Dear list members,
 
I trust that everyone had a pleasant 4th of July.  We have a book talk
here at the Library of Virginia this Thursday, July 7, at noon, that
ties in nicely with the holiday.  Author Marc Leepson will speak on his
new book Flag: An American Biography, followed by a book signing in the
Virginia Shop.  Copies of the book are now available, so if you haven't
visited the shop since it reopened, please take this opportunity to do
so.  I also understand that C-Span will be joining us for this talk.
 
Flag is a detailed and fascinating history of our nation's greatest
icon.  The timeless symbol of America and its legacy, the Stars and
Stripes are able to evoke powerful emotions in every citizen. Leepson
tracks how the flag itself has gone through countless phases and periods
during its long life.  From the June 14, 1777, first Flag Resolution, to
crossing the Delaware with Washington, to F. Scott Key's "The
Star-Spangled Banner," from the schoolhouse flag movement and the first
flag-desecration laws in the 1890s, to becoming what is the present-day
design in 1960.  Famously raised at Iwo Jima, proudly displayed on the
Moon, desecrated during Vietnam War protests, raised proudly again at
the World Trade Center ruins, Old Glory's beacon has never darkened.
Leepson's tribute to the flag debunks long-standing myths and reinforces
proud historic narratives from a nation that at its conception needed a
commanding emblem that was both unifying and representational.

Marc Leepson has written for many publications and news outlets,
including Smithsonian, The Washington Post, The New York Times,
Christian Science Monitor, and USA Today.  He is the author of  the
acclaimed book Saving Monticello and lives in Middleburg, Virginia.
 
Let me also add a few brief notes about two other noontime talks in
July.  On Tuesday, July 12, our own Tracy Kamerer will discuss the art
of Capitol Square in conjunction with the Library of Virginia's current
exhibition Virginia Collects: Art from Capitol Square and the
accompanying book, A Capital Collection. Tracy will discuss the more
than two-hundred-year history of the Commonwealth of Virginia's
commissioning and collecting of artworks. This presentation will
introduce you to many of the treasures from this little-known but
significant art collection.  Also featured will be a preview of the new,
searchable, online database of the collection.  After the talk she and
co-author Barbara Batson will sign copies of the latest Library
publication, A Capital Collection, in the Virginia Shop.   

On Wednesday, July 20, professor and editor Edward G. Lengel will join
us for a discussion of his new book, General George Washington: A
Military Life.  As an editor of George Washington's papers at the
University of Virginia, Dr. Lengel has unprecedented daily access and an
intimate knowledge of the thousands of pages of letters, essays, and
diaries of George Washington.  He has produced a definitive book on
Washington as a military leader, judiciously examining the General's
qualities and defects as a strategist, tactician, administrator, and
leader of men. Lengel takes us from young Washington's controversial
role in the French and Indian War through his leadership during the
Revolutionary War, where his inexperience led to repeated defeats. Yet
in circumstances where almost any other army would have collapsed,
Washington's tenacity and conviction united the army and the nation, and
ultimately won the war.
 
You can find a full listing of events here at the Library by clicking on
"News and Events" at: http://www.lva.lib.va.us
<blocked::http://www.lva.lib.va.us> .  Directions and parking
information are also available at the Library's website. 
 
Gregg D. Kimball, Director
Publications and Educational Services
804/692-3722
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