Written by Stephanie Cooper, Materials Selection & Acquisitions Librarian, Distribution Center, and Lisa Mauch, Content Specialist, Downtown Library
Update: Tickets are now on sale for Doris Kearns Goodwin's lecture. Buy tickets online or by phone at 513-621-ARTS (2787).
Our presidents have always received a large amount of attention, which only makes sense seeing as how almost every decision they make affects our lives. And since the advent of social media, that attention has increased tenfold. So how does a president become successful when their professional and private lives are put under a microscope?
That’s the question Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin tackles with her book Leadership in Turbulent Times. In it, she delves into the lives and administrations of some of our most successful presidents and provides insight for today’s leaders.
Doris Kearns Goodwin Goes to Hollywood
So, you say you haven’t heard of Goodwin? I bet you’ve heard of or seen her movies.
Goodwin is a highly regarded presidential historian and author. She won a Pulitzer Prize for her 1994 book No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II.
Steven Spielberg based his Academy Award-winning film, Lincoln, on her 2005 Lincoln Award-winning book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Also, her book The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism won a Carnegie Medal and is being adapted into a movie.
When Leadership in Turbulent Times came out in 2018 it became an instant bestseller. She’s also a partner in Pastimes Productions, executive producers of the miniseries Washington, which set viewing records on the History Channel. The production company has more miniseries in the works including one on Abraham Lincoln and another on Theodore Roosevelt adapted from Leadership in Turbulent Times.
This is just a sampling of her successes. Needless to say, she’s a powerhouse, and now you can see her right here in Cincinnati.
Doris Kearns Goodwin Comes to Cincinnati
Goodwin is speaking in Cincinnati as part of the Library’s annual Mary S. Stern Lecture series. The event is 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, at the Aronoff Center. Tickets are $5 and are now on sale. Order your tickets online or by phone at 513-621-ARTS [2787].
The late Mary S. Stern endowed an annual lecture series for the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library through The Library Foundation to support bringing internationally renowned thought leaders to our community. The Stern Lecture selection committee invites lecturers who can honor Stern’s legacy by advancing the Library’s mission to connect our community with a world of ideas and information. The committee is committed to making the topic and speaker accessible to the community physically and financially.
Doris Kearns Goodwin in Your Home
If you just can’t wait until Oct. 5 to experience Goodwin’s thoughts and insights, you can attend a pre-event or connect with fellow CHPL readers to discuss Leadership in Turbulent Times. Or, get your book club involved using our Leadership in Turbulent Times facilitator's guide. (PDF format)
The Library is proud to be co-sponsoring community forums with a local nonpartisan think tank, Action Tank, focused around the central themes of leadership found in Leadership in Turbulent Times. Join other members of the community as we ask the question "What should we expect from our elected leaders?"
The first community forum took place Aug. 3 at the Price Hill Branch Library. Watch a recording on our Facebook page. Future forums and events related to Goodwin’s visit can be found by visiting our online events calendar.
Or do a deeper dive on your own with any of Goodwin’s books.
Find more information about the Mary S. Stern lecture series on our website.
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