Is a Remarkable Book about some incredible young man at a very difficult time. A couple things on tap some random thought, jeannie, i know you have a few . Im kind of obsessed with looking at bestseller lists which you hate. I take the bullet for the team but im also is interested in something that pops up unexpectedly. I talked a couple weeks ago about these books that were decades old popping up, to kill a mockingbird is a prime example. We know why and we know why handmaids tale was there but this week on the Washington Post bestseller paperback up pops blue highways. By william athis is a book that was written was published i think early 80s written in 1978 by william lee he moaned. I think he was an english professor he had lost his job and separated from his wife and he got in a 40 Econoline Van 1975 van and road what he called the blue highways. This was before gps. All the back roads were colored blue. Those were the roads he chose to take. He went to 38 of the 50 states and just kind of learning about america, learning a lot about himself with Remarkable Book on the New York Times bestseller list for 45 weeks or Something Like that. Hes written other books sense but is best known for that and i cannot figure out for the life of me why it popped up. Come on come you worked at the Washington Post, conspiracy theory. Is this some antigps movement thats rising up from the people from the streets . Remaking cars. [laughter] some for Econoline Van it would be hard to do now because its hard to find real maps. It used to be you could go to any gas station i dont think we call them gas stations anymore. You could buy maps. Its hard to find anymore. If anybody has a theory ab is still alive you still writing books. Hes an author and i think english irish and osage background. His father was he moaned. His brother was he to last moaned. And he is he to leased moon. The least of the moon. [laughter] the other thing i want to tell people out, this is something thats not for everybody. My sister mary, who is here tonight, gave me a wonderful book its called on the street 5 decades of iconic photography was done by bill time the fashion photographer for the New York Times for decades. Rode a bicycle through the streets of new york everybody recognized him. Hes photographed the famous wall street people street fashion in particular. He was as brilliant at spotting things. As you go through this book each decade has an essay or two written by somebody who worked for the New York Times. Just talking about what bill was capturing in that decade. If you were alive in any of those decades and i know my problem. And quite capable of buying incredibly bad fashion and you see your life flash before you as you read this book. You see the horrible shoulder pads you yourself are guilty of him. You just sit down and pick it up and flip through it and have a really good time. One of my many failed careers is trying to be photographer. Back in the day when he was doing a lot of that in becoming well known he was kind of controversial among photographers because hes not Richard Avedon ended up attentively. He was not a great photographer in the sense of setting the scene and lights but he was just out there all the time. He would see something two or three times see a dreadful plaid coat on a woman and say that must be something. It became a controversy was he chronicling action, it was only you are, or was he promoting it . People, Corporate America tried to start getting to him they happen to be a couple beautiful models walking down fifth avenue. But he had a pretty good eye. I think he had a pretty good detector and its a great book. Talking about Agatha Christie, none of us read but we all admired. She sold so many flipping books. To kill a mockingbird New York Times two or three times a work week there will be dynamos added the print version of the New York Times for the play to go mockingbird. We were talking about Agatha Christie how she was everywhere and there was a movie coming out november called knives out and its being called Agatha Christie christopher abthey are wrapping it up in all this Agatha Christie stuff so she continues now i feel like i should read one of her books. Have you ever read any Agatha Christie . I have not. Only at this moment because i want to fit in with you guys. [laughter]. [multiple speakers] anna who similar to my age she loves Agatha Christie so if she was here she would want me to mention that. Ron charles Washington Post critic we have on the show and its members. If you dont subscribe to his neutralizer, subscribe to his newsletter. He did essentially a warning in his last see books about whistleblowers. There will just be a flurry and often. 