Nathaniel Philbrick's Blog, page 4

Back to Where it all Began

Last night I ventured to where it all began: Concord, Massachusetts, where the famous “shot heard round the world” was fired on April 19, 1775.  Thanks to the Concord Museum for a fun, sold-out event and to the Concord Bookstore for selling the books. Tonight it’s on to one of my all-time favorite Barnes and Noble stores in Newington, New Hampshire.

Militiamen and British regulars collide at the North Bridge in Concord. From a series of engravings issued by Amos Doolittle in 1775 based on interviews with eyewitnesses and careful study of the terrain.

On to Nantucket!

There was no better way to end the western swing of my Bunker Hill tour than with my event last night at Rakestraw Books in beautiful Danville, California. And then to come across this sculpture of a whale’s tale in the San Francisco airport. On to Nantucket!

Greetings from San Francisco

I’m reaching the end of a four week swing across the country in support of Bunker Hill. Here I am backlit by beautiful San Francisco Bay as I speak to readers at Book Passage on Ferry Plaza. Tonight I’m venturing to Rakestraw Books in Danville, California, then it’s back home to Nantucket for the first time since the tour began on April 30.

Mini Me in Seattle

Just finished up a stupendous event at the Town Hall in Seattle sponsored by Elliott Bay Books.  Imagine my surprise when I found myself signing a book for someone named Nathaniel Philbrick!  Here I am with the young Nathaniel and his book.

Greetings from Fort Knox

Just had wonderful event at the Barr Library at the Fort Knox army base.  Some of the best questions of the tour. Looking forward to an evening in Louisville before heading to Denver and one of my favorite bookstores, The Tattered Cover.

Greetings from Traverse City

Have arrived at Traverse City, Michigan, after a terrific event at the Philadelphia Free Public Library.  I’m looking forward to being part of the National Writer Series held at the Traverse City Opera House and being interviewed by Rich Fahle with books provided by Horizon Books.  My son Ethan spent two summers at the Interlochen Music Camp and it’s great to be back on Lake Michigan.  Then it’s on to Politics and Prose in Washington,  DC, followed by Pittsburgh.

The view from Traverse City.

The Bunker Hill tour begins

I just landed in Boston after a great interview with Diane Rehm. I’m looking forward to my event on Wednesday at the Coolidge Theatre in Brookline. A great way to begin the Bunker Hill tour.

Boston Common on a beautiful spring day.

Books, Lines and Thinkers in Rangley, Maine

During a weekend trip to Maine my wife Melissa and I visited the beautiful lakeside town of Rangley. After lunch at the Red Onion, we stopped at Books, Lines and Thinkers and met proprietor Wess Connally who, we discovered,  is a fan of In the Heart of the Sea. Looking forward to meeting a lot more great bookstores and book people when BUNKER HILL comes out in a couple of weeks.

Wess Connally of Books, Lines and Thinkers

Nat with his purchases

A Statue of Joseph Warren

My upcoming book BUNKER HILL: A CITY, A SIEGE, A REVOLUTION (due out April 30) focuses on one of the great unsung heroes of Revolutionary Boston: Dr. Joseph Warren. Warren was not only president of the Provincial Congress and a major general; he was the one who ordered Paul Revere to alert the countryside that the British were headed for Concord. If he hadn’t been killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, Warren might have been one of the Founding Fathers we revere today. Here’s a picture I took of a statue of Warren that’s in the Lodge of the Bunker Hill Monument.

Statue of Joseph Warren at the Lodge of the Bunker Hill Monument

In today’s post on his terrific blog Boston 1775, J.L. Bell proposes that a statue of Warren that’s presently located at the Roxbury Latin School be relocated to the site of Warren’s home, which happens to be smack dab on Government Center in downtown Boston.

It’s an intriguing idea and would bring some much deserved attention to a historical figure who deserves to be better known, particularly in Boston.

Fourth Nantucket History Quiz Bowl

March is a very quiet month on Nantucket.  But Saturday night 235 islanders crowded into the Nantucket historical society’s whaling museum for the fourth annual quiz bowl. Once again it was a great event and I had the pleasure of serving as the quiz master. I’ll be handing over the microphone to someone else next year, and as you can see the NHA was soliciting nominations for my replacement.  That’s my author photo for my new book BUNKER HILL (due out April 30) blown up to a frightening poster size. The trophy I received from the organizers–a fuzzy whale wearing a mortar board–is in front.

The Nantucket Historical Society soliciting for my replacement