. >> the reading festival in hyde park, new york continues with kathryn smith. she looks at the life of marguerite "missy" lehand, considered president roosevelt's personal and professional confidante. hello, good afternoon, everyone, welcome to the roosevelt museum and to the reading festival. we're excited you're here for today. this program is a special one, i'll tell, but it in just a moment. if you're familiar with the program at this point, about a 30 minute talk and ten minutes of questions and then a book signing. we're lucky enough to have c-span with us here today so if you're going to ask questions, use the microphone on the other side these sorts of programs are only made possible because of the trustees and our members. we have a trustee here today and thank you for your support. [applause] >> raise your hand if you're a member and would he truly appreciate it. if you're not a member, get one of the pins, and it gives you free admission to the library and museum. we have an exhibit on the japanese internment and very powerful. i hope you'll see this

well, i'm going to let my biographer, kathryn smith, tell you the rest of my story. [applaus [applause]. >> okay. girls, how was the accent? okay. gin and barbara are missy's great nieces and you all stand up, stand up, please. [applaus [applause] >> barbara jakes and jane scarboro and they were wonderful to work with and so generous in sharing their great aunt's papers with me. the book could not have happened without them and i've been a little nervous doing the boston accent since obviously, i'm not from that part of the country. my husband leo is here in the front row and his father is, so i just kind of imitated all of his yankee relatives. oh, is that a phone? it sounds just like the one on the desk at the white house. anyway, missy, in 1933, of course, came in as the private secretary to fdr. she was part of a four-person management team. can you imagine the whole west wing being managed by four people, three men, louie howe, fdr's political advisor, steve early his able press secretary. mcfire his appointment secretary and missy, who did everything else. what

daisy in the first jimmy carter in the house before president carter and elisabeth maurer and kathryn smith. >> so when they come to the white house with that segregated practice with president taft so even though there was of multiracial cooking staffe time before the day's eight together so by the time inep ellora roosevelt rectifies the situation so i will let you decide if that is progress but it is no longer segregation in to save them notes san skiffs in then presidents are terribly moved without residence staff and there are civil rights advocates and the endaf of a broader society we saw what lizzy did warner fdr but another example was a longtime cook for lyndon johnson before the civil rights act actually uses her experience to support the bill because they would drive back and forth fromom texas and suffered so many indignities said i would not make bad ride anymore is a shame that presidents could cast to suffer and when the civil rights act is passed he gives her one of the pens . one of the big takeaways that th these african-americans because of their relationship gave the pr

. >> the reading festival in hyde park, new york continues with kathryn smith. she looks at the life of marguerite

kathryn smith, the untold story of the partnership that defined a presidency. and joseph leilyveld and his book. and then at 8:00 p.m. eastern a conversation with best selling author guy talese from his home in new york city. >> the books i have publish in the last couple of years are the same odd characters written by an 84, 85-year-old guy that the 24, 25-year-old guy was writing about when i was that age. >> mr. talese talks about his career over the past 60 years. his books include "the kingdom and the power," "honor thy father" and ""unto the sons." >> i wanted to talk about unknown people, maybe a little woman who fed pigeons in central park or a little woman who clean the chrysler builder at 4:00 in the morning or a doorman outside the plaza hotel and what he saw or didn't see. i wanted to write about what it was like to be a bus driver in manhattan or clean the subways at 4:00 in the morning, the obscure characters that people do not -- ordinary people do not recognize. i wanted to be a chronicler of those who are unrecognize wild, untitled. >> for more

kathryn smith and her book the gate keeper, missing hand, fdr, and the untold story of the partnership that defined the presidency. and the book at his final battle, the last months of franklin roosevelt. at 8:00 p.m. eastern, a conversation with best-selling author gay clees at hois them. >> the books are the same odd characters written by me. >> he talks about his career over the past 60 years. this books include the kingdom and the power, honor thy father, and unto the sun. >> i wanted to write about a little woman who feeds the pigeons in the park. or about a doorman outside the plaza hotel and what he saw and didn't see. i wanted to write about sometimes what it was like to be a bus driver in manhattan or clean the subways at 4:00 in the morning. those obscure characters that ordinary people don't recognize. i wanted to be a chronicler of those who were unrecognized and untitled. >> for more of this weekend's schedule, go to booktv.org. >> on washington junior journal we talked to glenn thompson and