Larry Diamond talked about his book The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World, published by Times Books. He talked about the spread of democracy around the world and discussed what needs to be done to facilitate the transition. Larry Diamond was a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and is co-editor of the Journal of Democracy. Mr. Diamond served as a senior adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq from January to April 2004. The event was part of a forum on the annual global survey entitled: Freedom in the World 2008: Freedom in Retreat. The Forum explored explored the latest developments in Burma, Kenya, Pakistan, Russia, and Venezuela in the spread of democratic institutions. Participants in the forum included Larry Diamond and Arch Puddington. Arch Puddington was the director for research at Freedom House. Panelists responded to questions from the audience. Jennifer L. Windsor, executive director of Freedom House, moderated the event.