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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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Atlanta History Center

Atlanta History Center, founded in 1926 as the Atlanta Historical Society, includes permanent and traveling exhibitions in the Atlanta History Museum, two historic houses (Tullie Smith Farm and Swan House mansion), archives/special libraries, and 33 acres of beautiful gardens and wooded trails. The Atlanta History Center offers historical experiences for all ages, integrating history, education and life enrichment programs.

http://www.AtlantaHistoryCenter.com

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    Lighting Out for the Territory: How Samuel Clemens Became Mark Twain

    Tue, Apr 13, 2010
    Roy Morris, Jr. discusses his new book, *Lighting Out for the Territory: How Samuel Clemens Became Mark Twain*. Mark Twain is arguably the most famous and influential writer in American history. His legacy is defined by *The Adventures of Tom Sawyer* and *The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*. Little is known, however, about the crucial years during which Samuel Clemens transformed himself into the beloved American writer we celebrate today as Mark Twain. Samuel Clemens traveled by stagecoach to the Wild West in 1861 as an ex-Confederate guerilla and unemployed riverboat pilot, and returned six years later as Mark Twain. *Lighting Out for the Territory* tells how Samuel Clemens reinvented himself, while evading Indians and gunslingers, failing as a miner, dodging duels, surfing in Hawaii, and more trouble along the way. Backed by solid scholarship, this is the first full-length study of Twain's life-changing time in the American West, where he began his writing career and shaped himself into an American favorite.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center

  • John Burrison: From Mud to Jug

    Sat, Jun 12, 2010
    John Burrison, professor of English and the director of the folklore curriculum at Georgia State University, discusses his new book *From Mud to Jug*. The focus of this sequel to *Brothers in Clay* is on northeast Georgia, which has maintained a continuous tradition of pottery making since the early 19th century. Through interviews, a census of active potters, and more than 100 color photographs of pots, potters, and their work spaces, Burrison captures the living tradition of one of the last areas of the United States where Euro-American folk pottery is still being made.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center
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    Seth Grahame-Smith: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

    Wed, Mar 17, 2010
    Seth Grahame-Smith discusses his book, *Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter*. While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for reuniting the North with the South and abolishing slavery from our country, no one has ever known about his valiant fight against the forces of the undead. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith, author of the bestselling novel *Pride and Prejudice and Zombies*, stumbled upon *The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln*, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years. Using the journal as his guide, Grahame-Smith has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time - all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War, and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center
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    Jonathan Alter: President Obama, Year One

    Wed, May 26, 2010
    Jonathan Alter, senior editor at Newsweek, discusses his new book, *The Promise: President Obama, Year One*. He provides a fast-paced inside account of the breakneck speed with which Barack Obama began making critical decisions and assuming the burdens of office amid the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. With dozens of exclusive details about everything from the selection of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state to the president’s personal secrets for running a good meeting, Alter paints a portrait of a highly disciplined and self-aware president and his team.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center

  • John Stauffer: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln

    Thu, Sep 30, 2010
    John Stauffer, Harvard professor of English discusses his book, *Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln*. Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln were the self made men of their time. One man was a former slave and a radical reformer who became one of the nation’s most brilliant writers and speakers. The other was an outsider, born dirt-poor, who became one of America’s greatest presidents. While the Civil War raged, the two titans—Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln—formed an unlikely friendship that changed the nation’s course. Stauffer traces how each man used the other—and how their political game ultimately led to mutual admiration and respect.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center

  • James Cothran: Gardens of Historic Charleston

    Wed, Oct 13, 2010
    Landscape architect and garden historian, James Cothran discusses his new book, *Gardens of Historic Charleston*. This volume provides a fascinating account of the life and career of renowned landscape architect Loutrel Briggs, the individual most directly responsible for the development of the distinctive Charleston garden style.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center