Dear Great Book Guru- I am feeling pretty patriotic with the Fourth of July approaching and I’d like to read something that will make me cheer even more for the red, white and blue. Any suggestions? Sunshine Patriot

Dear Sunshine Patriot- Well, of course, you should walk yourself over to the Sea Cliff Village Green on Sunday morning where there will be a reading of the Declaration of Independence and other patriotic festivities. Then you could read a favorite of mine: JOHN ADAMS by David McCullough This is an amazing biography which presents parallel tales of Adams and his wife Abigail, Adams and Thomas Jefferson, and ,yes, most interestingly, Adams and the new nation. McCullough uses original diaries and letters in such a skillful manner that you feel as if you are reading a fast-moving novel. Because of its length(726 pages) this could be a summer project for you but definitely a worthwhile one.

A family ritual of ours is the watching/reading of Peter Stone’s 1776 every Fourth. There is nothing that makes the heart swell more with patriotic fervor than listening, watching, and reading that great musical play that recreates the drama surrounding the creation of the Declaration of Independence, except, of course, hearing the Declaration read on Sea Cliff’s Village Green. 1776 is available in book form and DVD .

Happy Fourth!!!