A presentation of American Ancestors, the Boston nonprofit and national center for family history, heritage and culture, this series offers stories of American history, heritage, and culture. Producer Margaret M. Talcott presents authors and their books explores themes of personal identity, families, immigration, and social and cultural history. Most events are presented virtually. In-person events take place at 99-101 Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay or at partnering organizations. See below for upcoming and past talks.
See Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Matteson with his latest work, “A Worse Place Than Hell: How the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg Changed a Nation.” Matteson is joined by guest moderator author Debby Applegate, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
December 1862: As Abraham Lincoln’s government threatened to fracture, five extraordinary individuals were tested – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., army chaplain Arthur Fuller, poet Walt Whitman, Louisa May Alcott, and John Pelham, a West Point cadet on the other side of the national schism. The months ahead had repercussions in the country’s law, literature, politics, and popular mythology. Hear about the lives of these individuals and John Matteson’s new work, an interweaving of the personal and the historic. Our featured author is joined on screen by guest moderator author Debby Applegate, also winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History.
Image: American Ancestors
Susan Eisenhower joins Boston Public Library President David Leonard, along with Margaret Talcott of American Ancestors NEHGS, to discuss a new book about President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his leadership.
From D-Day to Little Rock, from the Korean War to Cold War crises, from the Red Scare to the Missile Gap controversies, few people have made decisions as momentous and varied as President Eisenhower. His granddaughter, Susan Eisenhower, sheds light on his principles and decision making in her new book, "How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower's Biggest Decisions.”
This conversation is presented in partnership between the Boston Public Library's Arc of History: Contested Perspectives series and the American Inspiration author series hosted by the American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS).
From the best-selling author of “Spain in Our Hearts” Adam Hochschild comes the forgotten story of one of the most charismatic radical leaders of the last century. Rose Pastor arrived in New York City in 1903, a Jewish refugee from Russia. She found a partner in James Graham Phelps Stokes, scion of one of the legendary 400 families of New York high society, and together joined the burgeoning Socialist Party.
Over the next dozen years, they moved among the liveliest group of activists and dreamers this country has ever seen, including Emma Goldman, Big Bill Haywood, Eugene V. Debs, John Reed, Margaret Sanger, Jack London and W.E.B. Du Bois.
Adam Hochschild is the author of 10 books, including “King Leopold’s Ghost” and “To End All Wars,” both finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and “Bury the Chains,” a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and PEN USA Literary Award.
The New York Times columnist visits Boston to talk about with her new book looking at women and aging in America. With razor-sharp, insightful social commentary, she takes us from colonial times to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, from Sojourner Truth to Mae West.
Gail Collins takes us through America’s History - from the colonies, when a woman was considered marriageable if "Civil, and under 50 years of Age," through a long stretch when they were quietly retired to a rocking chair once they had passed their reproductive years, to 68-year-old Hillary Clinton accepting the Democratic presidential nomination. Collins chronicles the lives of our country's most fascinating women, from Sojourner Truth to Mae West to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as many whose names are less well-known but whose impact on American society is still felt today. Don't miss her razor-sharp, insightful social commentary.
Gail is interviewd by Margaret Talcott, curator of the American Inspiration author series.
