Book Chat on American Midnight with author Adam Hochschild

America in the World War I era was a tinderbox: a time of fierce debate over labor rights, free speech, and racial equality. In an era marked by vigilanteism spurred on by the government, citizen turned against citizen in the war over what it means to be American. Lynchings, suppression of the press, and violence against conscientious objectors marred our ideals of democracy. A colorful cast of characters, from Woodrow Wilson to Emma Goldman and J. Edgar Hoover joined in the fray.

Join author Adam Hochschild for a conversation on this little-known era of American history whose legacy is still felt with us today. Meeting is in-person and the author will join us virtually.

Free!

Adam Hochschild (pronunciation: ''Hoch'' as in "spoke"; ''schild'' as in "build") published his first book, "Half the Way Home" in 1986. Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times called it "an extraordinarily moving portrait of the complexities and confusions of familial love . . . firmly grounded in the specifics of a particular time and place, conjuring them up with Proustian detail and affection." His "Bury the Chains" was a finalist for the 2005 National Book Award and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Two of his books, “To End All Wars” and “King Leopold’s Ghost,” have been finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award. The American Historical Association gave Hochschild its 2008 Theodore Roosevelt-Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service, a prize given each year to someone outside the academy who has made a significant contribution to the study of history. "Hochschild is a superb writer who makes light work of heavy subjects," wrote Jennifer Szalai in reviewing his “Rebel Cinderella” for The New York Times.