Transcripts For CSPAN2 Book Discussion On Writings On The Wa

October. Lissa warren Da Capo Press talking about some of the books. This is booktv on cspan2. You are watching booktv on cspan2, television for serious readers. Is a look at whats on prime time tonight. Cspan2. Booktv, television for serious readers. Kareem abduljabbar, searching for your book, writings on the wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white you write it is as if we invented the most precise and what are you talking about here . Guest im talking about the fact that most americans dont appreciate the fact that their vote means a lot. And their opinion means a lot. So they have the ability to have their voices heard and acted upon in our great democracy, but they dont take advantage of it. So we have this really incredible democracy that gives the average person power and the average person does not vote. I think its a shame that of all the developed democracies in the world, United States is last in voter participation. That really bothers me because if we dont keep our eyes on the prize and if we dont understand how we have to consciously the monitoring whats going on and taking steps to rectify any problems , these problems are going to multiply and we end up like we are now, very divided and at each others throats. That should not be the case but unless the people want to participate in this democracy, thats whats going to happen. Host your calling for new arguments or new ways to look at old arguments. How so . Guest im calling for new arguments read the Founding Fathers really understood they had their own biases and their own idiosyncrasies and that maybe didnt get it all right so they gave us a document, the constitution that allows us to be amended area and tweaked so that it can deal with problems as they arise. That was i think the genius of what the Founding Fathers did and at this point in the life of our democracy, the average person is not engaged, not involved and if that happens, we end up with a mess like we have right now. Host so in your opinion is the cream not rising to the top when it comes to politicians . Before i think people are asleep at the wheel with regard to using their vote. They need to use their voteto punish the politicians who ignore their needs. So many politicians are more interested in getting reelected than they are in dealing with the needs of their constituents. Theyget elected , they start asking for money from wealthy people to get reelected and they forget about the people that they are supposedly representing. Thats a real problem and unless the people who are suffering from that lack of attention, and less they do something about it by using their vote, this is going to continue. Host one of the issues you address in writings on the wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white is the education issue. What would you like to change . Guest id like to see the money that is spent on education actually go to employing competent teachers and making a good education accessible to all americans area that has changed drastically. Our Public Education system needs to work for everybody and now it doesnt. Now we have exclusive schools that are able to produce elite students and then we have other schools like in the inner cities where its just a joke. The kids dont get educated and they suffer for it. We have to change that. We have to get everybody involved and weve also got to get parents involved, have them participate in the decisions that are made in our School Boards and everything and that requires them being involved and caring and using their vote or using their vote for City Councils and people who are going to be elected to the school board. All these things are very crucial to getting the results you want which is an excellent education for all our students. Guest host you write that theres much inequality in america but the most destructive inequality is economics. Guest absolutely. I think people who do not have the opportunity to support their families and up dealing with Desperate Measures to support their families, to support themselves. We have so many people who cant afford to raise their children the way their children need to be raised and they give up. We have a lot of abandonments of young people because the system does not accommodate their needs and we have to change that. Host one of the new arguments that you put in your book is an argument over the our word. Ive heard about the nword but you talk about race as the our word. Why . Guest race is a very artificial construct. From what we can understand from what anthropologists and sociologists tell us, people look differently because they evolve in differentphysical circumstances. People who evolve under the bright sun at the equator got darker skin and people who evolve away from the equator. Were all homo sapiens area we are all the same species. But just as the nonessential physical differences we have seem to put people in a situation where they think they are different from other people , we are all the same and in america, we see what that means because all of us should be interested in our democracy with our intelligence and our hard work to an equal degree so we have to forget about the whole idea of race and understand that its all about who you live with. The people in your community. Thats so much more important than what you look like in terms of your physiology area. Host your book is semiautobiographical aswell. You write that youve been writing for 40, 50 years. Guest yes i have. Host whats changed . Whats gotten better mark. Guest i think the whole idea that people are starting to see, even people who dont look like they are starting to understand that meeting your fellowamericans. In that sense, we are part of the same group. Our ancestors came from various different places but we are all here now and this is our country and we got to do everything we can to make the greatest place in the world area. Host from your book, i was holding and in high school. I was called in and when i played in ucla and iwas called in and last week by someone who didnt like an article i wrote. Guest i put that sentence in there to let people know that racism is still an issue, its still a problem from the election of president obama did not eliminate racism and the systemic racism we have to deal with here in america. A lot of our institutions are racially fragmented and there is bias at the heart of a lot of different institutions in america. We have to understand that and try to eliminate those differences, those problems when we can. Host Kareem Abduljabbar, are you a role model . Before whether i like it or not, i am a role model. The fact that i was able to achieve what i was able to achieve as an athlete and hopefully as an author makes me a role model. Im a parent so i have to be a role model. All parents are role models. So i dont think any of this escapes that burden. For some its a burden, for others its a joy but we all end up in that position. Host are you a National Rollout . Guest i guess so. It can be a good thing. I have to make it a good thing. Its up to me to decide what i can do with it and how to use it so ive been trying to use it in a positive way. Host and you write that i have a complicated relationship with the media. I used my celebrity to take political positions. Guest i think i use my celebrity in a way that enables me to say things that need to be said and im glad to see there are other athletes that are getting in line with that. When tommy or rice was killed so unnecessarily in cleveland, lebron james came out and said something about it. I think that was very important to me, the fact that lebron despite his incredible celebrity and achievements at an athlete, he was concerned about the killing of a young person in his community that should not have been killed. That was awesome and im happy to see it. Im glad that whole tradition of activism has not died in our community. There are a couple of members of the Cleveland Browns also who came out and said something and someone who dies on the police force seem to have an issue with that. These guys were parents and they could see easily how their kids could have been tommy or rice but under the same circumstances. Their concerns were valid and they voiced their concerns and am happy they did that. Host wasnt controversial at the time for professional athlete to take it stance . Before it can be harmful to a professional athlete but i think we have to take that risk if the issue is that important and that meaningful to you, its worth taking that risk. Host when did you start writing . Guest i started writing when i was in grade school, really. Im still in touch with the nuns that taught me in seventh and eighth grade and she wrote me and said she remembers me in an essay contest in the eighth grade. Because i was the best writer in my class. So its something ive enjoyed my whole life. Host books and looking in research, when did you start into that . Guest research . I enjoyed research. I enjoyed being a historian. Just finding out what happened and understanding how that affects whats going to happen. If we dont learn from the mistakes weve made, we are condemned to repeat them so knowing what happened is crucial for anybody who wants to understand whats going to happen. Host you talk in writings on the wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white about your conversion to islam and what its meant to you and what its meant to other people. Guest i think my conversion to islam really was something that was personal to me. It was a religious. A religious event in mylife. People have tried to make it political but really it was a spiritual thing for me. And i think islam has given me an anchor that has enabled me to differentiate between right and wrong and understand life in those terms. So my conversion to islam was something that was very personal. It ended up becoming political but i didnt want it to be like that. I probably would have done it different if i had had a chance to go back. I do a little bit differently so i didnt necessarily ask for it to be so publicly but it was important to me and it was a way for me to experience my own identity as a black american and not have to be portrayed as somebody who is a stereotype that was not actually me. So it enabled me to find myself and as such, it is very important to me. Host where did you grow up . Guest i grew up in manhattan, new york city. I was born and raised in harlem area and i had a great time growing up in manhattan. I wouldnt have traded it for anything. Host what did your parents do . Before my dad was a police officer, my mom was a seamstress. She made dresses and stuff like that. Host and you mentioned the catholic nun as a teacher, you went to Catholic School . Guest i went to Catholic School through high school and then went to ucla. Host in your book you talk about rules. Following the rules of the nuns,following the rules of the coaches, following the rules of dad area. Guest i had a lot of coaching. Ive had to understand discipline from a lot of other peoples vantage points so im happy at this point in my life that im following my own path. Host what are you doing these days . Guest these days im writing. Im spending time with my granddaughter, and a new grandparent. I have a beautiful granddaughter. And just trying to take in whats happening in the world. Host what about your charity . Guest i have a foundation, my foundation tries to get kids from innercity to understand what Stem Education is about, science, Technology Engineering and math. We go to camp for five days and four nights and give them an opportunity to be exposed to Stem Education and that enables them to get an idea of where all the good jobs are going to be in the 21st century so its a good thing to get kids to understand what the possibilities are. So manykids especially in the inner cities , they all want to be Denzel Washington or beyoncc or lebron james. They dont understand there are so many great jobs out there that require them to be well grounded in science, technology, engineering or math so by giving them an insight as to where the jobs are, at the right time in their lives, that makes it possible for them to take a good path toward achieving their goals. Host does writing come easy to you . Guest writing, i think it does comeeasy to me. I enjoy it. Im able to organize my thoughts incoherent ways and get them out there so i think writing is something, its a natural application for me, i do enjoy it. Host is easier than being out in public . Guest at times its easier than being out in public because you have to think things through and make sure that everything is what it needs to be so that your message is coherent. You cant have your thoughts organized and presented in an intelligent and organized way , people are going to not get what you are allabout. Host Kareem Abduljabbar, you recently penned an oped in support of hillary clinton. Why . Guest i think that she has the thoughts and concerns about the lower classes and middle classes that have been ignored by so many politicians. And i think that her focus on trying to make the government and make the political system work for the average person, ithink thats very worthwhile and i support her in that. Host if somebody said to you on a donald trump supporter, do you come to an immediate, do you have an immediate picture in your head of who they are . Guest no i dont. I have an idea of who they are. So many people now are being motivated by fear so the whole idea of what mister trump says about immigrants and everything, trying to make us afraid of mexican immigrants ormuslims , i think its reprehensible and certainly not an accurate portrayal of immigrants or muslims or any of the other isms that he claims to be so knowledgeable about. I think hes really showing everybody how angry he is and its unfortunate that thats whats happening. Host in writings onthe wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white you talk about the reactions and reacting from fear. Whats your prescription . Guest i think the only way we can get over fear is through knowledge. Becoming familiar with the issues that we seem to be afraid of area once you get an idea of what is actually happening, you can figure out a solution that does not involve building walls across domestic borders. We can fix a lot of these issues if we have an honest and grassroots approach to it. I dont think were going to solve anything by your monitoring and demonizing people. That doesnt work. Host is it time in your view, we talked to bill ayres yesterday and is it time in your view to try a brandnew system . Guest i mentioned earlier, we to the constitution and make the adjustments that need to be made as we move forward because there are new issues and new problems that the Founding Fathers did not foresee. So they gave us the means to deal with it and we have to just use the tools we had. So many people are ignorant of the fact that we have these tools and thats a shame and once we get that idea across to people, i think a lot of people will calm down and do what they have to do to affect meaningful change. Host one more issue you brought up in writings on the wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white, political threats. What does that term mean to you . Guest Political Correctness really have to do with trying to be polite to people. I dont see it as a big problem. Just starting to be respectful to other people and not offend them by trying to depict them and talk about them, just trying to be gracious, you know . Thats all its about. I dont think its a big political issue but some people want to make a big deal of it. I dont think its a real problem. Host if somebody says im not politically correct, what does that mean to you . Guest i think to me it means that maybe they have some opinions they want to say about people that they tried to ignore it that they have to watch what they say but being polite is a social grace that a lot of us could use some instruction in. Host where did this book come from . Guest this book came from how i feel about whats going on in my country. Its my attempt at trying to talk about some solutions that might work. Thats all it is. Host and its your fifth, sixth book . Guest my 11. Yes. Host Kareem Abduljabbar. Writings on the wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white is the name of the book , it comes out august 2016. Youre watching tv on cspan2. Youre watching book tv on cspan2 with top nonfiction books and authors every weekend. Book pd, television for serious readers. Over this Independence Day weekend, within your four days of nonfiction authors on book tv from now until 8 am on tuesday on cspan2. On sunday we are live with our monthly index program, author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger will take your questions live from noon until 3 pm eastern. Also this weekend on afterwards, Science Writer natalia holt discusses the contributions that women have made to the us space program. We take a tour of the largest africanamerican history and literature collection in the midwest and we visit cobo utah to talk with local authors and taking the seat literary sites. Plus, two extra days of book tv featuring senators Mitch Mcconnell and barbara boxer, former pro basketball player Kareem Abduljabbar and a roundtable discussion on Donald Trumps the art of the deal. These are a few of the programs we will be bringing you this Independence Day weekend on book tv. For complete television schedule, visit booktv. Org. Book tv 96hours of nonfiction books and authors, television for serious readers. Book tv recently visited capitol hill to ask members of congress what they are reading this summer. L, a funny thing happened on my way to having time to read this summer. Speaker ryan asked me to cochair the Platform Committee of the are in the sea so some of the time i planned to spend reading is now going to be consumed by reading the republican platform but for fun, i am going to go back and finish a book i started called seven miracles that saved america why they matter and why we should have hope my Da Capo Press<\/a> talking about some of the books. This is booktv on cspan2. You are watching booktv on cspan2, television for serious readers. Is a look at whats on prime time tonight. Cspan2. Booktv, television for serious readers. Kareem abduljabbar, searching for your book, writings on the wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white you write it is as if we invented the most precise and what are you talking about here . Guest im talking about the fact that most americans dont appreciate the fact that their vote means a lot. And their opinion means a lot. So they have the ability to have their voices heard and acted upon in our great democracy, but they dont take advantage of it. So we have this really incredible democracy that gives the average person power and the average person does not vote. I think its a shame that of all the developed democracies in the world, United States<\/a> is last in voter participation. That really bothers me because if we dont keep our eyes on the prize and if we dont understand how we have to consciously the monitoring whats going on and taking steps to rectify any problems , these problems are going to multiply and we end up like we are now, very divided and at each others throats. That should not be the case but unless the people want to participate in this democracy, thats whats going to happen. Host your calling for new arguments or new ways to look at old arguments. How so . Guest im calling for new arguments read the Founding Fathers<\/a> really understood they had their own biases and their own idiosyncrasies and that maybe didnt get it all right so they gave us a document, the constitution that allows us to be amended area and tweaked so that it can deal with problems as they arise. That was i think the genius of what the Founding Fathers<\/a> did and at this point in the life of our democracy, the average person is not engaged, not involved and if that happens, we end up with a mess like we have right now. Host so in your opinion is the cream not rising to the top when it comes to politicians . Before i think people are asleep at the wheel with regard to using their vote. They need to use their voteto punish the politicians who ignore their needs. So many politicians are more interested in getting reelected than they are in dealing with the needs of their constituents. Theyget elected , they start asking for money from wealthy people to get reelected and they forget about the people that they are supposedly representing. Thats a real problem and unless the people who are suffering from that lack of attention, and less they do something about it by using their vote, this is going to continue. Host one of the issues you address in writings on the wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white is the education issue. What would you like to change . Guest id like to see the money that is spent on education actually go to employing competent teachers and making a good education accessible to all americans area that has changed drastically. Our Public Education<\/a> system needs to work for everybody and now it doesnt. Now we have exclusive schools that are able to produce elite students and then we have other schools like in the inner cities where its just a joke. The kids dont get educated and they suffer for it. We have to change that. We have to get everybody involved and weve also got to get parents involved, have them participate in the decisions that are made in our School Boards<\/a> and everything and that requires them being involved and caring and using their vote or using their vote for City Councils<\/a> and people who are going to be elected to the school board. All these things are very crucial to getting the results you want which is an excellent education for all our students. Guest host you write that theres much inequality in america but the most destructive inequality is economics. Guest absolutely. I think people who do not have the opportunity to support their families and up dealing with Desperate Measures<\/a> to support their families, to support themselves. We have so many people who cant afford to raise their children the way their children need to be raised and they give up. We have a lot of abandonments of young people because the system does not accommodate their needs and we have to change that. Host one of the new arguments that you put in your book is an argument over the our word. Ive heard about the nword but you talk about race as the our word. Why . Guest race is a very artificial construct. From what we can understand from what anthropologists and sociologists tell us, people look differently because they evolve in differentphysical circumstances. People who evolve under the bright sun at the equator got darker skin and people who evolve away from the equator. Were all homo sapiens area we are all the same species. But just as the nonessential physical differences we have seem to put people in a situation where they think they are different from other people , we are all the same and in america, we see what that means because all of us should be interested in our democracy with our intelligence and our hard work to an equal degree so we have to forget about the whole idea of race and understand that its all about who you live with. The people in your community. Thats so much more important than what you look like in terms of your physiology area. Host your book is semiautobiographical aswell. You write that youve been writing for 40, 50 years. Guest yes i have. Host whats changed . Whats gotten better mark. Guest i think the whole idea that people are starting to see, even people who dont look like they are starting to understand that meeting your fellowamericans. In that sense, we are part of the same group. Our ancestors came from various different places but we are all here now and this is our country and we got to do everything we can to make the greatest place in the world area. Host from your book, i was holding and in high school. I was called in and when i played in ucla and iwas called in and last week by someone who didnt like an article i wrote. Guest i put that sentence in there to let people know that racism is still an issue, its still a problem from the election of president obama did not eliminate racism and the systemic racism we have to deal with here in america. A lot of our institutions are racially fragmented and there is bias at the heart of a lot of different institutions in america. We have to understand that and try to eliminate those differences, those problems when we can. Host Kareem Abduljabbar<\/a>, are you a role model . Before whether i like it or not, i am a role model. The fact that i was able to achieve what i was able to achieve as an athlete and hopefully as an author makes me a role model. Im a parent so i have to be a role model. All parents are role models. So i dont think any of this escapes that burden. For some its a burden, for others its a joy but we all end up in that position. Host are you a National Rollout<\/a> . Guest i guess so. It can be a good thing. I have to make it a good thing. Its up to me to decide what i can do with it and how to use it so ive been trying to use it in a positive way. Host and you write that i have a complicated relationship with the media. I used my celebrity to take political positions. Guest i think i use my celebrity in a way that enables me to say things that need to be said and im glad to see there are other athletes that are getting in line with that. When tommy or rice was killed so unnecessarily in cleveland, lebron james came out and said something about it. I think that was very important to me, the fact that lebron despite his incredible celebrity and achievements at an athlete, he was concerned about the killing of a young person in his community that should not have been killed. That was awesome and im happy to see it. Im glad that whole tradition of activism has not died in our community. There are a couple of members of the Cleveland Browns<\/a> also who came out and said something and someone who dies on the police force seem to have an issue with that. These guys were parents and they could see easily how their kids could have been tommy or rice but under the same circumstances. Their concerns were valid and they voiced their concerns and am happy they did that. Host wasnt controversial at the time for professional athlete to take it stance . Before it can be harmful to a professional athlete but i think we have to take that risk if the issue is that important and that meaningful to you, its worth taking that risk. Host when did you start writing . Guest i started writing when i was in grade school, really. Im still in touch with the nuns that taught me in seventh and eighth grade and she wrote me and said she remembers me in an essay contest in the eighth grade. Because i was the best writer in my class. So its something ive enjoyed my whole life. Host books and looking in research, when did you start into that . Guest research . I enjoyed research. I enjoyed being a historian. Just finding out what happened and understanding how that affects whats going to happen. If we dont learn from the mistakes weve made, we are condemned to repeat them so knowing what happened is crucial for anybody who wants to understand whats going to happen. Host you talk in writings on the wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white about your conversion to islam and what its meant to you and what its meant to other people. Guest i think my conversion to islam really was something that was personal to me. It was a religious. A religious event in mylife. People have tried to make it political but really it was a spiritual thing for me. And i think islam has given me an anchor that has enabled me to differentiate between right and wrong and understand life in those terms. So my conversion to islam was something that was very personal. It ended up becoming political but i didnt want it to be like that. I probably would have done it different if i had had a chance to go back. I do a little bit differently so i didnt necessarily ask for it to be so publicly but it was important to me and it was a way for me to experience my own identity as a black american and not have to be portrayed as somebody who is a stereotype that was not actually me. So it enabled me to find myself and as such, it is very important to me. Host where did you grow up . Guest i grew up in manhattan, new york city. I was born and raised in harlem area and i had a great time growing up in manhattan. I wouldnt have traded it for anything. Host what did your parents do . Before my dad was a police officer, my mom was a seamstress. She made dresses and stuff like that. Host and you mentioned the catholic nun as a teacher, you went to Catholic School<\/a> . Guest i went to Catholic School<\/a> through high school and then went to ucla. Host in your book you talk about rules. Following the rules of the nuns,following the rules of the coaches, following the rules of dad area. Guest i had a lot of coaching. Ive had to understand discipline from a lot of other peoples vantage points so im happy at this point in my life that im following my own path. Host what are you doing these days . Guest these days im writing. Im spending time with my granddaughter, and a new grandparent. I have a beautiful granddaughter. And just trying to take in whats happening in the world. Host what about your charity . Guest i have a foundation, my foundation tries to get kids from innercity to understand what Stem Education<\/a> is about, science, Technology Engineering<\/a> and math. We go to camp for five days and four nights and give them an opportunity to be exposed to Stem Education<\/a> and that enables them to get an idea of where all the good jobs are going to be in the 21st century so its a good thing to get kids to understand what the possibilities are. So manykids especially in the inner cities , they all want to be Denzel Washington<\/a> or beyoncc or lebron james. They dont understand there are so many great jobs out there that require them to be well grounded in science, technology, engineering or math so by giving them an insight as to where the jobs are, at the right time in their lives, that makes it possible for them to take a good path toward achieving their goals. Host does writing come easy to you . Guest writing, i think it does comeeasy to me. I enjoy it. Im able to organize my thoughts incoherent ways and get them out there so i think writing is something, its a natural application for me, i do enjoy it. Host is easier than being out in public . Guest at times its easier than being out in public because you have to think things through and make sure that everything is what it needs to be so that your message is coherent. You cant have your thoughts organized and presented in an intelligent and organized way , people are going to not get what you are allabout. Host Kareem Abduljabbar<\/a>, you recently penned an oped in support of hillary clinton. Why . Guest i think that she has the thoughts and concerns about the lower classes and middle classes that have been ignored by so many politicians. And i think that her focus on trying to make the government and make the political system work for the average person, ithink thats very worthwhile and i support her in that. Host if somebody said to you on a donald trump supporter, do you come to an immediate, do you have an immediate picture in your head of who they are . Guest no i dont. I have an idea of who they are. So many people now are being motivated by fear so the whole idea of what mister trump says about immigrants and everything, trying to make us afraid of mexican immigrants ormuslims , i think its reprehensible and certainly not an accurate portrayal of immigrants or muslims or any of the other isms that he claims to be so knowledgeable about. I think hes really showing everybody how angry he is and its unfortunate that thats whats happening. Host in writings onthe wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white you talk about the reactions and reacting from fear. Whats your prescription . Guest i think the only way we can get over fear is through knowledge. Becoming familiar with the issues that we seem to be afraid of area once you get an idea of what is actually happening, you can figure out a solution that does not involve building walls across domestic borders. We can fix a lot of these issues if we have an honest and grassroots approach to it. I dont think were going to solve anything by your monitoring and demonizing people. That doesnt work. Host is it time in your view, we talked to bill ayres yesterday and is it time in your view to try a brandnew system . Guest i mentioned earlier, we to the constitution and make the adjustments that need to be made as we move forward because there are new issues and new problems that the Founding Fathers<\/a> did not foresee. So they gave us the means to deal with it and we have to just use the tools we had. So many people are ignorant of the fact that we have these tools and thats a shame and once we get that idea across to people, i think a lot of people will calm down and do what they have to do to affect meaningful change. Host one more issue you brought up in writings on the wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white, political threats. What does that term mean to you . Guest Political Correctness<\/a> really have to do with trying to be polite to people. I dont see it as a big problem. Just starting to be respectful to other people and not offend them by trying to depict them and talk about them, just trying to be gracious, you know . Thats all its about. I dont think its a big political issue but some people want to make a big deal of it. I dont think its a real problem. Host if somebody says im not politically correct, what does that mean to you . Guest i think to me it means that maybe they have some opinions they want to say about people that they tried to ignore it that they have to watch what they say but being polite is a social grace that a lot of us could use some instruction in. Host where did this book come from . Guest this book came from how i feel about whats going on in my country. Its my attempt at trying to talk about some solutions that might work. Thats all it is. Host and its your fifth, sixth book . Guest my 11. Yes. Host Kareem Abduljabbar<\/a>. Writings on the wall searching for a new equality beyond black and white is the name of the book , it comes out august 2016. Youre watching tv on cspan2. Youre watching book tv on cspan2 with top nonfiction books and authors every weekend. Book pd, television for serious readers. Over this Independence Day<\/a> weekend, within your four days of nonfiction authors on book tv from now until 8 am on tuesday on cspan2. On sunday