In March 1946, Winston Churchill arrived in the unlikely venue of Fulton, Missouri, where he introduced the world to the phrases "the iron curtain" and "the special relationship" in what he later called the most important speech of his career.
How did he end up in the American heartland?
Who was the college president who brought him to Westminster College?
How did Fulton prepare for the arrival of Churchill and thousands of visitors?
What role did Harry Truman play?
And what's the lasting significance of this speech, which articulated the divide between liberal democratic principles and Communism?
To find out, come to see me speak at the The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, in Fulton, MO, which houses the wonderful National Churchill Museum, on Sunday, November 11 at 2:00 pm. Click here for directions.
I'll be selling signed copies of my book on the topic, Our Supreme Task: How Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech Defined the Cold War Alliance, after the talk.
I hope to see you there. Can't make it but still want to buy a signed copy? Then e-mail me at philwhite7@gmail.com
Showing posts with label National Churchill Museum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Churchill Museum. Show all posts
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
On The Road Again: Upcoming Speaking Events
Hello all. Hard at work on the next book so it has been a while since the last post.
I've got a couple of speaking events for Our Supreme Task coming up. I hope you can make it to one of these:
1) Olathe Library Foundation Fundraising Dinner
When: Saturday, September 22, 6:30 pm CST
Where: Ballrooms A & B, 101 West 151st Street, Olathe, KS
How to Get Tickets: Call Library Director, Emily Baker at 913-971-6880 (RSVP before Sept 17th)
The Olathe Library Foundation raises supplemental funds for literacy programs, adding books and updating facilities. We need to get our kids more involved in reading, and your support of this event will help.
2) International Churchill Conference
When: October 11-14
Where: Toronto, Canada
How to Get Tickets: Click here to register online
This is the annual convention for the Churchill Centre, which provides educational materials worldwide to educate people on the life and legacy of Sir Winston Churchill. I'll be speaking about the impact of Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech on the relationship between Britain, the US and Canada.
3) Communiversity Address, MidAmerica Nazarene University
When: Friday, October 26, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Where: Bell Cultural Events Center, MNU campus, 2030 E. College Way, Olathe, KS
How to Get Tickets: This is a free lecture, with seats provided on a first-come, first-served basis
Communiversity is a free lecture series designed to provide access to university alumni of note, and to promote innovation and scholarship. It is held during MNU Homecoming each year and this year I will speak on “Liberal Arts and Leadership: Preparing the Next Generation for a Rapidly Changing World.”
4) National Churchill Museum
When: Sunday, November 11, Time TBA
Where: National Churchill Museum, 501 Westminster Avenue Fulton, MO 65251
How to Get Tickets: Contact Mandy Plybon at (573) 592-5369
This is coming back to the place where my book project started. Museum Director Rob Havers and his staff were a great help with my research and manuscript review, and if you've never been to the museum you're in for a visual treat, as it's housed in a Christopher Wren-designed, white Portland stone church that was shipped to Fulton from London and re-assembled stone by stone.
I've got a couple of speaking events for Our Supreme Task coming up. I hope you can make it to one of these:
1) Olathe Library Foundation Fundraising Dinner
When: Saturday, September 22, 6:30 pm CST
Where: Ballrooms A & B, 101 West 151st Street, Olathe, KS
How to Get Tickets: Call Library Director, Emily Baker at 913-971-6880 (RSVP before Sept 17th)
The Olathe Library Foundation raises supplemental funds for literacy programs, adding books and updating facilities. We need to get our kids more involved in reading, and your support of this event will help.
2) International Churchill Conference
When: October 11-14
Where: Toronto, Canada
How to Get Tickets: Click here to register online
This is the annual convention for the Churchill Centre, which provides educational materials worldwide to educate people on the life and legacy of Sir Winston Churchill. I'll be speaking about the impact of Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech on the relationship between Britain, the US and Canada.
3) Communiversity Address, MidAmerica Nazarene University
When: Friday, October 26, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Where: Bell Cultural Events Center, MNU campus, 2030 E. College Way, Olathe, KS
How to Get Tickets: This is a free lecture, with seats provided on a first-come, first-served basis
Communiversity is a free lecture series designed to provide access to university alumni of note, and to promote innovation and scholarship. It is held during MNU Homecoming each year and this year I will speak on “Liberal Arts and Leadership: Preparing the Next Generation for a Rapidly Changing World.”
