RARELY does the imprint of modern history appear as strongly as it does in the work of Richard N Goodwin.
Who? You may ask. Informed readers of American affairs will recognise the name of the man who not only wrote landmark speeches for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, but who encapsulated the American political ethos in his books such as Triumph or Tragedy: Reflections on Vietnam, and The American Condition.
And along the way, he exposed the cheating behind big-money American quiz shows which led to the movie directed by Robert Redford.
Today, Richard is enmeshed in an equally theatrical drama. The world premiere of The Hinge of the World, takes place at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, this month.
Based on Richard's book, the play is a collaboration with director Edward Hall, son of Sir Peter Hall, and is a dramatic account of the feud which developed between the 17th century mathematician and philosopher, Galileo, and his erstwhile friend and fellow philosopher Barberini, who became Pope Urban VIII.
"I have spent two and a half years working on this with Edward. I ran across the story while I was researching another project and became fascinated, not only by these two titanic figures of the time, but in the age-old conflict between science and faith."
In essence, Galileo with his new telescope concludes that, contrary to religious belief, the earth revolves around the sun. This, naturally, threw the church's power into disarray, as the Pope said, making God "unnecessary".
Galileo, however, could not believe that "the same god who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect, has intended us to forego their use".
Richard's skill with words makes the dialogue scintillating, and, as Edward Hall said: "Although the core of the play is a debate between the emerging laws of physics and religious belief, there is nothing technical or pious about it. If you were terrible at physics and have never been to church, this is the play for you!"
"It was," said Richard, "a struggle which lasted until Galileo's death. The Pope was unrelenting, keeping Galileo under house arrest outside his native Florence for nine years. To him it was major heresy. and he allowed no monument to be erected to Galileo.
"I am not a particularly religious man, but I think the Pope had a point. I have tried to be objective. It is a case of the reasoning of science versus why people need to believe in God.
"Science has an erosive effect on faith, but this is not a didactic piece; I'm not teaching a lesson here. And anyway, there are many scientists who believe in God!
"I enjoyed writing this play. Writing speeches is limiting. Real people, unlike your characters, sometimes refuse to say what you wrote!
"And I'm very impressed by the quality of British stage actors. There is a wealth of acting talent here that you can't match in the USA.
"It's very difficult to stage serious drama in the USA. Broadway only seems to want musicals. Of course, it's cheaper here too!
"Edward really understands the play and helps to shape it. He listens to everybody but keeps the cast motivated and in line, without a word being spoken in anger."
It's still a far cry for Richard from the power struggles of the White House. This top Harvard law graduate surprisingly eschewed that lucrative profession for a job in Washington.
"I was desperate to avoid the practice of law. I did not want to spend my life transferring money from one big company to another. It was not a fulfilling occupation."
He was offered a job in the Kennedy administration, where his speechwriting talents took him through the highs and lows of office under JFK and Lyndon Johnson.
Richard's talent for words found him deeply embroiled, not only in the Cuban missile crisis, but also in the civil rights legislation under Johnson.
But it was his opposition to the "unwinnable" war in Vietnam which prompted Richard's resignation from Washington and the hub of world political life.
"In those days, there was much closer contact between the President and the speechwriters. There were no committees then, and today such intimacy is impossible.
"I saw the President daily. I wrote the speeches and handed them to him personally.
"I don't claim to have written some of the most memorable lines in Kennedy's speeches, as so many do! But I did have a hand in most. In fact, three of my speeches appear in a book of famous 20th century speeches.
"I was a young man when I first worked at the White House and there was an element of hero worship in my relationship with JFK.
"He was a wonderful guy with a great sense of humour, but there was never the intimacy with him that there was during Johnson's presidency.
"I was much closer to Robert Kennedy. I went on the campaign trail with him and he was on the way to being a wonderful leader.
"A year or two after I left the White House I went on a trip with Bobby Kennedy up the Amazon.
"He decided he wanted to go for a swim in the piranha-infested river. I said, if you go, I'll go, so in we jumped. He shouted to me: 'Piranhas have never yet eaten a US senator'. So I yelled back: 'I'm not a senator, I'm getting the hell out of here!'
"I was there when Bobby was shot in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angles. And I was in the room when they turned off his life-support machines. It was the most terrible experience.
"When JFK was shot I had been at home working on a speech. I called the White House to get some information. The woman's voice broke as she told me that the president had been shot and was dead.
"I slumped to the floor, stunned. I went straight to the White House where they were already making funeral plans. Jackie Kennedy kept calling with instructions.
"I realised then the virtue of a wake. Keeping busy gets you through it.
"I've thought a lot about who killed JFK. In the end I think it was Oswald acting alone. Although Bobby felt the only other possibility was the Mafia. Only they could keep the secret that long, and under JFK there was a big crackdown on organised crime. But we'll never know.
"I've had two shot from under me now. It's time to stop.
"That said, I do still keep my hand in. Al Gore rang me recently to write a speech for him, and next year's Democratic presidential front runner, John Kerry, from Massachussetts, is an old friend of mine. So I may be helping him."
Kennedy may have plunged the world into war with the Bay of Pigs invasion and the missile crisis – but Richard and his fellow speechwriters might have been held responsible.
"JFK made a statement on Cuba about restoring freedom to its people. It created a furore: for some it implied an invasion. I didn't know it at the time, but the Bay of Pigs invasion was already being planned. We were on the campaign plane when JFK said: 'If I win, I won. If I lose it, you guys lost it!'"
"But," said Richard, "Kennedy had great respect for your work and gave it dignity."
Working with President Johnson was very different.
"He would call you at all hours. You'd have dinner with him frequently and he'd often give you orders while sitting on the toilet! I think it was his way of testing you.
"He intended to do great things during his presidency and he did. He did more for civil rights than any other president. He transformed America.
"He brought in the legislation for medical treatment, instigated voters' rights for black Americans and ended the apartheid in the southern states."
With the Iraq crisis occupying today's headlines, is Richard tempted to return to his political life?
"Presidential candidates still keep calling me, asking me to help them but what I'm doing now is more challenging and difficult, and more satisfying."
l The Hinge of the World is at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, from March 27 to April 12.