Dear VA-Histers:

I apologize if this is a double post.  My fingers were faster than my
brain!  Also, please note the correct date below for this week's talk.

I would like to invite you to the next in the Library of Virginia’s
noontime lecture series.  On Thursday, February 26, 2004, at noon, author
Henry Wiencek will present a talk on his 2003 book An Imperfect God:
George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America, published by
Farrar Straus & Giroux.  After his talk he will sign copies of his book in
the lobby.  Mr. Wiencek, a nationally prominent historian and writer, is
the author of several books, including, most recently, The Hairstons: An
American Family in Black and White, which won the National Book Critics
Circle Award in 1999. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, and was
recently appointed to the board of the Library of Virginia.  An Imperfect
God explores Washington's engagement with slavery at every stage of his
life -- as Virginia planter, soldier, politician, president, and
statesman. Wiencek's book documents for the first time the moral
transformation culminating in Washington's determination to emancipate his
slaves.

I have also appended a list of other noontime book talks to be held here
at the Library of Virginia in the coming months.  We have a full and
interesting line-up of talks and lectures this spring and you can access
the full schedule of events for the Library by clicking on “Calendar of
Events” at: http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whoweare/events/index.htm

Gregg Kimball
Director of Publications and Educational Services

_________________________________________________________


Upcoming Noontime Events

Thursday, March 04, 2004
Writing Fiction: A Conversation With David L. Robbins
Time: Noon
Place: Conference Rooms
FREE EVENT

David L. Robbins teaches Novel Writing in the MFA Program at Virginia
Commonwealth University and is the author of five novels. Robbins will
read from his own work as well as look at writing samples from the
audience to craft advice on drafting solid, clean prose for fiction. He
will sign copies of his latest novel, The Last Citadel, at the conclusion
of the talk.


Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival
Time: Noon
Place: Conference Rooms
FREE EVENT

Dean King, an authority on nautical literature and history, is the author
of nine books, including the much-admired biography Patrick O'Brian: A
Life. Skeletons on the Zahara is the story of the adventures of the
captain and crew of a Connecticut-based merchant ship, the Commerce,
shipwrecked off the coast of North Africa in 1815. The captain and his
crew of 12 sailors were attacked and enslaved by the Sawhari, one of the
most primitive, warrior tribes of the Sahara. Some of the sailors would
meet death in the desert. Some would be ransomed. All would suffer beyond
imagination from thirst, hunger and exposure to the sand and sun as they
made an 800-mile trek across the desert in search of freedom, and only
seven would survive thanks to their brave captain who negotiated their
freedom. A book signing will follow the talk.

Thursday, April 29, 2004
In the Presence of Mine Enemies: War in the Heart of America, 1859-1863
Time: Noon
Place: Conference Rooms
FREE EVENT

Edward L. Ayers, Hugh Kelly Professor of History and dean at the
University of Virginia, gives a different view of the Civil War, built on
an intimate scale. He will chart the descent into war of two communities
in the Shenandoah Valley spanning Pennsylvania and Virginia. Connected by
strong ties of every kind, including slavery, the people of this
borderland sought alternatives to secession and war. When none remained,
they took up the war with a startling intensity. Ayers's Civil War emerges
from the lives of everyday people as well as those who helped shape
history—John Brown and Frederick Douglass, Lincoln, Jackson and Lee. His
story ends with the valley ravaged, Lincoln's support fragmenting, and
Confederate forces massing for a battle at Gettysburg. A book signing will
follow the talk.

Friday, April 30, 2004
Harriet Tubman: The Road To Freedom
Time: Noon
Place: Conference Rooms
FREE EVENT

Catherine Clinton, Visiting Professor of History at Wesleyan College, is
the author of more than a dozen historical works for children and adults.
She has taught African American Studies at Brandeis University, Brown
University and at Harvard University. In Harriet Tubman, "the first full-
scale biography" of Tubman (1825-1913) Clinton, presents a portrait of a
complicated woman with deep religious convictions, incredible courage and
a passion for freedom. Clinton brings life to the legendary woman known
as "Moses" for her work as a conductor on the Underground Railroad,
spiriting slaves to freedom. A book signing will follow the talk.

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