American Experience in WWII - A Nine-Part Book Discussion Series with Historian Peter Vermilyea

Part I - Book to be discussed: Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacham

In-person & on Zoom:

Join historian Peter Vermilyea for a thought-provoking book discussion series exploring how World War II transformed American life on and off the battlefield. Through acclaimed works of history and narrative nonfiction, we’ll explore the experiences of soldiers and civilians, women and men, Black and white Americans, workers, families, immigrants, and refugees—from Pearl Harbor and Japanese American internment to racial equality, wartime industry, the atomic bomb, and the challenges facing veterans after the war. Together, we’ll consider a central question: What did the war mean for Americans, and what kind of nation emerged when the fighting was over? Vermilyea teaches history at Housatonic Valley Regional High School and Western Connecticut State University and is the author or editor of five books on American history.

In Franklin and Winston, Jon Meacham examines the extraordinary friendship between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill and the partnership that helped shape the Allied response to World War II. Through their personal relationship and wartime leadership, Meacham offers a window into how America entered the conflict, how Roosevelt guided the nation through its most consequential crisis, and how the war transformed America’s role on the world stage. The book invites readers to consider not only the decisions that shaped victory, but also the political, personal, and global forces that helped define the America that emerged from the war.

Books are available to borrow at the library.

Registration is only required to attend in-person