history

Do you know that Andrew Jackson would be irate to see himself on the $20 bill?  Do you know just what George Washington's false teeth were made of?  (Not wood!)  Check your Presidential trivia and learn more with this easy-to-read and enlightening book: Don't Know Much about the American Presidents by Kenneth Davis.

On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, making all slaves in seceding states free as of January 1, 1863. If you are interested in learning more about this topic checkout some of the books that I have listed below.

The Emancipation Proclamation  Stephen Krensky.

When the Fourth of July holiday falls in the middle of the week we have neither the lead-time to prepare nor the down-time to recover from our over-indulgences. So either we have to be very focused or, alternately, we can stretch it out and declare a personal month of patriotic celebration.

We at the library can help you with the latter.

Our famous ‘round wall’ has a new display simply called ‘American History’. It’s full of lovely great biographies of the founding fathers and histories of the American Revolution. When you get through those, there are also Civil War, frontier history, and Texas revolutionary histories. You could celebrate 1750 to 1865 all through July.

You can also read David McCullough’s great book, 1776 and discuss it socially at the inaugural gathering of the History Book Club on Tuesday, July 17th. It’ll be in the Friends of the Library Room on the first floor, at 7:00 o’clock.

However you celebrate Independence Day, we send our best wishes for a wonderful time.
 

Two great pieces of news this week.

First, Summer Reading programs begin June 4th. Our Young Adult and Children's bloggers will be telling you about the exciting youth and children's programs planned for the summer. In the Adult area we're reading mysteries. We'll be creating a display of Texas mystery authors and mysteries that take place in Texas. Imagine that: crime--in Texas! I hope you'll enjoy reading Texas mysteries this summer, and if you're so inclined, sign up with us to record your reading and make yourself eligible for a prize or two.

The other great event is that we're starting a History Book Club. Charity Martin, our reference assistant with a Master's degree in History, is electric with excitement about gathering all you history buffs for some rousing discussions. She is planning to have the group meet the third Tuesday of the month from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, starting July 17th. Rumor has it that she'll be starting with (where else!) the American Revolution. There may be some truth to that rumor: I spotted her today with a copy of David McCullough's "1776" under her arm. If you're interested, stop by a reference desk or give us a call at 832-559-4213.

Beginning December 28, Cy-Fair College Branch Library will host a unique traveling exhibition focusing on President Abraham Lincoln’s struggle to meet the political and constitutional challenges of the most turbulent era in the nation’s history.

Using period photographs, posters, historical documents and artifacts--including the Bible used during Lincoln’s first inauguration, “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” explores how the president used the Constitution to confront three intertwined crises of the war—the secession of Southern states, slavery, and wartime civil liberties.