1pm - Entwined Minds Book Discussion

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and a finalist for the National Book Award. From the PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author comes Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. A razor-sharp satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq, it explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad. Ben Fountain’s remarkable debut novel follows eight surviving members of the heroic Bravo Squad, including nineteen-year-old Specialist Billy Lynn, through an exhausting stop in their media-intensive "Victory Tour" at Texas Stadium where they are invited as guests of the Dallas Cowboys and slated to be part of the halftime show on Thanksgiving Day.

2pm - Civil War Presentation by Bruce Ralston

The History & Life of a Civil War Soldier

Fully dressed as a Cavalry Sergeant, Civil War educator, Bruce Ralston, will present on the history and life of the Civil War soldier. Who were the soldiers? Who enlisted? Why did they fight? Mr. Ralston will provide answers to these and other questions. He will read from Civil War letters and discuss such topics as: POWs, weapons, camp life, diet, health, and sanitation. Concluding with a discussion on the aftermath, Bruce will speak about the short and long term effects of war on the lives of Union, Confederate, and African-American soldiers and other challenges faced after war.