Nebraska Center for the Book

[LINCOLN, NE, June 1, 2023] – Local reading is about to be celebrated again in the capital city! After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Nebraska Book Festival is back in Lincoln taking place on Saturday, June 10 at the Lincoln Foundation Garden and Lincoln City Library Bennett Martin Branch (1415 N Street). 

Come listen to the local Lincoln music group the String Beans, enjoy prime time family reading time, hear from Carla Ketner about her forthcoming children’s book about Ted Kooser, take part in activities, meet bookish vendors and more!  

The book festival officially kicks off with literary trivia Friday, June 9 at 6:00 p.m. in White Elm Brewing (720 Van Dorn Street). 

Other featured authors include Joy Castro, Dana Fritz, John Mabry, and Matt Mason. For a full schedule of events, please visit bookfestival.nebraska.gov/2023. 

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The book festival is held to celebrate Nebraska’s literary heritage and contemporary authors and to stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. By gathering together contemporary writing talent of our state and surrounding areas, the festival provides an opportunity for participants to cultivate an understanding of our history, culture and community. The festival is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book, City of Lincoln Libraries, Nebraska Library Commission, University of Nebraska Press, Francie & Finch Bookshop, and Humanities Nebraska.

Where Nebraska Center for the Book board members share their thoughts about the books they are reading. This month’s review is by Richard Miller.

Review of Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer.

This book, through original and secondary research, attempts to tackle a variety of historical issues in the U.S. that have dogged us for many years — by showing when current views of these issues are not in keeping with fact. The editors, who are both professors at Princeton University, have assembled a lineup of distinguished historians who discuss issues as diverse as American exceptionalism, immigration, American socialism, the New Deal, Confederate monuments, the Great Society, insurrection, the Reagan Revolution, and many others. While some may consider this collection to be left-of-center, the chapter writers provide solid facts to support their conclusions.

Here is one example of the findings on the topic of “voter fraud,” a topic much on the minds of many: “‘Nearly half of Americans believe voter fraud happens at least somewhat often, and 70 percent think it happens at least occasionally . . .'” [ABC News/Washington Post 2016 poll]. But a 2014 study by a Loyola law professor found that, “from 2000 to 2014, out of one billion votes cast in elections in the United States, there were only thirty-one cases of voter-impersonation fraud.”

This title is worth reading. After all, who can resist a book with the opening dedication: “To the archivists, librarians, teachers, and fellow historians who give us a better, and more accurate, understanding of our nation’s past”?

Carson Vaughan has recently written an article all about our 2023 One Book One Nebraska author, Mignon Eberhart! It’s a great read for those interested in learning more after reading “The Mystery of Hunting’s End.” The article was published by Flatwater Free Press on March 24th.