Ten Tortured Words; Huntington Library Exhibits; Harriet Tubman; Billy the Kid
Ten Tortured Words
The First Amendment to the Constitution is one of the most fascinating, controversial, and defining sentences in American history. In his new book, Ten Tortured Words (Thomas Nelson), author Stephen Mansfield examines the first 10 words of our Bill of Rights: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." Larry talks to Mansfield about the First Amendment and the centuries of legal debate on the role of religion in our society.
Huntington Library Exhibits
Larry talks with Peter Mancall, and Kathryn Hight, curators of the "Jamestown at 400: Natives and Newcomers in Early Virginia," and "Legacy and Legend: Images of Indians from Four Centuries" exhibits at the Huntington Library. The Jamestown exhibit runs from July 7th through October 7th, and the Legacy and Legend exhibit runs from June 9th through September 2nd.
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman could not read or write, so the stories of her remarkable life have necessarily been told by others. In her new book, Harriett Tubman: Imagining a Life (Doubleday), Beverly Lowry draws on previous biographies, archival material, and new findings of the woman who was also known as Araminta, Moses, and The General, through various stages of her life. Larry talks with Lowry about Tubman, an African-American woman who risked her life to free slaves and to serve in the Union army during the Civil War.
Billy the Kid
In his new book, Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride, historian Michael Wallis traces the life of America's mythic outlaw. Born Henry McCarty in 1859, stories of the kid first showed up in Silver City, Colorado. In 1877, Henry - already known to some under the alias Kid - shot a man who was bullying him and began a life on the run. The Kid was eventually gunned down by Sheriff Pat Garrett in the New Mexico Territory at the age of twenty-one, but not before helping define a new breed of celebrity outlaw. Larry talks to Wallis about the Kid and other criminals of the old west.