America's Privateer

When was the War of 1812? That's a trick question, but if you don't recall America's "Forgotten War" with England -- you're not alone. Two hundred years ago, with only 17 armed ships, a youthful United States declared war on the world's largest navy, 700 ships strong. Then the U.S. invaded Canada. In retaliation the British burned Washington, DC to the ground. So why do we think we won? History writer J. Dennis Robinson offers an upbeat, often irreverent, bicentennial look at New Hampshire's reluctant role in "Mr. Madison's War" with special emphasis on the privateers who swarmed out of the state's only seaport.

 

This program is funded in part by the New Hampshire Humanities Council.

This month's selection is All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald. Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up in Southie's Old Colony housing project. He describes the way this world within a world felt to the troubled yet keenly gifted observer he was even as a child: "[as if] we were protected, as if the whole neighborhood was watching our backs for threats, watching for all the enemies we could never really define." Copies are available at the Circulation Desk. Newcomers always welcome.

This month we will discuss Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. 

"In her charming debut novel, Simonson tells the tale of Maj. Ernest Pettigrew, an honor-bound Englishman and widower, and the very embodiment of duty and pride. As the novel opens, the major is mourning the loss of his younger brother, Bertie, and attempting to get his hands on Bertie's antique Churchill shotgun-part of a set that the boys' father split between them, but which Bertie's widow doesn't want to hand over. While the major is eager to reunite the pair for tradition's sake, his son, Roger, has plans to sell the heirloom set to a collector for a tidy sum. As he frets over the guns, the major's friendship with Jasmina Ali-the Pakistani widow of the local food shop owner-takes a turn unexpected by the major (but not by readers)." Publishers'Weekly 
Copies are available at the Circulation Desk. Newcomers are always welcome.

No registration required.
If school is closed due to snow, then the program will be canceled as well.

No registration required.
 

Registration is required. Click here to register. If school is closed due to snow, then the program will be canceled as well.