C-SPAN Bookshelf

Simon Ball is the author of the book "Death to Order: A Modern History of Assassination." Professor Ball is British and is located at the University of Leeds. His publisher, Yale University Press, says: "Assassination, the murder of a specific individual by an organized conspiracy in pursuit of political ends has shaped the fate not only of the famous and infamous victims, but also of nations and empires." Simon Ball tells the story of hundreds of assassins from 1914 to the present. He claims the most important assassination during those years was the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which was the start of World War I. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liberty Media chairman and cable TV pioneer John Malone, author of "Born to Be Wired," discusses his life and entrepreneurship. Mr. Malone's many business ventures include the Discovery Channel, QVC, SiriusXM, Formula One, and Ticketmaster. He also talks about competing with Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch, the value of philanthropy, Republican leadership in Congress, and living life as a high-functioning autistic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Heath Hardage Lee, author of The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon, talked about the life and times of the former first lady (1969-74). She said that Pat Nixon, who was voted "Most Admired Woman in the World" in 1972, was largely mis-portrayed by the press Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Sam Tanenhaus opens the acknowledgement section in his latest book, "Buckley," this way: "I first met William F. Buckley in 1990, shortly after I had begun work on a biography of Whitaker Chambers…Bill Buckley had been Chambers' last patron and most eloquent champion." The biography of Chambers was published in 1997. Now 28 years later, Sam Tanenhaus finished his 1,018-page book on the life of William Buckley Jr. "Within months of our first conversation, Bill Buckley had opened doors," writes Tanenhaus, "uncovered grant money, made phone calls, and performed innumerable other kindnesses, large and small." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Riley, author of "The Affirmative Action Myth," argues that the racial preference policies of the 1960s and 70s have had an overall negative impact on the success of Black Americans. He says that Black incomes, homeownership, and educational attainment were all on an upward trajectory prior to these policies being implemented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Education Design Lab founder Kathleen deLaski examined whether the U.S. higher education system can meet the needs of future generations of students. She discusses alternatives to the four-year college degree, including educational bootcamps, skills-based learning, and apprenticeships. This event took place at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Jay Winik first appeared on the Booknotes television program 24 years ago to discuss his book, "April 1865." It became a #1 New York Times bestseller, reportedly read by Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and many others. It's the narrative story of the Civil War. For his latest book, Winik stepped back four years in history to look at how the Civil War began. This time the book is titled "1861: The Lost Peace." "Northerners had little regard for the strength or determination of the South," writes Winik. Lincoln friend John Hay said the Southern Army was nothing more than a vast mob. The New York Tribune said it differently: "Jeff Davis and company will be swinging from the battlements at Washington by the 4th of July." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and writer George Will, whose nationally syndicated column has been running since 1974, discusses his life and career in the opinion business. Mr. Will talks about the impact of his work on U.S. politics over the past 50 years, conservatism in the age of Donald Trump, his love of baseball, and other topics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This was an inside look at the glamorous Condé Nast publishing empire, the people who crafted its publications, and the standards they set for American culture. Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C., hosted this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sir Richard J. Evans has been writing about Germany and Adolf Hitler for his entire professional life. He was knighted in Britain in 2012 for his service to scholarship. From 2003-2008, Professor Evans published a trilogy of the Third Reich with a total of over 2,500 pages. His latest book is titled "Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich." In his preface, Sir Richard, a former professor at Cambridge University writes: "The individuals who stand at the center of this book range from the top to the bottom, from Hitler all the way down to the lowest of the Nazi party." There are 22 chapters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sports journalist and academic Jane McManus, author of "The Fast Track," discusses the rise in popularity of women's sports since the early 1970s and the challenges female athletes have faced since then, including unequal pay and lack of media coverage. Prof. McManus talks about the experiences of Billie Jean King, Venus and Serena Williams, Caitlin Clark, Riley Gaines, and other female competitors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Isabel Allende spoke about identity & resilience in her historical novel set in the 19th century against a backdrop of civil war breaking out in Chile. The Sixth and I Synagogue in Washington, D.C., hosted this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our earlier discussion with Zaakir Tameez about his biography of Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, he discussed his differences with Professor David Herbert Donald on the same subject. On December the 24th, 1995, Professor Donald talked about his book called "Lincoln" on the Booknotes television program. David Donald died in 2009 at age 88. During his teaching career, which he finished as a professor of history at Harvard, Professor Donald was praised for his "Lincoln" book by historian Eric Foner. "It is often considered the best single volume of Lincoln ever. It's the most balanced of the biographies out there," said Foner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and musician Lee Hawkins, author of "I Am Nobody's Slave," talks about the impact that slavery and Jim Crow have had on his family through multiple generations. Mr. Hawkins examines the relationship between the past violence experienced by family members, often at the hands of white people, and the way his parents raised and severely disciplined him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This conversation was a behind-the-scenes account of the 2024 presidential election that sent Donald Trump back to the White House for a second, non-consecutive term -- only the second president other than Grover Cleveland to achieve that distinction, and after a litany of criminal and civil investigations and two assassination attempts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charles Sumner was from Boston, Massachusetts. He was a U.S. Senator for 23 years from 1851 to 1874. Sumner, an anti-slavery Republican, was brutally caned on the Senate floor by pro-slavery Democrats in 1856, during the lead-up to the Civil War. The attack, which almost killed Sumner, kept him out of the Senate for over 3 years. Sumner didn't marry until he was 55 years old, but his marriage to Alice Hooper ended in divorce seven years later. The 6' 4" Republican died of a heart attack in his home on March 11, 1874. Zaakir Tameez, a graduate of Yale Law School, reports in his new biography that Charles Sumner, in his opinion, was the conscious of a nation. In his introduction, Tameez writes: "This biography brings Sumner back to life, returning him to the place he deserves in the pantheon of American heroes. That said, this book is no hagiography." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The patriarch, C.F. Seabrook, was hailed as the Henry Ford of agriculture. His son, Jack, a keen businessman, was poised to take over what Life magazine called the biggest vegetable factory on earth. His son, John Seabrook, has written about his grandfather and father in his book called "The Spinach King." It's subtitled "The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty." Work on "The Spinach King" started in the early 1980s when John Seabrook was with the New Yorker Magazine. John Seabrook says: "I had a grandfather who was a champion of white supremacy, a true believer in the superiority of the Nordic Christian male." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology reporter Nicole Kobie, author of "The Long History of the Future," talks about how technology evolves and discusses why many predicted technologies – including driverless and flying cars, smart cities, hyperloops, and autonomous robots – haven’t become a reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling author John Grisham and co-author Jim McCloskey wrote about the challenges of exonerating a person who is wrongfully convicted. Princeton Library, Centurion, and Labyrinth Books in Princeton, New Jersey, sponsored this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Progressive professor Cornel West and conservative professor Robert George talk about their decades-long friendship and teaching together at Princeton University. They also discuss their new book, "Truth Matters," a dialogue between the two on such topics as American history, great books, faith, and free speech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices