Anne F. Hyde talks about her book “Empires, Nations, and Families: A History of the North American West, 1800–1860,” published by the University of Nebraska Press. The book was awarded the Bancroft Prize in March 2012. Hyde is William R. Hochman Professor of History at Colorado College.

Authors Joe Mathews and Mark Paul talk about California’s politics in a panel discussion after the broadcast of the third debate between gubernatorial candidates Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman. The discussion is moderated by veteran political journalist Bill Boyarsky.

A conversation with Michael Hiltzik, author of Colossus: Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century, the story of one of the engineering wonders of the modern world. The book places Hoover Dam in the economic, political, and social context of its time while bringing forth all the drama of...