I am lucky enough to call Rebecca Frankel a close friend. Seven years ago i was approaching two years that my first job here in d. C. And it was a job i did not like chemical my mom crying doom at during my lunch hour twice a week feel the way it is entitled millenials can be. And at the point i felt it could not get any worse the ii other people on staff and my boss wanted to grow the team and ask if anyone would be a good fit and one of the people she called was Rebecca Frankel one of the biggest stroke of luck she recommended me and at the time i was just a kid sister of one of her friends and here i am. There is no way to ever pay her back to usher in one of the most interesting phases of my life so when she broached the subject the fight could host any event for the event war dogs i remember thinking you got me my job here. We can have the early show or the elderly to show. Just name it. [laughter] i can say that love their compassion and respect that she shows her friends is the same approach she takes to write and research the book war dogs the reviews are phenomenal. And general petraeus says it is inspirational and moving. She has been writing about war dogs since 2010 in her weekly column called rebecca is more dogs and one that she had to immerse yourself fully in that to occur around the country for trading in arizona and by phone and in person of soldiers and their families to experience the incredible impact that dogs and their handlers can have on each other. James is a National Correspondent for the atlantic and chairman of the new america foundation. And serving as editor of u. S. News and world report. And so up fascinating event for his futures project he and his wife have been exploring americas heartland toward the end of the program therell be time to ask questions than please line up at the microphone so we can hear your questions because were filming the program. And copies of the books are for sale and it is my a sincere pleasure to Rebecca Frankel and teeeighteen. [applause] thanks for coming out and i could die at the more delighted than to be here with Rebecca Frankel that i will call her once before i shift to becky. And losing her development as the arbiter my wife and i and our family was becky so much it is a great book. And jonathan it is a human story is all is said k9 story of a culture of war, love, it is an excellent book. I am excited to have her tell the story i thought i turned this diems they not. It is my boss. [laughter] i will call her back later. Modern technology. So let me start by asking it is not what i would have expected where parents would have expected when they were raising new as the person that you are the with the right thing about war dogs how did you write this kind of book . Guest , worked with the you know, from his book the best defense or Foreign Policy and i got to know and then suddenly im sorry so tom and i talked about though lot the war dogs indicted for research for him. Because they hang out there were not wearing the kevlar or the arabian glasses so tom asked me if there were more. Host not just a standalone article but the kind of attention and you have given it the last few years. Town will say he told me first but it was the osama bin on condition and there was for a dog with the navy seals and they put it on line that it did very, very well. Host i read this book quickly when i got the advance copy but i have a bunch of notes but while the dogs do the things that they do. Seller to introduce them following a cent imagine beef going down though stream first going around and around like a carnival ride that it meets with a current then travels further and faster than you thought possible that this is the prerogative so explain the leaf in the water. And it is something you dont think about but when i was in the desert floor to the dogs me trained it is important to their training. Behalf to not only watch their dogs but though print. But the wind. Trying to see which way the wind was blowing because that is the way this and will go. I am interested in it that belief was the metaphor for the particles of cent. But you describe with wonderful Popular Science why dogs are so good at this what dont they know and what can they do that machines cannot do . It is much more complicated than a laird way but the example is they call it like a hamburger so so they are searching for that ied because the composition will not be the exactly the same every time. So the good thing about a dog when they smell odor that could be adapted for something that they recognize it does not need to me that complete signature. Host the nature of nature and nurture our all of them able to do it how does that work . They are the species it is uniquely talented just because they are powerful but also to be comfortable even though they have that ability. Host and then they have this piece in them that to put them to task. Host another aspect of your book that i enjoyed that you will enjoy when you buy it and read it is the history that you tell the way dogs and human beings even from that aspect but tell us about how dogs had been involved in warfare and what is different now with the worst fighting in the last generation . Dogs have been on battlefields as long as humans there is evidence to suggest faze them to guard their citadels the egyptians use them to carry messages and in world war i using them in the United States and to employ them but they were on the battlefield as messenger dogs and what they could do with trench warfare was to navigate the very open trade where humans could not travel easily or quickly so they would send messages from the command and the dogs could carry them twice as quickly as people. They could navigate barbwire and trenches not swayed by a friendlies soldier or food. They were very loyal in that respect. In vietnam they were used again like we use them now as the scout dog primarily. With the ability to alert