Nathaniel Philbrick's Blog, page 3
October 10, 2013
Bunker Hill Wins the New England Book Award
I had the great honor of attending the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) awards banquet on Sunday, October 6 where I was presented with the 2013 New England Book Award for Non-Fiction for BUNKER HILL. It was nice to spend time with my teams from my US publishers, Viking and Penguin, as well as the folks from the great independent bookstores all across New England.
Here I am with Katya Olmsted Shannon and Karl Krueger, members of the sales team at Penguin Group (USA).
Left to Right: Wendy Hudson of Mitchell’s Book Corner on Nantucket, my wife Melissa, me, and outgoing president of NEIBA, Annie Philbrick (married to my cousin Ben).
October 4, 2013
Bristol and Fall River
I’m on the ferry back to Nantucket after a whirlwind 24 hours. Last night I spoke about the relationship between Mayflower and Bunker Hill before a big crowd at the field house of Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. This morning I spoke about In the Heart of the Sea at Bristol Community College in Fall River, Mass., which was simulcast to two other branch campuses. On Sunday I head to Providence for two more events. Check out the Events & Appearances page of this site for more details.
Audience at Bristol Community College on Friday morning.
July 22, 2013
Launching the Charles W. Morgan
Christening the newly restored Charles W.Morgan.
July 19, 2013
State House and Lexington
I had a great day yesterday with an event at the State House in Boston and another one in Lexington.Thanks to Cape and Islands state senator Dan Wolf and representative Tim Madden for sponsoring the talk at the state house and to Dr. Sam Forman (author of a terrific biography of Dr. Joseph Warren) for bringing me to Lexington where I spoke before the Minutemen, a group of reenactors that trace their roots back to the town’s revolutionary-era militia. It was in the Senate chamber of the State House that I saw the artifact that tied these two events together: the musket that militia captain John Parker used on Lexington Green on April 19, 1775.
The musket that militia captain John Parker used on Lexington Green on April 19, 1775.
On Sunday July 21 I’ll be at Mystic Seaport for the launching of the newly restored Charles W. Morgan.
July 15, 2013
A Great Event at Northshire
Saturday, July 13, marked the fourth time I’ve had the privilege of speaking at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont. My wife Melissa had joined me on a two-day research trip to Lake Champlain, and it was a great change of pace to find ourselves in this quintessential New England town, made all the better by the welcoming crowd of more than a hundred readers who’d come to hear me talk about BUNKER HILL at Northshire. Next up, I’ll be speaking at the Massachusetts State House in Boston at 11 am on Thursday, July 18.
A nice crowd at Northshire Bookstore, July 13, 2013.
July 10, 2013
Greetings from Cooperstown
I’m in Cooperstown, NY, looking forward to speaking at the James Fenimore Cooper conference in nearby Oneonta.
James Fenimore Cooper statue in Cooperstown, NY.
My father Thomas Philbrick is a retired English professor, whose first book was JAMES FENIMORE COOPER AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN SEA FICTION. Needless to say, I’ll be following in my dad’s considerable wake when I speak about Cooper and the Sea at Oneonta. On Saturday July 13 it’ll be back to BUNKER HILL when I speak at one of my favorite bookstores, Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont.
June 18, 2013
Bunker Hill Day
Monday was a beautiful day in Charlestown–cloudless and hot–just like it was 238 years ago during the Battle of Bunker Hill. After a service at St. Francis De Salles Church on Bunker Hill, we marched to the site of the battle at Breed’s Hill, where dignitaries assembled in front of the monument for a series of speeches, followed by the rededication of the newly restored statue of Joseph Warren, pictured here.
The statue of Joseph Warren, newly restored.
I then got the chance to speak before the Bunker Hill Monument Association at the museum across the street. My thanks to Julia Mize of the National Park Service and to Arthur Hurley of the BHMA. I only wish I had gotten to see the ceremonial tug of war performed by members of the Breed and Bunker families prior to the festivities at the monument!
June 13, 2013
Fire!
Here’s a diorama I made on the dining room table using three miniature Revolutionary soldiers given to me for my birthday by my wife Melissa. I’ve used a painting of Nantucket as the improbable but somehow appropriate backdrop. Tomorrow I’ll show you the British regulars at which they’re firing the cannon.
Three miniature Revolutionary soldiers–a birthday gift from my wife Melissa.
June 11, 2013
Joseph Warren
Today, June 11, is the birthday of Joseph Warren, one of the central characters in my book, BUNKER HILL. (It also happens to be my birthday.) Here is a photo of the Joseph Warren figure my wife Melissa bought for me when I was working on the book. More pics of revolutionary action figures to follow as we approach the day of the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17.
Figure of Joseph Warren.
June 8, 2013
Braving the Storm in NH
It was very wet and windy in New England on Friday night as tropical storm Andrea made its way up the eastern seaboard. My wife Melissa and I had enjoyed a fun if soggy day in Portsmouth seeing the sights. Much to our surprise, there was a standing room only crowd assembled at the Barnes and Noble in Newington, New Hampshire, for my talk that night. Many thanks to all the intrepid readers who braved the weather. Looking forward to speaking at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Thursday.
The SRO crowd that braved tropical storm Andrea to come to my event in Newington, NH.
