Around the time of the inauguration of 2001, whether or not there was a National Book festival comparable to the one she had started in texas. The texas book is full. He said there isnt yet there will be. So we came up with the idea of how to put together a National Book festival, the idea was to put it into a normal, intense. It turned out that getting sponsorships was more difficult than they had thought it would be. So he asked me if i would get involved. I told him i would do so. I began to be a sponsor and a cochair of the event. I did that now for maybe ten years or so. Its very important to me that the book festival does well and i enjoyed a great deal. Its really great gift for the country to have this National Book festival as you probably know we can about 200,000 people coming on the day of the festival every year. This year is going to be labor day weekend. The saturday of labor day weekend. Peter slen what is the madison counsel that you reference. David rubenstein the library of conference gets most of its money from the congress. Like many organizations, the Smithsonian National archives come the money that comes from the federal government is not really adequate to deal with all of the needs of the organization involved. So these organizations have a tendency to build support arms. Theyll have them and the National Park service, all of these organizations try to separate subsidize with the what the federal government gives them. The medicine was set up to be the first one. John clooney gave a gift many years ago. Other people are now involved in supporting the library of congress. The last number of years i have served as the chairman of the madison counsel. Peter slen define race and give gifts yourself . David rubenstein i also fund raise and i gift. The number of people from all of the country donate actually sometimes they give part of their collections to the library of congress, they also give money, we try to raise money for various things that the library of congress is doing. For example, now the library of congress is considering making the building that is known as the jefferson building, the main building, somewhat more userfriendly. We are trying to get the money from congress without. The private sector sector would contribute as well. Its easier to get money from congress if you can get some support from the private sector as well. For example, the smithsonian, the African American history museum, they came about because congress put up 270 million and the public put up 270 million. Now, the air and space museum is being redone because the walls are coupling a bit, as a result the congress has agreed to put more money. Theyre putting up 650 million in the private sector will raise 250 million. This formula of giving additional money to an organization if the organization can get money from the private sector, is a formula that can work somewhat well. For example, in the kennedy center, we are building a new addition there, on the wing is called reach. All of the money is coming from the private sector. The federal government will help with the upkeep of the new addition called the reach. Roughly 250 million raised from private sector. Peter slen you called your donations patriotic philanthropy. David rubenstein ive said that when i give gifts to the smithsonian in the kennedy center, bonsallo and the washington monument, im trying to remind people of the history and heritage of our country. Also about the good things that our country stands for. Also some of the things that are not so wonderful. The good and the bad. When i do that, i regard that as patriotic philanthropy, is misleading. All philanthropy p can probably benefit from. Its a way to remind people of the specially between our history and our heritage. Peter slen what is the role of the cochair of the book festival full . David rubenstein is probably los impressive than the title would sing. I have put up for the last ten years or so, roughly a Million Dollars a year to support the National Book festival. Cost roof roughly million. It cost roughly 2 million a year. Its enabling them to do things as they would not normally be able to do. About 200,000 people come the last couple years and originally held it in the mall, and the mall is a great site but National ParkService Thanks is maybe not so great for the grass in the mall. Additionally, the weather problems. So if you years ago, we moved it to the Convention Center in washington. Mayor washington Convention Center. Its a great facility and we didnt intend it to be a permanent move but we actually like it better because we dont have to worry about whether in the facilities are pretty good. As a result of that, we do rot draw roughly 200,000 people come for free, they come mostly from washington metropolitan area but some cases from all over the country. People get to see the authors to write great books, get to hear the authors be interviewed and others makes features, they cosign the books they do many Different Things that would otherwise wouldnt be able to do with the readers. Its really a great thing to see people of all ages go there. They really learn from the authors have the books came about and with the authors were trying to do. We have about 140 offer authors that will be coming this year. Peter slen you do several of those interviews oh two. David rubenstein i do about five of them year. I know something about the book so i am interested in them. In some cases maybe i have already in interviewed them. I enjoy doing the interviews. I dont regard it as a tour, i regard it as a pleasure. Peter slen how do you choose or do you get to choose who the authors are . David rubenstein the authors are invited by maria orellana, she really help select the authors. Shes known them for quite a while and she is not there herself, and editor for quite a while. She really helps with the invitations and then she sits down with me and says to me would you like to interview of the people who