space is such a challenge. ♪ >> i am james michener. for most of my working years on this planet, i've been chronicling the rise and fall of human systems. if there is one thing i'm convinced of from years of studying history, it's that enemies do not destroy nations, time and the loss of will brings them down. to see that this does not happen to this nation of ours, the united states cannot retreat from the challenge of our age. each era of human history progresses to a point at which it is eligible to wrestle with the great problem of that period . for the ancient greeks, it was the organization of society. for the medievalists, the spelling out of their relationship to god. for the men of the 15th and centuries, the mastery of the 16th oceans. and for us, it is the determination of how mankind can live in harmony on the finite globe we call earth while , establishing relationships to an infinite space. >> ok. we are ready. final pressure adjustment. james: i am struck with wonder at the energy being expended by thousands of people no

james michener once said that buchwald once had the sharpest wit he had ever known. his many admirers included robert frost and justice william o douglas, who once cited a buchwald column in one of his u.s. supreme court opinions. much like mark twain, james --, dorothy parker and will rogers, buchwald was truly an american legend. to his credit, his barbs could get a chuckle out of politicians from all sides of the political spectrum. from william f buckley to arthur/and your to john f. kennedy to dwight eisenhower to ronald reagan. senator barry goldwater, the archconservative from arizona once told buchwald, you are one of those people who have the ability to make us think, laugh, cry and love our fellow man. for that, i thank you. but who was the man? before talking about his life and career, i would like to play a clip from a radio interview he did in new york city in 1964. this is courtesy of the w nyu archives in new york in the interview, he talks a bit about his approach to humor, his early life and how his career as a humorist came to be. many of you who re