Spin. Thats our topic tonight on the week ahead. On this sunday night there are celebrations on the streets across crimea. Voters there overwhelmingly approved a referendum to rejoin russia. It was one of the largest election turn outs ever in a european nation. Supporters danced in the street for hours, across crimea. Here are the early results. More than 95 voting yes to becoming a subject of the Russian Federation. Less than 4 approved the idea of staying with ukraine but having more independence. United nation, europe and the white house condemned the election. We have a team of reporters on the story. David brenner has reaction from kiev. Jennifer glasse talks to people before and against the election. We start in the crimean capital. Thats where we find nick schifrin. Good evening, it is pouring around me, and that is the only thing that could get the celebrators off the street. If you talk to international and domestic monitors that are critical, they list a long list of irregul
And also were here with cspan, booktv. And so we have a National Audience as well as a oregon audience. So im going to tell some stories, and you oregonians may know some of the stories, and you may not know others. But ill start with how i came to this story. And, actually, whats surprising about it is how this story was very well known in its day. In 1836 when Washington Irving was commissioned by John Jacob Astor to write the story of these events 20 years after they occurred, irvings book also called astoria, was a best seller of 1836. And those events have been largely forgotten in the american consciousness. I think you in oregon know a little bit more about them or im sure some of you know a lot more about them. But in the national consciousness, theyre largely forgotten, except among historians and people who really follow western history. So it is a really important story. Its historically significant, and its a great adventure story. And thats partly what attracted me to it.
Next, astoria by author john jacob. This an is hour and 14 minutes. Thank you powells books and thank you for being here. Normally i have a more formal presentation. I have a reading i show at readings. But tonight is a special night so i am going to do something different. And i want to tell stories a little bit more and, of course, i will do some readings. It is special we are at powells books, we are in oregon, astoria is nearby and we are also here with cspan so we have a national and oregon audience. I will tell stories and you may know some of them and may not some of the others. But i will start with how i came to this story. And actually, what is surprising about it is how this story was verywell known in its day. In 1836, when Washington Irving was commissioned by john John Jacob Astor to write these, irvings book also called astoria was a best seller in 1926. They have been forgotten now. I think some of you know about them. But in the National Consciousness they are largely
Risking their lives instead of staying at home on the ohio river and risking their lives a little bit less. So pike makes the same request of congress. He forged letters from jefferson and dearborn and secretary of state James Madison and things like that in congress, the committee reviewing the request votes in favor of granting him this but by this point the expedition is inextricable from the politics dividing congress over jefferson and burr and wilkinson in general and Congress Never votes. My guess, there is no record of why they dont vote. No one made the decision not to vote but the last evidence we have in the congressional record as of the Committee Voting to bring it to a vote on the floor and then it just disappears until the 1840s when we have a comments by his widow clara who is requesting that the reward be paid to her. By this point she is destitute. Then she dies before they do anything. My guess about whats going on is twofold. One is burr is acquitted and he has a lo
And, actually, whats surprising about it is how this story was very well known in its day, in 1836 when Washington Irving was commissioned by John Jacob Astor to write the story of these events 20 years after they occurred. Irvings book, also called astoria, was a best seller of 1836. And those events have been largely forgotten in the american consciousness. I think you in oregon know a little bit more about them, or im sure some of you know a lot more about them. But in the national consciousness, theyre largely forgotten except among historians and people who really follow western history. So it is a really important story. Its historically significant, and its a great adventure story. And thats partly what attracted me to it. And its also a story that i i feel needs to be told because its had, those events have had a big impact on the shape of the north American Continent and on the course of american empire, these events that happened over these three years from 1810 to 181. 1813.