[applause] >> thank you so much, lissa. and it's a pleasure to be back at my favorite bookstore. i think this is my fifth event here. i've written seven books, and fifth, at five of those have been launched here. so i am just delighted that politics and prose has just gone on to greater heights, greater strengths under these wonderful new owners. and thank you all for coming out this evening to your strobe and i talk about our beloved richard. i think between the two of us, we cover the personal and the professional holbrooke, but it would take more than two of us to really penetrate every corner of this voracious mind, and this devouring personality who has left all of us changed. shortly after richard passed away, and it would be unbelievably a year in three weeks, i reflected on an interview that i had made with lady bird johnson for my book on presidential marriages, in which she said linda and stretched me. and that's absolutely what richard did for me. he stretched me, he left me quite transform. and in some ways, i didn't realize that until he left. penetrating our souls,

my name is lissa muscatine i'm one of the owners of politics and prose and on behalf of my honor and co-owner of the booksellers' we welcome all of you to this evening's event which by the way for those of you that are not regulars here is one of about 475 author defense that we do every year and it's part of our mission not only to bring great books to the community but also to promote civic discourse which is which seems comes in greater scarcity so we love to have these eve ensler you can listen to authors and ask them questions so think you for joining us. there's a couple quick housekeeping these before we get started our guests will speak about half an hour, 25 minutes or half an hour and they will be happy to take questions. we ask you to state your name as a courtesy for people in your question know who you are or at least a little bit to your. at the end of the program if he could fool the pure chairs and put them at the site of the room that would be helpful to the staff and then will be a line for me going in this direction for book signing at the end so with that the last