Friends of the Needham Public Library Salon SeriesNational Book Award winner Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower, discusses his new book revealing how California’s Gold Rush forged the modern United States—and lit the long fuse to the civil war. Mr. Philbrick will appear in conversation with filmmaker Randall MacLowry, whose work for […]

Friends of the Needham Public Library Salon Series Historian Bill Leeman, discusses his new book, The Long Road to Annapolis, telling the story of John Paul Jones, a Scottish émigré who became a daring sea captain of the Revolutionary War. A naval professional who advocated for better education and training for American naval officers, he […]

Friends of the Needham Public Library Salon Series It’s a guy thing! In scene and song, stage veterans Stephen Collins and Jerry Bisantz present a theatrical journey examining the role of the American Male in the Great American Theater. What is it to be a man in today’s world? What was it in the past? […]

Friends of the Needham Public Library Salon Series Dr. Jackson, a Wellesley College professor, discusses her recent book, We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance, in which she radically reframes the past and present of Black resistance to white supremacy. Drawing on American history and stories from her own family, she urges readers to […]

Friends of the Needham Public Library Salon Series Boston Globe Food Editor Esther MobleyWhat are Americans – in particular, Bostonians – eating now? Boston Globe Food Editor Esther Mobley chews over changing tastes in food and eating habits. Whither red meat? Plant-based proteins? Cocktails and mocktails? Solo dining, vegan restaurant chains and home cooking? Plus: […]

Friends of the Needham Public Library Salon Series In the 1940s and 50s film noir explored the dark side of American life: hard-boiled detectives, femme fatales, corruption in the gritty metropolis. In the 1970s, the style was revived, and in the decades since it has remained a key element of America cinema. This presentation by […]

Friends of the Needham Public Library Salon Series Dr. Wulf, Brown University professor and author of Lineage: The Power and Promise of Genealogy in Early America, reveals that back in the 18th century, long before Internet-aided research, Americans were already fixated on genealogy. Family histories were deeply meaningful for diverse early Americans, who baked it […]