C-SPAN Bookshelf

In this episode, you'll meet Ilyon Woo, author of a new bestseller-- "Master Slave, Husband Wife." She recounts the harrowing journey of self-emancipation made by two enslaved Georgians--William and Ellen Craft -- in 1848. Disguised as a wealthy disabled white man traveling with his enslaved servant, the Crafts left Georgia via public conveyances, avoiding slave traders, law enforcement, and curious fellow passengers in their successful effort to gain freedom. Becoming popular speakers on the lecture circuit, they found themselves hunted by slavecatchers after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daily Beast 's Matt Lewis explored how American politics is fueled by wealth & offered reforms on how to hold elected officials more accountable. He was interviewed by RealClearPolitics columnist and associate editor A.B. Stoddard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emory University professor Dan Sinykin discusses the late novelist Cormac McCarthy and how his career was nurtured by the publishing industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wall Street Journal reporter Katherine Clarke, in her book "Billionaires' Row," admits that: "Part of my motivation for writing this book was that as a reporter I can't help but observe that the colorful characters who've made the New York real estate world so dynamic are increasingly few and far between…In some ways, this book memorializes that dying breed of New York real estate kingpins who took big swings and risked losing it all." The subtitle of the book describes its focus: "Tycoons, High Rollers, and the Epic Race to Build the World's Most Exclusive Skyscrapers." These supertall buildings that house $100 million apartments are located on 57th Street at the southern end of Central Park in Manhattan.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A year before Arkansas' Little Rock Central High School was desegregated, 12 Black students in Clinton, Tennessee, enrolled, by court mandate, in Clinton High School's 1956 Fall semester. Historian Rachel Louise Martin, author of "A Most Tolerant Little Town," talks about the experiences of the students who desegregated the first school in the south following Brown v. Board of Education and the violent reaction by the extremist White Citizens Council and others in town who championed a segregated America.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Amul Thapar discussed the judicial philosophy of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas & recounted some of Thomas's key opinions. He was interviewed by USA Today Supreme Court correspondent John Fritze. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the past 18 months, since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War, the threat of a possible nuclear war is mentioned in the media almost every day. There are 9 countries in the world that reportedly have nuclear weapons, over 13,000 in all, 89% of which are controlled by the United States and Russia. Rebeccah Heinrichs of the Hudson Institute spends most of her professional time thinking, speaking, and writing about national security and defense. We asked her to give us her analysis of the nuclear weapons issue.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axios chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon, author of "The Phoenix Economy," talks about the long-term social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He argues that while the pandemic was devastating, many of the outcomes that have resulted from it have been surprisingly positive.       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Wesley Lowery argued that moments of progress in race matters in the U.S. are often met with acts of violence. He was interviewed by Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Dean Jelani Cobb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Publishing analyst and consultant Thad McIlroy talked about the impact artificial intelligence might have on the publishing industry. About Books also reported on the latest publishing industry news and current non-fiction books. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices