Community Events & Announcements

WATSON LIBRARY TO HOLD LITERATURE PROGRAM ON AMERICA
AND WORLD WAR II

The Watson Branch Library at 36581 Outback Road in Denham Springs will host a six-week series of readings and discussions about World War II as a national and personal experience for Americans and their adversaries. The program is entitled "I'll Be Seeing You…America and World War II." It is funded by the State of Louisiana and sponsored by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the Louisiana Library Association.

The program is free and open to the public and will be held on Mondays from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, beginning on August 11 and concluding on September 22 for a total of six sessions (the program will not be held on September 1 in observance of Labor Day). Those interested in attending are encouraged to register in advance at the library. The phone number is 225-664-3963.

"I'll Be Seeing You…American and World War II" will be conducted by Dr. Stan Hilton, Jane Lucas DeGrummond Professor of History at Louisiana State University. The program will use a diverse collection of scholarly history and oral history as the foundation for discussion about the World War II experiences of Americans as well as the meanings of the conflict in perspective.

The six sessions are entitled: 1) G. I.'S Against the Wehrmacht (1942-1945); 2) Bombs Away! The Air Offensive Against Nazi-Held Europe; 3) Turning the Tide in the Pacific: Midway (1941); 4) Counter-Attack and Victory in the Pacific; 5) America's Enemies; 6) Homefront USA. Texts include Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway, by Walter Lord; Richard Tregaskis's Guadalcanal Diary; Japan at War: An Oral History; The Mighty Eighth: The Air War in Europe As Told by the Men Who Fought It; Double Victory: A Multicultural History of American in World War II, by Ronald Takaki, Voices from the Third Reich, and Stephen Ambrose's D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II.

"The largest war ever fought on the planet shaped the course of world history, and especially the direction of our nation," observed James Segreto, Director of RELIC Library Programs for the LEH. The further added, "While World War II from the American perspective is always going to be viewed as a just and victorious war, we have an obligation to reexamine assumptions and evidence about what shaped the war's outcome and how war fighting related to American values and human behavior. War is not only an organized activity of states, but also a setting for human heroism and horror, good and bad luck. The program's readings will provide for many opportunities to explore these issues and appreciate the experience of war."

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged because of the limited number of books and expected public response.

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