Videos

The first National Book Festival was experienced through a combination of author presentations, call-ins, and interviews from three locations: the Jefferson Building, the Madison Building an…

David Maraniss was interviewed about his book, They Marched Into Sunlight, published by Simon and Schuster. The book tells the story of two events in October 1967. One event was a battle in …

Historians discussed the effect of media and technology on 20th century politics. Topics included the government’s impact on Silicon Valley, artificial intelligence and cable television. Th…

Phyllis Schlafly talked about her career as an author and views on feminism. She is known primarily as the founder and president of Eagle Forum and as the leader of Stop ERA, a movement oppo…

William Walker talked about his book Betrayal at Little Gibraltar: A German Fortress, a Treacherous American General, and the Battle to End World War I, in which he recalls America’s 1918 of…

On the 50th anniversary of D-Day, C-SPAN aired a special presentation highlighting its importance. During the second day of the special, a number of World War II veterans, historians and war…

LIFE magazine editor Richard Stolley talked about the magazine’s book, Life in Camelot: The Kennedy Years, and gave his account of arriving in Dallas as President Kennedy’s body was being fl…

In the thirty-third in a series on American presidents, scholars discussed the life and career of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Among the issues they addressed were his childhood, his military caree…

Mark Bowden talked about his book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, in which he recounts the 1993 U.S. special operations raid in Mogadishu, Somalia that resulted in the deaths of 18 A…

In the twenty-sixth in a series on American presidents Scholars and others discussed the life and career of William Howard Taft. Among the subjects addressed were Taft’s career as a politici…

In the twenty-third in a series on American presidents, scholars and historians discussed the life and career of Benjamin Harrison. Among the issues discussed were his two marriages, his mil…

In the fourth in a series on American presidents, James Madison’s life and career were discussed. Mr. Rakove talked about Madison’s childhood and his education. He took calls from viewers. M…

Columnist and author Robert Novak was interviewed in his home on Pennsylvania Avenue across the street from the National Archives. He talked about his newly published memoir, The Prince of D…

James Bradley talked about his book, Flyboys: A True Story of Courage, whick tells the story of nine U.S. airmen, shot down near the island of Chichi Jima in the Pacific during World War II.…

Douglas Brinkley talked about the book he edited, The Reagan Diaries, published by HarperCollins. He described how he selected the portions of the diaries for this volume, saying that the co…

Blair House: The President’s Guest House, provides a video tour of the rarely-seen historic home used as an official guest residence by U.S. presidents. In addition to its role as a tempo…

Author and education activist Jonathan Kozol talked about his life, his career, and his body of writing. Mr. Kozol talked about how he became involved in the civil rights movement and starte…

Author and historian Nell Irvin Painter was interviewed about her life, her career, and her body of writings. She responded to viewer telephone calls and electronic mail. Two video clips …

Charles Bowden talked about his book Inferno, published by the University of Texas Press, which is a photo essay of the Sonoran Desert National Monument in Arizona. He was interviewed while …

New York attorney Elkan Abramowitz talked about U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Mr. Abramowitz is a criminal defense attorney who has argued cases before Judge Sotomayor at…