20 to 30 years ago two or three wellknown journalists that the book but now because of selfpublishing and Everything Else they will probably hundreds of your powder dry lets love them and decide before we dig into any one or two. We will talk about whistleblower books especially since we have out here both of you born and raised in the . Yes. Where you from . Okay same ab arlington. Same thing. Those of us on the other side of the river been talking this is really far away. The cspan through we are very thrilled they are here they left at 8 00 a. M. This morning to make sure they were here. This is a whistleblower quiz. I will do a few of these. My answer for everything is mark phelps. Is too easy. Although theres a great nora efron story. Out in the open nobody believed her. Give a little description. City Police Officer later betrayed by al pacino, the audience can yell out. abfamous for what cannot he was a cop who told on other cops. He blew the whistle on corrupt cops. It ended up being he was left the forest after being shot in the face. If youve ever seen the movie surfer, thats one of the most harrowing scenes you will ever see the film is when he got ahe got shot in the face. Lexical played in the movie name for her . Should be a clue played by meryl streep. Good job. I had forgotten this because i forgot the movie. She died in 1974. Driven off the road. My personal favorite, i have a personal connection with this, in washington its all about how can i can inject myself in the story, former white house staff member key figure in the Monica Lewinsky saga . Linda tripp. Excellent. Jeanne, do you know about that one . No i knew linda tripp but i was coming up with libby. Okay good. Where does linda tripp have a store and what kind of stories it . I want to say arizona i dont thats correct. Anybody in the crowd . Its called the christmas sleigh its middleburg virginia. 365 days a year christmas story and shes married to an austrian guy walks around the leader house and all the time. You go out there on the big nursery the affairs of Monica Lewinsky they were always tv crews out there. Who else was in middleburg. The choir of middleburg. The name of his vineyard his granddaughter was . Jacqueline claxton l. Was at the granddaughters name . No. The vineyard is boxwood. I told well earlier this show was sort of about books but kind of wanders over. Two times a year he would give you an audience when youre covering the redskins. It was my turn i went in there he was berating someone on the phone and he slammed the phone down and sat down and said how are you mr. Cook . And he said you dont care how i am just ask your question kind of true. What are you asking about . Crappy team. Nothing is ever changing. This might be my favorite. I didnt tell why did linda tripp want . Okay to go to work in pentagon and 2001 running this crazy Public Affairs department i call somebody up over at the building saying, before i start, could you send me something an organizational chart that shows me what am i inheriting. As a binder 3 and a half inches thick because the military does not do anything less than 3 and a half inches thick. On top of it was one of the plastic wire diagram charts and had my office in the outer office and little desk drawer in and someone had handwritten some linda tripp sat here. Which i thought was great. This is kind of a trick question. Extra points, original first name . Bradley. Excellent. Next time we talk about whistleblowers it will be about books. What about the woodward book about mark phelps. In the vanity fair story the original one. Fantastic. Woodward will not be on the show im just telling you that. I could do a whole show on bob woodward stories. One time in the book he gave me a middle initial of a, victoria a clark which is pretty interesting because my middle initial not only is not a have a middle name. But i thought, hes making them take for another time. Thank you for welcoming us to your store. Thank you to all of you for coming all the way over here. Never again. [laughter] we got virginia covered. We have wine though. Is quite good. So you the book buyer extraordinaire. The harry potter fan. Shes affect. Accurate. We talked a little about the store you came to see us. I didnt complain about it. Three hours to get home but i did stop for food. You had some challenges here. At this wonderful place 2200 nw. astreet in arlington where everyone should come. Easy metro access. You have some challenges and the community has responded. Tell us a little bit about that. Usually july and august are kind of slow months for us that was not the case this year. He found out in july that are real estate taxes went up 30 and we had to pay the back taxes the beginning of the year. Which is a big chunk for us. As anyone, its a big chunk for anyone but i think as bookstore the margins are a little on the smaller end and abyou cant just charge more for books because your taxes went up. It was a big surprise for all of us. Eileen our order was a trooper and she said we just have to tell people what is happening. She sent a letter out and we are very open with our customers and people in the community who know us and said, this is whats going on this is whats happening and why. The response was so immediate and so supported that i will say it made up for the 30 increase but it did help warm our hearts up to see how much people were being vocal about wanting us to stay here and continue to be a part of arlington and how quickly they all wrote letters to the Arlington County board. We said this is what you can do if you want to help stop you can honestly come in and spend money but also if you want to write them but they were inundated with letters it was incredible to see people standing up for us and getting them to maybe do something about it a little bit. The Board Members were very responsive once they saw that we were going to make it a thing. But that was a tough couple weeks we said what can we do about it . The board essentially said its not our call we can change what your tax rate is different group. Its like okay what are we going to do . We brainstormed a little bit came up with an idea to bid on the things solicited authors and people in the community i got an email from someone whom i had not met most of our regulars is that i have these two is to see people wanted to get something that i was being annoyed by emailing author is saying, can you take time out of your really busy life writing books to help us out. Anything you give they were like of course heres you go, you want more . It was show of support we ended up with 90 different items or services the auction and people were billing restaurants in the area place across the street. Down the street is. The auction was a huge had as a dream not thinking we would even remotely turned out it was really special so. He came in he said he lived in richmond now had been here years before came in and said i. As your leaving just put some money in my back on your way out. We were talking for the show. Its a real challenge running a bricks and mortar place. Its very easy for people at home to tap on the keyboard to order books. Give them the pitch for the many many people listening to this podcast. Why they should walk into a place like this or other local. Any local bookstore is going to give you unique experience to be different in each one which is just beautiful. If i make it into the city. We can offer things like this when you come here authors speak about their book find it amazing podcast. You have wine tasting. If nothing else you can show up for the wine tasting and not by a book. Keeping track. We have one coming up friday. I know its a track. I would get a hotel. , director. I think what we offer is we become you can tell from our slogan very quickly is one way you could put it. Personality and i think when you come in i hope that that comes across and it might be offputting but we are definitely who we are and we all have unique genres and happy to talk to you about them. Im sorry i have nothing to offer you. That something we really embraced. With our staff and being ourselves. You have a room but with twitter account. How many . Please follow room but you will not regret it. We all stay here till 9 00 p. M. We will see just started going for no reason i can discern. Its a little disconcerting is scheduled to start at 9 00 p. M. Tonight is the day clean. [laughter] you should dip on the rumba. A robot i would start with twitter and if you really into it you can become a patron number. Is rumbas world we just live in it. Tell us about one but we should be reading that we probably arent. I will mention abthat so hard. ab its a really great collection of essays you can pick one up i was reading on the metro on the way to the game he talks about the things about the game that you dont necessarily think about all the time. I am a big proponent i dont think we need to make the games faster. Essays about scorekeeping and looking at it from a philosophical point of view and how we as people are trying to essentially tell a story when we keep score in a baseball game. I love the way he makes you think about the game. I highly recommend that one not necessarily on everyones radar. Is a great one you can get it on your way out here tonight. We are going to take a break we are going to swap you out for wil haygood. We are back everybody, its chatter on books we are very happily disclosed location one more pain isnt as far as it sounds. Our featured author today tonight is wil haygood, the rule on chatter on books if we really like you, which i think we do, i hold the book of a lot. So cspan get this a lot. Youve written about ab genesis, in this book tiger land which is about highly improbable Basketball Teams from 1968 and 1969 there are so many ways we could get into these conversations being an awardwinning journalist yourself, this book has been nominated for many awards. Probably the greatest accolade when winfrey called you honey she called the like. In the movie. When we are filming based on article you have. Yes. About this white house butler who had worked in the white house for four decades. Eight president s. Harry truman to ronald reagan. I was called on the telephone at home, sitting on my couch, eating a pita butter and jelly sandwich, the phone rings and its pam williams, one of the producers of the holy. I didnt think the movie was even happening. It was like several years after the story was that i heard anything. Then i started hearing from the people making in the movie. Lee daniels wonderful director he directed the movie. Anyway, pam calls me and says, we finally found the actor whos going to play the butler. I said, great she said, Forest Whitaker