Booknotes: America's Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas (1997)

by Brian Lamb (Compiler)

Other authors: Stephen Ambrose (Contributor), Peter Arnett (Contributor), Hanan Ashrawi (Contributor), James A. Baker, III (Contributor), Neil Baldwin (Contributor) — 114 more, George Ball (Contributor), Nicholas Basbanes (Contributor), Melba Pattillo Beals (Contributor), Noa Ben Artzi-Pelossof (Contributor), James Billington (Contributor), Daniel Boorstin (Contributor), Nathaniel Branden (Contributor), Clare Brandt (Contributor), Malcolm Browne (Contributor), William F. Buckley, Jr. (Contributor), Lou Cannon (Contributor), Robert A. Caro (Contributor), Jimmy Carter (Contributor), Stephen Carter (Contributor), Madeline Cartwright (Contributor), William H. Chafe (Contributor), Linda Chavez (Contributor), Clark Clifford (Contributor), Bill Clinton (Contributor), Hillary Rodham Clinton (Contributor), Blanche Wiesen Cook (Contributor), Richard Ben Cramer (Contributor), Stanley Crouch (Contributor), Monica Crowley (Contributor), Carlo D'Este (Contributor), Robert Dole (Contributor), David Herbert Donald (Contributor), Joseph Ellis (Contributor), Andrew Ferguson (Contributor), James Thomas Flexner (Contributor), Shelby Foote (Contributor), Betty Friedan (Contributor), Thomas Friedman (Contributor), Francis Fukuyama (Contributor), Henry Louis Jr. Gates (Contributor), Martin Gilbert (Contributor), Newt Gingrich (Contributor), Roger Gittines (Contributor), Doris Kearns Goodwin (Contributor), Mikhail Gorbachev (Contributor), Al Gore (Contributor), Lani Guinier (Contributor), David Hackworth (Contributor), David Halberstam (Contributor), David Halevy (Contributor), Pete Hamill (Contributor), Paul Hendrickson (Contributor), Christopher Hitchens (Contributor), John Hockenberry (Contributor), bell hooks (Contributor), Robert Kaplan (Contributor), Stanley Karnow (Contributor), John Keegan (Contributor), Michael Kelly (Contributor), Paul Kennedy (Contributor), Charles Kuralt (Contributor), Lewis Lapham (Contributor), Robert Leckie (Contributor), John Leo (Contributor), David Levering Lewis (Contributor), Norman Mailer (Contributor), David Maraniss (Contributor), Robert K. Massie (Contributor), Nathan McCall (Contributor), Colman McCarthy (Contributor), David McCullough (Contributor), Forrest McDonald (Contributor), Robert McNamara (Contributor), Molly Moore (Contributor), Edmund Morris (Contributor), Albert Murray (Contributor), Jack Nelson (Contributor), Johanna Neuman (Contributor), Richard Nixon (Contributor), Peggy Noonan (Contributor), Nell Irvin Painter (Contributor), Hugh Pearson (Contributor), Kevin Phillips (Contributor), Colin Powell (Contributor), William Prochnau (Contributor), Lewis B. Jr. Puller (Contributor), Dan Quayle (Contributor), Anna Quindlen (Contributor), Howell Raines (Contributor), Richard Reeves (Contributor), William Rehnquist (Contributor), Robert Remini (Contributor), David Remnick (Contributor), James “Scotty” Reston (Contributor), James Jr. Reston (Contributor), Richard Rhodes (Contributor), Robert D. Jr. Richardson (Contributor), Nan Robertson (Contributor), Tina Rosenberg (Contributor), Morley Safer (Contributor), Simon Schama (Contributor), Norman Schwarzkopf (Contributor), Elaine Sciolino (Contributor), Deborah Shapley (Contributor), Neil Sheehan (Contributor), Lynn Sherr (Contributor), George Shultz (Contributor), Richard Norton Smith (Contributor), James B. Stewart (Contributor), Margaret Thatcher (Contributor), Evan Thomas (Contributor), Robert Timberg (Contributor), R. Emmett Tyrell (Contributor), Elsa Walsh (Contributor), Stanley Weintraub (Contributor), George F. Will (Contributor), Garry Wills (Contributor), Robin Wright (Contributor), Ben Yagoda (Contributor)

Series: Booknotes (1997)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
422	5	57,364	(4)	3
"Booknotes" has been a television program for over eight years. C-Span host Brian Lamb talks with authors about their latest books, about writing, and about the power of ideas and the written word.

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Showing 5 of 5

Informative and entertaining to find out how 109 writers talk about their writing process and book careers: from interviews on C-Span' s tv show "Booknotes" (

)

betty_s | Sep 7, 2023 |

This book is drawn from a C-SPAN program called "Booknotes", an author-interview format. The focus is on the "craft" of writing, and the interviewer is dropped out so as to "hear" the voices of the authors. [xxiii] Most of the passages are well-edited and short, and differs from the actual writings as these are basically transcripts of oral responses.

Three groups of people are represented -- story-tellers (46), reporters (47), and public figures (26). For the most part, this is less about their ideas than about flogging their books and indulging in what can charitably be called "name-dropping". Still, that is a craft too: Ideas about self-promotion. There is a real charm in the program and this book.

keylawk | Dec 12, 2012 |

A book that is the companion to BookTV. Tells great behind the scenes tales of the writing life.

lesserbrain | May 29, 2009 |

This book contains excerpts from transcripts from the show.

