essayist and critic for "the new yorker" and a professor of our history at columbia university, simon shama has written and presented more than 30 documentaries for the bbc and pbs, including power of art, an emmy award winner. mr. shama has won numerous literary prizes, including the wolfson award for history, the w.h. prize for literature, the national academy of arts and letters award and the national books critics circle award. he also loves to cook and we've seen a number of his recipes in vogue. his newest work, the american future, a history, explores the 2008 presidential election from historical perspective. debating four topics, war, religion, race, and emigration. and the relationship between natural resources and prosperity. mr. shama examines these problems in the context of america's identity. before we bring mr. shama out, we will show you a short clip from his new documentary, that shares the same name of his new book. >> it was a hard american winter. a tough time for americans. but out there, beneath the ice, something big was staring. an awakening of the unruly animal --