You’ve heard the oft-told proverbs – unless we study history, we will be doomed to repeat it; history may not repeat, but it surely does rhyme; history is written by the victors; we both make history and are made by it.
These sayings and more like them remind us of the vast store of lessons learned and warning signs that are embedded in our history. It’s important to know and analyze our past from a wide range of perspectives. Always fascinating and sometimes scary stuff. And often documented in great books.
One of the most charming events in my new hometown is the annual Lewes History Book Festival. It’s the one and only book festival dedicated to history books, and in the last weekend of September, it attracted 24 authors and over 6000 people to our little hamlet for interesting conversations about history, the people who make history and leave a lasting trace, and the process of researching and writing these myriad historical analyses and stories.
The History Book Festival is a celebration of books, a tribute to the authors who write them, a gathering of readers who appreciate them, and a testament to the character of the place I now call home.
“History book” is actually a pretty broad category. The books might be straight history, analyses of history through specific lenses, biographies or fictionalized biographies (novels), or novels with a strong sense of an historical time period. The festival hosted 19 book talks and three keynote speakers. All were telling inspirational stories with thought-provoking details.
My cousin Gerri came for the weekend, and I was so glad to be able to share in marveling over and discussing the book talks we attended. We listened to interviews with (or presentations by) Amanda Bellows (The Explorers: A new history of America in ten expeditions), Paul Sparrow (Awakening the Spirit of America), Carole Hopson (A Pair of Wings), Marjan Kamali (The Lion Women of Tehran – our next book club read), and Susan Page (The Rulebreaker: The life and times of Barbara Walters) as well as keynotes by Tiya Miles (Night Flyer – an analysis of the faith, philosophy, and activism of Harriet Tubman) and Doris Kerns Goodwin (presidential historian extraordinaire, whose latest book is The Leadership Journey: How four kids became president – a middle school exploration of the early years of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson).
We were inspired by the history being told, and by the intelligence, skill, and tenacity of the authors who put together books about long-gone people and events in unique and stirring ways. Doris Kerns Goodwin, for one, embodies my author goals – incredibly smart, a recognized expert in her field, prolific, an excellent communicator and writer, and 81 years young – who came on stage in a bright blue leather jacket and high-top sneakers. (Subtle badass vibes!)
More than at any other time in my lifetime, I feel the weight of living through history.
This decade is one for the ages – the presidency of Donald Trump, the pandemic, the explosion of mis- and dis-information, the collapse of the social media landscape, the dawn of artificial intelligence tools, the waging of wars in Ukraine and in Israel/Palestine (and elsewhere), the fulfilment of predicted consequences of climate change in raging storms and weather changes, and more.
The bright side stories are found in inspirational people – politicians, artists, and activists, impactful inventions, amazing works of art in every genre, medical and technological advancements, great accomplishments, and groundwork being laid for a shining future to come.
After a weekend at the History Book Festival, I can’t help but wonder how these times will be documented in the many books yet to be written – the deep analyses, the stories of people who had an outsized impact, and the day-to-day lives of those of us who lived through this time.
Mark your calendar for the 2025 History Book Festival if you’d like to join us. It will be September 26-28. I’ll be there (my third time attending), soaking in the lessons of history and taking inspiration from the authors who document them.
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. ~ Robert F. Kennedy
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