and i said come on now, really . Whos going to play the butler . She said, really Forest Whitaker. I said, oh my goodness, wow. The next thing my phone rings again and pat williams, we finally found the actress was going to play the wife of the butler and i sent him a great going to be . She said Oprah Winfrey. And i said okay now, lets stop joking lets go on to the serious part of this conversation. She said, wil, sit down. I said i am sitting down. She said, Oprah Winfrey is going to play the wife of the butler. In the other cast members started rolling. There was lenny kravitz, jane fonda, vanessa redgrave, robin williams, keep acuba gooding jr. , Clarence William iii, from the squad. A man of very few words. When i was a kid growing up in ohio there were very few blacks on tv. He was one of the stars of the mob squad. He was a man of very few words on a show. When i was on the set my first day seeing link from the mob squad set and went to him and said, excuse me mr. Williams, but when i was a kid and i used to walk to i was so inspired by seaview tv, im just excited that you are a part of this movie. He was wearing sunglasses. Of course. He turned to me and he said, cool. [laughter] end of conversation. [laughter] sorry mr. Williams, let me roll on over here. But oprah was kind of a panel. She was filming a segment for her show and she came down the hallway, i was standing someplace on the movie set. She said, this is the guy who started it all. Wil haygood. Good for her for knowing. People get so into her book club x good point. She knew and she cared. What did you tell us before we start taping . Eight oscar winners ring that will be . Yes. Thats a lot by any standards. Either seven or eight more oscar winners appeared in the butler than any other movie ever made. Theres your trivia question. Exactly. We are talking before the show we should have the show before the show. Its like the makeup room in new shows. Start with the greatest conversation. But i ask you, the movie was based on an article you wrote. He wrote the article it appears the next day what happened . The next day i had received phone calls from seven movie companies. David, that happened to every day doesnt it . Leave me alone. [laughter] and wil, you had aspirations of being actor when youre a child . My first introduction was i wrote a biography, 450. He of sammy davis junior. I get a phone call from my agent said, can you go to the city to meet an actor who wants to direct your sammy davis junior book exit the actor . She said to washington. At the end of this meeting which lasted about two hours, he wanted to go out and get something to eat. So i said, wait a minute now. With you walking down the stre street, is going to be people going to stop you every five minutes. And he said, will, just follow me. I walk extremely fast. [laughter] and by the time somebody says excuse me, i am gone. So thats what he did. He mentioned that he wanted me to write the script. For the next year and a off, i worked on the script. He came here to washington dc, one day and he wanted to meet any mentioned this exclusive restaurant they wanted to go to to take me for lunch. I said im sorry but this is washington dc and the place is going to be packed and we arent going to be able to get in there. He looked to me, and he said oh yes we will. [laughter] isnt cool. He got out of the car and he walked right in. [laughter] and they said theres a table for you right of there. Wasnt in the restaurant. I cant think of it but the shelf, came out and gave him a box of steak knives. When i get ruby tuesdays, the check comes out and says here heres a box of steak knives. Lucas steak knives. [laughter] anyway, and the option dropped and he wasnt able to make the movie. But now, lee danielles and tom hanks, have the rights to my sammy davis junior. You are just slumming it arent you. Hanging out. Is fabulous. It is. Coming soon, lets get entitlement. Youve written about all these incredible important figures in history. What made you, tell us about personal connection who went to watch the guy named lamar at east high. How did you get onto the story. What is to the very basic set up. 196869 columbus ohio, deeply troubled times, should have been desegregated but certainly wasnt. Very segregated community. Tell us about how you got into writing a story. When i was a little kid, who lived on the news northside. You know also an inspiring athlete but coaches didnt do you justice. Yes. I dreamed that i could possibly become an athlete. And i love basketball. I always got cut from the team and i always had a u. S. Coach for a second chance. I was kept from two teams. I asked the coach, for a second chance. This is something for students at their peak most coaches were so shocked and so stunned that a player who had been cut had the audacity and the nerve to ask them for a second chance. When i was 13, and was integrated, but you knew about this great allblack high school on the segregated east side. My mother wasnt going to let me catch a city bus. So long to go over to the east side to see the play. But the east high Tiger Basketball Team would come to the fairgrounds