Wednesday, May 29
Reading Public Library (RPL), Reading, MA—If you love history, you won’t want to miss this compelling event at the Reading Public Library on Wednesday, May 29 at 700 pm. We are honored to host noted historian and public speaker Stephen Puleo for a reading and discussion centered on his recent publication, The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union.
In the mid-nineteenth century, Charles Sumner was the most influential politician fighting for abolition, and following the Civil War, he championed the rights of emancipated people. An acclaimed historian and author of eight books, Puleo writes with evocative and accessible prose and relates the story of one of the most influential non-presidents in our history, one who helped move America toward the twin goals of abolitionism and equal rights.
We look forward to seeing you at the library for this important event. Books will be available for purchase and signing following the event, thanks to Whitelam Books.
Stephen Puleo | May 29 | 700 – 830 pm Praise for Stephen Puleo and The Great Abolitionist
“Stephen Puleo’s masterful account of Charles Sumner, a prickly, conflicted paradox of an American giant, is told with verve and gusto. It’s a vibrant, important story whose echoes still reverberate in our current day. A wonderful read.” —Dennis Lehane, author of Small Mercies
“Puleo’s vast knowledge of 19th-century Boston and its diffident attitude toward slavery and integration—due in no small part to textile merchants and financiers who relied on Southern cotton for their prosperity—adds tremendous value to his account of Sumner’s transformation from depressed and sullen Harvard-educated lawyer to uncompromising and unrelenting civil rights champion, orator, and senator…Required reading for anyone with even a slight interest in Civil War–era U.S. history. A wonderfully written book about a true American freedom fighter.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“Charles Sumner was a principled man of unshakable conviction, who fought the good, noble, and heroic fight against slavery, and he deserves to be remembered as a great statesman and one of the foremost champions of civil rights. He also deserves a compelling and wonderfully-written biography, which is what Stephen Puleo has provided.” —Eric Jay Dolin, author of Left for Dead and Black Flags, Blue Waters ❦
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