| Booknotes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Talk show |
| Presented by | Brian Lamb |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 16 |
| No. of episodes | 801 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | C-SPAN |
| Release | April 2, 1989 (1989-04-02) – December 5, 2004 (2004-12-05) |
Booknotes is anAmericantelevision series on theC-SPANnetwork hosted byBrian Lamb, which originally aired from 1989 to 2004.[1] The format of the show is a one-hour, one-on-oneinterview with anon-fiction author.[2] The series was broadcast at 8 p.m.Eastern Time each Sunday night,[3] and was the longest-running author interview program in U.S. broadcast history.
Booknotes debuted on April 2, 1989. The first guest was formerUnited States National Security AdvisorZbigniew Brzezinski, discussingThe Grand Failure: The Birth and Death of Communism in the Twentieth Century.[4] The fifth anniversary was marked on April 10, 1994 with a special two-hour show featuring over 50 of the 300 authors previously featured on the program.[5] For the tenth anniversary ofBooknotes in 1999, Brian Lamb compiled and edited an anthology of stories on 78 people who influenced American history from the 18th century to 1999. TitledBooknotes: Life Stories, each contributed story was written by a well-known biographer.[6]
After 801 interviews, the final broadcast aired December 5, 2004.[3] Lamb's guest wasMark Edmundson, author ofWhy Read?, professor of English at theUniversity of Virginia and a contributing editor atHarper's Magazine.[7] The show was intended to end with the 800th episode, but due to a miscalculation, the final program was actually the 801st.[7]
Booknotes segments continue to be re-aired onC-SPAN's companion network C-SPAN 2, during SaturdayBook TV broadcasts,[8] while C-SPAN 3 airs repeat segments every weeknight at 11 p.m.Pacific Time. All 801 transcripts are available online[1] and the 801 shows can be viewed online via theBooknotes website.[9] Lamb's own copies of theBooknotes books, most of which contain his personalmarginalia, are housed in the rare books collection ofGeorge Mason University.[10]
TheBooknotes concept grew out of a one-off interview special withNeil Sheehan, author ofA Bright Shining Lie, in September 1988.[6] The interview itself resulted from Lamb having viewed a shortcommercial television interview with Sheehan and wanting to hear more.[6] According to Lamb, a strong viewer response to the program led to the decision to start producing a weekly author interview program.[3]
EachBooknotes episode devoted one full hour to an interview with the author of a recently released non-fiction book.[2] In order to avoid duplicate appearances by any one author, each guest appeared only once on the program,[3] thus allowing for over 800 different authors to be interviewed every week over a fifteen-year stretch. The hour-long interviews explored authors' work habits, thoughts and lives, while also covering the intentions of their book and how, or if, these were achieved.[1][2]
Research for the interviews was simple: producers identified subjects, arranged for them to appear and Brian Lamb would then read the book in the week prior to the interview.[6] One reason for discontinuing the series, according to Lamb, was the time constraints imposed by reading an entire book every seven days.[3]
The set whereBooknotes was recorded was similarly basic, comprising a black backdrop, two armchairs and a coffee table.[8]
In February 2003, Lamb was awarded theNational Humanities Medal.[11] In November 2007, Lamb received thePresidential Medal of Freedom for his work on C-SPAN.[12] TheAmerican Historical Association awarded Lamb the 2004 Theodore Roosevelt-Woodrow Wilson Award "for extraordinary contributions to the study, teaching, and public understanding of history."[13]
Notable guests appearing onBooknotes to discuss their published writings have includedHillary Clinton,Pat Buchanan,Colin Powell,Frank McCourt,Dixy Lee Ray andDavid Crosby.[1] A number of former presidents have appeared on the program, includingRichard Nixon on February 23, 1992,Jimmy Carter on February 19, 1995 andBill Clinton on December 15, 1996.[4] In addition to the U.S. presidents who were interviewed forBooknotes, formerUK Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher also appeared on the program.[5]
While the majority ofBooknotes subjects have been authors of books on history, politics or public policy, exceptions included the violinistIsaac Stern, who discussed his memoir,My First 79 Years, on the program on January 23, 2000.[3]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Charlie Rose interview withBrian Lamb,Stanley Crouch,David Halberstam, andPete Hamill onBooknotes: America's Finest Authors on Reading, Writing and the Power of Ideas, July 8, 1997 |
IncludingBooknotes: Life Stories, four books have been drawn from the series, with content either comprising original material or taken directly from transcripts ofBooknotes interviews.[7]Booknotes: America's Finest Authors on Reading, Writing and the Power of Ideas is a compilation of short monologues taken from the transcripts of Brian Lamb’s best interviews.[2] The other two books areBooknotes: On American Character andBooknotes: Stories from American History.[14]