and give warning to a sense danger the also this saying that dogs have if you are sitting at home with what is going on it is very similar to that situation and. Host soda wars we have been fighting where this is a regular combat looking for ied or snipers take is how a dog is first trained for that to be are they both genders . And what the dog does for his or her work. Guest it does depend their chains differ may depend on what branch of service but also. [laughter] host so depending on which branch . [laughter] it is a nice concept. Guest days start at Dog Training School but then they go off to the different homes stations and deployed from their old ways as the teams dead doggie in the handler deploy as a team and come home as a team they will go through predeployment training which is necessary i always felt grateful that they had this time to acclimate themselves readily to climate but to the heat and the air because the dog that is stationed in new jersey is used to humidity will need a period of adjustment when they go to afghanistan or iraq. It is very intensive but it is only for short period of time three weeks goes by very, very fast. I felt like this is just not enough time especially someone not as a transit as others there is always the difference with scale and skill and talent they learn to train for explosives with daytime Tactical Training and learn to navigate high spaces so they will scale of ladders, walls and that involves the handlers help sell the handler also has to be prepared to carry their dog sometimes they weigh as much as 98 pounds some are women that are just as tough but shouldering up pack of 70 pounds than being expected to carry the weight of the 80pound dog as long as necessary is a lot to get used to. Host do some of the dogs washout in the trading . Guest they do it becomes very clear very quickly it might not be the right dog to send out at zero dark 30 special forces nissen mission. Has just of matter when they hear a live gunfire they have simulated mortar shells and big sounds but the difference is acute especially for a dog sensitive hearing it would not register the deep shock as 10 feet away as what happened to one dog team that i know. Host you talk about certain breeds of dogs. Is there other natural deaths talk about those breeds and. Guest rose leave the military employs german shepherds that look like shoppers with the coats are shorter. Views german shepherds because of their size and weight training for patrol or to detain the power of their jaws come in handy they do bite to work trade trading but they have an incredibly high work drive i drove from one Training Exercise to another with the dog and he did not sit still we were trading for eight hours he was moving and barking and could not settle down that is something they like twos c sole day harness that high aggression and high energy to let them work it out. Host we heard yesterday about another fence jumper at the white house that the secret Service Stocks came into play you went through bite treating yourself and how that works from the dogs perspective and yours. Guest . [laughter] by trading the dog and the handler have to learn to become accustomed to chasing down a suspect so you want to get them to bite in particular places to have the advantage of their weight and momentum and if that somebody is that the other and to stop the dog i would not recommend it but the bite suit starts off very big and bulky it is a protective layer even though i was wearing one with this exercise that is like a giant to a toy the dog sees the suit and gets excited and is ready to come after you it is not relaxing but once you say yes you cannot say no. They tell the dog to watch and he knows it is me. And then they let the dog go and their hurts i was not wearing the thickest because they did not have one in my size. [laughter] but i was not expecting to feel what i felt i tried to keep smiling tavis pretty sure i would have to go to the hospital to do get stitches and they would be sorry but i just had a bruise. I did not get knocked over. But that was partially because we were not in a big space i was wearing so much equipment i could not go fast enough i think they were taking it easy on me. That dogs name was rambo. [laughter] host there is a lot of operational thanks but lets stick to the book katchis is a moral element the back story is we got to know each other through a different kind of animal bonding when my wife and i moved to china our cats might becky adopted it was the order for the rest of his life and could that have a better parent and you were so building for a cats that you portrayed the dogs also about character and love and bravery and loyalty and a daring so tell us about the handlers. What is the relationship . The they are not supposed to love them . How are they different from other people in uniform. Guest they consider themselves to be apart from the military in general and that comes with protective of their dogs because it said the well for dogs to be accepted in the field deal making originally a small numbers that everyone appreciated why there were there and thought they were a pain and they did not trust them so they ever natural the defensive. They also worry about outsiders would perceive it to be of use. I never saw that but people disagree with the idea to use animals period. So they are defensive in that way. I think they are a bunch of troublemakers as the group. [laughter] but they have to be more adventurous. I think we may call thrill seekers but whether or not they want to admit it or talk about in a deeper way were very sensitive sensitive, emotionally intelligent people to have this relationship with an animal that cannot communicate with you but to get them to do the things they were doing to bring them into these particular cases and earn their trust and loyalty because that is of big part. It is not just about training or commands so to give