Saturday, November 28, 2009

Intel: Iran's Naval Forces....

From Secrecy News...

U.S. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE VIEWS IRAN'S NAVAL FORCES

A new report (pdf) from the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence describes Iran's naval order of battle, as well as the Iranian Navy's history, strategic options, and favored tactics.

"Today, Iran's naval forces protect Iranian waters and natural resources, especially Iran's petroleum-related assets and industries. Iranian maritime security operations guard against the smuggling of illegal goods (especially drugs) and immigrants, and protect against the poaching and stealing of fish in territorial waters."

"Additionally, Iran uses its naval forces for political ends such as naval diplomacy and strategic messaging. Most of all, Iranian naval forces are equipped to defend against perceived external threats. Public statements by Iranian leaders indicate that they would consider closing or controlling the Strait of Hormuz if provoked, thereby cutting off almost 30 percent of the world's oil supply."

The unclassified U.S. intelligence assessment was published on the Office of Naval Intelligence website, but last week it was abruptly withdrawn, along with another ONI report on China's navy. A copy of the report was obtained by Secrecy News. See "Iran's Naval Forces: From Guerilla (sic) Warfare to a Modern Naval Strategy," Fall 2009.

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From Thrillers to Science..New Books Coming...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly....

FICTION...
DEBUT:

Susan Froderberg's OLD BORDER ROAD, about a girl who marries too young and suffers the consequences, in a lonely part of the American desert, to Pat Strachan at Little, Brown, by Liz Darhansoff of Darhansoff, Verrill, Feldman (World).

THRILLER:

Amanda Kyle Williams's THE STRANGER YOU SEEK, adopted by white southern parents as a child, a Chinese American former FBI profiler is a walking, talking, bundle of contradictions, constantly stumbling over herself as witnessed by her FBI career cut short by alcoholism; she is unofficially hired by her best friend and secret crush, an Atlanta police lieutenant, to find a serial killer wrecking havoc on the citizens of Atlanta, to Kate Miciak and Nita Taublib at Bantam Dell, in a three-book deal, for publication in Spring 2011, by Victoria Sanders at Victoria Sanders & Associates (NA).

NYT bestselling author Ridley Pearson's new series featuring operatives for an international security firm tasked with high-profile corporate problem solving -- kidnappings, extractions, extortion -- that takes them around the globe, case-by-case, from Shanghai to Rio to Zurich and beyond, again to Ivan Held and Christine Pepe at Putnam, in a two-book deal, by Amy Berkower and Dan Conaway at Writers House (NA).

No. 1 NYT-bestselling author John Sandford's twenty-first novel in the Prey series featuring protagonist Lucas Davenport, for publication in Spring 2011, and the fourth novel in the Virgil Flowers series, for publication in Fall 2010, again to Neil Nyren at Putnam, with paperbacks from Berkley, by Esther Newberg at ICM.

GENERAL/OTHER:

Elizabeth Speller's THE RETURN OF CAPTAIN JOHN EMMETT, the first in a series of literary mystery novels set in England between World War I and World War II, to Tom Bouman at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, in a two-book deal, by Georgina Capel at Capel & Land (NA).

CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT:

R.L. Stine, ed.'s FEAR: 13 Stories of Mystery and Suspense, including original stories by Meg Cabot, James Rollins and Heather Graham, among others; a minimum of 50 percent of all profits from ITW will be donated to Reading Is Fundamental, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing and motivating children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children and families who need them most, to Maureen Sullivan at Dutton Children's, by Loretta Barrett of Barrett Books (NA).
Brazilian rights to Rocco, in a nice deal, by Nick Mullendore at Loretta Barrett Books, in association with Flavia Sala at International Editors'.


NON-FICTION....

BIOGRAPHY:

NYT reporter Jodi Kantor's book about the Obamas, following her recent Times magazine cover story about their marriage (and following fellow NYT reporter Rachel Swarns' recent sale of a book about Michelle Obama's family), to Geoff Shandler at Little, Brown, at auction, by Elyse Cheney at Elyse Cheney Agency.
Observer

Author of the bestselling lives of Charles Schulz and N.C. Wyeth David Michaelis's fully-rounded one-volume portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt, the most admired woman of the 20th century, to David Rosenthal and Alice Mayhew at Simon & Schuster, for publication in 2015, by Melanie Jackson at the Melanie Jackson Agency (World English).


BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

Syndicated personal finance columnist Liz Weston's THE NEW MONEY BIBLE, to Caroline Sutton at Hudson Street Press, in a pre-empt, in a good deal, by Stephen Hanselman of LevelFiveMedia (World).

Wall Street veteran and author Andy Kessler's untitled book, featuring twelve rules for getting rich - not moving money around rich, or soak the poor rich, but something that will create vast sustainable wealth - individual wealth AND societal wealth, to David Moldawer at Portfolio, by Pilar Queen at McCormick & Williams Literary Agency (world).


HISTORY/POLITICS/WORLD AFFAIRS:

NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep's deeply reported portrait of Karachi, Pakistan -- a city that illuminates the complexities, perils and possibilities of rapidly growing metropolises around the world, to Laura Stickney at the Penguin Press, at auction, for publication in Winter 2012, by Gail Ross at the Gail Ross Literary Agency (world English).

Historian and Verso editorial director Tom Penn's WINTER KING, GLORIOUS PRINCE: The Dawn of Tudor England, the first book to tell the full story of how the Tudors came to be, and of a dark struggle between Henry VII and his son Henry VIII, which gave birth to early modern England, to Bob Bender at Simon & Schuster, for publication in 2011, by Anna Stein at Aitken Alexander, on behalf of Andrew Kidd (NA).

Author of Selling of the President 1968 and Going to Extremes, Joe McGinniss's investigative narrative of Sarah Palin's significance as both political and cultural phenomenon and as an embodiment of the contradictory forces that shaped Alaska as it moved into its second half-century as a state, to Charlie Conrad at Broadway, for publication in Fall 2011, by David Larabell at the David Black Literary Agency (World).

HUMOR:

Comedic writer and former radio host April Winchell's REGRETSY, based on the popular blog of the same name; featuring a collection of the oddest, most humorous, and most disturbing crafts the world has ever seen, along with commentary provided by the author, to Jill Schwartzman at Villard, for trade paperback publication, in a pre-empt, by Meg Thompson at LJK Literary Management (world English).


MEMOIR:

Former NYT reporter Katie Hafner's MOTHER DAUGHTER ME, the poignant and often humorous memoir of her experience living as a single mother with her 78-year-old-mother and 16-year-old daughter, to Susan Kamil and Beth Rashbaum at Random House, by James Levine at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency (NA).


SCIENCE:

The Mozart Effect author Don Campbell and founder and CEO of Advanced Brain Technologies Alex Doman's HEALING AT THE SPEED OF SOUND, how the new science of sound and music can help us improve our lives, to Caroline Sutton at Hudson Street Press, by Gail Ross at Gail Ross Literary Agency.


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Thursday, November 19, 2009

An Interesting Selection of Books....

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION...
DEBUT:

Kamala Nair's THE GIRL IN THE GARDEN, the redemptive journey of a young woman unsure of her engagement, who revisits in memory the events of one scorching childhood summer when her beautiful yet troubled mother spirits her away from her home to an Indian village untouched by time, where she discovers in the jungle behind her ancestral house a spellbinding garden that harbors a terrifying secret, to Karen Kosztolnyik at Grand Central, by Marly Rusoff at Marly Rusoff & Associates (world English).

MYSTERY/CRIME:

Ace Atkins's two Quinn Colson novels, featuring an Army Ranger who returns to his rural Mississippi county to find it overrun by corruption and his uncle, the sheriff, dead -- the beginning of a trail that will lead him not only to the killers but to a new career, to Neil Nyren at Putnam, for publication in 2011 and 2012, by Esther Newberg at ICM (NA).

GENERAL/OTHER:

NYT bestselling author Kimberla Lawson Roby's LOVE, HONOR AND BETRAY, featuring the Reverend Curtis Black, the character Roby's readers most love to hate, moving to Karen Thomas at Grand Central, in a four-book deal, for publication beginning in Winter 2011, by Elaine Koster at the Elaine Koster Agency.