coliseum which was seven blocks from my house. So your kid, and you hear about this allblack established very cool Basketball Team and you want to go see them play. Little black kid and i can see these guys play and so i would go to the fairgrounds coliseum. I would watch and play. They really were the holy side. Martin luther king jr. , had been assassinated in the spring. April 68. In School Starts at fall and this is an allblack school. The mayor and other people in the city are sort of afraid and thinking this allblack school is going to cause trouble. Theres going to be workouts, and theyre going to agitate. Middledot a lot of militancy. In this way to be trouble. In the whole School System, Columbus East high school. But jack, the principal it was a first black principal there, he lyft the switch. He said we know that city is going to be watching us so lets really have a good calm intelligent year here. Lets happen over those next 300 days or however many, nine months that the school year was, what happened was astonishing. First it within state decibel title and eight weeks later, they were in a state baseball championship. Two state titles, in the same school year. Student with some overlapping players right. Yes several of the players who are on the Basketball Team were also on the school his baseball team. And then, the story sort of vanished from history. Nobody wrote about it. If they were white, they wouldve been on a box of wheaties. I have no doubt about it. In the story just managed. I would go home and i would sometimes run into those players. One of them, a guy named garnet davis, ran into me at the start. He started talking about east i in sports. And i said man they had a super Basketball Team. And he said, but we won the state championship two. And i said whos weak. He said, i was on the baseball team. And we won the state championship and i said wind. Same. And you didnt know that. I didnt know that. And i said win and he said in 1969. Right after the battle team one, in march they won it. We went hours in june. And i said no way man. There is no way. But the next day, id fly out of town back here to washington and i stopped at the local library because i wanted to make sure that i was hearing him right. And i got the microfiche and i started squirreling scrolling. Cnet you watch it on the screen. Thats all we can say. An old newspaper. I get to a headline, and headline says, east high winds second state championship in 60 day span. And i leaned back in my chair and this is like five years ago, and i said thats the eureka. I just said thats a book. To me it was as involved in deep as rich as friday night lights as hoosiers,. Remember the titans. Speaking again dale,. This is now our close personal friend. Were going to go to the restaurant with him. And my editor called me after i finished my last book which is called showdown. It is about confirmation of the commercial, the first africanamerican to seven supreme court. In my editor asked me what i wanted to do next. I said, wale theres this allblack high school my hometown, and in 1968, the School Starts, East High School, and they win the state Basketball Championship and then some of the same players in there on the baseball team, and the baseball season starts, they list five games during the baseball season but they storm back and make it to the tournament and start winning games make it to the state championship games, and they win the state championship. Some of the parents and the School Teachers, of the segregated school all of a sudden are inspired to figure out why this school is still segregated and still poor so they filed a lawsuit because these players have inspired them. A lawsuit against the city his segregated School System. The lawsuit goes all of the way to the u. S. Supreme court. They win. A major ruling by the u. S. Supreme court, in the roots of that case, stems out of the inspiration from these black players. Student go back to 1968 in 1969, and what we are talking about a sideline. It is really remarkable. These were kids. They were 16 years old and 17 years old 19 years old. Many of them from one parent households. Incredibly tough conditions, several of them talk about how hungry they were half of the time. They knew they wanted to play basketball. They knew they wanted to play baseball. Did they know it was about something more important. Did they realize at some. That what they were doing actually had significance beyond post happening on the court or the baseball diamond coursework is the did. Here is what was the key to their lives at that. A black man, East High School and he was born in harding kentucky, in a very tough neighborhood and he didnt want to work in the coal minds. So he hiked to columbus he is 14 years old to be with another family relative because he figured that the School System there was much better. He had a sister who died in infancy. In harding kentucky. And jackie gibbs, every sunday had to walk his mother up the hill to the segregated cemetery so his mother could put roses at the flower, or flowers at the gravesite. As jack gives us infant sister who had died. I went to harlan