are coming and sometimes i know people reasonably well. A variety interviewed them. Or maybe im more interested in knowing more about them. My pushed me to read a book that i might not otherwise read. Peter slen what is your interview style question mark. David rubenstein ive seen you do this before, and every style like yours. I tried to read the book and make sure i know it reasonably well. I then, and write out the questions in my long hand and then i get them typed up, and then i try to memorize the questions about. I have a conversation with the person, not unlike what we are having. Im not using notes. My view is on when you are doing an interview, if you have notes in front of you, your i will look down, and as soon as you look down, you have lost the eye contact with the person youre talking to. I would rather have a conversation in an interview. If i remember 40 questions i might remember 37 of them. Dont go down your list of questions but divert if necessary. I try to do the interview where i asked a little bit about how the other him about to like this book a lot it took, how does the author enjoy writing, phrase these kind of things when he or she is writing a book in terms of how to put the words fourth and get the message out. Then i try to take the person through trajectory of the book. Usually, there is a bit and getting in the middle and an end. I try to take this through that. I try to ask questions like a normal person would ask you might not have read the book. Peter slen is that the same style you use in bloomberg . David rubenstein on the bloomberg show that i have, i try also not to use notes. Im interviewing the people, i usually know them reasonably well. There i tend to focus on what made the person a leader. Im usually not talking about a book that somebody is written but what made that person a leader that i am interviewing. I dont take them through the trajectory of their lives and find out what competition they mightve had or hardships they had in getting to the. Where they are now or later. Almost everybody is and hardships and setbacks and having people talk about that is something i think people find interesting. Peter slen who are some of the favorite interviews youve done of the years question mark. David rubenstein i have so many is like asking me which of your children do you like the most. I am very hesitant to say who i like most but let me say of the interviews ive done, on the show, i think Oprah Winfrey is obviously very talented person and i have said to her, i think she does have a good future in television if she was to pursue that. Interviewing bill gates several times Warren Buffett jeff basil, of interviewed people and known in government for quite some time. Jim baker he was in our firm for sometime in carlisle. Former president bush and clinton, and interviewed them as well. Theyve all been very good. Sometimes a person is not as wellknown, might be a more interesting interview. And authors, ive interviewed a number of people at the library of congress for a program ive started that i have my own book coming out on. This is a book where its called the american story. Im not promoting it now, it will be out until after the book festival in october. About five or six years ago i decided it would be a good idea to educate members of congress about american history. I decided with Jim Ellington to have a program where i was sponsored at the library of congress so we can invite members of congress only to come. They can bring a guest. We would have them come to a reception were democrats and republicans could talk together. We would go down and have a nice dinner and then i would interviewed author. About a very important book about american history. Weve now done about 45 of them. The first book that i have coming out about that the market story being published by simon schuster. It will contain the interviews of some of the people who are in the best of the interview so far. Dave mccullough, john meacham, ron turtle among other wellknown authors. Peter slen i have an advance copy of the american story. It did one ask you when you look at the list of historians 99 percent white male. Does that affect how we are telling our american story. David rubenstein no doubt it does. We tried and we do have some women who are authors and their, and we also have other ones and others who are africanamerican, on the bench about what he is done with the africanamerican street truly is in. We also have some white authors who have written about black subjects. He has written a definitive book about black history. We try always to get more women and minority authors and we are striving to do a better job than we have done. There is no doubt that many of the best historians to date, have been white males. There are others who have done a great job. Peter slen there is a literary award named after you what is that . David rubenstein its illusory award. Heres what it is. Literary award. I went to a library as a young boy near my home in baltimore, you could take out your first set of books when youre six years old. In my library card and i could take out 12 books a week. I would rate all 12 books in the first day and then i would have to wait to next week to take out 12 more. I love reading. I came from a very modest background. My parents were not high school or college educated. I was able to get the love of books from them. Books have been very very important to me. Sadly, not that many people in the United States really can read as much as i take it should be the case. For example, 14 percent of adults are functionally illiterate. And at 32 million americans cannot read fat past the fourth grade level. If you cant read at all, give a pretty good chance of being in a federal criminal system. Something like two thirds of the prisoners in the federal criminal system are functionally illiterate doing the cant read past the fourth grade level. 