By Kathy E. Gill, LWV of Snohomish County
As we enter the countdown toward the July 29 Zoom session with Heather Cox Richardson, we're encouraging local Leagues to hold their own discussions in the days before or after the event.
To help, the book club committee has developed a set of discussion questions. It’s another good excuse to connect with fellow members!
There’s another bonus coming for attendees! We are giving away a signed, first edition of How the South Won the Civil War! You must be present (near the end of the conversation) to win.
A reminder that Richardson is a professor of history at Boston College and an expert on 19th-century America. Her nightly newsletter, Letters from an American, reaches more than 6 million readers, and she hosts videos on both YouTube and Facebook.
Her latest series, 250 to 250, consists of one-minute videos “that emphasize the agency of everyday people to change the country.”
Find the local League discussion questions for How the South Won the Civil War at https://bit.ly/HCR-questions. Here’s an example:
Indigenous rights have been a particularly prominent issue in Washington state. How has the fate of Native American groups affirmed or contradicted this book’s premise?
Registration is still open. You might consider a group viewing at your local library – that’s what one League is doing.
A note on the discussion questions: The primary driver behind this set of questions is Nancy Beardsley, a Missouri native who recently moved to Olympia from the Washington, D.C., area. She says the Thurston County League has been a great education in state and local politics.
“I would hope the questions inspire readers to consider whether they agree with her view of American history, and if they do agree, how should they respond to the challenges our country now faces,” Beardsley said. Beardsley holds a graduate degree in Russian literature from the University of Michigan and spent her career at Voice of America in Washington, where she worked as a feature writer and book editor.