I don't really like the format. As they simply edited down the transcripts, there are many times when a section on a particular author ends abruptly, almost in the middle of a thought.

In addition I didn't much care for the stories themselves for the most part. I don't care much about Vietnam or about whether Nixon was a nice guy. These aren't my defining moments, and they're not fascinating for me like they would be for someone who lived through events. The subtitle "on reading and writing, and the power of ideas" is certainly misleading. Very little in the excerpts presented is actually about writing or the importance of reading. Most of the book is about the books the authors came to discuss, understandable, but not interesting to me as they're books I haven't read, nor do I want to. I'll leave non-fiction to others.

If you enjoy the show, this may be an excellent way to relive some of your favorite episodes and your favorite authors, but I was unimpressed. (

)

Caramellunacy | Feb 14, 2008 |

transcripts from the Booknotes series - a great way to preserve good programming and interesting discussions (

)

DaveFragments | Apr 19, 2007 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Lamb, Brian	Compiler	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Ambrose, Stephen	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Arnett, Peter	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Ashrawi, Hanan	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Baker, James A., III	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Baldwin, Neil	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Ball, George	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Basbanes, Nicholas	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Beals, Melba Pattillo	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Ben Artzi-Pelossof, Noa	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Billington, James	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Boorstin, Daniel	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Branden, Nathaniel	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Brandt, Clare	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Browne, Malcolm	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Buckley, William F., Jr.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Cannon, Lou	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Caro, Robert A.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Carter, Jimmy	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Carter, Stephen	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Cartwright, Madeline	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Chafe, William H.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Chavez, Linda	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Clifford, Clark	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Clinton, Bill	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Clinton, Hillary Rodham	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Cook, Blanche Wiesen	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Cramer, Richard Ben	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Crouch, Stanley	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Crowley, Monica	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
D'Este, Carlo	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Dole, Robert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Donald, David Herbert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Ellis, Joseph	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Ferguson, Andrew	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Flexner, James Thomas	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Foote, Shelby	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Friedan, Betty	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Friedman, Thomas	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Fukuyama, Francis	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Gates, Henry Louis Jr.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Gilbert, Martin	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Gingrich, Newt	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Gittines, Roger	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Goodwin, Doris Kearns	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Gorbachev, Mikhail	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Gore, Al	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Guinier, Lani	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Hackworth, David	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Halberstam, David	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Halevy, David	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Hamill, Pete	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Hendrickson, Paul	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Hitchens, Christopher	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Hockenberry, John	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
hooks, bell	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Kaplan, Robert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Karnow, Stanley	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Keegan, John	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Kelly, Michael	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Kennedy, Paul	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Kuralt, Charles	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Lapham, Lewis	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Leckie, Robert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Leo, John	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Lewis, David Levering	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Mailer, Norman	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Maraniss, David	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Massie, Robert K.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
McCall, Nathan	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
McCarthy, Colman	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
McCullough, David	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
McDonald, Forrest	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
McNamara, Robert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Moore, Molly	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Morris, Edmund	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Murray, Albert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Nelson, Jack	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Neuman, Johanna	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Nixon, Richard	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Noonan, Peggy	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Painter, Nell Irvin	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Pearson, Hugh	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Phillips, Kevin	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Powell, Colin	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Prochnau, William	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Puller, Lewis B. Jr.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Quayle, Dan	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Quindlen, Anna	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Raines, Howell	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Reeves, Richard	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Rehnquist, William	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Remini, Robert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Remnick, David	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Reston, James “Scotty”	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Reston, James Jr.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Rhodes, Richard	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Richardson, Robert D. Jr.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Robertson, Nan	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Rosenberg, Tina	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Safer, Morley	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Schama, Simon	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Schwarzkopf, Norman	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Sciolino, Elaine	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Shapley, Deborah	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Sheehan, Neil	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Sherr, Lynn	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Shultz, George	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Smith, Richard Norton	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Stewart, James B.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Thatcher, Margaret	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Thomas, Evan	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Timberg, Robert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Tyrell, R. Emmett	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Walsh, Elsa	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Weintraub, Stanley	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Will, George F.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Wills, Garry	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Wright, Robin	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Yagoda, Ben	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

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Booknotes (1997)

Contains

Booknotes - Storytellers Vol. I: Presidential Biographers by Brian Lamb

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1997

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Epigraph

Study has been for me the sovereign remedy against all the disappointments of life. I have never known any trouble that an hour's reading would not dissipate.
--Montesquieu
(1689-1755)

Dedication

This book is dedicated to those who taught me in the early years in Lafayette, Indiana:

To my high school broadcasting teacher, William S. Fraser, who taught me the basics of interviewing.

To C. J. Hopkins, my high school journalism teacher, who taught me to ask who, what, why, where, when, and how?

To Henry Rosenthal, who gave me my first job in radio and who let me do everything for $1 an hour.

And to Richard F. Shively, who gave me my first job in television and told me if you program a commercial television station for only your taste, you'll go broke.

First words

"Where do you write?"

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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Booknotes

Brian Lamb

▾Book descriptions

"Booknotes" has been a television program for over eight years. C-Span host Brian Lamb talks with authors about their latest books, about writing, and about the power of ideas and the written word.

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Contents:

Storytellers