C-SPAN Bookshelf

U.S. District Court judge Frederic Block (Eastern District of New York) talks about the application of the 2018 First Step Act, under which federal prisoners who have served decades in prison can petition the court for reductions in their sentences. The bi-partisan act, signed into law by President Trump during his first term, was created to address the excesses in federal sentencing during the 19...

The Washington Post's Eva Dou explains how Huawei became China's most powerful company & what that means for its global competitors. She was interviewed by author and Council on Foreign Relations emerging technologies and national security chair Adam Segal.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For In his latest book titled "Waste Land," author Robert Kaplan focuses on the importance of technology in determining the world's future. Kaplan, author of 24 books, holds the chair in geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Institute. In Chapter 3 of his 177-page book, he claims: "…civilization is now in flux. The ongoing decay of the West is manifested not only in racial tensions coupled with new ba...

Military historian and presidential biographer Nigel Hamilton talks about the military face-off between two American presidents – Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis – during the Civil War. He discusses the early months of the war, the decision to move the Confederate capitol to Virginia, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and more. This is part two of a two-part interview with Mr. Hamilton abou...

For 216 weeks, a record, John Berendt's book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" sat on the New York Times best sellers list. It was published in 1994. It sold more than 1.5 million copies. Mr. Berendt, a Syracuse native, is today 85 and lives in New York City. A musical based on the book opened in Chicago in 2024 and will open on Broadway in 2025. During this episode of the podcast, an inte...

Military historian and presidential biographer Nigel Hamilton talks about the military face-off between two American presidents – Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis – during the Civil War. He discusses the background of both men, their rise to the presidencies of the Union and the Confederacy, respectively, and the events that led up to attack on Fort Sumter by Confederate forces on April 12, 186...

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) shares his thoughts on having the tenacity to pursue progressive goals through strong alliances, hard work, & focus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since his first interview on C-SPAN on Booknotes in 1993, Harold Holzer has appeared on the network close to 200 times. Up to that year he had written or edited 6 books on Abraham Lincoln. Since then, Harold Holzer has added another 50 books to his name. C-SPAN viewers and listeners have had the opportunity to hear Mr. Holzer talk about Lincoln's life, from his birth in Kentucky in 1807, until his...

Former high school government teacher and host of the "Here's Where It Gets Interesting" podcast, Sharon McMahon, author of "The Small and the Mighty," profiles lesser-known Americans who have changed the course of American history. During the interview, Ms. McMahon talks about the contributions of retail pioneers Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck, former slave and philanthropist Clara Brown, Japane...

Journalist Adam Chandler argues that hard work is not enough to obtain the American dream. He's interviewed by author Alissa Quart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell has spent 40 years in the United States Senate, 17 of those as leader of his Republican colleagues. That's the longest any senator has been at the top of the leadership rung in either political party. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) was elected a few weeks ago to head up the Republican majority in the Senate in 2025. Journalist Michael Tackett's book, a profile of Senator M...

Stuart Eizenstat, former Domestic Policy Adviser to President Carter and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union under President Clinton, talks about his political career and his new book, "The Art Of Diplomacy," in which he discusses the work done to achieve agreements like the Camp David Accords, the Kyoto Protocols, and the Iran nuclear agreement. Mr. Eizenstat also talks about growing up in the...

Congressman Mark Green (R-TN) discusses division in America and the advantages of putting others before self. He's interviewed by Military Times deputy editor Leo Shane. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brion McClanahan has a PhD in history from the University of South Carolina. Several years ago, he wrote a book titled "9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America: And Four Who Tried to Save Her." His view on the presidency is not the traditional one you get from most historians. On the back of his book, published by Regnery History, the liner notes claim: "The worst presidents are the ones who want to '...

 "For every young kid that makes a mistake, they can look at Don Scott and say, 'I'll never give up. I can still be what I want to be in America.'" That was former Republican governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia speaking about our guest this week, the state's newly elected Democratic speaker of the House of Delegates. Don Scott talks about the hurdles he overcame, including spending almost eight yea...

In his latest book, "LBJ & McNamara," Peter Osnos's dedication reads this way: "To those on the Vietnam Wall on the Mall and their countless Vietnamese counterparts. It did not have to happen." In his role as publisher at PublicAffairs Books, Osnos spent numerous hours working with former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara for his 1995 book, "In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam." Osno...

Since its founding in 1992, the Innocence Project has been responsible for getting hundreds of wrongfully convicted people in the United States out of prison. Attorney and Innocence Project executive director Christina Swarns joins us to talk about the history of the organization, the root causes of wrongful convictions, and some of the clients the Innocence Project has successfully represented ov...

Andy Puzder, former CEO of CKE Restaurants, took a critical look at stakeholder capitalism, which he argues is a form of socialism that will hurt the middle and lower classes in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an earlier conversation in this series, Evan Thomas discussed his 1986 book, "The Wise Men." There were 6 of them: Messrs. Acheson, Bohlen, Harriman, McCloy, Lovett, and Kennan. In this episode, we asked Edward "Ted" Aldrich to discuss his book titled "The Partnership: George Marshall, Henry Stimson, and the Extraordinary Collaboration That Won World War II." Mr. Aldrich writes: "FDR paired Sti...

New York City real estate developer Larry Silverstein, author of "The Rising," shares stories about the rebuilding of the World Trade Center complex following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mr. Silverstein - who acquired a 99-year lease on the World Trade Center just weeks before the attacks - talks about his memories from that day and discusses the business, political, and engineering cha...

Economist and investment advisor James Rickards spoke about the potential threats that AI poses to the global economy and national security. He was interviewed by George Mason University Distingushed University Professor J.P. Singh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James M. Bradley's biography of Martin Van Buren is the first full-scale portrait of the 8th president in 4 decades. Mr. Bradley is co-editor of the Martin Van Buren papers and teaches in the public history program at the State University of New York at Albany. In his introduction, he writes: "As this biography will show, reaching the nation's highest office was not Van Buren's greatest achievemen...

Twenty-five years ago, author Malcolm Gladwell published "The Tipping Point," about how ideas and behavior spread in a society to create positive change. The book was an international bestseller, having since sold over 2 million copies in the U.S. alone. In his follow-up, "Revenge of the Tipping Point," Mr. Gladwell looks at the downside of social epidemics, including the rise of opioid abuse and...

Journalist T.J. English spoke about the rise and fall of "Los Muchachos," one of the most successful cocaine empires in U.S. history. He was interviewed by author and Brookings Institution senior fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well-Read Black Girl founder Glory Edim discussed the book club she began in 2015 to celebrate black, brown and indigenous women. She also discussed her latest book, "Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books that Saved Me." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices