Booknotes+

Former president Theodore Roosevelt died on January 6, 1919. He was 60 years old. Author William Hazelgrove, in his new book about Roosevelt, chose to focus mostly on the last two years of TR's life. It's titled "The Last Charge of the Rough Rider," and it's the focus of this week's podcast. Mr. Hazelgrove takes us through TR's feud with President Woodrow Wilson over wanting to create another Rough Rider soldier regiment to fight in Europe. Wilson turned him down in spite of the fact that both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives had approved Roosevelt's request.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon Sebag Montefiore is a British historian. He's 57 and lives in London with his wife Santa and their two children. He's written 12 books - 9 nonfiction and 3 novels. His latest effort is titled "The World: A Family History of Humanity." Including the index, it's 1,304 pages. In his preface, Montefiore writes: "I have always wanted to write an intimate human history like 'The World' – in some ways a new approach, in some ways a traditional one – which is the fruit of a lifetime of study and travels."   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert Kaplan's 21st book, "The Tragic Mind," revolves around what he has learned over the years from Greek philosophers and William Shakespeare. Yale University Press says that Kaplan "employs the works of ancient Greek dramatists, Shakespeare, German philosophers, and the modern classics to explore the central subjects of international politics: order, disorder, rebellion, ambition, loyalty to family and state, violence, and the mistakes of power." Mr. Kaplan, 70, was born in New York City and graduated from the University of Connecticut.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Risen's latest book is titled "The Last Honest Man." The man he's talking about is Frank Church, former Democratic senator from Idaho. In the prologue he writes: "When the Church Committee began to investigate the CIA, FBI, NSA and other agencies, it marked for the first time there had been any serious congressional inquiry into the national security state." The year was 1975. James Risen is a former New York Times reporter and currently covers national security for The Intercept.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"How did the U.S. lose the war in Afghanistan? Who bears responsibility? What has been the human cost?" These are the questions asked on Frontline's website advertising the 3-part documentary series "America and the Taliban." These hour-long documentaries, which are available for streaming online, were produced and directed by Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria. Because of his on-screen appearances, Mr. Smith is better known by the public. From the other side of the duo, here's a conversation with Marcela Gaviria, who has produced over 40 hours of programming with Frontline.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a historian writes a book, there are at least two ways to read it, two different parts. One is the narrative, the story, usually told in chronological order. The second part includes epigraphs, footnotes, source notes, photography, and the acknowledgements. Richard Norton Smith spent over 6 years writing and researching his new book, "An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford." Susan Swain interviewed Mr. Smith on the first part, the narrative, which is available on C-SPAN's video archives. Now comes that second part, the process, the research, and the extras.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seattle-based author Timothy Egan has written 10 books. His newest is called "A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them." The description of Mr. Egan's book on the dust jacket reads: "The Roaring Twenties – the Jazz Age – has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan….They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 For the millions of visitors who come to Washington, DC, one of the most popular destinations is Lafayette Park, across from the White House. There's no longer vehicle traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the President's house, but you can often find a crowd on the street, most having fun or taking pictures. Since 1981 there has also been a peace vigil on the spot, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. You can't miss it. To find out how it all works, we talked with a veteran of the anti-war, anti-nuclear protests – a man who has been there for close to 40 years – Philipos Melaku-Bello. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Wobblies is a nickname for an early 20th century union called the Industrial Workers of the World, or IWW. Book author Ahmed White writes: "Like the Christian martyrs to whom they have been likened, the Wobblies were left to find confirmation and redemption mainly in their own destruction." Yale Law School graduate Ahmed White has a book titled "Under the Iron Heel," a takeoff from a novel written by author Jack London. Prof. White is currently teaching labor and criminal law at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Edna Greene Medford is a well-known historian and expert on Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. She spent 8 years as chair of the history department at Howard University in Washington, DC. She recently appeared before an audience at Purdue University in connection with the C-SPAN Center for Scholarship and Engagement to talk about African American History, U.S. Presidents, the Civil War and Reconstruction. Over the past 20 years, she has also served as a member of C-SPAN's advisory team for the network's periodic surveys ranking U.S. presidents. Those participating in the questioning included students majoring in political science and communications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices