Just the Facts: Book Discussion Recap from May 23rd

It was a dark and stormy night, but we managed to avoid the worst of it and get the book discussion in before the heavens opened. Many thanks, as always, to the people who braved the elements to attend.

The book under discussion last night was Lincoln at Gettysburg: the words that remade America by Garry Wills. The book is both a history and an analysis of America’s most famous political speech. The author shows how all of Lincoln’s previous speeches foreshadowed what was to come and also how ancient Greek funeral oratory, transcendentalism, the rural cemetery movement, and the Victorian cult of death all influenced Lincoln’s prose. It also dismisses the myth of Lincoln writing the speech on the back of an envelope on the train to Gettysburg. The book is very scholarly and also highly readable. All attendees agreed that it was an intellectual stretch, but one well worth taking. Our discussion was wide-ranging and varied, covering the speech itself and its effects on our history, the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, Generals Grant, Lee, Meade and Jackson, modern politic speeches, the effects of Twitter on modern writing, and much more. It was an interesting and enjoyable evening.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 7:00 pm. The book to be discussed, Darwin’s Ghosts: the secret history of evolution by Rebecca Stott, is available for pick-up at the Circulation Desk in the Library. Hope to see you then.