4) National Churchill Museum
When: Sunday, November 11, Time TBA
Where: National Churchill Museum, 501 Westminster Avenue Fulton, MO 65251
How to Get Tickets: Contact Mandy Plybon at (573) 592-5369
This is coming back to the place where my book project started. Museum Director Rob Havers and his staff were a great help with my research and manuscript review, and if you've never been to the museum you're in for a visual treat, as it's housed in a Christopher Wren-designed, white Portland stone church that was shipped to Fulton from London and re-assembled stone by stone.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Surviving a Book Edit
The title of this blog post may have drawn more readers if it read “Surviving a Shark Attack” or “Surviving a Tsunami” but, though it may lack the same drama, I hope this particular musing will be more useful for the would-be book writer.
I have been working on my book (shameless plug alert!), Our Supreme Task: How Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech Defined the Cold War Alliance, since March 2009. From its genesis, it has gone through multiple metamorphoses, with entire chapters re-written and axed, new sources discovered and integrated, and days spent at the Churchill Archives Center, the National Churchill Museum,the Harry S. Truman Library and other archival treasure troves.
When I first settled on September 1 as my manuscript submission date, almost nine months ago, it seemed a lifetime away. After all, I’d already put hundreds or even thousands of hours into the project, had what I thought were five complete chapters (of 11) on my hard drive, and was rolling along with the remainder.
However, the deadline that once seemed so far off soon appeared right before my nose, like the knights caught unawares by Sir Lancelot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Liz Murphy, archivist at the National Churchill museum, came across a batch of pertinent Churchill letters just days before, and I was still hurrying to incorporate this new material. I was also hastily acquiring rights for photos from the Potsdam Conference and Churchill’s 1946 visit to the U.S., while trying to cut bloat from certain chapters. Arrggh! I thought I had this under control! How did it become this mad panic?
Anyway, I got the manuscript and images away a couple days early, and took a deep breath. Two weeks later, my editor mailed back a Yellow Pages-sized packet of paper, with red pen to indicate her first read comments and blue pen to show comments from the second pass (how is she so fast and efficient - I have no idea!). The first eight chapters were smooth sailing, but numbers nine and eleven were anything but – too much detail, too long, too everything other than ready to go to print. So I spent an entire day cutting away, and eventually, after four and a half days of hard work, sent back my response to her comments. In the midst of cutting almost 20,000 words, re-formatting a chapter and putting my pride to the sword, here’s what I learned:
Click here to read the full post on the blog of The Historical Society
I have been working on my book (shameless plug alert!), Our Supreme Task: How Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech Defined the Cold War Alliance, since March 2009. From its genesis, it has gone through multiple metamorphoses, with entire chapters re-written and axed, new sources discovered and integrated, and days spent at the Churchill Archives Center, the National Churchill Museum,the Harry S. Truman Library and other archival treasure troves.
When I first settled on September 1 as my manuscript submission date, almost nine months ago, it seemed a lifetime away. After all, I’d already put hundreds or even thousands of hours into the project, had what I thought were five complete chapters (of 11) on my hard drive, and was rolling along with the remainder.
However, the deadline that once seemed so far off soon appeared right before my nose, like the knights caught unawares by Sir Lancelot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Liz Murphy, archivist at the National Churchill museum, came across a batch of pertinent Churchill letters just days before, and I was still hurrying to incorporate this new material. I was also hastily acquiring rights for photos from the Potsdam Conference and Churchill’s 1946 visit to the U.S., while trying to cut bloat from certain chapters. Arrggh! I thought I had this under control! How did it become this mad panic?
Anyway, I got the manuscript and images away a couple days early, and took a deep breath. Two weeks later, my editor mailed back a Yellow Pages-sized packet of paper, with red pen to indicate her first read comments and blue pen to show comments from the second pass (how is she so fast and efficient - I have no idea!). The first eight chapters were smooth sailing, but numbers nine and eleven were anything but – too much detail, too long, too everything other than ready to go to print. So I spent an entire day cutting away, and eventually, after four and a half days of hard work, sent back my response to her comments. In the midst of cutting almost 20,000 words, re-formatting a chapter and putting my pride to the sword, here’s what I learned:
Click here to read the full post on the blog of The Historical Society
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