Dear Great Book Guru,  We are planning a family celebration for Mother’s Day this Sunday.  It will be brunch, a play, and then dessert at our favorite local restaurant.  Whenever we get together, conversations always turn to books we are reading.  I have time this week to begin something good for discussion- preferably non-fiction.  Any recommendations?  

Mother’s Day Celebrant

Dear Mother’s Day Celebrant,  I just finished reading a wonderful book: AFTER LINCOLN  by A.J. Langguth I think you will enjoy and find much in it to discuss.  The book is divided into twenty chapters each devoted to one character ( Charles Sumner, Rutherford B. Hayes…)  or topic (Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow….) all of which come together to  show the tragic and avoidable aftermath of the American Civil War- when the rights of freed black men and women were taken away by greed, cowardice, and malfeasance.   After Lincoln’s assassination, efforts were made by some to right the wrongs of slavery but to little avail.  It was not until 1964 when Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act did the protections purposed one hundred years before came into effect.   The individual tales of the heroes and villains that made up the famous “team of rivals” make for a fascinating albeit troubling read. Highly recommended!