Using The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes as the launching point, we will spend the first hour looking at the history of the period covered in the novel. Specifically, we will consider the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. We will also explore the politics of the US in 1944, the penultimate year of the war, from Roosevelt’s campaign for a fourth term and the conservative opposition. It will also include a look at Armed Services Edition (ASE) books. We will then spend an hour discussing the novel as contemporary literature Readers and history buffs welcome!

Moderators: Stan and Diane Henderson are avid readers. Stan reads history; Diane fiction. In other lives, they would have been history and English professors. Now they team up to share their passions with us. Pre-retirement, Stan was Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Life at the Univ. of Michigan-Dearborn, and Diane an educational program planner/consultant. Both are failing retirement!