negative feedback they will stop doing that but it is about bonding and a trust. Host were they preexisting animal people before this specialty . Guest yes. Most of them were and from a young age they all have stories to tell about the dogs they grew up with. They would have had involvement with them when they were younker or had an idea. One was in dc and he knew when he was five he went to a Community Event with a drug dog to find cocaine in a bag and he said right then he knew that is what he wanted to be but then he was surprised when he found himself on the way to iraq. Host and on the field there is this intense relationship tier of stories of us shoulders soldiers protecting their dogs and then they have to separate and the dogs dont go home with these people so talk about that. Guest police kyte k9 units they trade with the dog for life they live with them at home and unless something happens then they are together. , the poor dog teams theyre always assigned one cattle at a home station handlers will come in and out they do the two years and go somewhere else as is military life. I think it is really hard on them when they have to transitioned out not the days leave them behind but move onto Something Else and it is hard in the military to be promoted with a canine theres only so high you can go yet to be a handler, a trainer than the counter master than there is the ceiling but with a cattle master you are in charge of an operation so handlers would say that was the saddest day of his life one judge said he resented that he had to give up candling one dog to get a better paycheck. Host from the dog points of view they all get older and you write that have had too much stress and what happens to the dogs after this after active duty . Guest depending if it is an injury or the dog has reached the age it is not good to put them not any more that they deserve to retire that there is a rigorous process in place that was not always there but especially now there is more public attention riyal watching twos see what happens and we want them to have the best treatment they are evaluated to make sure they are suitable to the inhouse with people and there would be fine with two adults but not with the adult small dash other dogs or children usually there is a long line of handlers who have worked that are right there and ready and very anxious and it is difficult to gauge which chancellor should get the dog. Host to talk about a program of retired dogs with soldiers who are suffering from ptsd and i want to read another passage to set this up with it is moving about us a dog named though who had been doing this counseling and was an iraqi statements serving to deployments backtoback at the end of the two were the soldiers started to see a change in bo she never relished to be the center of a large crowd noise accepted the attention and indulged the fuss with patients but after 58 months of being bo handler she noticed she would turn away from them the only time she seemed happy when she was free to be a dog and did not want to ring gauge anymore that she had absorbed too much sadness. Tell us about that on the battlefield and later on. Guest bo was a unique dog it was an Experimental Program the are repaired with the Nonprofit Group that provides service sarah p. Dogs for veterans and better coping problems with coming back or physical impairments but bo was part of the Program Period therapy dogs with combat their best. The bulls had combat training the dog was a labrador server job was for therapy and the handler i have respect for her because twos see how perceptive she was and what a difference the dog made to be a therapist and a combat zone so they deployed during a nasty time. She took bo with her everywhere sometimes it was small differences that soldiers on based would give bo treats so she was gaining weight to. [laughter] so one soldier had also gained a little bit of weight so he started to take bo out for runs. So Something Like that or describe times when soldiers would just break down not to her bet sit with bo and she would let them be and walk away and cant let the dog me a dog. She said bo had enough and it was too much and is said to me was very powerful. Theres a lot of things that happen in war zones were hurt to be a sponge to turn away to have had enough is a remarkable statement i will have the embarrassing admission i raise dogs but my personality gravitates to cats with their independence with the dogs to easily excessive will friendliness. [laughter] but having said that i found this moving and to what you describe as bravery and love obviously we talk about animals but talk about the streets as we should understand them with these dogs. Guest i dont know. It does not seem that a hard to identify but there is something that is particularly moving in a naked way that is how dogs are. There is no condition to have to earn that much of it is a different emotional negotiation but most dogs dont do that so to hear these stories how very gentle and not aggressive animals when there was the threat to white and color that they became a ferocious beast without question would have put their lives in jeopardy we think they dont comprehend what gravity of the situation but i think that is what is happening to it is instinctive production no thinking that they just act so i dont know. Host i am not a pushover but i did find it very powerful and convincing. There is another cultural theme in your box that the dog handlers are a subset but then you make clear the military is an isolated subsets within america just appointed after deployment while be paid no attention. Tell us why you thought the dog story was the way to bridge that divide and what the people you spoke with belts about being a fragment of america. Guest i had not done any real reporting in terms of the military so whenever i went to a military base by myself i was a little bit nervous i never had the right clothes