People here who will at least remember the place if not agree with me, and so its always nice to be back with old friends. I really date myself here, i even attended an advanced placement class at the old West High School, which was right down here and you have to be really old to remember when West High School was here. People have asked me a lot, why did you write this book . Its so long ago and so obscure. And i usually say because its just a great story. What happened, the events themselves are so amazing. And as a writer, as a fiction writer i would never dare to make them up the kind of plots that this book has. And when i realized that they had all happened i thought that was really terrific. For a long time when people say why, i say because it was such a great story. When i got into the book i realized there was when people say why, i say because it was such a great story. When i got into the book i realized there was more to it than that and the back had an even more profound
And im going to jump in. I found this book in the middle of the atlantic ocean. Six years ago, in we are newed d. A. I embarked on a sailing ship. The ssv. I would be at sea for three weeks. Away from telephone, internet, and physical libraries. I was in the middle of Research Project on ben franklin that required know read material at french. I tried to revive my french by reading a novel. I chose a small book around the world in 180 days qghts. First pub i slowly made my way through the book. My french was good enough i enjoyed the story and as a historian i appreciated the period detail. Especially the nature of the bet that sends protagonist racing around the world. At the london club, he marks offhand edly that scheduled travel schedules could take a world around the 180 dares. They said prove it. And it was conceivable by the late 19th century inspect the age of sail getting around the world had taking years on the speed of my sailing ship would have lost his bed. It was the inve
William thornton, designed the u. S. Capitol. This is just over 50 minutes. [applause] thank you. For that nice introduction and thank you to majors and quinn hosting this event. I suggested this to eat than back in the winter, there was never anything less than enthusiastic about having me. This was always my destination when i came to a minneapolis bookstore. I am glad i landed here. I want to tell you a little bit about the book. I will read a little bit about the book. Its nice to be here and see some old familiar faces. You know, whenever i come back to minneapolis i have this feeling what a special place marshal u was, and there are probably a few people here that will remember the place if not agree with me. And so its always nice to be back with old friends. I really date my sell here. I even attended an advanced placement class at the old West High School which was right down here on hennipin you have to be really old when West High School was there. I beg your pardon. [laught
Michael gordon appeared on cspans washington journal about the end game since the occupation in iraq in 2003. Its about 40 minutes, and its next here on booktv. Host been over a year since the last troops left iraq, and look back on the more than 8 years of conflict there, joined by New York Times National Security correspondent, Michael Gordon, author of the end game inside struggle of iraq from george w. Bush tobackback. Start with the title of the book. What was the end game of last year . Guest part of what i wanted to do with the coauthor is capture what happened since the surge. There was a number of books on the surge forces in iraq in 2008 and what happened after that, but i was interested in, i think, the real question is what kind of a iraq did the United States leave behind after sacrifice of 145 american lives lost, temperatures of thousands wounded, and hundreds of millions of dollars spent. What was the american policy towards iraq, and whats iraq look like today . That w
Issue trying to come up with a book proposal because we had absolutely no idea how this was going to end. But, i mean, the end as in the exit of gadhafi was reasonably clear to me, i thought. The beginning was, at least as far as the rapprochement between the u. S. , the west and libya was a period which i had lived as a junior diplomat from 2004 to 2006 when a small group of us was sent to tripoli to, basically, lay the foundations for what became the embassy. I, you know, ive spent a lot of time in the middle east. Sometimes i wonder whether i should have studied japanese back when i was if college because, you know, the degree of changeability and if i could say drama just, you know, continues. But, you know, theres a certain something about the reason about the people and the disparate cultures that is quite gripping, and the more you get into it, the more you become passionate about it. And ive certainly been very passionate about libya, and thats, essentially some of the reflecti