and then also had a book signed by john steele gordon [applause] [inaudible conversations] but. >> not all the air the new book for everyday of the year. why this book? >> we have a lot less bellyaching going on. this is three his 65 really bad days it could be january 1st or january january 2nd and people having bad-- rulers and celebrities. >> i thought it would be inappropriate talking about mary lincoln? >> that is the day her son robert it said she was spending too much money and without any warning showed up at her house and had her hauled off to a hearing before the judge in a court room with no lawyer or representation to be declared insane. and so for the widowed first lady qdoba. >> when your only living son turns on new to have no ideas this is happening it does go to the concern that she was spending too much. >> you have international and national figures. >> making it interesting that they have by in large herd of. that is the obvious choice we were trying to avoid that. so in the context so when the manager had landed back on shore and was called a coward and then pushin

john steel gordon gives a history of the washington monument. that all happens tonight on c-span2's booktv. >> host: and now next on booktv, a discussion of "the solicitor general and the united states supreme court." there's the book cover. co-author is university of wisconsin professor ryan owens. professor owens, what is a us have to have general? -- solicitor general? >> guest: so the solicitor general is the attorney for the united states. he or she represents the united states' interests in the supreme court, occasionally in the federal circuit courts of appeals, but is really the central figure in terms of litigating the u.s.' position before supreme court. >> host: whether or not that person is an expert in the topic being discussed or not, it's more of a trial attorney type thing? >> guest: well, so that's a good question. so the office of the solicitor general sort of has three layers to it. at the very top, we've got the u.s. solicitor general, now don verrilli. that's a position that is nominated by the president, confirmed by the se

program, john steele gordon gives a history of the washington monument.hat all happens tonight on c-span2's booktv. [inaudible conversations] >> good evening, everyone. my name is vicki goodman, and on behalf of the friends of the institute for neuroscience and human behavior at ucla, it is my pleasure to the welcome you to this open mind presentation. we are honored and proud to have with us this evening a preeminent scientist who really needs no introduction to this audience. our director of the institute and author of "the

john steel gordon gives a history of the washington monument. that all happens tonight on c-span2's booktv. >> host: and now next on booktv, a discussion of "the solicitor general and the united states supreme court." there's the book cover. co-author is university of wisconsin professor ryan owens. professor owens, what is a us have to have general? -- solicitor general? >> guest: so the solicitor general is the attorney for the united states. he or she represents the united states' interests in the supreme court, occasionally in the federal circuit courts of appeals, but is really the central figure in terms of litigating the u.s.' position before supreme court. >> host: whether or not that person is an expert in the topic being discussed or not, it's more of a trial attorney type thing? >> guest: well, so that's a good question. so the office of the solicitor general sort

eastern, john steele gordon provides a history of the washington monument. then at 8:00, michael waldman, president of nyu's brennan center for justice, explores voting rights in america. on after words at 9:00 p.m. eastern, nancy cohen explores the as vanses women have made in politics and the possibility of a female president. then at 10:00, a look at the relationship between pauly murray, cofounder of the national organization for women, and first lady, eleanor roosevelt. and we wrap up booktv in primetime at 11:15 with jim downs, who chronicles the gay rights movement of the 1970s in his book "stand by me." that all happens tonight on c-span 2's booktv. >> booktv continues now with peter ross range. in his book, "1924" he takes a look at the year that defineed adolph hitler's ideas and led to his political rise in germany. >> hello and thanks to everybody for coming indoor's an beautiful winter day. you probably had to stop at the girl scout cookie stand on the way in, but at least you're in here. thanks for coming. i handed out a timeline before we star