we are live with our monthly index program, author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger<\/a> will take your questions live from noon until 3 pm eastern. Also this weekend on afterwards, Science Writer<\/a> natalia holt discusses the contributions that women have made to the us space program. We take a tour of the largest africanamerican history and literature collection in the midwest and we visit cobo utah to talk with local authors and taking the seat literary sites. Plus, two extra days of book tv featuring senators Mitch Mcconnell<\/a> and barbara boxer, former pro basketball player Kareem Abduljabbar<\/a> and a roundtable discussion on Donald Trumps<\/a> the art of the deal. These are a few of the programs we will be bringing you this Independence Day<\/a> weekend on book tv. For complete television schedule, visit booktv. Org. Book tv 96hours of nonfiction books and authors, television for serious readers. Book tv recently visited capitol hill to ask members of congress what they are reading this summer. L, a funny thing happened on my way to having time to read this summer. Speaker ryan asked me to cochair the Platform Committee<\/a> of the are in the sea so some of the time i planned to spend reading is now going to be consumed by reading the republican platform but for fun, i am going to go back and finish a book i started called seven miracles that saved america why they matter and why we should have hope my Chris Stewart<\/a> and his son tad, hes a fellow member here from utah. And then i want to finish a book ive had on my shelf for a long time, how the west one the neglected story of the triumph of modernity by rodney stark so im hoping to get through at least those two books this summer and maybe some books about my district like the history of and can count even i was just given. Book tv wants to know what youre reading this summer. We just your answer at book tv or posted on our facebook page, facebook. Com book tv. Heres a look at some of the bestselling nonfiction books according to indy bound, a group of booksellers that are members of the american booksellers association. Topping the list is grunt in which mary rhodes looks athow scientists are addressing the issues of panic , exhaustion and heat in military combat. And when brett becomes there, the late neurosurgeon Paul Pallotta<\/a> he contemplates his own mortality. Then, Pulitzer Prize<\/a> winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee<\/a> examines the future of genetic manipulation in the gene. In shoe dog, phil knight recalls his creation of nike. And in tried, journalists Sebastian Junger<\/a> explores the Effect Society<\/a> has on returning veterans. He joins us on indepth for alive monthly callin program. I look at the bestselling nonfiction books according to indy bound continues with neil gaimans collection of essays, the view from the cheap seats followed by National Book<\/a> Award Winning<\/a> author nathaniel philbricks look at the relationship between revolutionary war generals George Washington<\/a> and Benedict Arnold<\/a> in valiantambition. Next up is hamilton, published script of the Pulitzer Prize<\/a>winning and tony winning Broadway Musical<\/a> and rounding up a list is fox news host bill oreillys second companion book to his legends and lies series. Thats a look at some ofthe current nonfiction bestsellers according to indy bound. Many of these authors have appeared a will be up for appearing on book tv. Watch them on our website, booktv. Org. On sunday, july 3, book tv is live with bestselling author, journalist and documentary filmmaker Sebastian Junger<\/a> on indepth, are live monthly callin show. Sebastian junger is the author of several books including the perfect storm which details the fate of a commercial fishing boat caught in a catastrophic storm, later adapted into a feature film. His othertitles include war , on account of his time embedded with an army platoon during the war in afghanistan and a death in belmont, an investigation of a murder in the authors hometown. Recently, Mister Junger<\/a> appeared on the tv to discuss his latest book tried which explores the Effect Society<\/a> has on returning veterans. Its hard to know how to live for a country that regularly tears itself apart along every possible ethnic and demographic boundary. The income gap between rich and poor continues to widen, many people live in racially segregated communities and the elderly are mostly sequestered from public life and rampage shootings happen so regularly that they only remain in the news go for a day or two. To make matters worse, politicians occasionally choose rivals of deliberately trying to harm their own country. A chart so destructive to group unity that most past societies would probably have just punished it is a form of treason. Its complete madness and the veterans know this. In combat, soldiers all but ignore the differences of race, religion and politics within their platoon area its no wonder many of them get so depressed when they come home. Sebastian junger taking your calls, emails, tweets and Text Messages<\/a> live on book tvs indepth sunday, july 3, new to 3 pm eastern. Cspan created by cable American Television<\/a> companies and provided by your cable provider. Afterwards is next on the book tv with senator Mitch Mcconnell<\/a> who talks about his life and politics with senator lamar alexander. This is a book about a shy boy who grew up in alabama, overcame polio, was inspired by henry clay at the university of louisville to become a senator, did and then set out to become the majority leader of the United States<\/a> senate and did but mitch, i have a confession to make. When i was asked to do this your was what i thought. How can anyone get Mitch Mcconnell<\/a> to talk for an hour . 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