Join Peter Kaufman for a presentation and discussion of American Midnight, by renowned historian Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost and To End All Wars.

Hochschild's "masterly" (New York Times) account brings alive the horrifying yet inspiring and startlingly resonant period between World War I and the Roaring Twenties, when the foundations of American democracy were threatened by war, pandemic, and violence fueled by battles over race, immigration, and the rights of labor. Spotlighting searing conflicts while celebrating an unforgettable set of Americans who strove to fix their fractured country, Hochschild shows how their struggles still guide us today.

Peter B. Kaufman, a writer, teacher, and documentary producer, works at MIT Open Learning and the Knowledge Futures Group. He is the author of The New Enlightenment and the Fight to Free Knowledge (Seven Stories Press, 2021) and the forthcoming The Moving Image: A User’s Guide (The MIT Press, 2024).

American Midnight was named a Best Book of the Year (2022) by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Chicago Tribune, Kirkus, The New York Post, and Fast Company.

“A sweeping look at the years between World War I and the Roaring Twenties, when conscientious objectors to the war were maltreated and conflicts over race and labor were at a high pitch. Hochschild draws direct lines between events of that time and the unrest of today.” — New York Times, 15 Works of Nonfiction to Read This Fall (2022)

“Hochschild narrates a time as unsettled, frightening, and (perhaps) transformative as our own.” — Boston Globe

'Hochschild forces readers to confront the abuses and remember those who had the courage to fight against militarism and speak up for the powerless and dispossessed. ... Vivid.' — Financial Times

This event is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of the Scoville Library.

Participants are encouraged to read American Midnight before March 30th and to bring in a short passage to contribute to the discussion.

Books are available for borrowing at the Scoville Memorial Library.