kentucky and i walked up the hill and then i walked back down the hill. And it just hit me, the reason jack gibbs cares so much about those kids is because he did not want to metaphorically leave any of them alone on the hill. He kept them out of trouble and he was an amazing figure. You have to realize, almost none of these players had ever had anyone in their family who would go to college. But the basketball coach, bob hart, had served in world war ii. He is light. Walmart. He was at normandy. Bob hart. He was upset by the way the black soldiers had been treated during the war. So we need came out of the war he went back to college he wrote his senior thesis in college on the unfair treatment of the black soldier and ward will world war ii. This was in 1946. The 20 yearold. To him to be thinking like that, was really pretty astonishing and he wanted to teach at this allblack school. He never told these players that he was in the work. They didnt know about it until after this book. Wow. Heat they were all astonished that he had never talked about the war. And we do look at this fact, none of this players have family members as i said, who had gone to college. So this really was that first wave the Martin Luther king his dream you could say. High school kids not in the south, not in mississippi or alabama, the high schools quote kids in the north who were still suffering the pain of segregation. Literature as a result of the book its not looking, his work, his assassination and summary of their homes, it would be a picture of Martin Luther king. You broke the family where jfk was on the wall. No we didnt. The Martin Luther king was everywhere and it was a present. The minister, and this community was a man by the name of reverend hale. He knew Martin Luther king jr. And reverend hale, sister was the dear friend of Martin Luther king jr. His live. There is a real family link between the hills, and Martin Luther king jr. The reverend was the first minister who brought Martin Luther king jr. To columbus. Quebec talk about the mumps. So many of the players single parent families. The moms are all working. Talk about the moms. Almost to a person, these mothers, worked as maids for welltodo white families. When i went to interview Dwight Lamarr who is the athletes on the front of the book, cant we like will in his book so we will hold this up high. I asked him what his mom did for live. For work. And he said, my mother and my grades every day. She was a maid. And i said, she had to get on her hands and knees and work so that you could be. Right smart he broke down. It was just it was so touching. In the character on the front of the book, mr. Lamarr, was in the 11th grade and got kicked off of his Basketball Team by his white coach because he had a big afro. This is another high school, north high school. Wil but his mother had come from the south. The Something Else, all of the mothers that come from the south. Because when they were 14 and 15 years old themselves, the one boy who stuck out in their mind who they couldnt let go of, was in detail. As we know, flinched and murdered by several white men because they thought he had whistled at one of their wives. So these mothers, in their min minds, their thinking that i have to get out of the south. And they all came north. So we need got kicked off of this team, so back in 11th grade. An extraordinary player. Catcher afro fourlegged team. And home and his mother said, you do what you gotta do and he left the team. And he kept the afro right. His mother said i didnt come or leave the south to come north for you to give up your dignity or your rights. I will stand behind you. I will stand behind you a hundred percent. When i was cut, from the Basketball Team it felt like my live had ended. I was crushed. I was just crushed an addendum all knowing to my name would be on that coaches door. In my name wasnt there, the tears would just come. I was in the eighth grade. Tears, my live was over. I was out practicing all the time. And then i got cut. This guy led this city league in scoring. And the coach kicks him off of the team. Jack gibbs, black principal at East High School, and another tshirt runs into Dwight Lamarr. Now they of course cant tamper. They say, we all heard what happened to you mr. Lamarr. And goodness gracious, if your mother should ever decide to move to the side of town, over these high school, we would love to have you be a part of our student body. But only if shes thinking about it. I talked to one of the School Teachers who said on the first day of school at eastside, missus lucy lamarr, walked into the principal his office and said, i would like to enroll my son in the school. And ive just moved two blocks away into the low income Public Housing project. Just to think of the strength and the guts that that took. Think of the scene in the movie and we will all be invited to coach bob hart and his staff and we will say yes yes yes. Now here is the scene that is, i do know i would like to write a whole essay about this team. I am from the north side of town. So was Dwight Lamarr. He is from the north side of town so all of the guys my age 