80 percent of those in our juvenile liquids a system are functionally illiterate. Youre not going to get a great job, youre probably going to be involved in some things that are wonderful, so i thought it was important that we do more to promote literacy. There is a lot of great organizations that are doing that in the United States. I simply brought the library of congress to do something in that way as well. I put up some money so it enables them to select Award Winners each year for literacy. Organizations have done many wonderful things for literacy. We try to give them attention and give them some money. Its a drop in the bucket to whats needed thats what its about. All of the proceeds for my book will go to that literacy fund. Peter slen who are some of the past winners. David rubenstein will give you one, reading is fundamental is one thats wellknown. This organization is been around for a long time. The wife of robert mcnamara. A terrific organization against books in the hands of people who would otherwise not get them in their hands. There are many other organizations in the world. We gave of an hour and a couple of years ago, if you learn how to read, very often children learn how to read from the parent. At the age of three or four, redo your children. If your military and the United States, sometimes youre not going to be held to retell to your child. So this particular organization and a very clever idea which they would get a video screen and having the father or mother who might be over station sees. Your reading the book to the child and the child is now able to hear from their parents on how to read the book. Thats an example of what we are trying to support. In some awards and attention. Peter slen what are your current Reading Habits . David rubenstein i love reading and i try to read 100 books a year. Its an upset save. I recognize that. Two a week. But not raining physics textbooks, and im not reading books that are outside my area of expertise. Therefore i tend to read biographies, history, business books, and medical books. There are subjects that i know about. I also have a mechanism that forces me to read books i have a lot of programs where im interviewing people so if youre interviewing the person, youve got to redo it. The National Book festival i have to prepare for that. In the library of congress, i am in the program at the New York Historical society right into the authors, and that is one also requires me to read the books. I think if you are interviewing 70 about a book, you have to read the book you should give them that courtesy. I actually do read the books. Some of them are not easy. I am reading now, joe laporte, american history. It is almost 1000 pages. Im about halfway through it. Im rushing to get through it before i have to meet with her in a couple of weeks. Steve to. Peter slen who are you interviewing at the National Festival question mark. David rubenstein moonshot, president kennedy really launched. Its on the back the apollo 11 about what god is there but what led to the effort to get us to do the effort of getting to the moon at the end of the decade in the 1960s. Also interviewing michael josh on his book president support. This book that ive interviewed him about. Its quite a book good book. I look forward to that as well. I am also interviewing second mountain. I havent interviewed him before in the book. Thats a book i am looking forward to doing. Andrew roberts about his book on churchill. Which may be the definitive walt one volume book on churchill. I have interviewed him before. I am interviewing to other people about economic related people. What about asian and one about the us economy. Im looking forward to that. Peter slen youve interviewed several Supreme Court justices about their books. Define that theres a uniqueness to that group . David rubenstein ive interviewed the chief of justice, not about his book but about his life. Ive interviewed mayor, ginsberg and will do so again shortly at the 96 second white in new york. Recently i interviewed justice thomas, this is spring Historical Society event. All of them are very intelligent people they love the law and they live the law. They really are quite articulate and they really are quite good interview subjects. Ive also interview Justice Kagan for a name meant at the library of congress. I should have that. For my book, the american story, i interviewed the chief justice. We describe that. Ive gotten to know the chief reasonably well because i currently serve as the chairman of the smithsonian institution. The chancellor is the chief justice. So get a chance with him from time to time. I thought it would be a good idea for the program i have at the library of congress to interview somebody who is maybe not another. Maybe somebody who could be an interesting person from the members of congress. If done that twice now. One is with bill gates who came in interviewed in oneness with the chief justice. The chief justice is a person who told a very interesting story. I went through his life, recounted in my book. I said what did you do always want to be the chief justice of United States. He said no. Did you want to be a justice of the United StatesSupreme Court question mark no i judge no lawyer no. What did you want to be question mark i wanted to be historian. I really loved english in an american history. His father said it would not make him a prosperous person. The lot of money being made. But the Young John Roberts and i dont really care. I want to do this because i really love history. So sure enough he was a good student he went to harvard and he majored in history. As he was coming back i think from his sophomore year from home in indiana, he landed in the Logan Airport and in boston and got into a camp, its into the cab driver can you please take me to cambridge massachusetts. The cab driver said i going to harvard . Yes student yes what is staying at harvard question mark setting history. The cab driver said well thats what i study when i went to harvard. So john rober