2012 Great Lives Lectures

University of Mary Washington Dodd Auditorium

All lectures are open to the public free of charge and begin at 7:30 p.m. in Dodd Auditorium in George Washington Hall.  For further information, contact the Office of University Events and Conferencing Events Information line, at (540) 654-1065.

Tuesday, January 24 — Kurt Vonnegut

Charles J. Shields

And So It Goes is the culmination of five years of research and writing—the first-ever biography of the life of Kurt Vonnegut, author of the now-classic Slaughterhouse Five: Vonnegut’s World II experiences turned into fiction. Published in November 2011, Charles J. Shields’ biography has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and been widely acclaimed by reviewers. Shields is also the author of Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee (2006), which spent 15 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. In August 2011 he was named associate director of the Chappell Great Lives Lecture Series.

Tuesday, January 31 — Lafayette

Marc Leepson

The American Revolution attracted volunteers from far away. One of the most famous is the legendary Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette. Marc Leepson has published a crisp new portrait of Lafayette with the emphasis on his life as a military man. According to one reviewer, Leepson’s “eye for the telling detail and his devotion to journalistic brevity shine in all his work, and his affectionate Lafayette is the latest example.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch. The author is a journalist, historian, and the author of seven books.

Thursday, February 2 — Noah Webster

Joshua Kendall

Noah Webster (1758-1843) was more than just America’s greatest dictionary-maker. He also helped define American culture. His legendary spelling book taught generations of Americans to read. ”This is by far the best, and best written, life of Webster. Kendall makes a convincing case that Webster invented American nationalism long before the American nation came into existence.”—Joseph J. Ellis, author of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation and His Excellency: George Washington. Joshua Kendall is an award-winning freelance journalist.

Tuesday, February 7 — Aaron Burr

David O. Stewart

“If you feel that our contemporary politics are off the rails,” wrote a reviewer for the Christian Science Monitor, “you should read David O. Stewart’s vivid account of nineteenth-century American machinations.” Aaron Burr— Revolutionary war hero, duelist, and secessionist— was the only United States presidential candidate even tried for treason. David O. Stewart, a Washington trial lawyer who has twice argued before the U.S. Supreme Court is also publisher of the online Washington Independent Review of Books.  His other books include the acclaimed Summer of 1787.

Thursday, February 9 — Christopher Columbus

Laurence Bergreen

Christopher Columbus, said a New York Times reviewer of Laurence Bergreen’s biography, was a “terribly interesting man — brilliant, audacious, volatile, paranoid, narcissistic, ruthless and (in the end) deeply unhappy.” Part explorer, part entrepreneur, part wannabe-aristocrat, Columbus initiated the most important period in Western history as a result of an error. Laurence Bergreen, a frequent lecturer at major universities and symposiums, also serves as a featured historian for the History Channel.  Among his many other books are biographies of Magellan and Marco Polo.

Tuesday, February 14 — Loving vs. Virginia (a panel discussion and film showing)

Bernard Cohen & Peggy Fortune

In 1958, the sheriff of Caroline County charged into the bedroom of Richard and Mildred Loving in the dead of night and arrested them. Although legally married in Washington, Richard was white and Mildred was black, which was against the law in Virginia and 13 other states. The case on their behalf was brought by the ACLU before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that marriage is one of the “basic civil rights of man,” leading to the overturning of all such laws in the United States. Panelists on the program will be Bernard Cohen, one of two lawyers who argued the case before the Court, and Peggy Fortune, the Lovings’ daughter.

Thursday, February 16 — Jackie Robinson

Jonathan Eig

April 15, 1947, marked the most important opening day in baseball history. When Jackie Robinson stepped onto the diamond that afternoon at Ebbets Field, he became the first black man to break into major-league baseball in the 20th century. World War II had just ended; democracy had triumphed. Now Americans were beginning to press for justice on the home front— and Robinson had a chance to lead the way. But his biggest concern was his temper, and playing well, despite race-baiting by segregationists. Author Jonathan Eig, in addition to publishing three nonfiction books, writes a monthly sports column for Chicago magazine.

