Enoch Pratt Free Library Podcast

Bestselling author Simon Winchester chronicles how our disparate union of states came together as the American nation that exists today. The Men Who United the States follows the footsteps of America's most essential explorers, thinkers, and innovators, such as Lewis and Clark, the builders of the first transcontinental telegraph, and the civil engineer behind the interstate highway system.

Simon Winchester is the author of many books, including The Professor and the Madman, The Man Who Loved China, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and Krakatoa.

Recorded On: Thursday, October 24, 2013

Reginald F. Lewis became the CEO of a billion dollar conglomerate, TLC Beatrice, while in his forties. What prepared him for his role as one of the world's most respected executives? Lin Hart grew up with Lewis in Baltimore and roomed with him at Virginia State University. Focusing on the ten years between 1956 and 1966, Hart draws on shared experiences and memories to tell Lewis' story: his will to succeed, his supreme confidence, and his unrelenting pursuit to move beyond the ordinary to become extraordinary.

Recorded On: Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Award-winning journalist Ericka Blount Danois is the author of Love, Peace, and Soul: Behind the Scenes of America's Favorite Dance Show SOUL TRAIN: Classic Moments. A graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, she teaches at the Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

Samuel G. Freedman is the author of Breaking the Line: The Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Sport and Changed the Course of Civil Rights. He tells the story of the battle for the 1967 black-college championship between Grambling College and Florida A&M, their legendary coaches, and their talented quarterbacks. Samuel Freedman is a columnist for the New York Times, professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and the author of six books. His book, Small Victories: The Real World of a Teacher, was a finalist for the 1990 National Book Award. Another book, The Inheritance: How Three Families and America Moved from Roosevelt to Reagan and Beyond, was a finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize.

Recorded On: Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Front Stoops in the Fifties tells the story of some of Baltimore's most famous icons from the "decade of conformity," including Jerry Leiber, Nancy Pelosi, Thurgood Marshall, and Barry Levinson. Michael Olesker marks the end of the Fifties with the assassination of President Kennedy. Focusing on the period leading up to this major turning point in U.S. history, he looks to the individuals living through this period, Baltimoreans who would later come to prominence in the Sixties.

Michael Olesker was a columnist for the Baltimore Sun for 25 years. He is the author of five previous books, including Michael Olesker's Baltimore: If You Live Here, You're Home; Journeys to the Heart of Baltimore; and The Colts' Baltimore: A City and Its Love Affair in the 1950s.

Presented in partnership with Johns Hopkins University Press.

Recorded On: Monday, October 21, 2013

Cold-case detective Parker McCall has spent 15 years trying to solve his brother's murder. Now a chance photo of the killer in the newspaper sets him hard on the woman's trail. A former teenaged runaway, reclusive, award-winning photojournalist B.K. (Brynn) Elliot chronicles the harsh reality of life on the streets -- until a photo in the paper reveals her idenity, blowing the lid off her secret past. With a powerful murderer now dogging her heels, and her police officer stepfather determined to silence her permanently, the last person she can afford to trust is a cop. Will sexy Parker McCall betray her or heal her battered heart? This first in the "Buried Secrets" trilogy features some scenes in the Pratt's Central Library.

A resident of Hagerstown, Gail Barrett's novels have won numerous awards, including the Holt Medallion, the Booksellers Best Award, the National Readers' Choice Award, and Romance Writers of America's prestigious Golden Heart.

Recorded On: Thursday, October 17, 2013