john gregory dunne and peter matthiessen? i feel there were a couple others like jack levy as well. how helpful where those earlier biographies? >> they were really helpful. all 3 of those books in different ways, for folks who don't know about them. the first two books you mentioned, john donne and peter matthiessen, written at the height of the struggle and the real glory days of the movement and the boycott, people remember the boycott. they were both written in 67, 68, 69, that time period and they are both wonderful writers so each of them captured a lot about the spirit of the times. done was much more leary of where the movement was going to end up and in some ways more accurate in his predictions. peter matthiessen who i interviewed for my book as well was much more optimistic at the time about where things were going to end up and disappoint and jack levy's book, he was the official biographer of cesar chavez in the early years. his book was published in 1974. obviously a big gap after that but because he was authorized, he was allowed this incredible access to chavez and c

he was 93 years old. >> brown: writer, naturalist, activist and much more, peter matthiessen lived a full life that through both fiction and non fiction, took readers to far flung locales in search of stories and adventure. born into wealth in 1927 in new york, matthiessen served in the navy, graduated from yale and then helped found the influential literary journal, "the paris review." it emerged later that he also worked for the c.i.a. during his time in europe. he went on to write more than 30 books, becoming the only person to win the national book award in both fiction and non-fiction. his 1978 work, "the snow leopard," told of a spiritual journey into the himalayan mountains. in 2008, he won the award for "shadow country," a fictionalized account of the real-life murder of a man named edward watson by his neighbors in the everglades of southwest florida. we talked on the newshour that year, and i asked what had drawn him to that character. >> well, i was probably about 17. i was traveling up the southwest coast of florida with my dad. and he loved fishing. he had a boat. and he

. ♪ >> peter matheson --peter matthiessen, the author and naturalist, died on saturday.s 86 years old. he always seemed to be of a different, earlier era. he was an environmentalist, explorer, founder of the parish review, and cia agent. first and foremost, he was a writer. the only author to win for both fiction and nonfiction. his last work will be published on april 8. in 1927, he was born into a wealthy new york family. he graduated from yale and moved to paris. it is there that he and his childhood friend founded "the paris review." he moved back to new york and spent the rest of his life writing about the natural world and humanity. his work includes, "at play in the fields of the lord." he is survived by his wife, four children from previous two marriages, and grandchildren. your moments from his conversations on this program -- here are moments from his conversations on this program. >> what drove you to go to africa? >> my dad is a hunter. i used to hunt, too. i got interested in animal behavior. my brother did, too. he went to marine biology. it started very ea

peter mattheissen, the aw author died april 5. his letters always seem to be of a different early era with universal spiritual and timeless concerns. matthiessenan environmentalist, activist, explorer, founder of "the paris review," c.i.a. agent and buddhist teacher. first and foremost a writer, produced more than 30 books in his career and remains the only author to win national book award for fiction and nonfiction. his last work will be published april 8. he was born into a wealthy new york family, profess add life long unease about unearned privilege that fueled his need to explore the larger world. he moved to paris after graduating. he founded "the paris review." moved to new york in the '50s and spent the rest of his life writing about the natural world and humanity, the snow leopard, at play in the fields of the lord and trilogy of watson novels which he compressed into one long work, shadow country in 2008. matthiessen is survived which wife maria eckert, four children from two previous marriages two, stepchildren and six grandchildren. he appeared on this program many times in the last two decades. here are moments from those convers