Dear Great Book Guru,  This coming Saturday (June 29) begins the Fourth of July week of celebration with the Sea Cliff Civic Association’s Bicycle and Stroller Parade. On Wednesday, it is followed by Happy Birthday USA at the Children’s Library and a Sunset Serenade at Memorial Park. The culminating event, of course, is the Reading of the Declaration of Independence on the Village Green on the Fourth. Each of these events is wonderful but taken together they form a magnificent glimpse into life in the Village of Sea Cliff. While involved in all this, I would like something wonderful to read.  Any recommendations?  Sunshine Patriot

Dear Sunshine Patriot,  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 streaming.

Happy Fourth!!!