>> okay. >> can you read us the description that you did of stonewall jackson? >> oh, sure. >> that's a lovely one. >> page 138. [laughter] >> it's on 138? >> so we have a request for abbott's description of stonewall jackson. page 138. [laughter] >> i'll remind people that this is belle's, belle's love, her imagined love, and she spends quite a bit of time -- >> talking about his feet. >> yeah. [laughter] i don't think his feet were as pretty as hers. but, okay. stonewall jackson had just turned 38 years old and looked, some said, more scarecrow than human with eerily bright blue eyes and a mangy brown mass of beard. his preferred uniform consisted of a threadbare single-breasted coat, a broken binder to conceal his eyes and an oversized pair of flop top boots for his size 14 feet. his horse, fancy, whom everyone else called little sorrell, stood only 15 hands high, and jackson rode him with his feet drawn up so as to avoid dragging them on the ground. he spoke seldom and almost never laughed. on the rare occasions when he did, he tossed back his head, let his

in the previous 80 days, jackson -- now known throughout the country by his nickname, "stonewall," -- had turned the civil war upside down. during a time when rebel armies were going down to defeat in mississippi, tennessee, louisiana and the klein thats, jackson -- carolinas, jackson had taken a small force and deployed it with such dazzling skill that he had soundly beaten union armies totaling 52,000 men. his troops at one point covered an awe sounding 646 miles in 48 days fighting five major battles. he marched them at a pace unknown to soldiers of the day. his army seemed to appear out of nowhere, striking out of mountain passes and from concealed valleys. he used trains in a way they had never been used before in tactical warfare. by the end of campaign, he had driven four union armies from the greater part of the she man doe what valley, captured 3500 prisoners, 9,000 small arms and a huge quantity of stores and supplies. he had then evaded a massive movement designed personally by abraham lincoln to destroy him. and then when everybody on both sides thought that he had no choi

in the previous 80 days jackson known by his nickname stonewall had turned the civil war upset among the rebel army's going to the mississippi jackson had taken a small force been deployed with such dazzling skill that he is beaten the 52,000 there. and fighting five major battles unknown soldiers of the day appearing out of nowhere and from concealed bellies trained in a way never seen before in tactical warfare striving for union armies from the shenandoah valley with 5,000 casualties it 9,000 small arms in a huge quantity of stores and supplies and had a massive movement personally by abraham lincoln to destroy him them and everybody on both sides thought he had no choice comintern novel sides and beat them in succession. but do it more than driving them from the valley to put that union offensive against richmond off-balance. that lieutenant jackson was so dire that he created a minor panic. the owners made him famous whether techniques were being reinvented hour by hour his speed and aggression with the wonders of the north and the south. and his campaign was already compared as

gwynne to talk about stonewall jackson. give him a warm welcome. [applause] >> tonight's imagine stonewall jackson as he may have looked to the world one day before the civil war began. he is 37 years old you recall him gaunt and a six-foot tall about 5 inches taller than the adult manner -- man today is the lips that already seem to be tightly pressed. you'll find him shy but his silence is the most fracking thing about it. you find it difficult to engage him

[laughter] >> we have a request for stonewall jackson i imagine that she spent quite a bit of time doing this. [laughter] >> i don't think his feet were as pretty as hers. but samuel jackson had just turned 38 years old and he had a really bright blue eyes and a preferred uniform consisted of a threadbare coat left over from the mexican war. going from size 14 feet from to everyone else called [inaudible] he wrote him to avoid writing on the ground. he almost never laughed and on the and rare occasions when he did, he tossed back his head and made no sound whatsoever. once an injured northerner asked to be lifted up he stared at jackson for a moment and then explained oh, my god, lay me down. and he was as idiosyncratic as possible before he became legendary skill on the battlefield. he was out of balance and even under fire would stop to raise one arm, waiting for the flood to run down his body. he refused to be upset because it made his left leg week. it often made it difficult for him to determine the direction from which he came. convinced that everyone of his organs was malfunctioni

. >> how about stonewall jackson? how significant was that?> it was significant for the army of northern virginia. jackson was a corps commander. i don't know whether jackson would have been successful as an army commander responsible for strategy as well as tactics but clearly it was an important loss. lee put it concisely when he said to johnson that you have lost your left arm, i have lost my right arm. >> sherman, the man -- this is my recollection. he hated war but believed that if you're one to fight a war leave no stone unturned and just go one make war so hated that the other side will give up. >> that is exactly right. hard war, soft peas. the harder the war the sooner it will be over. in the end the less suffering. lincoln came to have the same point of view. lincoln was a man of great humanity. he suffered great sadness for the carnage of the civil war. exacted on the american people north and south. he said that the sooner we bring this war to an end, even if it takes harsh measures to accomplish it, the better off we will be. >> w

jackson, that is stonewall jackson, to carry out the virgin mary attacks in the shenandoah valley which of course jackson did with famous success. nevertheless mcclellan increased the pressure with the buildup a large army at the tip of the virginia peninsula 75 miles down the keynes river. .. >> he had his own army of about 60,000 men. instead of attacking, he brought up his big guns and methodically prepared to polarize the defenses with heavy artillery. now, despite having been overruled by davis, he still intended to evacuate the yorktown lines without a fight. he delay that until mcclellan was ready to open with this artillery. he favored to keep them informed at the last minute on may 1 when he told the president that he must allow the next night and davis was shot and it would mean the loss of folk and the ironclad virginia and other ships under construction there. and johnson agreed to wait. for one more day. and on the ninth of may 3 and 4th, his armies left the yorktown line and begin and retreat towards richmond. they thought a battle with pursuing federals at williamsburg an

the secret service and the first family, feminism and the united states, a confederate general stonewall jackson and much more. for more information on this weekend's 48 our television scheduled visit us online at booktv.org. >> up next on book tv mark obama ndesandjo, president barack obama's half brother. he talks about his relationship with the president and disputes barack obama stake and their family history as it appears in dreams from my father. this is all little over an hour. >> good evening, ladies and gentlemen. bagram to barnes and noble. mark obama ndesandjo, our special guest this evening, is that half-brother of president barack obama. his new book, "an obama's journey", marc offers another glimpse of their father once married to barack smother and marks jewish-american mother, ruth, a kenyan-born american pianist, artist, writer, and businessman, accuses his talents to work with orphans and is donating a portion of the profits of this book to promote art education among needy children around the globe. please join me in welcoming mark obama ndesandjo. [applause] >> hello, everyon

jackson, famous stonewall jackson, to carry out diversionary attacks in the shen endowould valley. and -- davis and lee ordered johnston to bring his lines to block mcclellan. johnston wanted to concentrate the army near richmond but lee and davis opposed that plan. lee argued for make thing stand at yorktown where the army's flanks could be protected by the big guns on the narrows of the york river, and by the css virginia, the iron clad ship rebuilt from the scuttled and captured merry macon the james river. this was a more defense able position and davis supported him. they would have to abandon the navy yard, the base for the css virginia. davis therefore ordered johnston to yorktown, where he confronted the 110,000 troops with his own dug insure army of 60,000 -- dug-in army of 60,000 men. instead of attacking mcclellan brought up his big guns and prepared to pulverize defenses with heavy artillery. now, despite having been overruled by davis, johnston still intended to evacuate the yorktown lines without a fight. he delayed that move until mcclellan was ready to open with his

he was additionally still missing stonewall jackson. he was less than his usual self. to suggest that he might have been a tad grumpy is not a stretch. lieutenant george campbell brown overhears lee expressing that he is uneasy and irritated by stuart's conduct, that he is blaming him for the defeat at gettysburg. brown claims that he dressed steward down upon his return to the army of northern virginia. everybody pretty much knows that. you have seen "gettysburg," you know that. and knowing all of this, is a historian's job. it is necessary information to be able to perform a close reading. particularly if that close reading is lee's famous letter to stuart written after gettysburg. the sentence in the letter, the energy and promptness of yourself and your command elicits my high admiration. this takes on a new depth of meeaning when placed in the context of gettysburg. especially the words energy and promptness. this is exactly what lee had been exasperated by in july. it is this clarity of meaning that as picking detail historian looks for in a close reading. let's

. >> how about stonewall jackson, how significant a loss was that. >> it was significant i think for the army of northern virginia. jackson was a core commander within that army. i done know whether jackson would have been successful as an army commander responsible for strategy as wells attack particulars. but clearly it was an important loss. lee i think put it very concisely when he said to johnson that you have lost your left arm but i have lost my right arm when jackson was put out of action. >> and william tecumseh sherman the man who, this is my own amateur historian's recollection so bear with me if i'm wrong. was a man who hated war. but believed that if you are going to fight a war leave no stone unturned just go and make war so hated that the other side will give up. >> exactly right. a hard war but a soft piece. and the harder the war the sooner it will be over. and in the end maybe the less suffering, the sooner it's over. lincoln came to have the same point of view. lincoln was a man of great humanity. he suffered great sadness for the carnage that the civil war exacted

stonewall jackson are in a carriage at a veteran's reunion in atlanta. this is in 1898 and they are in this carriage and they're part of a veteran's reunion and there is a downpour and she is soaked to the skin. she stays this this outfit for hours. she finally goes back to the hotel to change and there is a big ball that evening. she catches a chill and fever and it takes several weeks. she gets on the train and gets on to go on vacation and lingers for a couple of weeks and dies of malaria. i talked to every doctor i know and they said what in the heck is that. it's a stomach thing. there is a fever, but nobody dies in a rain storm. she had been to egypt a couple of months prior. it could have been some kind of stomach bug, but it took so long. that theory is out there. i'm not sure that makes sense. she was nervous like jefferson davis. they both never ate. they may have had an ulcer. there was probably an underlying stomach disorder. it pushed her over the edge. we still don't have a satisfactory answer for that. a good question though. i still wonde

starting is rebel recounting the military life of confederate general stonewall jackson. .. >> the nexthree hours later chance to talk with author and supreme court expert joan biskupic. the reuters legal affairs editor will talk about the politics of sport nominations and decisions. and the justices whose lives she has explored. the former law correspondent for "congressional quarterly," "usa today" and the "washington post" has written three biographies including "sandra day o'connor" under 2014 released on justice sotomayor, "breaking in." >> host: in your most recent book "breaking in: the rise of sonia sotomayor and the politics of justice," you quote somebody saying i knew she would be

about the secrt service and the first family, feminism in the united states, confederate general stonewall jackson and much more. and for more information on this weekend's 48-hour it's schedule, visit us online at booktv.org. >> morten storm is a former danish radical islamist. he talks about his experiences as a member of al-qaeda and his later life as a double agent employed by u.s., british and danish intelligence agencies. this is about an hour and a half. >> the -- i will be brief, but as you know, as we follow the media even in these days, the rising concern about young men going to the middle east in search of jihad or in search of adventure and finding themselves caught up in extremism and violence and in many cases converting either to extremist causes or becoming disillusioned and returning, in either case resulting in their becoming a problem when they return to the west. there was a book during the cold war, my war, which was a 1949 book called "the god that failed." it was about people who had embraced communism, felt it was -- they were true believers, and they lost the faith. they

about the secrt service and the first family, feminism in the united states, confederate general stonewall jacksonnd much more. and for more information on this weekend's

the secret service and the first family, feminism and the united states, a confederate general stonewall jackson and much more. for more information on this weekend's 48 our television scheduled visit us online at booktv.org. >> up next on book tv mark obama ndesandjo, president barack obama's half brother. he talks about his relationship with the president and disputes barack obama staken

first off is the biography of thomas stonewall jackson. next, madrigal ridge of the flash, new new yorker's john law remembers the playwright. and living for the most anticipated fall titles, the collection of essays in the encyclopedia of trouble and spaciousness. wrapping up the list is a story in james mcpherson looking at the life of president of the confederacy jefferson davis in embattled rival. that is a look at some of the nonfiction titles that we have anticipated being published this fall. you can visit the bookstore in oxford, mississippi, or online at square books.com. >> morten storm is a former danish radical islamists. he talks about his experiences as a member of al qaeda and his later life as a double agent employed by british and danish intelligence agencies. this is about one hour and a half. >> i will be brief, but a

jackson and stonewall jackson to carry out the attacks in the shenandoah valley which jackson of course it did with the famous success. they were the last that increased pressure with the build up a large army at the tip of the virginia peninsula 75 miles down the james river from richmond. davis and lee ordered johnston to bring his army to the winds at wines at yorktown, to block the calling. johnston wanted to concentrate the army near richmond itself, but lee and davis supposed the plan and argued for taking the stand at yorktown where the army could be protected by the big guns on the river and by the css virginia the iron clad ship rebuild on the james river. this was a more defensible position and davis supported it. they would be abandoning more folks in the base and davis therefore ordered johnston to yorktown where he confronted the 110,000 troops with his own army of 60,000 men. instead of attacking, mcclellan brought up his big guns and prepared to pulverize the defenses with heavy artillery. despite having been overruled by davis, johnston still intended to evacuate without

first is the biography of thomas stonewall jackson. that is a look at and nonfiction titles square books is anticipating being published this fall. you can visit the bookstore in oxford, mississippi or online at squarebooks.com. >> you are looking at a live picture from the texas book festival in austin, texas which annually hosts 250 authors and 40,000 attendees. stay tuned for more from boston in a couple minutes. [inaudible conversations] >> the bottom line, i am convinced climate change represents a historic opportunity, a historic opportunity on the scale of the new deal but far more transform it of and just. as part of a project of getting our e missions down to levels many scientists recommend, we once again have the chance to advance policies that dramatically improve lives, close the gap between rich and poor, create huge numbers of good jobs and reinvigorate democracy from the ground up. rather than the ultimate example of the shock doctrine, my last book, a frenzy of repression, climate change can be a shock, a blow from the