Today I was in the presence of greatness. That's how impressed I was with Dr. David Blight. I spent two sessions with him this afternoon and was educated, invigorated, and entertained. He is a tremendous public speaker who has the gift of being intellectually stimulating, engaging, and subtly humorous all at the same time. His plenary address on history and memory was even better than Cokie Roberts' keynote address, and his much more intimate book discussion of Robert Penn Warren's The Legacy of the Civil War was simply the best session I think I've ever attended at a conference. Period. So, obviously David Blight was the absolute highlight of the day today and of the entire trip so far.
I also had my Military History Committee meeting this afternoon. We are already discussing next year's conference, which will be held in Rochester, NY. Tomorrow is the last day and I anticipate a nice Military History Committee breakfast and two very interesting sessions before hitting the road home. I will probably not blog Day Four until Sunday, after I've had a chance to rest and recover a bit.
4 comments:
Andrew, -- Nice to hear that you are having such a good time in Atlanta. I presented a paper at the Atlanta History Center a few years back and it does indeed have a first-rate collection.
As for Blight I think you summed it up. He is a dynamic speaker and a very talented historian. If you haven't read _Race and Reunion_ it is well worth your time.
Kevin at Civil War Memory
I'm jealous. Sounds awesome. Can't wait to hear more.
Kevin,
A friend of mine loaned me her copy of "Race and Reunion" saying it was the best book she had read since finishing grad school. I have been trying to get to it, but haven't had the time. I now know I need to make the time. However, I was very glad that I read Warren's "The Legacy of the Civil War" prior to Blight's book discussion. Having it so fresh in my mind really highlighted the points that he made. Thanks for the comments!
Andrew
Chris,
The first day of this conference was a little slow, but Friday and Saturday absolutely rocked! BTW, Myers Brown said to tell you hello. He and I saw quite a lot of each other at this conference.
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