Library focusing on One Book, One Batavia events

Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave., will offer a number of special programs in conjunction with its annual "One Book, One Batavia" community read program.

The 2009 One Book, One Batavia selection is Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "The Killer Angels." Shaara's book details four days during the Battle of Gettysburg from the viewpoints of different Union and Confederate commanders, including Generals Robert E. Lee, John Buford, James Longstreet, and Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. The book details the weariness and the horror of the battle that turned the tide of the Civil War.

"'The Killer Angels' was selected because of its historical importance," said Stacey Cisneros, head of adult services at the library. "In 2009, we are celebrating the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, in the state of Illinois and across the country. This book evokes Lincoln even though it is not about him. It's a reflection of the key conflict of Lincoln's time."

• At 2 p.m. Sunday, March 1, "The Underground Railroad in Illinois" will be presented. Historian and author Glennette Tilley-Turner will discuss the places in Illinois where Underground Railroad activity was reported, illustrated by photographs and drawings, and relate actual accounts of escapees and those who defied the law to help them to freedom.

• Learn about "Civil War Reenactors Today" when Trevor Steinbach describes what's involved at 7 p.m. Monday, March 2. Steinbach will discuss the lives of infantry soldiers, display their accoutrements, and talk about what it takes to become a re-enactor. Learn about the soldiers' uniforms, equipment, and food, as well as the wounds and medical treatment they received.

• "Battlefield Balladeers" will be presented at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 15. Accompanied by banjo, guitar and fiddle, the Battlefield Balladeers will perform the patriotic, sentimental, and comic songs of the Civil War, punctuated with quotes of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Mary Chesnut and Mark Twain. All ages are invited.

• The library's New Lyceum Lecture Series will feature Abraham Lincoln scholar O. Vernon Burton, who will address "The Age of Lincoln," at 7 p.m. Monday, March 16. Burton will focus on the seven decades between 1830 and 1900, when ideas swirled and conflict erupted. Burton is a professor of history, African-American studies, and sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and author of "The Age of Lincoln," winner of the 2007 Heartland Prize for nonfiction.

• "The Killer Angels" will be reviewed by Rodney N. Henshaw, dean of Drake University's Cowles Library, at noon Thursday, March 19, during the monthly Books Between Bites program. Henshaw is a lifelong student of Gettysburg, Lincoln, and the Civil War.

Also on March 19, at 7 p.m., artist and researcher Jim Weren will analyze "Lincoln: Commander in Chief" through both his narrative and his meticulous drawings of the president. How the prairie lawyer from Illinois, under the burden of the Civil War, aged well beyond his years too soon, will be examined.

"One Book, One Batavia" is co-sponsored by the Friends of Batavia Public Library. All of the programs are free. Reservations are required, except for Books Between Bites. For information and to register, call (630) 879-4777. Register online at www.BataviaPublicLibrary.org.