Bestselling and National Book Award-winning author Nathaniel Philbrick will appear at the annual luncheon sponsored by the Council of Friends of Lancaster Public Libraries on Thursday, May 15, 2014. Philbrick will speak about his latest nonfiction book, Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution, a story that begins with the Boston Tea party and traces the experiences of Patriot leader Dr. Joseph Warren, a newly recruited George Washington and British General William Howe.
The works of Nathaniel Philbrick and many other writers who bring American history to life are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library.
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
After the Essex was splintered by an 80-ton sperm whale in 1820, twenty members of her crew tried to reach South America in three small boats, only eight survived.
The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Big Horn by Nathaniel Philbrick
Custer’s unexpected defeat at the hands of his Indian enemies under Sitting Bull marked the last stand for the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian nations.
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
A chronological history of the Massachusetts settlement includes discussions about the diseases of European origin suffered by the Wampanoag tribe, the relationships between the settlers and their Native American neighbors and the impact of King Philip’s War in 1675.
John Quincy Adams by Harlow Giles Unger
Adams fought with Washington in the Revolution, supported Lincoln against slavery, negotiated the end of the War of 1812, engineered the annexation of Florida and served as secretary of state, senator, congressman and president.
George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger
In 1776, Washington organized the Culper Spy Ring to infiltrate New York, an organization so secret that one spy’s name was not uncovered until the 20th century.
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose
Thomas Jefferson’s secretary, Meriwether Lewis, was handpicked to lead an expedition to survey and evaluate the land from the Ohio River to the Pacific Ocean in the years 1802-1806.
The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevels, William Howard Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The histories of the muckraking press and the first decade of the Progressive era are told through the friendship of Roosevelt and Taft, a relationship that fractured in 1912 when they entered a brutal fight for the presidential nomination.
Washington’s Crossing by David Hackett Fischer
The American army under the command of George Washington reversed the tide of the revolution in a short, bold offensive across the Delaware River to face the Hessian garrison at Trenton.
Dear Abigail: The Intimate Lives and Revolutionary Ideas of Abigail Adams and Her Two Remarkable Sisters by Diane Jacobs
Middle sister Abigail ran the family farm while her husband attended the continental congress, her oldest sister became de facto mayor of her small village, and her youngest sister helped to establish the second coeducational school in the country.
Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas and the Heart of a New Nation by David A. Price
Examining the interactions between the colonists of the first permanent English settlement in North America and their neighboring native tribes, the author focuses on the meeting of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas.
The French and Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walther R. Borneman
Fought in the wilderness between Nova Scotia and Ohio between 1755 and 1763, this war’s campaigns established British control of North America.
Established in 2000, the Council of Friends of Lancaster Public Libraries is made up of volunteers who are avid readers committed to promoting reading countywide. The group hosts their annual author luncheon in partnership with Aaron’s Books of Lititz. Information about the luncheon is available at the Lititz Public Library and online at lancasterlibraries.org.
Originally published on March 7, 2014 in the Lititz Record Express.