[inaudible conversations] booktv recently visited capitol hill to ask members of congress what theyre reading this summer. Well, first of all, thanks to cspan for all you do on this front. Its very Important Service you give to the country. My folks are watching this. My kids will get a kick out of it. I hope they see their picture behind me. Ive got a pretty extensive reading list not only for the summer, but over the next year. I thought id start off with prayer for people under pressure by jonathan aiken, written by a former member of the english parliament, so he knows a little bit about pressure, and i thought i could learn something from him. Troublesome young men by lynne olson has to do with the rise of a small band of conservatives in the parliament during the churchill period and kind of motivated by im a member of the House Freedom caucus. We have 40 or 50 great folks that are trying to solve some of the fiscal problems. And just kind of represent the people more closely, do what the people want to do. And so i think this book will give me a little motivation there. Next one, the title may not give it away, but its called uncivilization by gregory copley. He came in and briefed me on Foreign Policy one day and just an amazing mind on Foreign Policy. And i learned so much from him, i wanted to read some of his books. So his subtitle is urban geopolitics in a time of chaos. And so maybe at first blush an unlikely source of grounding for international policy, but his thesis is that some of the uncertainty and instability and chaos were seeing around the globe which we are clearly seeing is driven by the urban rural split in our country and just kind of the, with the growth of the urban cities, a little bit more detachment from the jeff sewn january jeffersonianyeoman farmer and the patriotism in the positive sense and maybe we need a little bit bigger dose of history in our k12 and some of those things. I havent finished the book. Ive started reading about it and a little of it. The next one, desire of nations, was highly recommended to me on political theology. Obviously, thats probably the issue of our day now with isis and the debate over our constitution, the role of the judeochristian tradition, how does islam fit into this conversation. And so the desire of nations traces history through thought. Islam, the jewish tradition and christianity, we all used to have a nice conversation around aristotle around 1300. So the conversation is possible, but it requires some unity of thought. And so aristotle is one nice place to be. Theres plenty others. Ill probably mention a few coming up. And i think we need to urge some of our brothers and sisters over in the hot spots that reformation might not be a bad idea and enlightenment would certainly be a good idea. Those are probably some of the themes ill be reading about in that book. Next one, more contemporary, extortion by peter schweizer. Its been around a while. Im going to give it another look. Everyone back home seems to think theres this leftwing rightwing war going on between the parties and the factions and the rightwingers, left wingers. I talked to Bernie Sanders at a White House Christmas party, and he shared my view thats not the case. Most of the case has to do with maybe the middle and doling out 4 trillion to the insiders and cronies up here in d. C. And that, i think, is a little stronger explanation for why the politics is broken. So i think schweitzer pursues that pretty well. Money correlated with elections, correlated with committee assignments, correlated with everything up here, voting records, etc. He traces them all out with footnotes and evidence on that. The next one is a shameless plug, its called american underdog by a congressman named david brat. Available june 28th. So im plugging my own stuff. Its wideranging. I had a friend help me put it together, but i sent him previous books i put together, lecture notes over 20 years when i taught economics and ethics at randolph makin. And i ran on the republican creed in virginia, its basically american themes. But since then i went a little 30,000 tofoot up in the air 30,000foot up in the air and condensed it to the three pillars that have made our civilization the greatest, i think, the greatest country on earth. Three pillars that hold up the foundation, and they include not surprisingly the judeochristian tradition. I went to princeton seminary before i went to economics, went to the college of new jersey, roughly the princeton em their and studied seminary. And the judeochristian leads into the rule of law, and then we get in 1776 also, i dont know if by divine intervention or not but adam smith, the founder of economics across the pond in england doing economics and ethics as well. He was the chair of moral philosophy. So a lot of great thinkers weaving together religion, philosophy, economics, political theology, political philosophy in the past. Not so many doing it today, so thats kind of why these books inform my reading list. Next one was given to me by a fourstar general up here a few weeks ago, combat ready by thomas hanson. By all accounts, our militarys army, navy, air force weakest level since world war ii in terms of troops, ships, planes, etc. So its an analysis of combat readiness, so i recommend that one highly based on what i heard about out already. Next one, how god became king, new testament scholar of note, n. T. Wright. Again, political theology, political philosophy. How god became king not necessarily what you might think at first blush. Maybe a kind of david and goliath, Malcolm Gladwell explanation that the king in this case is a humble king. Next one by a sociologist, the triumph of christianity. Again, not a boastful triumph, but a triumph if you look at the countries who have strong civil liberties, strong civil rights, political rights, women in the work force, protections, all sorts, christianity, the reformation, the enlightenment again, basic themes i wanted to explore more deeply, and starks one of the leaders in that field. And then a whopper, a 3inch biography, George Washington called say sacred fire. It was given to me as a gift about a year ago after i entered office, and im going to do my best on that one. And washington is just kind of one of those amazing figures. When you read about him and what others say about him, all men and women loved him and respected him. And so theres something to this guy that is extra significant, and the more i read about him, the more i see that. But i can never get enough of seeing what resonates with such an important founder and some argue