Thursday, February 23 — Clarence Darrow

John A. Farrell

Following graduation from the University of Virginia, author John A. Farrell embarked on a prize-winning career as a newspaperman, most notably for the Denver Post and the Boston Globe. His biography of Darrow —  “impeccably researched, beautifully written, and timely,” said the San Francisco Chronicle – describes the career of the limelight-stealing, two-fisted attorney who resigned from corporate law to defend union organizers, powerless minorities, and those accused of sensational crimes. He is perhaps best known for his devastating attack on his former friend (and three-time presidential candidate) William Jennings Bryan, when the pair faced off during the notorious Scopes “Monkey Trial” over the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools.

Tuesday, March 13 — Louisa May Alcott

Harriet Reisen

Louisa May Alcott spent her childhood in Boston and in Concord, Massachusetts, where her days were enlightened by visits to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s library and excursions into nature with Henry David Thoreau. When she was 35, she wrote the beloved Little Women in her childhood home, basing the novel on her family during the Civil War. Author Harriet Reisen’s diverse credits include historical documentaries for PBS and HBO, co-producing National Public Radio (NPR) and teaching film history and criticism at Stanford University. Publishers Weekly called her biography of Alcott “heart-rending.”

Thursday, March 15 — Juliette Gordon Low

Stacy Cordery

Juliette Gordon Low spent several years searching for something useful to do with her life. Her search ended in 1911, when she met retired British officer Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. On returning to the United States in 1912, she called her cousin. “Come right over! I’ve got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we’re going to start it tonight!” Within ten years, the Girl Scouts organization was indeed worldwide. Stacey Cordery’s biography of Juliette Gordon Low is the first of its kind. An historian teaching at Monmouth College in Illinois, she is also the author of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker.

Tuesday, March 27 — Sherlock Holmes

Jeremy Black

The game’s afoot when British historian and professor of history at the University of Exeter Jeremy Black elucidates the scintillating mind of Sherlock Holmes; the tenebrous character of Dr. Moriarty; and the rather obtuse Dr. Watson, who chronicled Holmes’ adventures. Professor Black analyzes Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous character and the escapades that emanated from Holmes’ digs at 221B, where it is always 1895 in London.   Black is the author of more than 100 books on European (and especially British) history, including London: A History.  He has previously given highly popular Great Lives lectures on figures ranging from George III and Napoleon to James Bond.

Tues., April 3 — J.E.B. Stuart

Emory Thomas

James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart was the most famous Confederate cavalryman of the Civil War — and one of its most dashing figures.  Born in Virginia and educated at West Point, he was a trusted associate of Robert E. Lee, leading the Army of Northern Virginia’s cavalry in important battles including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and the Wilderness –  as well as Gettysburg, where his actions proved controversial.  His death in Richmond in spring 1864 marked the decline of the superiority of the Confederate horse during the war. Emory M. Thomas is Regents Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Georgia, a long-time member of the history department faculty, and the author of eight books, including authoritative biographies of Lee and Stuart.

Thursday, April 5 — Marie and Pierre Curie

Lauren Redniss

Lauren Redniss is a graphic biographer whose writing and drawing have appeared in the New York Times, which nominated her for the Pulitzer Prize. Her idea for a life of the Curies occurred to her because, she told the online magazine, Intelligent Life, “I had been thinking about love stories….What struck me as an interesting challenge was that the two main themes were love and radioactivity. And both of those things, of course, are invisible. I loved the idea that I could try to make a visual book out of invisible things.” Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie is a finalist for the National Book Award.  Redniss teaches at Parsons the New School for Design in New York City.

