In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, this book discussion celebrates moments in American history. Discussions will be held monthly on Thursdays at 11:00 am. January and February meetings will be held in the 1st Floor Meeting Room, and other meetings will be held in the 2nd Floor Programming Room.

January 15 - Absolution by Alice McDermott

A riveting account of women's lives on the margins of the Vietnam War, from the renowned winner of the National Book Award. A virtuosic new novel from Alice McDermott, one of our most observant, most affecting writers, about folly and grace, obligation, sacrifice, and, finally, the quest for absolution in a broken world.

February 19 - The Book of Charlie by David Von Drehle

One of our nation's most prominent writers discovers the truth about how to live a long and happy life from the centenarian next door in this "original and highly readable account of a splendid American life" (The Wall Street Journal).

March 19 - Brave the Wild River by Melissa L. Sevigny

Brave the Wild River is a spellbinding adventure of two women who risked their lives to make an unprecedented botanical survey of a defining landscape in the American West, at a time when human influences had begun to change it forever.

April 16 - Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA's greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country's future.

May 21 - Gallop Toward the Sun by Peter Stark

A vivid account of the rivalry between future president William Henry Harrison and the Shawnee chief Tecumseh—and of the Native American alliance that fought westward expansion—from the New York Times bestselling author of Astoria.