Simon Mee asked Lawrence Wright:

To what extent do you think history is provisional and does it make it harder to draw conclusions? I.e. is it possible that a party that appears to be a winner from a particular event now, may turn out to have been a loser from it, from a later viewpoint

Lawrence Wright It's an excellent question. I've certainly revised my opinion--to some extent--about political figures I felt strongly about in the past. Some look better in the light of history; others fail the test. It's hard to know in the moment. That is a burden on the writer, like me, who likes to explore the seam between journalism and history.

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As society starts to shudder and stop under the weight of a pandemic what are some of the unexpected parts of modern life (i.e. a run on toilet paper) you were excited about writing about? Thanks, Jared

Will Harahan asked Lawrence Wright:

You have a knack for being prescient, as was the case when you wrote the screenplay for the underrated Ed Zwick film The Siege, and now again with a novel on a pandemic. How do you manage to remain ahead of the curve with two of the most significant events of the last twenty-five years?

Abby asked Lawrence Wright:

I had to take several breaks from reading Going Clear before I finished it because of how frustrating and horrifying it all was. How did you deal with those feelings as you were researching and writing the book?

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To what extent do you think history is provisional and does it make it harder to draw conclusions? I.e. is it possible that a party that appears to be a winner from a particular event now, may turn out to have been a loser from it, from a later viewpoint

More Answered Questions

As society starts to shudder and stop under the weight of a pandemic what are some of the unexpected parts of modern life (i.e. a run on toilet paper) you were excited about writing about? Thanks, Jared

You have a knack for being prescient, as was the case when you wrote the screenplay for the underrated Ed Zwick film The Siege, and now again with a novel on a pandemic. How do you manage to remain ahead of the curve with two of the most significant events of the last twenty-five years?

I had to take several breaks from reading Going Clear before I finished it because of how frustrating and horrifying it all was. How did you deal with those feelings as you were researching and writing the book?

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