Tuesday, April 10 — Madam C.J. Walker

A’Lelia Bundles

Born into a former-slave family in 1867, Sarah Breedlove transformed herself into Madam C.J. Walker, an entrepreneur who built her empire developing hair products for black women. After the bloody East St. Louis Race Riot of 1917, Madam Walker devoted herself to having lynching made a federal crime; she later donated part of her financial legacy to support black schools, organizations, individuals, orphanages, retirement homes, and the YMCA and YWCA. Author A’Lelia Bundles is the great-great-granddaughter of Madam Walker.  Bundles enjoyed a 30-year career as an executive and producer in network television news, including as a producer for ABC’s “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.” On Her Own Ground:  The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker was named a 2001 New York Times Notable Book.

Thursday, April 12 — The Wright Brothers

James Tobin

Wind, sand, and a dream of flight brought Wilbur and Orville Wright to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where, after four years of experimentation, they achieved the first successful tests of a heavier than air, engine-powered machine in 1903. The Wright brothers, high school dropouts who were self-taught mechanical and aeronautic engineers, typified the legendary ethic of American know-how. Author James Tobin is a specialist in literary journalism and narrative history at Miami University of Ohio. His first book, Ernie Pyle’s War: America’s Eyewitness to World War II won the 1998 National Book Critics Circle Award in biography.

Tuesday, April 17 — Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Nabil Al-Tikriti

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is the George Washington of today’s Republic of Turkey. After he gained his military reputation by repelling the 1915 Allied invasion of the Dardanelles, he first directed Turkey’s 1920-22 “War of Salvation” and then became Turkey’s first president. He immediately embarked on a fifteen-year campaign to modernize Turkey, which included the empowering of women, abolition of key Islamic institutions, and introduction of Western legal codes, dress, calendar, and alphabet. His adopted surname means “Father of the Turks.” Nabil Al-Tikriti, Associate Professor of History at the University of Mary Washington, earned a PhD. in Ottoman History from the University of Chicago. In addition, having served in various field capacities with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) since 1993, he has just been elected to a three-year term as a member of MSF-USA’s Board of Directors.

Thursday, April 19 — Anne Frank

Sid Jacobson

Drawing on the unique historical sites, archives, expertise, and the authority of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, bestselling authors Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon created the first authorized and exhaustive graphic biography of Anne Frank. “More than simply poignant, this biography elucidates the complex emotional aspects of living a sequestered adolescence as a brilliant, budding writer. Naturally, this book has significant appeal for teens as well as adults.”— Booklist.  Sid Jacobson was formerly the managing editor and editor in chief for Harvey Comics, and an executive editor at Marvel Comics; artist Ernie Colon has worked at Harvey, Marvel, and DC Comics.

Tuesday, April 24 — P.T. Barnum

Neil Harris

Contrary to legend, he never said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Phineas Taylor Barnum was a businessman, hoaxer, and impresario who provided entertainment to a nation hungry for it. “I am a showman by profession . . . and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me,” Barnum wrote defiantly in his autobiography. In an authoritative biography of Barnum, author Neil Harris, professor of history at the University of Chicago, describes the culture and climate of America in the nineteenth century that produced such an outsized, and sometimes outrageous, figure.  Harris has written widely on various aspects of the evolution of American cultural life and on the social history of art and design.

Thurs., April 26 — The Untold Civil War

James I. “Bud” Robertson

Professor Robertson spoke previously as part of the Chappell Great Lives Lecture Series on Stonewall Jackson. He returns to UMW to discuss the daily lives of the Civil War soldiers.  That topic is treated in the latest of his numerous books, The Untold Civil War, which is a visually striking collection of the 132 episodes of his popular public radio “Civil War Series” stories, illustrated with 475 rare images of battle scenes, artifacts, and people. Having retired recently from the history faculty at Virginia Tech, he achieved iconic stature as a Civil War scholar, going back to his appointment as executive director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission, working with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson in marking the war’s 100th anniversary. The recipient of every major award given in the Civil War field— and a mesmerizing lecturer of national acclaim — Bud Robertson is probably more in demand as a speaker before Civil War groups than anyone else in the field.