Congratulations again on the terrific book that has made clear it does help us understand the very public figure we think we know and who as you convey as even more to him. Democrat from washington recently joined booktv to discuss the books hes reading. Congressman rick larsen of lf washington, what is on your reading list right now . It hasnt been long but its coming to the middle of summer now so im working on the third novel by a los angeles mystery writer and this is the third in the series. Its kind of a detective novel. Hes a private investigator and a lot of action and great relationships in that book so im working on that and also working on Frederick Douglass a biography published recently. Its a long book so im popping in and out of that one quite a bit kind of taking that 1 inch chunks. One in chunks. For the policy wonk in me one of the think tanks in washington, d. C. Is the lead editor of a book called china 2049 where hes brought together scholars to look at what the ch
Preparation for the event tonight and they said that is the new faulkner biography. I said well, you got the faulkner part right. The best way i can describe this book is equal parts military history, social commentary, and literary criticism. And i think it will appeal equally to fans of any of those subjects. What the book really did for me is force me to give some serious thought to where faulkner stands at a time when we are asking ourselves some difficult and longoverdue questions about our countrys historic difficulties when it comes to matters of race. Was he something of a pioneer on those issues or was he or another white writer profiting off of racist caricatures of black americans . Dr. Michael gorra, as you might imagine, has some thoughts on that. He is a professor of English Literature at Smith College in massachusetts. He is the author of several books including portrait of a novel, the making of an american masterpiece, which was a finalist for the pool surprise and bio
Important conversation to be had this afternoon, and i am thrilled to have the privilege to spend some time with our following guests. I want to be very clear, my goal was to discuss some concrete steps that this audience that is with us, the tens of thousands who are with us, and corporate america, what we can take to create some lasting change and benefit for minorities in this country and close the inequality gap in the boardroom and in peoples paychecks. Ursula burns is here. I should tell you she was the first and only female ceo of a fortune a black female ceo of a fortune 500 company when she ran xerox. Board,she is on ubers and ive had the honor and pleasure to have known her for quite some time. Weve had some very important discussions. Also with us, robert smith, founder and chairman of vista equity partners. He is the wealthiest black american in the country, and i should tell you you have him and theched student debt crisis at morehouse. He has the 2 solution, and we are go
Spike . Youre going to open up special lines this money. First we want to hear from teachers. If you are a teacher, want to hear from you at 202 7488000. Arenistrators, we know you making the tough decisions on whether to open or close schools. Our number, 202 7488001 parents and students, you are the ones sending your children for school. Parents and students, 202 7488002. If you dont fit any of those categories, we still want to. Ear from you, 202 7488003 remember, you can always text us at 202 7488003 as well. We are always reading on social facebook. Witter and once again, we are in the middle spike and coronavirus schools are making tough decisions on whether they should bring children to school or restart Virtual Learning. In new york city they made the decision this week to in in Person Learning and send Children Home next week. Here is new york city mayor bill de blasio addressing how his decision will affect new york city residents. Here is a quick portion. Be re is going to o
One of the things that is here in American Life and letters is the use of reason. In many ways however incomplete or unfinished it was about putting reason at the center of our national experience. If you think about what is unfolding. Heading into philadelphia in 1776. It had been a story of a reorienting the world from being seen as vertical. With an incident of election were given authority over all of us. You have the european enlightenment. You have the protestant reformations. In entire reorientation of the world not complete at the beginning of that shift. When they sat down in the last of june in 1776 to write the declaration of independence he was seeking to create the fullest lyrical manifestation of that cultural shift. It was incomplete, it is unfinished it was in the history of a fallen people in a sinful world. It was a step forward. Maybe not as far forward as we would like but a step forward nonetheless. I think with the American Experience it hinges on the capacity to