds of my home and school. i wanted to know more about people in other places, what was happening in the world now, what had happened in the past, and quite simply how i came to be. books were my passport and i consumed them voraciously but i came to writing later than most, in my late 30s after having raised my three children. my generation, those of us born during and after world war ii, numbered in the millions and we were asking questions that demanded to be answered. we had come of age in the heat of the escalating war in vietnam and we didn't know why our brothers were fighting so far away for a cause that was so difficult to understand and the role of women in society was changing rapidly. my friends, educated with traditional values but a dee