Brown University Library News

Ever wondered who John Hay was? On Wednesday, October 1 at 5:30 p.m. in the Lownes Room of the John Hay Library, you will have the chance to learn more about Brown’s most illustrious alumnus, a poet and diplomat who served three presidents—two of them as Secretary of State. Two authors, John Taliaferro and Joshua Zeitz AM’98, PhD’02, will discuss and sign their recent books about Hay, which will be available for purchase on site. Associate Professor of History Michael Vorenberg will introduce the speakers. A Q&A and reception will follow the talk. This event is free and open to the public.

John Taliaferro

John Taliaferro is a graduate of Harvard College and a former senior editor at Newsweek. He is the author of four previous books: Charles M. Russell: The Life and Legend of America’s Cowboy Artist; Tarzan Forever: The Life of Edgar Rice Burroughs; Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore; and In a Far Country: The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, a Murder, and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898. He and his wife, artist Malou Flato, live in Austin, Texas, and Pray, Montana.

Taliaferro’s All the Great Prizes: The Life of John Hay, from Lincoln to Roosevelt, is the first full-scale biography since 1934 of John Hay, a major figure in American history for more than half a century.

See more at: http://johntaliaferrobooks.com

Joshua Zeitz

Josh Zeitz has taught American history and politics at Cambridge University, Harvard University, and Princeton University. He is the author of several books on American political and social history and has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Smithsonian Magazine, The New Republic, The Atlantic, Dissent, American Heritage, and Mother Jones. Josh also appeared as a commentator on two PBS documentaries: Boomer Century, and Ken Burns’s Prohibition.

A former gubernatorial speechwriter and policy aide, Josh earned his B.A. with highest honors at Swarthmore College and his Ph.D. in American History at Brown University. He lives in Hoboken and Ocean Grove, New Jersey with his wife, Angela Zeitz, an artist, and their two daughters.

Lincoln’s Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln’s Image by Zeitz is a timely and intimate look into Lincoln’s White House through the lives of his two closest aides and confidantes. Drawing heavily on Hay’s and Nicolay’s letters, diaries, and memoirs, Lincoln’s Boys is part political drama and part coming-of-age tale—a fascinating story of friendship, politics, war, and the contest over history and remembrance.

See more at: http://joshzeitz.co/

Date: October 1, 2014
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Lownes Room | John Hay Library