12 and 13 years old, they knew who he was, he was that good. We only movie was. East high school his first game, that season was at the fairgrounds coliseum on the side. Go bob hart wouldnt let announced to the media who his starting five is going to be. So we are all small kids, running around, i wonder if those going to start. Yeah hes going to start. Maybe not man. I have a tough team. Hes got a start. It would be heartbreaking man. So the first game, and the fairgrounds coliseum, surveyed about six friends go. And we dont know if hes going to start. So ladies and gentlemen, the east high his tigers is 35, starting at one forward ed ratliff. He ate. Then everybody would close around in the other players sitting on the bench. C couldnt see. Yes, you couldnt see who is going to run out of the court. Starting at center, together then we smith. Yea, yeah, yeah. Starting at the other forward, nick connor, aaa. Starting at one god, theyre larry walker, and we are all like, where is the man. Then i said ladies and gentlemen, starting at the oth other. Transfer from high school, the white boutique lamarr. In wages, we just died, we were all so happy. That was amazing. And you know there. That is so great. You have such obvious affection for these fellas in their appearance. In their lives, really and i always worry about this we do write about sports especially, you can really quick. How did you kinda balance those things and telling the story, just telling you and knowing that that would be enough to sell people on the idea of reading it. Wil that is a super question david. I do this for a living. [laughter] i, in this book, and would tell you a story about sports and in the next chapter would be titled what the mothers feared most. Then, the next chapter would be in summer basketball. Then the next question that would be about next chapter of all of the horrible things that had happened outside of sports in this midwestern town because we think civil rights and we think it is south right. We dont think northern, when it comes to civil rights. When i started the book, i thought wale this is the book about this candidate team. Right from the start, it is so clear, its about the racial landscapes of columbus, but of the United States at that moment in time. 1968 to 1969. It is about so much more than that team. But the story of the team, is so uplifting. It offsets this horrible injustices that were taking place all around them. Student for instance, there is a guy, Robert Duncan. Wil he wanted to be a schoolteacher but he is black. All of the teachers at East High School were black. But we need went to apply, there were just no openings. And so is at a standstill in his live so he has to offer his live. The Robert Duncan says, i think i will go to law school. But hes from a small town in ohio and his family knows william zaxbys, who worked in the nixon administration. Who might not have known mark felt. [laughter] robert ducked and starts to arrives judgeships. When nixon is falling apart, william stacks be convinces nixon to nominate Robert Duncan to federal judgeships. This is karma. These athletes win the case. They win their case. They win their sports. They win these two championship and it inspires these black parents to file a lawsuit saying that the city has unnecessarily kept the School System segregated. The case lands on the desk a federal judge Robert Duncan. [laughter] look at that. Just wait long enough. [laughter] arc of justice. The word improbable just keeps coming up. As you and i were talking if you havent seen hamilton, the greatest thing in the world. What are the odds the gods would put all these people in this place at this time if it werent for bob hart, these kids and their mothers, if it werent for people like Robert Duncan its pretty remarkable. Im going to get you out on this. Im going to make you read something. Im going to hand it over its the last paragraph in the book it speaks to what i think is so remarkable the 1617 18yearold kids might not have known the impact they were having but they had a huge impact and i bet you may remember this last paragraph. Almost by heart. Can you do the song . [laughter] yes. It was a great rallying cry and throughout the book. [singing] [laughter] go tigers. When i was at home for the first event for this book last year and they had a marching band from the School Marched down the street with me and the players. Everybody started singing a [singing] [laughter] it was amazing. Now there is a street named after this book tiger land way. There had been nothing but the players. Im very proud of what the city has done. Finally. Yes. Mayor ginther really stepped up, he really cared about this team and that year and what happened. He made it happen. Your idea but he finally made it happen. Yes. Its the last paragraph of the book. Okay. In time columbus proved to the nation that its citizenry can adapt to legally enforced integration. In time the city received plaudits from local Business Leaders and even the department of justice in washington. In time as the years rolled outward local citizens would look back swiveling against the memories of 1968 