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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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Atlanta History Center

Atlanta History Center, founded in 1926 as the Atlanta Historical Society, includes permanent and traveling exhibitions in the Atlanta History Museum, two historic houses (Tullie Smith Farm and Swan House mansion), archives/special libraries, and 33 acres of beautiful gardens and wooded trails. The Atlanta History Center offers historical experiences for all ages, integrating history, education and life enrichment programs.

http://www.AtlantaHistoryCenter.com

  • Edward J. Larson discusses his book, *A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign*, which tells the fascinating story behind the fierce election battle between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the first true campaign for the presidency and one that almost broke the back of our democracy. The election of 1800 ushered in the party system, drawing the lines of partisan battle that would reshape our politics, while also preserving the institution of democracy. Edward J. Larson holds the Darling chair in law at Pepperdine University and is the Russell professor of American history at the University of Georgia. He is the recipient of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in history for his book *Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion*.
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center
  • Tim Weiner discusses his new book, *Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA*. The agency's failures have handed us, in the words of President Eisenhower “a legacy of ashes.” *Legacy of Ashes* is based on more than 50,000 documents, primarily from the archives of the CIA itself, and hundreds of interviews with CIA veterans, including 10 Directors of Central Intelligence. Tim Weiner is a reporter for *The New York Times*. He has written on American intelligence for 20 years, and won the Pulitzer Prize for his work on secret national security programs. He has traveled to Afghanistan and other nations to investigate CIA covert operations firsthand. This is his third book.
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center
  • Walter Isaacson, author of the mega-selling, acclaimed biography of Benjamin Franklin, discusses his latest work focused on the most influential scientist of the 20th century, Albert Einstein. This is the first full biography written about this great icon since all of his papers became available. Isaacson looks at his science, personal life, and politics, and attempts to explain how his mind worked, who the real Einstein was, and the mysteries of the universe that he discovered.
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center
  • Robert Dallek discusses his new book *Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power*. This epic biography is about two unlikely leaders who came together to dominate American and world affairs. Tapping into recently disclosed documents and tapes, Robert Dallek uncovers fascinating details about Nixon and Kissinger's tumultuous personal relationship, their collaboration and rivalry, and the extent to which they struggled to outdo each other in the reach of foreign policy achievements. *Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power* gives us a new understanding of just how important and consequential these two men were in affecting world history.
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center
  • John Ferling discusses this chronicle of America's struggle for independence, an eight-year conflict filled with heroism, suffering, cowardice, betrayal, and fierce dedication. As Ferling demonstrates, it was a war that America came much closer to losing than is now usually remembered. General George Washington put it best when he said that the American victory was "little short of a standing miracle."
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center
  • Micki McElya, professor of American studies at the University of Alabama examines why we cling to the notion of "mammy." She argues that the figure of the loyal slave has played a powerful role in modern American politics and culture. Stories of faithful slaves expose the power and reach of the myth, not only in popular advertising, films, and literature about the South, but also in national monument proposals, child custody cases, New Negro activism, anti-lynching campaigns, and the civil rights movement. If we are to reckon with the continuing legacy of slavery in the United States, McElya argues, we must confront the depths of our desire for mammy and recognize its full racial implications.
    Partner:
    Atlanta History Center