National Book Award finalist Bonnie Jo Campbell's ONCE UPON A RIVER, a young woman's Huck-Finn-like river odyssey to find her future in the wake of her father's death, to Jill Bialosky at Norton, at auction, by Bill Clegg at William Morris Endeavor (NA).

Michael Stanley's THE DEATH OF THE MANTIS, the third Detective Kubu novel, in which a series of unexplained and apparently unconnected deaths hits the southern Kalahari in Botswana, leading to tension with the Bushman people and conflict in the Criminal Investigation Department, which Kubu tries to resolve while investigating the murders, to Claire Wachtel at Harper, in a nice deal, by Marly Rusoff at Marly Rusoff & Associates (world English).

Todd Gitlin's UNDYING, about a philosopher, who is diagnosed with lymphoma while struggling to write a book contending that Friedrich Nietzsche's thought stemmed from his ill heath, and who is also compelled to contend with a severely errant daughter, as well as the trauma of George W. Bush's 2004 victory, to Jack Shoemaker at Counterpoint, by Ellen Levine at Trident Media Group.

NONFICTION...
BIOGRAPHY:

Author of The Lady and the Panda Vicki Constantine Croke's THE WAY OF THE ELEPHANT, a biography of Lieutenant Colonel J. H. Williams, who was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his critical contribution to the Allied Campaign during the jungle fighting in WWII Burma; on the eve of the decisive battle for Burma, J.H. Williams attempts to rescue 53 elephants coveted by the enemy, as well as a large group of Nepalese refugees, to Jane Von Mehren at Random House, in a pre-empt, by Laura Blake Peterson at Curtis Brown.

COOKING:

Kit Wohl's THE JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION COOKBOOK, featuring the twenty recipients of the Chef of the Year Awards, with 100 recipes adapted from their kitchens to home kitchens; highlighted by personal profiles and culinary escapades, their inspirations and what drives a chef to the top; photography includes the restaurants, behind the scenes operations, menus and food, to Bill LeBlond at Chronicle, for publication in Fall 2011, by Maura Kye-Casella of Don Congdon Associates.

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Washington Post foreign correspondent Blaine Harden's ESCAPE FROM CAMP 14, the inside story of the N. Korea gulag told through the tortuous journey of the only prisoner to be born in the camps and to have escaped and discovered freedom for the first time - opening a window into the enigma of the country, to Kathryn Court at Viking, by Rafe Sagalyn at The Sagalyn Agency (NA).
UK rights to Macmillan and French rights to Belfond, in a pre-empt.
Translation: bridget@sagalyn.com

Editor of the New York Review Books Classics series Edwin Frank's STRANGER THAN FICTION: The Life of the Twentieth Century Novel, a provocative cultural history, international in scope, of the development of then twentieth-century novel that is also a novel history of the twentieth century, looking at how the novel confronted war, atrocity, economic depression, and other political and cultural upheavals, to Jonathan Galassi at Farrar, Straus, in a pre-empt, with Lorin Stein editing, by Zoe Pagnamenta at the Zoe Pagnamenta Agency (world English).
UK rights: marion.duvert@fsgbooks.com
All other rights: mail@zpagency.com

MEMOIR:

Korean-American journalist Euna Lee's THE WORLD IS BIGGER NOW: A Memoir of Faith, Family and Freedom, about her experiences, with fellow Current TV journalist Laura Ling, being captured, incarcerated, and condemned to hard labor this year in communist North Korea, detailing her 140 days of imprisonment and her efforts to protect her sources and the subjects of her reporting under interrogation, along with describing how her deep Christian faith and belief in family sustained her during her captivity, to Diane Salvatore at Broadway, with Vanessa Mobley editing, by Jennifer Gates and Todd Shuster of the Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency.

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Is This Justice?

From Secrecy News:

LEGAL ISSUES SURROUNDING MILITARY COMMISSIONS

The role of military commissions in adjudicating the cases of suspected terrorist detainees at Guantanamo and elsewhere was critically examined in two House Judiciary Subcommittee hearings last July, the records of which have just been published.

"My concern remains," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who chaired the hearings, "that we may be creating a system in which we try you in Federal court if we have strong evidence, we try you by military commission if we have weak evidence, and we detain you indefinitely if we have no evidence."

"That is not a justice system," Rep. Nadler said.

See "Legal Issues Surrounding the Military Commissions System," July 8, 2009; and "Proposals for Reform of the Military Commissions System," July 30, 2009.

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Saturday, November 14, 2009

Getting Your Fish & Eating...What?.....

From KPBS.org:

http://www.kpbs.org:80/news/2009/nov/12/comparing-farmed-raised-fish-wild-caught/

Comparing Farmed-Raised Fish To Wild-Caught
Eating fish is an often-heard recommendation for a healthy diet. You've probably heard that fish, especially salmon, is rich in omega-3's an essential fatty acid. Are all fish created equal? We discuss the differences between farmed and wild-caught fish.
By Megan Burke, Maureen Cavanaugh

These Days | Thursday, November 12, 2009

Public Info:

Green Chefs, Blue Ocean

A comprehensive, interactive online sustainable seafood training program and resource center.

Monterey Bay Aquarium, Seafood Watch

MAUREEN CAVANAUGH (Host): I'm Maureen Cavanaugh. You're listening to These Days on KPBS. As more people become vegetarians, even greater numbers of people become ‘almost’ vegetarians, people who say they no longer eat red meat or chicken but limit the meat in their diet to fish. They’re called pescatarians. Even the rest of us are often urged by nutritionists to eat less beef and more fish because of its health benefits. But as the KPBS series “Food” continues, we learn it's not as easy to get away from the cow as you might think. Reporter Joanne Faryon is here to explain as her investigation into the food we eat goes underwater to examine the fish we eat. Welcome, Joanne.

JOANNE FARYON (KPBS Reporter): Hi, Maureen.

CAVANAUGH: And I’d like to introduce my other guests. Andrew Spurgin is head chef of Waters Fine Catering, and co-founder of the group Passionfish, which is dedicated to sustainable fishing and fish harvesting. Andrew, welcome. Thanks for coming in.

ANDREW SPURGIN (Head Chef, Waters Fine Catering): My pleasure. Thank you.

CAVANAUGH: And Don Kent is Senior Research Biologist, Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute. Don, welcome.

DON KENT (President and Senior Research Biologist, Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute): Good morning. Thank you for having me.

CAVANAUGH: And we invite our listeners to join the conversation. If you have a question about the fish you’re buying for dinner or a comment, how fish are farmed and raised, give us a call, 1-888-895-5727, that’s 1-888-895-KPBS. Joanne, let me start with you. What did you want to know when you started researching “The Fish We Eat?”

FARYON: Well, first we learned that it is an increasing part of our diet. The average American eats about 70 pounds of fish per year. Half of that fish is actually farmed fish and 80% of that farmed fish is imported. So we really wanted to know when I’m buying farmed fish, particularly salmon because salmon is one of the species that we consume most of, you know, what’s the difference really between farmed and wild? Is it as healthy? And, in particular, what about omega-3s because we hear a lot about omega-3 and that’s the healthy fat in salmon. Wendy Fry, one of our producers on this series spent a lot of time reading—really, it’s a debate—reading the one side and the other side. You have the people on the side of farmed salmon saying, no, you know, you get a lot of healthy omega-3s out of this, and then you have the other argument, no, it’s not the same nutritionally. Ultimately, it comes down to what are we feeding our farmed fish? That really can affect the nutrition.

[Use link above to continue reading]

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Lots of Books & A Film Coming....

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION...
DEBUT:

Scholastic editor-in-chief and best selling YA author David Levithan's first adult novel, THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY, an alphabetically episodic narrative that traces the ups and downs of an urban romance, to Jonathan Galassi at Farrar, Straus, in a pre-empt, by Bill Clegg at William Morris Endeavor.

Dipika Rai's SOMEONE ELSE'S GARDEN, an epic tale of mothers and daughters and of love and rejection which explores the essence of abject cruelty and flawless goodness that defines the Indian soul, to Jeanette Perez at Harper, for publication in Spring 2011, by Diane Banks at Diane Banks Associates (NA).
UK rights to Clare Smith at Harper UK.

THRILLER:

Robotics engineer and How to Survive a Robot Uprising and Bro-Jitsu author Daniel Wilson's ROBOPOCALYPSE, about the fate of the human race following a robot uprising, to Jason Kaufman at Doubleday, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2011, by Laurie Fox at the Linda Chester Literary Agency (world).
Film rights announced simultaneously to Mark Sourian and Holly Bario at DreamWorks, for "accelerated development," by Justin Manask.

Author of The Death and Life of Bobby Z and The Power of the Dog, Don Winslow's SAVAGES, a gritty, humorous, and drug-fueled ransom thriller set amidst the Baja Cartel in Laguna Beach, CA, for publication in July 2010, and THE GENTLEMEN'S HOUR, for publication in July 2011, moving to David Rosenthal at Simon & Schuster from Knopf, with Sarah Hochman editing, by Richard Pine at Inkwell Management (NA).

GENERAL/OTHER:

John Pippin's THE BLIND ASTRONOMER'S NOTEBOOK, set in 1798, with a young woman's return to Ireland and her discovery of a notebook left by her late father (a blind astronomer who spent his life futilely searching for a new planet), who becomes determined to complete her father's work, caught in a race against astronomers throughout Europe looking for the same planet while contending with a violent rebellion at home that threatens to destroy her father's observatory, to Nan Talese at Nan A. Talese, in a very nice deal, by Marly Rusoff at Marly Rusoff & Associates (NA).

Annabel Lyon's THE GOLDEN MEAN, about the philosopher Aristotle's relationship with his student, the teenage Alexander the Great, to Diana Coglianese and Sonny Mehta at Knopf, at auction, by Denise Bukowski at The Bukowski Agency (US).
Foreign rights to Roca Editorial, at auction, by Sandra Bruna; to Editions la Table Ronde in France, by Anna Jarota; and to Leya Brasil in Brazil, by Joao Paulo Riff.

CHILDREN'S/MIDDLE GRADE:

Crystal Allen's HOW LAMAR'S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY, in which a 13-year-old vows to spend the summer changing his image from dud to stud, to Kristin Daly at Harper, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2011 and 2012, by Jennifer Rofe at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world).

CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT:

Author of RIBBLESTROP, Andy Mulligan's TRASH, a "nail-biter" about children who survive, against the odds, with a set of instincts and skills that just keep them breathing, pitched as a read for all ages, to David Fickling Books, at auction in the UK, and then in a pre-empt for the US, for simultaneous publication in fall 2010, by Jane Turnbull at The Turnbull Agency, and Ken Wright at Writers House acting on behalf of Turnbull (world English).
Spanish rights to Sigrid Kraus at Salamandra, in a pre-empt, by Sally Riley at Aitken Alexander.

NON-FICTION...
BIOGRAPHY:

NYT reporter Rachel Swarns' expansion of her recent front page story on First Lady Michelle Obama's sweeping family history, describing the first white ancestors in her family tree and tracing the earliest steps of her clan as they journeyed over five generations from slavery to the White House, to Dawn Davis at Amistad, in a pre-empt, by Flip Brophy at Sterling Lord Literistic (world).

COOKING:

Executive chef Daniel Humm and general manager Will Guidara's ELEVEN MADISON PARK: The Cookbook, with 100 seasonally arranged recipes and behind-the-scenes vignettes highlighting the philosophy of continual reinvention at the dining spot recently described by Frank Bruni as "among the most alluring and impressive restaurants in New York" in a coveted four-star review, to Michael Sand at Little, Brown, in a good deal, by David Black at the David Black Literary Agency.

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Andrew Feinstein's MERCHANTS OF DEATH: Inside the Global Arms Trade, the global arms industry accounts for 40% of all corruption in all world trade and is shrouded in secrecy; investigating how the international arms trade operates and what motivates those in the business and the governments who do business with them, to Eric Chinski at Farrar, Straus, by Sarah Hunt Cooke at Penguin UK (US).
sarah.huntcooke@uk.penguingroup.com

NYT bestselling author of WORSE THAN WATERGATE, CONSERVATIVES WITHOUT CONSCIENCE John Dean's next book, again to Rick Kot at Viking, by Lydia Wills at Paradigm (world).

