. >> walter isaacson, inputting the innovators together, you crowdsourced this book a little bit. >> the internet was invented in order to allow people to collaborate on the research. that was the original done by the defense department and the internet which is if you want people in different resource centers far away to help you save your work, we will have this internet. so we can share things. so i thought one night, well, why don't i see if it still works that way? so i took some of chapters in my book, early drafts of them, very early drafts and put them online for everybody to read. comment, tell me. oddly enough some of the people, i got 18,000 comments in the first week for one chapter. and a lot of it led to some good stuff, like stewart brand, one of the great, wonderful, colorful characters in this book. stuart graham was a who invented the catalog, the well which is one of the early online services. he invented, he helped do the mother of all demos. he was at the gracious so may different things. the electric kool-aid acid test. so he's been involved in sony things in th

. >> walter isaacson, you have a new book coming out this law. what is it about? >> it's about the innovators, we talk a lot about it these days. the word has become so to avoid that it almost gets overused. i want to look at how real people and innovation really happened. it is something that came out of working with steve jobs and before that, bill gates, to say that who made that type of person and the book is not just about singular people but teenagers and collaboration in one of the things that i'd government during this is that real innovation comes with great themes and not just leaders. >> i learned the importance of connecting the arts to technology and the important of what steve jobs is always talking about, the liberal arts and engineering intersecting. it begins with one whose father was a great poet and she loved poetry and her mother wanted to be a mathematician, so she became a great mathematician. then she was able to combine the notion of poetry and math and she comes up with the idea of a computer program and she's the first person to understan

. >> walter isaacson, a new book coming out this fall. what's it about? >> it's about the innovators. we talk a lot about innovation these days. the word has almost become a so devoid of meeting that it gets overused. i wanted to look at how real people invented the computer and the internet and how innovation really happened in the digital age. it was some that came out of working with steve jobs and before that bill gates to say, who made the type of person, how did en it end up being successf? so the book is not just about singular people but about teens, about collaboration. one of the things i discovered in doing this book is that real innovation comes from great teams, not just from great leaders. >> what surprised you? >> the importance of connecting the arts to technology. the importance of what steve jobs always talked about, the liberal arts and the engineering intersecting. it begins with -- she loves poetry but her mother wanted to be a mathematician so she became a great mathematician by the end she is able to combine the notion of poetry and

walter isaacson, bob woodward and the list of non-fiction writers on the catalog is mind-blowing. >> do authors like doing publicity? >> some more than others. some are better at it than others. some come to play. some come to work. we figure out what somebody's needs are and adjust. it is the most fun when someone comes to play and as humor about it. then we can have fun. someone asked how to do publicity for man like christopher hitchinson and i said you get out of his way. >> how would you describe the health of the publishing industry today? >> i think it is in better health than it has been for a while. when digital publishing came into the world there was a certain amount of fear and trepidation of what was going to happen but it added energy and capabilities. i talked about the advertising thing but dick simon and matt used to chat with consumers and now we can agree to go back and get e-mails and form a conversation and community. and that is a watershed change to no longer through a third party, which was the retailer, but to be able to communicate directly and constantly wi

walter isaacson recently talked to him about the origins of the universe and latest breakthroughs in physics research. his is 25 minutes. >> brian greene has written "fabric of the universe," i mean fabric of koss months -- cosmos," which i love and hidden reality, trio of books that deal with multiversus, fabric of commose, relativity. we're supposed to in 18 mings give you the whole story of thes could mows. let's begin in the beginning. how did it begin? >> how did it begin? good question. we don't know. it is an idea called inflationarry cosmology, which tries to answer a refind version of a very how did it begin, what was it that caused space to start swelling in the first place? we believe the universe is expanding, observations support that. what got the expansion started? the infligsarry theory said gravity itself is the culprit. even though the gravity we're familiar with in everyday life is attractive, pulls things tgget, einstein's theory shows in certain exotic circumstances gravity can be repulsive. >> so you have a repulsive first that pushes things oufment does it crea

. >> host: does walter isaacson or henry clinton automatically get orders? >> guest: s., absolutely. >> host: what kind of market strategy goes into selling their books? >> guest: with walter isaacson, he is his own best supporter and champion because he is such a great storyteller so whenever we can, we try to have him speak with his customers. he's come into the office to speak with barnes and noble booksellers with us and he can help. he is our best weapon in selling his books. >> host: how d how to use totaly first-time seller? >> guest: it is all in their read and we try to champion it and give it to the bookseller earlier. the book package plays a part and looks at it and if it is a package that would jump off the shelf and they think the customer well respond to it, that plays a big part as well as the marketing and what kind of previeofpreview as we have liner it and if the author is on tour that helps as well. >> host: >> guest: possibly. it depends on -- is approximately 2838%. however on the individual titles it can be as high as 78% were as low a

walter isaacson e-mailed me this. this fantastic response. you tapes a series of full lessons in american history, how did it go? >> it is an interesting idea. the academy -- [shouting] >> they are fine. >> i wondered why the line was so long. [laughter] [applause] >> touche. >> i worry about education. it has always been a concern of mine. the cannes academy is online and you can find it on youtube. they have people giving lessons and everything from advanced calculus to the constitution. i was happy to participate. >> one more on james madison. >> i cannot believe we are devoting all of this time. i was afraid i'd be the bump on the log. [laughter] >> never saw crossfire. my favorite sentence is over the course of a long life, james madison learned to learn. when experience proved his opponents ideas had married, he incorporated them. what would he think of the dick cheney? >> let me finish that sentence. when he saw his opponents' ideas had married, like any good politician, he did not advertise he was doing so. james madison, one of the t

walter isaacson recently talked to him about the origins of the universe and latest breakthroughs in physics research. this is 25 minutes.