our inequality the level of our discrimination the level of our incarceration the level of you know the lack of opportunity for my not sure i'm not sure that the american model is right for them except if you're in the 1 percent. they are very enthusiastic. >> well, this has been a wonderful conversation. i do want to end this conversation with something that can give us a little bit of hope. as you look around and you have been talking about the great divide of inequality for your whole career as you go around the country talking about this exceptional book which is a collection of stories that you have been telling for the past few years, new essays and impersonal in fact -- what are you hearing that is giving you a sense of optimism? is there anything going on -- i will give you a little bit of help. is the fact that low-wage workers are organizing in this fight for 15, is the fact that black lives matter has become a clarion call and people are getting out of your comfort zone? does that give you hope? >> you said exactly what i was going to say. first, the fact that the issue is finally on the political agenda. if you don't recognize the problem you're not going to solve it. that gives me -- at least we are recognizing across the political spectrum. the 2nd thing is that even though 70% of all americans believe that there ought to be an increase in the minimum wage, something is wrong. hasn't given up a race to the bottom for almost a half-century. not only can we afford it, it's something that i think is hurting our economy not to do. unfair. it's really hurting our economy and that there is this grassroots movement congress,, congress gridlock in washington. people have said will we don't care. we're going to show seattle going to do the mayor deblasio in new york says, and 800,000 people out of poverty 700,000 to increase minimum wage. this minimum wage. this gives me hope. his across the spectrum. strong -- you know, and it's an people. i give these talks and young people all over the world come up and thinking and say, you know, we need this kind of a voice because we don't want to inherit. we don't want to live in a society that is marked by this great divide. we want to have a society we have a more shared a more shared prosperity. >> that is exactly right. the book is our right now the great divide. thank you so much for being who you are for being often the lonely voice in the room and for showing that economic is not so bad after all. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> that was afterwards teesixteen's signature program in which authors of the latest nonfiction books are interviewed by journalists, public policymakers, and others familiar with the material. afterwards airs every afternoon, 10:00 p.m. on saturday, 12 and nine on sunday command 12:00 a.m. on monday. you can also watch online. go to booktv.org and click on after words and the book tv series and topics list on the upper right side of the page. >> now joining us on book tv, the preview an upcoming book author julie. the book is called the -- what is the three-year? >> it was a legend in his time. .. >> >> and they had the international reach that was astounding actually. there were children really children from ages of nine through the ages of 15 at the most when they began our little yonder. japanese-americans and the children of immigrants from japan >> those that were portuguese workers and then some spaniards and a chinese workers depending on the economy and following that with korean families and following that were japanese and it is a maze saying that even the former slaves from alabama came to rally just before the turn of the century so people living in camps that were named after their ethnicity there was alabama a camp spanish camp portuguese camp and then the japanese camps were still unnamed chinese gamesman the japanese came over to inhabit them so they would live with the families with 10 or 12 people in a family in the three from house and that parents were field workers and day lives in a situation as close to slavery as there could be in the united states at that time. >> host: this was mid-30s 19 - - hawaii? the mexico their experience occurred in the late '30's. they were not up for the mobile. >> host: was swimming considered each sport? >> guest: it is day grace for it depends who you were the united states and europe swimming was the sport not polo but of weizmann -- white men and immature white men who could afford to stay eggs says managers as it was discussed in the 20th century it was limited to a lot of white people who had money. >> host: who came up with the idea of the japanese kids? >> because they lived in the middle of mouthy it is a very dry place. it is not near the ocean at all people think of it as a lovely torras plays near the ocean but it is about 30 miles from the ocean and so they are swimming for fun and pleasure and to cool off in a very hot cultural region. they were swimming in the ditches which were prohibited to them. the camp police would come on huge work force is to chase their children out of the ditches and in some cases but the into the stable of naked because that is said they would swim in the dirty dishes with chicken and cows coming downstream. of this slightly different social class. that made all the up difference in the world he wished to be something else and was is on a plantation and was miserable and felts he was working at this school year ended 1932 earlier than what the story begins so he said to the plantation owners, i will watching these kids every afternoon for one hour if you let me slowdown the current. there is a legend it would about 8 miles from read its fastest. it comes down streaming from the mountains a very elaborate system that without which we would not be able to have sugar on now we. it comes down and the alternative is a will watch them in the afternoon. because there is only one swimming pool in the whole camp and was only open to them one day a year. it was the nice swimming pool and a bowling alley but the one day per year they could swim was the day before the white people cleaned it. so the teacher would watch the children he only had basic life saving and the survival swimming the sidestroke petite almost failed the eagle scout life saving test. watching the children, he had not found his purpose and was more analytical overtime and began to deepen as a person and does say there are children playing in a ditch they have the nothing but one day he did not see them as children any more. much day against his own instincts and that is where began. but by 37 he got and then to a place where they were competing well by the time it was the for the olympics not only teach about swimming but how about we go to the olympics? >> host: we will maya give away the ending because the book does not come out until october but are the kids still alive today? >> guest: the passport of the experience of researching the story is connecting with the living children per call but several have died. there were probably 10 swimmers. but there are still three living in their nineties salon now we and some on oahu there is another one in denver colorado. , i learned of this story to my agent they had just made a documentary film about a subject that i enjoyed focusing on but there was a lot of focusing for many years. and then as i finished with the documentary looking for something to your do that is of value. like social justice or something larger than a the narcissistic self. i started to research the book. i lived in a salt lake city i ever got from there but my husband and i moved there about 12 years ago and in 2009 there was a tremendously large trade -- rate of pothunters people who steal artifacts from ancient lands. i thought this is a great project. that i lived in that community to examine libyans to steal and own perishable goods. it is in incredible story there was the fbi informant, a suicide a very big national story. then i started to research it it was cloquet and decker i thought i had young children. i don't need this. so i took care wrested major called me. and i was trained long for writer but everybody should write on deadlines for crowd so my agent called to say i just had lunch with somebody in new york and i heard this story about the swimmers and now we in the 1930's they swim in the ditches. coated beecher a? i said i don't know. it sounds like a budget and so i got on the internet to look at it and their role me this and pieces, short narratives, there was going to be a children's play about there. tremendous lithology but not a lot of material that i could find that the surface but they did this over the golan to do this event but it was there enough but then to figure read what the story really was with the myth or the legend with any long form at all or a long article or the mainland from the '30's or '40's for trout with many of them in the archives with the japanese but "new york times" and the places i mentioned, as i begin to look with there i could pull from the