Press Release
Press Release · Friday, August 17, 2001

Washington, DC . . . In October and November, the National Archives and Records Administration presents public programs covering a wide variety of topics including Civil War Monuments, Immigration, Paleocuisineology, Science, and Abraham Lincoln.

The programs are free and open to the public and will take place in room 105 at the National Archives Building, Pennsylvania Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets, NW and at the National Archives at College Park, located at 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD. The public may verify times and dates by calling the National Archives public events line at (202) 501-5000. TDD users may call (202) 501-5404.

Saturday, October 6- Walking Tour and Booksigning
Civil War Monuments Kathryn Jacob will lead a walking tour based on her book Testament to Union: Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C. This tour will take place in Arlington National Cemetery from 10 a.m to 12:30 p.m. and is a repeat of her July 13 tour. Reservations are required. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended; call 202-208-7345 for reservations and more information.

Tuesday, October 16- Panel Discussion and Booksigning
Immigration Michael Barone will be the featured speaker at a forum hosted by the Center for Democracy and the National Archives. Historian Allen Weinstein, president of the Center, will moderate a panel of scholars and journalists discussing the question: "Is America still a 'Melting Pot'?" Scholar, journalist, and television commentator Michael Barone, is the author of The New Americans: How the Melting Pot Can Work Again. 7 p.m. Room 105. Reservations are required; call 202-208-7345 for reservations and more information.

Thursday, October 25
Paleocuisineology Mary Gunderson will discuss her book, Cooking on the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Gunderson discusses the everyday life, cooking methods, and foods eaten on the journey of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as they charted the vast territory of the Louisiana Purchase. Taking the audience from Thomas Jefferson's dining room, where Lewis dined as Jefferson's secretary and protégé, to shopping for supplies in Philadelphia and St. Louis to the journey itself, beginning in May of 1804, Gunderson shows how food shaped their days and their experiences with people they met along the way. Such foods as buffalo jerky, hominy and bacon, and corn and beans with sunflowers nuts will be sampled. Noon and 7 p.m. Reservations are recommended; call 202-208-7345.

Thursday, November 1
Science Claudia Dreifus will discuss her book Scientific Conversations: Interviews from the New York Times. In these 38 interviews from the Science Times, a weekly section of the New York Times, Dreifus meets with the top minds working today across a broad range of scientific disciplines. As each conversation unfolds, she draws her subjects into fascinating and colorful exchanges. A journalist and senior fellow at the World Policy Institute of the New School for Social Research, Ms. Dreifus will conduct a live interview with one of the scientists. Noon. Reservations are recommended; call 202-208-7345.

Wednesday, November 14
Abraham Lincoln Edward Steers will discuss his book, Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. When John Wilkes Booth entered the Presidential box at Ford's Theatre on the night of April 14, 1865, he held a small derringer in his hand, but there were many fingers on the trigger. Noted Lincoln authority Steers introduces the cast of characters in this ill-fated drama, explores why they were so willing to help pull the trigger, and corrects the many misconceptions surrounding this defining moment that changed American history. Noon. Reservations are recommended; call 202-208-7345. The lecture will also be given at College Park on November 13.

Tuesday, October 9-Author Lecture and Booksigning Harvey Meyerson returns to discuss his book Nature's Army: When Soldiers Fought for Yosemite. Few people know that the park's first stewards were drawn from the Army. From 1890 until the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916, these soldiers proved to be extremely competent and farsighted wilderness managers. So great was the Army's ultimate environmental influence that the National Park Service embraced the Army model as its own, right down to the uniforms still worn today. Noon. Lecture Room D. Reservations are recommended; call 202-208-7345.

Tuesday, November 13-Author Lecture and Booksigning Edward Steers will discuss his book, Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Noon. Lecture Room D. Call 202-208-7345 for reservations and more information. See November 14 listing for details.

For PRESS information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at (301) 837-1700. To verify the date and times of the programs, the public should call the Public Events Line at: 202-501-5000, or view the Calendar of Events on the web at:   www.archives.gov/about_us/calendar_of_events/.

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