1969. When a group of black High School Basketball and Baseball Players had created their own legend. They had helped to bring hope to a city giving it a reason to cheer and also proving that there was more than one route to doctor kings mountaintop. Nice. [applause] awesome. I know you wanted to be an athlete, i know you wanted to be an actor but im glad it didnt work out. Im telling you. I failed at so many things. Just keep working, something my click one of these days. [laughter] will take the break. And then we will wrap this up. Thank you so much for being here. [applause] its got to be a movie. [inaudible background conversations] [inaudible background conversations] [laughter] [inaudible background conversations] [inaudible background conversations] im just going to become wil intern. We are back with chatter on books, one more page books and arlington. Its really nice to be in a place we can actually talk about it. Thank you to the crowd for being here. [applause] we could go on for hours with wil with tigerland and talking about his work. Working to do a version of Deserted Island tonight. About 24 hours from now a vaguely big important game. Were you here . Will you be there . Because you cursed them last time. Thats right. But in honor of abtwo months late. Down over the stranded on a raft for 40 days. You think thats the worst thing that could happen then he gets captured by the japanese. Thats what i was in shock. Then he finally gets home he has terrible problems with Substance Abuse and survives that remarkable story. Beautifully written by lauren hildebrandt. David, we are coming to you last since you clearly did do your homework. Heres a big comeback, the odyssey. It goes through a 10 year war. Thank god michael wasnt with us tonight. We would have another half hour. 10 year trojan war. It takes them 10 years to get back to ithaca where before he gets there he encounters a cyclops who throws a boulder and locks the medicaid, him and all his men. He had cannibals to deal with. He had lotus eaters to deal with. He had abhe has circe who turns half his men into swine. And hes got to convince circe to turn him back to man. He is kicked off at the abhe gets back finally after 10 years to ithaca and has to slay all these unruly suitors who had been after his wife penelope. It all works out for him in the end but thats a pretty aba 20 year track. Can you talk that . Wil, do have one for us . All the president s men. Which is about a corrupt and conniving man in the white house who is full of bizarre petty feelings about other people and who inspires Staff Members around him to lie. We need another half hour. Who thinks that his transcripts wont be used against him. [laughter] but he has been even for the surprise of his life. There is a house impeachment that is started. Him that was the end of Richard Milhouse nixon. Good pick. And i didnt give you any heads up. One inspired by, Laura Hildebrandt wrote about sevis but she also brought about an Incredible Group of people who are all incredible failures and everything they tried. Including the horse. This trainer who was kind of a nomad who didnt really have any success, havent had success as a trainer and jockey whose family had been incredibly rich was subjected to Great Depression he lost everything. They kicked them out of the house. They told there so you have to go theres nothing for you here. The owner of the man who wanted to buy the horse lost his son to a terrible accident. A terrible awful accident. The sun was 10 years old. All of these broken people all are made whole by this course. Who had nothing going on. All of a sudden became one of the great champions of all times. This is really Something Else because all comes back to oprah. Thank you and if oprah is listening, she is welcome anytime. One of the actors in seabiscuit was dannys strong. Danny strong wrote the screenplay for the butler. Wow. A beautiful screenplay. What part did he play the movie . He was one of the jockeys. Wow. Small world. Danny strong wrote the beautiful screenplay for the butler. Thats incredible. The other is more in line with this because i dont want to crib off of your stuff Truman Harry Truman was a failure at everything he did. He tried everything and wasnt good at anything and became a politician in his mid40s and became president of the United States. The one place you can fail up and up. It really is. [laughter] those were good. That was good for pulling it all the way down. [laughter] [multiple speakers] a little housekeeping, download as review as those of you who have reviewed us, thank you very much. They been lovely reviews. Thank you to claude for making everything happen. One more page books, thank you very much, good luck, we are here for you. We are never coming this far again but its been great the one time we been here. Jeanne and david thank you for making the track. Wil, an absolute honor. Join us next week we will have a thank you everybody and we will see you next week. Thanks guys. [applause] book tv continues now on cspan2. Television for serious readers. [applause] [cheering] [applause] [cheering] [inaudible] [applause] [cheering]