The book has [inaudible] thank you very much and appreciate you coming out. Thank you. [applause] thank you leslie and thank you to aubrey jenkins. The book, copies of the book are available outside, and please join us for a reception to celebrate the new book and to meet each other. Thank you. [applause] [inaudible conversations] every weekend booktv offers programming focused on nonfiction authors and books. Keep watching for more here on cspan2. And watch any of our past programs online at booktv. Org. Michael tanner talks about the growing National Debt next on booktv. In his latest book, going for broke, the Cato Institute fellow argues for sweeping solutions to the u. S. Debt problem which focus on restructuring Social Security, medicaid and medicare. Host michael tanner, nice to be with you. So today were going to discuss your book going for broke. Maybe you could just start by talking a little bit about what prompted you to write this book. Guest well one of the things thats fr
Lunch, got in his car shut the door locked it, cranked up before he pulled off someone was pounding on drivers side window, and mr. East looked and there was a very scary looking individual saying, are you p. D. East, the troublemaking newspaper man . [laughter] and with more courage than he felt, mr. East said is, yes, i am. The man said if you get out of this car, ill beat your brains out. Mr. East, said, if you want me to get out of this car, youve got to give me a lot more incentive than that. [laughter] the regard i have for the Virginia Historical society where, where i spent many, many weeks working on this book for nelson, for graham, for the wonderful work here thats all the incentive i needed to come. And, again, i thank you for the invitation. The book grew actually from a class i taught on great crimes. And in that class we would take a different crime every week the lindbergh kidnapping, haymarket riot the next week, then the lincoln assassination. Hands down the lincoln a
Childhood. One of the dreams is about being hunted down, hiding, being terrified for my life. The other dream is about being a murderer and trying to hide the evidence. And i had them for years as a child. As it turned out, i learned much later that my mom shared one of those dreams, the first dream. She was an immigrant from lithuania. She lived through the war there with her dad and her siblings, and as, you know, many people who have gone through war and have suffered, you know, trauma, she had a dream with her sister, sharing the same dream for years about being hunted down. So somehow i inherited part of this dream life. And i think one of the curious things for me as a writer and just as a daughter is why i have the second part of the dream, the second dream and not the first, and not just the first. Host and when did you, when did you discover why you were having that second dream about being a murderer . Guest well, i discovered it about five years ago when i first learned that
1950s. So when mr. s went out for runs mr. East went out for lunch, got in the door, someone was pounding on the drivers side window, and mr. East looked, and there was a very scary looking individual saying are you p. D. East, the the troublemaking newspaper man . [laughter] and with more courage than he felt, mr. East said, yes, i am. The man said, if you get out of this car, ill beat your brains out. [laughter] mr. East, said if you want me to get out of this car, youve got to give me a lot more incentive than that. [laughter] the roorld the the regard i have for the Virginia Historical society where i spent many, many weeks working on this book for nelson, for graham, thats all the incentive i needed to come. And again, i thank you for the invitation. The booth book grew actually from a class i taught on great crimes. And in that class we would take a different crime every week, the lindbergh kidnapping, haymarket riot the next week, then the lincoln assassination. Hands down, the
[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] when i tune in on the weekend usually it is authors sharing their new releases. Watching nonfiction authors on booktv is the best television for serious readers. They can have a longer conversation and delve into their subjects. Booktv weekends, they bring you off thereafter other after arthur, not like the work of fascinating people. I love booktv and i am a cspan fan. We are about to convene our session. I have what i presume will be the very easy task of shepherding three distinguished biographers through what im sure will be scintillating conversation because they are so practiced and accomplished. I am very proud to be among them, this moderator. Do i have to say, i am a james atlas. Two of our i was about to say contestants, two of our panelists were nominated, were finalists for the la times book award last night, terry alford for John Wilkes Booth, Charlotte Decroes jacobs for joan assault, Kirstin Downey has been nominated be