Political events, where the soviet people were, in fact, breaking free of their past. So it has sort of multiple meanings. And actually, the concept of freedom is dealt with quite a lot in the book. Cspan whats the book about . Guest well, the book is about my love affair and eventual marriage with a member of gorbachevs inner circle, a man who was a member of the communist party and the head of the soviet Space Program at the time. I should say the civilian program. But really, its this story set against the backdrop of the end of the cold war and the collapse not only of the soviet union but the end of soviet communism. Cspan what years did you write about . Guest well, the main part of the story really takes place between 1986 and 1991, the very last years of soviet rule. Cspan what were you doing in 1986 . Guest well, i was traveling back and forth quite a lot before i met the man who became my husband, and i was representing the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute at the time. Id h
The answer was there is no plan. I blew up, not for the first or last time, and said, how can it be the head of the soviet union dies, and we have no contingency plan. It was criminal, said the president. The truth was the United States and the other western nations had very little idea of what was happening behind the iron curtain. Two years later at the first summit meeting of the cold war era at geneva in 1955, the United States still did not know who was running the soviet union. They sent four leaders, one tall white man in a white suit with a white goatee who looked like Colonel Sanders from kentucky fried chicken, clearly, a figure head. The head of the red army, ikes ally in defeating the nazis in world war ii. Eisenhower spent his son, john, to do some spying. Subdued and shaken, just whispered, things are not as they seem. President ize president eisenhower found out who was in charge on the fifth day of the conference. The big pier of the nuclear age was a surprise attack. P
[applause] what an honor and treat to be at the Eisenhower Institute and especially an honor to have susan introduced me. You know, families can be a little touchy about the great man and their family, but the eisenhowers were amazing with me. John, susan, david are completely open, not defensive, which is unusual. Incredibly helpful and i could not have done this book without them. So thank you, susan. Six weeks after Dwight Eisenhower became president , stalin died. Paik caught together top advisers and officials in that, whats the plan . Is little bit like Colonel Sanders of kentucky fried chicken. Was clearly a figure. Ike was rooting for the general, the head of the red army was ikes ally in defeating the nazis in world war ii. Eisenhower sent his son john out to do a little spying. John seidel up to him. Things are not as they seem. President eisenhower did not find out who was really in charge until the fifth day of the conference, when ike proposed what he called his opened sco
Guest every time there is some type of protest movement organized a mass civil disobedience, other kinds on the part of African Americans by people in coalition with them all is what they asked for are the principles, pristina American Values. And Martin Luther king asked for justice he spoke in the tops of the language of the declaration of independence and the constitution. It was not the tones of some alien philosophy that exists in some other country. Host in that book you recount some of the black Resistance Movement over the years. When did it for storage . Guest there has been a Resistance Movement since the beginning of the republic. In the colonials we have documented movements of people trying to escape slavery, trying to resist their oppression. Not as many as one might hope. A lot of discipline. Loss of movement. I wrote a book once called black resistance wedlock. A couple of chapters on the war, the black Resistance Movement. Blacks and some models or a live together in f
On booktv on cspan 2. Good afternoon. I am so glad to see all of you here on this Beautiful Day to join a National Book festival. Mine is in a Community Affairs at wells fargo for the midatlantic region. And so want to be here representing wells fargo is both an avid reader myself. I really dont remember a time in my life when i wasnt an avid reader. I just loved reading. I grew up in a very small town in North Carolina and had the benefit of the library account be an adjacent to backyard. But at the library of congress obviously, but its a wonderful asset to the community. Around the corner to parents to pick out books and am feeling very, very grown up when i got to go by myself to check out books myself. Ive attended here today come you must all know books can take you to foreign lands and give you a different perspective about your neighborhood. They can introduce you to people that came generations before and connect people in real time. My favorite incident happened to me when i