for the weather and i was not prepared but the however nervous i was or who i was reading as soon as we started to talk about jobs everything became simple and easy so for v i started to understand better it makes talking about war a little bit easier or her forges a pastor talkedabout or complicated things always easier to talk how hard these experiences were or how to lose a friend so i opened them to be more open with me. Especially after the explosion of this topic where most people are sick of hearing about suicide bombers and i dont begrudge anyone that theyre interested to talk about darks so it felt like the natural way to carry on a conversation. Host and to followup with that bite training did you are a petite woman from a bookish background in the military talking to a dog can dollars. What was the cultural pluses and minuses of them excepting you in this role . [laughter] guest they didnt not know what to make of me but my experience in arizona i was fortunate i made some good connections early on some likelihood maneuver the obstacles like Public Affairs officers that make it difficult lenders and they have a job to do but i did not have to talk to them very much but in arizona of the Gunnery Sergeant is kind of scary if you dont know him well and intimidating presence. He was not very forthcoming he said you can come. I said okay. When . He said i dont know i will get back to you then i called him that i had arrived and he gave me to the point directions it was clear she would not repeat them. [laughter] i had to drive two hours in the dark because you must has this expansive of land with no signs anywhere and he told me turn left at the job site what does that look like you only know that during the day when people are parachuting. [laughter] right after he finished those directions he asked me what sells service i had been said ugh. [laughter] you will not get reception so good lot. [laughter] so they were very nice and asked if i wanted to go back to my hotel. Du what made to leave is that the polite way to say we are done . Theyd just said no, no, no. So after that they never asked me to leave and they kept showing up. [laughter] host have you been to any events . Guest not yet. Host i am sure you will. Host we will ask you to come to the microphone to ask questions. You spend a lot of your life with animals. What do you think differently about the animal world now compared to four or five years ago . Guest it is a much more interesting place that i realized and it makes me excited to keep Going Forward with this topic and to learn more about it. I am amazed the things that i did not know the things we take for granted if we have animals. Guest to go out . They answer us they know what that means. But it is remarkable that we are able to communicate that way and even very smart cats [laughter] yours was a very smart cats. [laughter] so i read about these studies about dogs how they communicate with humans. But apparently we register more emotion on one side of our face so we always glance left and look to the ice the right side of a book at dogs and they do the same thing similar put screens and track their eyes they consistently glance to the right side of the human face the anatomy read our gestures or the few words but they are looking to get the emotion and the context which is fascinating. There is a study done in sweden. Working with a chimpanzee there were overturned cups and under one was food and she tried to show where the food was it is your. The chimp was looking over here and could not care less that there was a woman in front of her giving the information. But were much more closely related to champs they and dog spend another study same exact and from the moment she comes into the room the dog tracks and her face and understands the food is here and he goes right to the ball. And maybe he could smell it. [laughter] but it is fascinating and i feel lucky. Host you can look at that question in the cartoon were one panel was the order saying go well for a walk and then it was blah, blah, blah gretchen blah, blah, blah gretchen. What is closer to the church . To the smell of food. It depends on the dog because they are individuals but there is the steady about a Border Collie and her vocabulary is over 300 words. Probably very high on the spectrum but i would think after having spent to understand what we say but if not in gestures. Host asking what you thought differently of the animal world what you grow differently about the military and the way it functions . Guest one of the questions i asked over and over i felt like a little kid and wanted to understand and i would always ask why. Why are there on the three weeks of predeployment training . I will be honest i am not confident every single handler who left there was as ready as i would want them to be knowing where they were going. They have the best trainers imaginable. The men and women were incredibly dedicated and devoted. And they take it very seriously so they already have to have experience in spades but why is the only three weeks . Who made that decision that is enough . Why not for weeks why only two days of my training but they dont know how to use night vision goggles . Some of them have not picked up a weapon since basic training . There was never a very good the answer to those questions. So my feeling now is i worry that it is so vague that probably things other very important to are not well managed. That is not a big revelation but they did not understand in this context these are really young kids going out there. Host on average, the people that you encountered encountered, did they feel this used . Did they feel proud . Water those feelings . Does it go back and forth to iraq and afghanistan . I dont know if i feel used by the country but a lot of them i would say are a angry about what is going on and people dont understand what it is they have been through especially those who have