C-SPAN Bookshelf

Actor Kirk Cameron discussed his latest book, "Born to Be Brave," on American culture and faith. He also discussed his series of children's books and experiences hosting story hours at public libraries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harvey Mansfield has been a professor of political philosophy at Harvard for over 6 decades. He retired from the classroom in 2023 at age 91. However, he's not finished thinking and writing about his favorite subject: democracy and how it works. In the Wall Street Journal of September 7, 2024, Professor Mansfield wrote an essay with this opening: "The Supreme Court case of Trump v. U.S. was about more than special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Donald Trump, which continues under a superseding indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Washington. The decision and the dissents contain a fundamental debate about the presidency that looks beyond the present personalities and campaign." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins, author of "The Road to Wisdom," talks about the milestones in his career, including his work on the Human Genome Project and the COVID-19 vaccine. He also talks about his Christian faith, the importance of engaging with those we disagree with, and the current distrust of science and government in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yale University professor Timothy Snyder argued that freedom is often misinterpreted and offered his thoughts on what freedom is and isn't. He was interviewed by George Washington University political science professor and author Elisabeth Anker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The book is titled "All the Presidents' Money." It's about how the men who governed America governed their own money. The author, Megan Gorman, is the founding partner of Chequers Financial Management, a San Francisco-based firm specializing in tax and financial planning for high-net-worth individuals. Megan Gorman writes: "The American presidents are a complex group to tackle. While they live in a mud-slinging reality on the way to and through their presidency, the moment their term ends, they become historical figures carved in stone." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in 1953 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. Their sons Michael and Robert Meeropol, nee Rosenberg, were 10 and 6 at the time. They are our guests this week. The sons talk about their parents' executions, their lives before and after, the anti-communist climate in the U.S. during the 1950s, the government's case against the Rosenbergs, and their efforts to clear their mother Ethel's record posthumously. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Paola Ramos looked at the rise of far-right Latino voters and what it means for America. She was interviewed by New York Times political reporter Jennifer Medina. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Associated Press books and publishing reporter Hillel Italie previews some of the non-fiction books being released in Fall 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lindsay Chervinsky is the brand-new executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. Simultaneously, her new book on John Adams has just been published. The book's title is "Making the Presidency." In her introduction, Chervinsky writes that Adams was "guaranteed to fall short in comparison to George Washington." She says the "challenge of the second president, therefore, called for someone to battle the growing partisan divisions without Washington's presence." John Adams served only one term and was defeated by Thomas Jefferson for a second. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Allen, Jr., murdered Tony Sylvester in Las Vegas during a 1980 home burglary, a crime for which he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Mr. Allen, who was a teenager at the time, spent 26 years in prison, including almost 4 years on death row, before being paroled by the state of Nevada in 2008. Since being released, he has spent his time mentoring at-risk youth and working with the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty. He co-wrote a book about his life titled "Not My Chair: Journey from Death Row to Freedom." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices