. >> host: helen thorpe, how did you get access to south? >> guest: i showed up right before school started the principal said i read your first book, just like us. i know you're very sensitive if you're welcome to spendnd as muh time as you want in any room in this high school. and so that was amazing but i think probably the first book paved the way. >> host: did the parents have issues with you being there? >> guest: so i sent a letter home to all the parents. they invited me to their homes. i actually quickly begin sharing meals. the iraqis family cook me middle eastern feast. they like to eat sitting on the floor so we did that together. the congolese family provided gnome and i had meals with them. they had a habit of you eat out of one bowl. it's a congolese tradition. they put one bowl with three spoons innd it. we would all share from the same bowl. they explained to me this was a way of being hospitable, but also tradition in the culture it's a way to make sure you are not poisoned. because if you are sharingro frm one bowl you can

she's helen thorpe, this is overheard. helen thorpe, welcome. - thank you so much. - i'm gonna pretend that we don't know each other. stipulate, we've been friends for - a long time, decades. - 25 years, longer than that. and you know, the thing about this book, which made me cry, and i think is wonderful and is the best of your three books is, i'm overwhelmed with admiration for what you've accomplished here. - thank you so much. - it's a great book and it's a great book right now because of the world we're in and the issues that are before us. and i'm trying to understand, even having read the book and having thought about what you must have been thinking about, how did you know that we would be having this conversation? - i love that you're asking that question, because the world has changed so much in the course of - just in that time. - yeah, while i was hanging out with these students. - you started writing this book and researching this book, it's the 2015-16 school year that is the guts of the reporting. - right, s

is a story as gripping, heartfelt and powerful, with further a do please join me in welcoming helen thorpe. [applause] >> thank you for being here, so nice to see everybody. i am delighted to be back at the bookworm. one of my favorite independent bookstores. i love what the staff here does. my local independent bookstore in denver is my home away from home. i'm very attached to my neighborhood bookstore. great to be here with you guys. so i saw tonight that i would read a little bit and try to explain the book as a whole to you and read a little bit more so i wanted to start with the opening of the book, it kind of set things up for you to understand, in greater detail, launching into day one at south high school for these students and their teacher. this chapter is called nice to meet you. on the first day of school it was going to be a 90 ° scorcher, you could feel the air starting to shimmer. eddie williams jogged up the depths of the main entrance to south high school. and eager to meet his new students. and the customers of people and nation this charting the course of tomorrow conta

. >> host: helen thorpe newest book isll called "the newcomers finding refuge, friendship, and hope in an american f classroom" thank you. >> guest: thank you. [applause] >> good afternoon. on behalf of south motors, miami-dade calls and, of course, the miami book fair we are very pleased to have you here. south motors is a pelvic country that it been around for over six years with aom commitment to treating every customer like family. another commitment the family made from the very beginning was a commitment to get back to the community through events such as this. it is our pleasure trust someone like walter isakson here. it is a pleasure to have someone of this h magnitude and of his knowledge and wealth ofxp experience to have someone like you here. my notes are blanking out. walter is university professor of history at tulane, former ceo of the aspen institute, chairman of cnn and the managing editor of time magazine. he is the author of the innovators. kissinger, a biography, steve jobs, , einstein, his life and universe. benjamin franklin, an american life.. and, of course, wal

it is a gripping heartfelt powerful story so without further ado, please join me in welcoming helen thorpe. [applause] [applause] i'm thrilled to be back at one of my favorite bookstores. i love with nicole and the entire staff here have done. my local independent bookstore is like home away from home, so i am attached to my neighborhood bookstore and it's just great to be here with you guys. so, i thought tonight i would read a little bit and try to explain the book as a whole and then read a little bit more. i wanted to start with the opening of the book because it sets things up. then i will describe in greater detail of course. but going into day number one for the students and the teacher. this chapter is called nice to meet you. on the first day of school it was going to be a 90-degree scorcher and you could already feel the air starting to shimmer. he jogged up the steps to the main entrance of the high school. half an hour before the first bell rang e. delights and customs of people and the pageantry of th the nations chat the course of tomorrow and claimed a large mural by the fro