Top of page

Category: Books

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: Commemorating the Gettysburg Address with Author Jonathan Hennessey

Posted by: Erin Allen

A 10-year veteran of the film and television production industry, Jonathan Hennessey is a Los Angeles-based writer. Hennessey is the author of “The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation,” on which he collaborated with illustrator Aaron McConnell. In their newest work, “The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaptation,” the duo commemorate the 150th anniversary of this …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: Sabor! Latin American and Hispanic Cookbooks in the Library of Congress Collections

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Kaydee McCann, humanities editor for the “Handbook of Latin American Studies” and reference librarian in the Hispanic Division.) Historian Natalia Silva Prada is a visiting researcher in the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress. Supported by a fellowship from Goya Foods, she spent two months preparing an annotated bibliography …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Saving Pulp Fiction

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a story written by Lindsey Hobbs of the Library’s Preservation Directorate for the Library of Congress staff newsletter, The Gazette.) Pulp-fiction authors created some of the most enduring characters of any literary genre including Tarzan, detective Sam Spade, and the sword-wielding Zorro. The magazines that illustrated their exploits, unfortunately, haven’t fared as …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

A Rare Book By Another Obama

Posted by: Erin Allen

The Library of Congress holds a rare book written decades ago in Kenya by the father of the 44th U.S. president. The author’s name, listed on the title page, is familiar even if the language is not: “olosi gi Barack H. Obama.” The language is Luo, an African tribal dialect, and the Obama in question …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: An Interview with Marie Arana

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Jason Steinhauer, program specialist in the Library’s John W. Kluge Center.) Author Marie Arana is a writer-at-large for the Washington Post and former editor-in-chief of Book World, as well member of the Library of Congress Scholars Council. Her latest book, a biography of Simon Bolívar, was extensively researched …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

A League of Their Own

Posted by: Erin Allen

The other day at roller derby practice, the subject of women and baseball came up. Okay, to be fair, my teammates may have just been quoting lines from the movie “A League of Their Own,” which was recently inducted into the Library of Congress National Film Registry. But, nonetheless, with baseball season upon us, it’s …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: Exploring Jefferson’s Universe

Posted by: Erin Allen

Mark Dimunation stands in a vault near the rare-book reading room and eyes a dozen volumes on a half-filled shelf, each bearing a small green ribbon. “It’s been a little slow,” says Dimunation, chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, as he scans the titles. The books all were drawn from the “Thomas …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

A Whale of an Acquisition

Posted by: Erin Allen

“Moby Dick,” Herman Melville’s tale of high-seas adventure, heroic determination and the power of man, has been heralded as one of the greatest novels in the English language. Now, perhaps it can be given the same commendation in picture writing. 🙂 🙁