 James Wright, the author of "Those Who Have Borne the Battle: A
History of America's Wars and Those Who Fought Them," will speak at
7 p.m. Nov. 14 in the Union Theater at the presidential museum. A
book signing at 6:30 p.m. will precede the discussion.From 5:30
to 6:15 p.m. Wright will discuss his book in a Teacher Talk session
at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Illinois teachers of
grades K-12 will receive three continuing professional development
units for attending both sessions.
Both sessions are free and open to the public, but reservations
should be made by calling 217-558-8934.
"Those Who Have Borne the Battle" is a New York Times Book Review
Editors' Choice. The book, released this spring, has been described
by Kirkus Reviews as "an astute view of America's enthusiastic but
often-unrealistic attitude toward those who fight its wars."
Wright's book is one of the first to focus on the experience of
veterans throughout this country's history, from the American
Revolution to the war in Afghanistan.
"It's a study about what Americans have thought about war, how we
have mobilized for war and how we've treated the people who have
fought the wars," said Wright. "We need to talk about and understand
a subject that is too often ignored -- the nature of war and our
long-term obligation to those who volunteer to fight our wars, an
increasingly small and unrepresentative sector of our population."
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 Focused on the experience of this country's veterans and
America's treatment of them, Wright's book title is borrowed from
Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address: "With malice toward
none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives
us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in,
to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne
the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and
with all nations."
James Wright is president emeritus of Dartmouth College and is
the Eleazar Wheelock Professor of History at the college. The son of
a World War II veteran, Wright grew up in Galena, joined the Marines
at 17 and served three years, primarily with the 1st Marine Brigade
in Hawaii and Japan. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison, became a history professor at Dartmouth College
in 1969, and served as president of Dartmouth from 1998 to 2009.
Since 2005 he has visited military hospitals and has worked to
establish educational counseling programs for wounded veterans.
Visit
www.presidentlincoln.org for more information about exhibits,
events and programs at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and
Museum.
[Text from file received from
the Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency]
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