Journalist Jay Bahadur's THE PIRATES OF PUNTLAND: An Inside Look at the World's Last Buccaneers, drawing on the author's travels into the heart of Somalia, to the autonomous but internationally unrecognized region of Puntland, to give the world a better understanding of the human beings and politics behind Somalia's notorious sea pirates, to Jim Gifford at Harper Canada, Vicky Wilson at Pantheon, Daniel Crewe at Profile, at auction, and Henry Rosenbloom at Scribe, for Australian and New Zealand rights, for publication in Fall 2010, by Rick Broadhead at Rick Broadhead & Associates.

MEMOIR:

Former NBC president of entertainment Warren Littlefield's memoir, documenting his tenure overseeing the Must-See TV years at NBC, moving a floundering network to prime-time dominance, written with author and screenwriter T.R. Pearson, to Bill Thomas at Doubleday, by David Black of the David Black Literary Agency (NA).

SCIENCE:

Rebecca Costa's first book, THE WATCHMAN'S RATTLE: A New Way to Understand Complexity, Collapse and Correction, positing that escalating complexity has led to conditions -- worldwide recession, global warming, pandemic viruses -- that have outpaced our actual ability to manage them, comparing our current state to the "cognitive gridlock" that brought down the Mayans, Romans, the Ming Dynasty, Byzantine Empire, along with scientific evidence that the human brain can be retrained to comprehend, analyze, and resolve massively complex problems, to Roger Cooper at Vanguard Press, for publication in fall 2010, by Arthur Klebanoff at the Scott Meredith Agency and David Nelson at Waterside Productions.

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Friday, November 06, 2009

McGovern on Abe Lincoln...

From KPBS San Diego:

By Maureen Cavanaugh

These Days | Wednesday, November 4, 2009

MAUREEN CAVANAUGH (Host): I'm Maureen Cavanaugh. You're listening to These Days on KPBS. Many books have been written about the life of Abraham Lincoln and many of them have been quite daunting in both length and scope. A new volume, part of the American Presidents Series, manages to present the life, challenges, controversies, victories and tragedies of Lincoln in a clear and compact format. Perhaps that's because the author, my guest Senator George McGovern, after a lifetime in politics, has a unique insight into some of the challenges and hard decisions Lincoln was called upon to make. George McGovern represented South Dakota in the U.S. Senate from 1963 to 1981. He is perhaps best known as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1972. Senator McGovern is also an historian, the author of more than a dozen books and, along with former Senator Bob Dole, the recipient of the 2008 World Food Prize for his work on an international school food program. And, as I mentioned, his latest book is titled “Abraham Lincoln.” It's a pleasure to welcome you, Senator McGovern, to These Days.

SENATOR GEORGE MCGOVERN (Author): It’s good to be on your program.

CAVANAUGH: Thank you. Now since you’re an historian, before you wrote this book, you must’ve thought you knew quite a lot about President Lincoln. I’m wondering, did you learn things researching this book that surprised you?

MCGOVERN: Yes, I wouldn’t say any dramatic things that brought me right out of my chair but I did learn the depth of his character better than I had understood it before. He was a great man. He was not only a great president—some historians say our greatest president—but he was a very great human being, overcame incredible handicaps in order to win the White House and then preside, I think, brilliantly as President of the United States.

CAVANAUGH: Now the story, the great story, of Lincoln, his birth in the log cabin, his struggles with his own personal melancholy, his compassion during the war, this has inspired so many Americans, including our current president. And what is it that you think about the way President Lincoln handled adversity that we find so compelling?

MCGOVERN: Well, who would’ve thought that a man with only two years of formal education, even that was hit or miss at times, sometimes dependent on traveling teachers that would visit the village, who would’ve guessed that he could emerge with enough wisdom to become a great President of the United States. But in that less than two years of education that he had, he learned to read and he learned to write, and he never quit. For the rest of his life, he was reading, reading, reading, reading. Every time he could get his hands on a book, he devoured it. His father couldn’t accept that. His father was a hardworking farmer, and that’s a tough job. I know that, having grown up in South Dakota. But when he would assign a task to young Abe Lincoln, frequently an hour later he’d find him leaning up against a tree reading a book, and it drove him wild. The differences between the two men became so intense that Lincoln left home and didn’t even attend his father’s funeral.

.http://www.kpbs.org/news/2009/nov/04/senator-george-mcgovern-talks-about-politics-past-/

[Use link above to continue reading}

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