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Summer Hours
Extended Summer Hours for Jefferson National Expansion Memorial starting Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 25, 2013, through Labor Day, September 2, 2013, the Gateway Arch hours are 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. More »
Book Spotlight
About This BlogThe library would like to highlight prominent books in the collection that offer something new or relevant to the ongoing discussion of history in our community. With this in mind, Book Spotlight will provide a monthly summary of a new or undiscovered book that might be of interest to readers. All the books featured in JNEM Library Book Spotlight are available in the park library, located in the Old Courthouse at 11 N. Fourth Street. Please note that the library is a research facility and therefore books do not circulate. Many of the books highlighted will also be available at local public libraries. A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter
May 14, 2013
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Local author Fredrick McKissack died recently at the age of 73. He wrote many award- winning books with his wife, Patricia McKissack in the past 33 years. Let’s celebrate that partnership and look back at a book they wrote in 1989. A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of MexicoAuthor Amy S. Greenberg’s skilled storytelling and solid scholarship bring this American war to life with memorable characters, plotlines, and legacies. Often overlooked, the U.S.-Mexican War featured lots of drama as it divided the nation, paved the way for the Civil War a generation later, and virtually launched the career of Abraham Lincoln. A Wicked War brings all these elements to life. Pretty-shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows.As we celebrate Women’s History Month in March, let’s remember a woman who shared her life story several decades ago. Pretty-shield, the legendary medicine woman of the Crows, remembered what life was like on the Plains when the buffalo were still plentiful. Dred and Harriet Scott: Their Family Story. Hager, Ruth Ann. St. Louis County Library, 2010.Author Ruth Ann Hager sheds new light on many aspects of the Dred Scott family in her recent book, Dred & Harriet Scott: Their Family Story. Hager, a certified genealogist and genealogical lecturer, works at the St. Louis County Library as a genealogical specialist and is clearly motivated by her subject material. Inside the White House; America's Most Famous HomeInside the White House; America’s Most Famous Home. Caroli, Betty Boyd. Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest, 1999. The White House has a long and interesting history that unfolds in the splendid book, Inside the White House; America’s Most Famous Home. Lincoln: An Illustrated BiographyLincoln: An Illustrated Biography. Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III, and Peter W. Kunhardt. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Many people are crowding theaters to see Steven Spielberg’s film, Lincoln. To any reader who wants a closer look at the sixteenth president, I propose they get a copy of Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography. Days of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United StatesDays of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United States. Patricia & Frederick McKissack. New York: Scholastic Press, 2003. Patricia and Frederick McKissack’s book, Days of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United States, explains early on that there was no single day when slavery ended in the United States. The day a slave was told of his or her freedom was their day of emancipation- their “day of jubilee.” Thomas Jefferson Architect: The Built Legacy of Our Third PresidentThomas Jefferson Architect: The Built Legacy of Our Third President, is a tribute to Jefferson’s architectural legacy and an archive of his building legacy. Thomas Jefferson is considered by many as our first great American architect and the Jeffersonian classical style is one of the most recognized architectural styles in American history. Joe Jones: Radical Painter of the American SceneJoe Jones: Radical Painter of the American Scene. Walker, Andrew. St. Louis: St. Louis Art Museum and University of Washington Press, 2010. Joe Jones (1909-1963) was an American painter and social realist from St. Louis. His artistic career is explored in Andrew Walker’s book, Joe Jones: Radical Painter of the American Scene. The book is a catalogue for a recent exhibition on Jones. Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American FriendshipAbraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship, by Russell Freedman. Boston: Clarion Books, 2012. Author Russell Freedman, a Newberry Medal winner for Lincoln: A Photobiography, once again sets his sights on Lincoln, but this time he writes a joint biography about the friendship of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. 57 Years: A History of the Freedom Suits in the Missouri CourtsSestric, Anthony J. 57 Years: A History of the Freedom Suits in the Missouri Courts. St. Louis, MO: Reedy Press, 2012. The new book, 57 Years: A History of the Freedom Suits in the Missouri Courts, is the collective story of the people who worked to legally undo the mandates of the slave laws through freedom suits. Book Spotlight: May 2012Mark Twain: A Life. Ron Powers. New York: Free Press, 2005. Any curious reader wanting a capsule biography of Mark Twain should probably steer clear of this voluminous entry on the famous writer’s life and work. If, however, you are attempting to get a more thorough look at the man- then this might be the book for you. Book Spotlight: April 2012Saarinen’s Quest: A Memoir. Knight, Richard. San Francisco: William Stout Publishers, 2008. For anyone wondering who the person was that created the famous Gateway Arch, this book has many answers. Book Spotlight: March 2012Sisters: The Lives of America's Suffragists. Jean H. Baker. New York: Hill and Wang, 2005. Historian Jean H. Bakercombines the life stories of Lucy Stone, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frances Willard, and Alice Paul into a compelling collective history titled Sisters: The Lives of America's Suffragists. Book Spotlight: February 2012The St. Louis African American Community and the Exodusters. Jack, Bryan M. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2007. After the Reconstruction era ended in the United States, life for many African-Americans remained intolerable. Book Spotlight: January 2012U. S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth. Waugh, Joan. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009. Most Americans today are unaware of how revered U.S. Grant was in his lifetime. Book Spotlight: December 2011Fur, Fortune and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America, by Eric Jay Dolin. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2010. Fur, Fortune and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America is an exciting story of American history. Book Spotlight: November 2011The People of the River's Mouth: In Search of the Missouria Indians, by Michael Dickey. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2011 The People of the River's Mouth explores the Missouria people, the first American Indians encountered by European explorers venturing up the Pekitanoui River-the waterway we know as the Missouri. This Indian nation was a dominant force in the upper Midwest in the pre-colonial era. Book Spotlight: October 2011From All Points: America's Immigrant West, 1870s-1952, by Elliot Robert Barkan. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007. By the end of the 20th century the American West was home to nearly half of America's immigrant population, including Asians and Armenians, Germans and Greeks, Mexicans, Italians, Swedes, Basques, and others. This book tells their rich and complex story. Book Spotlight: September 2011The Civil War Remembered (Official National Park Service Handbook); Virginia Beach: Donning Co. Publishers, 2011. "The Civil War era saw not only our greatest military struggle, but also our greatest social revolution and our greatest evolution as a nation." -From the preface of The Civil War Remembered. Book Spotlight: August 2011Founding St. Louis: First City of the New West by J. Frederick Fausz, History Press, 2011. Founding St. Louis: First City of the New West helps fill many gaps in the history of St. Louis and the Mississippi River Valley. Welcome to Book SpotlightThe library would like to highlight prominent books in our collection that offer something new or relevant to the ongoing discussion of history in our community. With this in mind, we would like to inaugurate a new feature on our website that provides a summary of a new or undiscovered book that might be of interest to readers. |
Did You Know?
The Old Courthouse at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial was a gathering place for pioneers going west. It was also the site of several important nineteeth century trials which helped fuel major changes to the American way of life. To learn more about the Old Courthouse click here. More...