seen hard tour some are 26 years old and have been to iraq three times and if afghanistan four times since it is of a lot of time. Some experienced easy tour and they feel that people dont know what is going on and they are not invested and the Partner Forces that we have are not supportive to put it delicately. There is a lot of them and anchor not to individuals in particular but they did not feel welcome over there. With some of their training and i learned to all lot and i am more sensitive to our military and their needs. We are very distant from this experience i was distant i cannot say i knew more than a couple of people that i would call friends or family that is only one person away in a combat zone then here i was everybody sometimes it is two or three kids not just one. Host please come up to the microphone i will ask that transition question. You mentioned the difficulties of the Partner Forces. These are muslim countries where dogs are a difficult topic how did that cultural interphase affect the dog handlers . Guest in particular iraq has out of control stray dogs population and it is actually very dangerous because when theyre on patrol they run in packs with a spread of rabies so it is very different so it was hard but whenever keeps their dog safe for i know there which shoot straight dogs to protect their dogs there is no remorse there it is just what they needed to do but one nice story about bo at one of the hospitals it provided service for anyone whose needs it it does not matter if they are insurgents or service and they take care of them and there was a little girl whose parents were insurgents and she was shot in the abdomen it was pretty terrible but she was in recovery for many months. So the captain was very cautious with the dog to bring her by her bet because she knew that they were not looked upon the same way but the nurses said you should bring her by a and she said no nono but she has been making little dogs out of plato i think she would like get. So then she would and then she would do tricks and to make her happy then when she recuperated she retake bo on the walks so that is one of the nicer stories that i heard. Host please feel free to come up to the microphone i am active duty veterinarian for the military. I have a question about the language i have encountered several different languages of trading and have you encountered any with your Research White dutch is common link wage among International Forces as well . Guest i dont know exactly why but my guess would be because of lot of them are procured from the leaders in other countries particularly the Czech Republic not so much from germany anymore but they do train them in different languages so some handlers and candles feel they want to keep them with the language they were trained on if they were older maybe it is easier but that is interesting a have not heard that. Host is there is a dog trainer personality that comes through with the language. [laughter] i say that respectfully. Was there any time when you felt you placed of flat wrong dealing with your military subjects that there was the flash of the excesses civilianize some to put you at a disadvantage . Guest i dont think so before started this i went on my first trip i email tom and said i have all these questions i sent him this email i am worried about getting the rank wrong or confusing to savor rain and not a soldier so please let me know what i should be careful to avoid and he said just be yourself pratt the time i was like thanks a lot but it was the best advice possible. I might have made a terrible mistake but they never made me feel like it. I have spent stalking you on facebook. And i noticed a conversation and brewing people asking you if there are other animals besides dogs that they bring to more i think somebody asked about paid so or cats. I know people saw the movie warhorse. Host of course, this has been in wars all lot. They died in massive numbers a lot but she is a not stalking me we are good friends. [laughter] and one of the most fascinating wars was rolled or one twos all sorts of animals there are some wonderful books at the time twos Carrier Pigeons horses, mules horses, mules, dogs, camels, cats on the ship. [laughter] we talked quite a bit if your cat would be wellsuited for war we decided he was a much better companion for writein. But riding but i dunno but the dogs seem to have remained as the animal that still provides something that we dont yet have with a better capability hispanic how many dogs has been employed and how many actually died . And i have a question for you being dash what is said dog handler mentality . [laughter] i have a lot of friends who are dutch. They spend a lot of time in asia with their world ferrying history there over represented in of a good way. No national stereotypes. [laughter] but one of my fathers medical partners was from holland he was famous for communicating do this. Twos way. Walk more. Take this bill. That is what i admire to the point my dutch friends are that way the only reason i dont like going to holland it is the one place i feel like a midget. And i have many dutch friends. [laughter] i say this to their faces and it is a complement. Guest okay. [laughter] i think at that height of their use there were 2500 dogs in the combat arena now maybe it is only a couple of hundred so they have scaled back significantly and our job program has been kept in drastic numbers for both evergreens and love are meet had part of the dog surge that they created supplemental programs which got dogs on the ground very quickly that means theyre not trained as dual purpose but only Detection Dogs than those programs have been scaled back if not dismantled completely. And the whole United States around the world i was told recently maybe 1200 topol altogether and to one of the things i was not able to do is find out the exact number. This is one of though why questions they do keep track of all the dogs to veterinary records. But each branch does it differently there is no mandate to keep records how they were killed or how they died then special forces dogs and there were many there are no record that i could get my hands on. One veterinarian that got to know well they kept a wall for dogs that were killed and their photos. I knew how many had died since they were stationed there and their service was only for one year and it was a lot. But the tally i could get there was a lot of group of civilians their former dog handlers keep track of this to send them care packages and they put up notices if the handlers are killed and they keep track of the names and i consulted with them and other sources. Not as many as you would think. Im very excited to read this book. This question may seem small but the word war dogs is that different than house dog or pet dog . It is so little any dog that comes out of the military is part of a letter and each is assigned a letter soties r letter their all attached to that letter so they point out to spelling mistakes but that is how it was spelled and theyre also named after People Killed in action so sometimes on very rare occasions their gifted to the program their given names that have meaning. Host and other incidental insights that you had that you mentioned that dog that was barking and active the whole time in transit that is how one thinks of dogs but you point out they can get tired of smelling too much not longterm but they just cannot keep sniffing so talk about drug patrol dogs or tsa dogs. Guest when you have been writing or editing for a long time you lose your ability and your not quite as sharp and happens to dogs. Not their ability goes away but the time it takes to get from their nose to the brain does not snap as quickly so they retire it is sad handlers responsibility to know their job that he is striking for does not feel well or it is not a good day to the to the patrol and we need a break. Host how long is a dog at peak . Guest son told me they work 12 hour 15 our missions i dunno if that is what they would devise but if it is not necessary they think they will not keep up sometimes in advance of the mission they would give them the ivy of fluid to keep them hydrated ahead of time they all have shaved patches it is easier to find a vein. Where they were going over our they dare for 18 months or do they come home . To they have opposed appointment and return . That is my first question. How are these dogs are they purchased by the government or gifted by breeders . Guest it is what the military would call an investment they technically known as the dogs they purchase them with military funds. One dog was donated to the kennels that you fit u. S. Air force academy but he went so far out of regulation to get him he was a Detection Dog that is the only story i heard that they do purchase them a special force is budget but they could cost 30,000. When dey deploy are they there 18 months or longer . Or how long are they actively used . Today a doubt . It depends on the dog and what they experience the dog is there as long as the handler then it would return by the unit with another handler who takes over. If the planet is there 12 months a year their trotman said it is six or 18. So they would have only one speefifteen . Dogs deploy a war often than that can alert the sometimes the dogs do not one would argue it makes good sense for them to have the break but there is a little bit because they have to get assigned a new handler in they have to get bonded and get ready. Host has they go from handler to handle our how to the dogs handle that . Do they respond with the consistent level . But i think that the hospital you are thinking of is that the air force base. Its very hightech. They certainly sustain injuries but that doesnt affect them for long periods of time and that rehabilitated therapy sometimes can even be for diagnosing ptsd. I know some dogs can be trained for this. Auckland air force base is the hub of all of the specialists that are there to the, the behavioral specialists, the licensed canine rehabilitators. So as you said it is the walter reed for the dogs. Even if we have a dog that is wounded in combat and they have to take a lamb, they will fly them down there and rehabilitate and retire them. One thing that im always happy to tell people is when they are out in combat they get treated like any other. I would say from personal experience they get better care. Its for the flight medics and i have trained them personally so the bond is incredible, the teamwork is incredible. In this exchange we just heard it illustrates that it is full of just wonderful and insightful narratives and we ask you wouldnt encounter it in other parts of the press. This is a book worth reading. It is written with the enormous heart and like other literature i dont know if you read the novel but its like that in imagining the situation of the time. Im going to give you the chance of the comments you hope people take away from this after they brought in and enjoyed the book what do you hope that they will learn . I hope people understand how important this is and how unique and rare and how significant. The numbers might be small but the contribution is huge and they are sweet and heartrending stories but they are contributing in a way that we do not have the technology otherwise to view or do it any better. Becky will be signing copies. Thank you. [applause] if you have a book to be signed please join us in the back wall and again additional copies are for sale in the back of the room. Bestselling author James Patterson appeared in the new york city meeting of principals to talk about tools to inspire a nonreaders and reluctant readers in their schools. Mr. Patterson donated 45,000 copies of his Book Middle School the worst years of my life to 300 in the School System as a part of the effort. This is about 50 minutes