Classics Book Club: And There Was Light

This group is a quarterly opportunity to read, analyze and discuss important books that have made unique contributions in their fields. We will take an interdisciplinary approach that includes a wide range of areas such as history, law, business, literature, and biography. This group is open to the public at large and requires no on-going commitment. Members can simply come for whatever book they are interested in that quarter. And There Was Light by Jon Meacham is the story of Lincoln from his birth on the Kentucky frontier to his leadership during the Civil War and tragic assassination in 1865: his rise, self-education, loves, bouts of depression, political failures, deepening faith, and persistent conviction that slavery must end. In a nation shaped by the courage of the enslaved of the era and by the brave witness of Black Americans, Lincoln’s story illustrates the means of politics in a democracy, the roots and durability of racism, and the capacity of conscience to shape events. Facilitator: Bennett Smith is the President of the Clear Lake Library Foundation and is an instructor in history and political science at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC). He is also an instructor in various lifelong learning programs including the NIACC lifelong Learning Institute; the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Iowa State University and the LIFE program at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minnesota. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in speech communication and a Master of Arts degree in history from Iowa State University. He is from Clear Lake, IA, and currently serves on the Clear Lake City Council.