Painless History Lessons

Two of my favorite nonfiction writers were featured in the Tribune magazine recently – David McCullough and Garry Wills. They have been awarded the Tribune Literary Prize and Heartland Nonfiction Prize, respectively. If you have not read anything by either, I invite you to give them a try. You will learn much, and you will thoroughly enjoy the reading!
McCullough was interviewed by the Tribune’s Julia Keller. With your St. Charles Public Library card, you can read the entire interview here.
We dare you to pick up any of McCullough’s books (or DVDs) and not become enthralled by the epic stories as he artfully brings other times and places to life. In these seemingly perilous times, it is useful and somehow reassuring to learn about the serious challenges that our forefathers endured.
In Garry Wills’ most recent book, What the Gospels Meant, according to a review by W. David Myers, “he takes up a formidable task: summarizing in about 200 pages the most contemporary scholarship treating the four curious texts that for 1,900 years have defined and guided the world’s largest religion.” Read the entire review here.
Garry Wills’ other books on religion and history are all uniformly readable and rewarding. Enjoy!

LH