. >> steven weinberg coming when the nobel prize in physics in 1979 for what? >> a theory that unified to have the basic forces of nature. we know and brad turns the four basic forces as electromagnetism, which is recently familiar to people. gravitation. we've done about that for a long time. and to forces that only act inside the nucleus of the atom. the strong nuclear force that holds the particles together and the weak nuclear force that causes them to change their nature. the theory that was honored and they share the prize with two other people with the theory that unified to have these horses. electro- mech bandit force and the weak nuclear force. and the price would not have been awarded at all except that it makes any predictions, which are then verified by experiment. >> you save most of your work from their home on lake austin. do you teach? >> yes, this term i am teaching freshman. of course on the history of science, which i think will turn into another book. and in the next or i will be teaching an advanced graduate course on advanced topics in qu

steven weinberg is a professor of science at the university of texas. he is a nobel prize winner in physics, the national medal of science winner, and he is also the author of this book, "lake views: the world and the universe." first of all, dr. weinberg, what is this picture on the front of your book? >> that's a picture of lake austin as seen from our boat dock. i do most of my work at home in an office overlooking the lake. and so i have a certain feeling of connection with lake austin. >> why would a nobel prize-winning physicist of science put a lake on the front of his book? >> well, it is what i look at while i'm working, but also, you know, being a scientist, especially a few theoretical physicist, it's a little unworldly. and the sounds of the lake, especially in summer, the boats going up and down the lake playing music brings me back a little bit to the real world, the world of human affairs, which is i think healthy. >> well -- >> that's what i was trying to do in this book, in many of the essays, to peek out of the ivory tower of debt, som

. >> steven weinberg, nobel prize winner, uta professor, author of several books, including this one, "lake views: the world and the universe." this picture on the front of the book is his view of lake austin on his boat dock. he joins us here at the university of texas. >> thank you. >> every weekend booktv offers 48 hours of programming, focus on nonfiction authors and books. watch it here on c-span2. >> next, booktv talk to professor lewis gould about his book, "my dearest nellie." this interview is part of booktv's college of series. this month we visit the university of texas at austin. >> professor lewis gould on the cover of a book you edited this past year is a picture, who is in that picture of? >> the picture shows president william howard taft and his wife helen herron taft in a limousine. the task were one of the first presidential amnesty is the automobile. i was chosen to illustrate how close and loving this couple was and why president tapped wrote her one of 13 letters while he was in the white house. >> who is now a? >> nellie was her name, her affectionate name withi