Ken Burns’s recent commencement address at Brandeis University certainly touches upon courage, integrity, and the ability to discern the truth about our past, present, and what is yet to come.
The garbage room in my condo holds more than trash bins. Next to the bin designated for paper a six-foot-tall bookcase sits flush to the wall. People put the books they no longer want on the bookshelf. Most books cycle through and find a home. Few books stay here forever with the possible exception of Bill Clinton’s memoir My Life. So last week I was astonished to find an old hardcover book stuffed inside a trash bin. It was unthinkable that anyone would throw away a book.
If you feel as though you’re lost in the maize, metaphorically speaking, then you might find that the answers can be found by understanding history. In our featured article for November, History Does Matter, we look at the correlation among books, history and our democracy. If you don’t have time to read the article, you can always download our podcast.