the founder. The indispensable man, the one to whom all the others looked up and loved and respected. And so its good to take notes on people like that. And so that is a hefty reading list and, again, i thank cspan for letting me have the opportunity to share a few books that im going to take a peek at. My constituents know i go around actually talking about this stuff at our meetings around the ten counties, and most people get stimulated by this kind of intellectual exchange. I sure do. So thank you, cspan, for all you do and happy reading. Thank you. Booktv wants to know what youre reading this summer. Tweet us your answer booktv or post it on our facebook page, facebook. Com booktv. In january of 1980, the United States had just recently suffered its Second Oil Shock. It was a term we used in those days, meaning at least the appearance of a sudden shortage of oil which reminded all americans that at that time the wellbeing of our country was increasingly dependent on our ability to access foreign reserves of oil. That Second Oil Shock had occurred because of the iranian revolution. Overthrowing the shah. And producing now a government in tehran that was hostile to the United States. Compounding that problem just the month before in december of 1979, the soviets had invaded and or with and were now occupying afghanistan. It appeared that the appearances were misleading it appeared that the soviets were now primed to march westward into iran and even into saudi arabia. It was also a fact that carter was a, was perceived to be a weak president , somebody who was presiding over a lackluster economy and somebody who supposedly was letting things like the iran hostage crisis and the soviet invasion of afghanistan occur. 1980, of course, was a president ial election year. President understandably wanted to be elected to a second term. Politically, it seemed to make sense to strike a get tough posture. And the Carter Doctrine was intended to do that. What did that imply . What the Carter Doctrine implied or led to was the militarization of u. S. Policy in the greater middle east. Beginning with the persian gulf, but ultimately including a far, far broader swath of territory in the islamic world. Carter didnt for a second foresee or expect all of the military interventions that were to follow beginning in 1980. But the fact of the matter is, at least in my judgment, the Carter Doctrine touches off what comes to be a war for the greater middle east. Now, one of the things we always hear at least in those early years is we [inaudible] security for energy resources. Was that accurate, and is that all we were fighting for . Its accurate and yet its not all that we were fighting for. In other words, it is, it makes sense to say that. At the outset, americas war for the greater middle east was a war for oil because it appeared that our prosperity, our wellbeing was contingent upon insuring that we had access to foreign oil. But what i argue in the book is that if it began as a war for oil, it actually quickly or morphed into something else. The war for the greater middle east in some senses, in very important senses became a war to demonstrate that the limits that apply to other countries need not apply to us. To demonstrate that when the United States sets out, sets its mind to doing something, that we can do it and can, to use a term that they like in washington, that in this instance that we are able to shape a large part of the world. The assumption among policymakers being that the adroit use of American Military power gives us the instrument to accomplish this shaping. You can watch this and other programs online at booktv. Org. Heres a look at some of the books that have been written about president ial candidates donald trump and Hillary Clinton. Donald trump has had many books written about him. Some of the more recent include never enough by Michael Dantonio published in 2015 in which the pulitzer prizewinning reporter profiles Donald TrumpsBusiness Career and personal life as well as his president ial aspirations. Cnn political commentator jeffrey lord makes the case for a Trump Presidency in what America Needs published earlier this year. Twice updated and originally published in 2001, glenda blair looks at mr. Trumps relationship with his family and reports on his candidate i for president in donald trump, the candidate. Throughout Hillary Clintons political life, over 150 books have been written about her or feature her as a key player. These include several released last year. Bloomberg news Jonathan Allen and the hills amie parnes book hr c chronicles senator clintons 2008 loss to barack obama and her return to political prominence. Love her, love her not, is a collection of essays by women that looks at how clinton is equally lauded and disliked. Edward kline, former editor of the New York Times magazine, argues against a Clinton Presidency in unlikable. Media matters Founder David brock, who also runs a super pac supporting her president ial campaign, says that theres a rightwing plot to derail Hillary Clinton in his book, killing the messenger. And coming out in july, author and filmmaker Dinesh Dsouza asserts another Clinton Presidency will fundamentally change the country for the worse in hillarys america. So were going to have some fun with that, do some things working toward Constitution Day in the fall and i think thats exciting. That so many families are going back and looking at theres First Principles and founding documents so in tennessee seven, thats just the top of the list. Some of the things also, there is a daniels book i want to read, its called bringing out the best in people and i think every once in a while its like you know, to get a new perspective on how you lead a team, i always say you leave people and you manage affect and ive always been a big fan of the Company Books with the Leadership Principles so ive read a review or two of this and i think that one is going to be a good one to read. Kind ofmotivational. So thats on there, theres an interesting book also , by mas eric and it is fluke and it looks at the mathematics and the Science Behind pod occurrences so im going to read fluke, i think its so interesting how sometimes something just seems to happen. Interest, curiosity. The way it causes you to think,causes your mind to work and get you outside of your normal everyday thoughts of looking at policy. So i enjoyed that. Its that mental stimulation that intrigues your mind so its good for you. It keeps you thinking. When we talk inthe past, often its been history. History andbiography. Guest yes and ill read the kilby book. This year, the aaa pilot and it was great. As a matter of fact that is one this summer that im going toread with my grandsons. They love poets, they got so into pirates and i thought you know, what a great way to introduce them to history and to our nations founding by utilizing brians book and going back and talking about the barbary pirates so that is something that we are going to do. And thats been fun. Last year i read some cookbooks and things with them, utilize some of those old cookbooks and the boys like to help me grow herbs in my herb garden and we do a little salad garden and what fun that was. And theyre very adventurous eaters so we had a good time with that. B1 congressman, do you grow up reading . Before i did, idid all the time and i love the biographical sketches. I find inspiration in those and you know, i dont know who im going to read this year. I havent decided where i want to kind of drill down. I enjoyed the lincoln books because there were several different authors, Stephen Mansfield is one of my favorite different people that have written on lincoln so you could get that wide view. And we will see wyandotte reading this year, i am going to read woodwards book on the road to the white house, i think that will, its timely so i think thats going to be a good one to read. Host if anybody heard those bells ring, Marsha Blackburns office is in the house and those bells go off from time to time to indicate the floor is closed before the floor is closed and the house is in recess. Host is that what that no was quite smart before it was. Host where you find time to read . Before i write read on flights, i read in the evenings before i go to sleep. Sometimes if i get the time to sit on the back porch i may read a little bit. I really love inspirational reading in the mornings, thats when i do my devotions and double reading and you cant beat a couple coffee on the back porch, a breeze blowing for quiet time to do that, six in the morning, some coming up, its nice b1 were there books in the house growing up were your parents readers . Before absolutely and even the world book encyclopedia, there was always something you could find. The world book wasnt updated so as you were having parents who were very curious, a grandmother who had been a schoolteacher, all of that makes the difference, those are big influences and in this Electronic Media age and seeing my grandchildren so drawn to Electronic Media sometimes we just say this is a no ipad day and is in no videogame day and then we read and that was part of the injury to them of reading a cookbook, its a good lesson in science. Its a good lesson in food. Its, they are learning to read like my grandson just first grade and is so excited because now he can read as he called them chapter books. Hes very excited about reading chapter books. Host does what you read help influence, play a part in your role in the house of representatives . Guest sure, absolutely. And it does. There are so many books that are kind of required reading around my house. Road to serfdom, when you talk about good Economic Policy and you look at how the whole federal spending, i think that is a must read. So you go back to many of thosefoundational books , they are going to be there. It doesnt change. And they are so instructive for sure. This summer also one of the things that im looking to read and i havent decided exactly which to fit but there are several on line marketing and we are dealing with the issue of Data Security and privacy and i lead with peter welch out of vermont that Privacy Working Group for a couple years and i have found it so interesting as you look at the New York Times list and amazon list and different ones, the cost of Business Books right now deal with the Digital Space and Online Marketing and i want to read a couple of those just to do my own Trend Analysis and see what people who consider themselves to be experts are considered to be the expert, what they have to say and what the trends are that they are working toward,i think that would help me. As we get ready to work through this issue. Host where you get your books . Guest it depends. Sometimes its the library. Sometimes i make a think of something iwant to read and we may get it from the library of congress. My local library is wonderful. I like to buy books, im one of those that still likes a hard copy, i like to hold it in my hands and mark it up and read it and this year ive got to pay in my study which means ive got to unload all these books from the bookshelves in order to do some cleanup and i think oh my goodness, i will never get it done because i will be flipping back through all these books with the notes but thats the way i like it so i continue to do that. Host how is the Library System in your district . Before the library cystic system in my district is healthy, it is robust. One of the things that interests me is they are beginning to utilize downloads and to expand their reach, to integrate their offerings and tennessee has done a very good job through the tennessee connect program with our schools and universities and Public Libraries so its a wonderful , wonderful tool and we regularly visit the library of congress for books that are being rotated out, it takes some of our libraries that may be need that extra push for filling their shelves and having four children to come check out. Host the u. S. Congress, does it have a role in funding for libraries or are they pretty independent or state roads . Guest thats something you dont see communities take that up. Host you are also an author. What was that process like for you . Guest its terrific and i enjoy still working on it. I keep a couple of files, word documents in my computer and im always adding things to them. I find my husband is also an author. He has a business book, stop selling, let them by and he uses it as he teaches training courses but he is a sales pro so it focuses there but this summer he has one coming out, as a joke. Hes a practical jokester and i wanted to ask him one day why i always wore a bowtie and he said did you not know . Im president of the international bowtie society and i just made it up for of the moment. So the idea took off and so now this year he is writing a book, he just got the option covers so it will come out this summer, its called the bowtie bible. So its kind of a parody, a fun tiny short book but. Host does he teach you how to tie a bowtie also. Guest how to tie a bow tie, how to wear a bowtie, he had a lot of fun with it and its just a fun application with him. Host tell us aboutlife equity