State Historical Society of Iowa’s book club kicks off March 30

DES MOINES – Returning for a third consecutive season, the State Historical Society of Iowa’s book club kicks off this month with a new lineup of entertaining and thought-provoking books and authors.

The Iowa History Book Club will feature “The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest, 1800-1900” by Jon Lauck at 7 p.m. March 30, to wrap up Iowa History Month. It will be followed by “Saved by Schindler: The Life of Celina Karp Biniaz” by William B. Friedricks in May, “A Woman of Adventure: The Life and Times of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover” by Annette Dunlap in September, and “Woman Suffrage and Citizenship in the Midwest, 1870-1920” by Sara Egge in November.

Each discussion will be led by Andrew Klumpp, editor of The Annals of Iowa, the quarterly journal published by the State Historical Society of Iowa, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

“The program has grown each of the two previous years as our authors continue to share thought-provoking insights about our state’s past,” Klumpp said. “We’re expecting even more people to join us this year so I encourage all who have an interest in the history of Iowa to sign up right away.”

All of the programs will be hosted online and recorded via Zoom, then posted afterward at iowaculture.gov. Registration is free but required for each event. Questions may be submitted with the online registration form or during the event itself, and participants are encouraged but not required to read the book before the meeting. All of the books can be purchased online or borrowed from most libraries.

The 2023 Iowa History Book Club schedule follows:

March 30, 7 p.m. “The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest, 1800-1900” by Jon Lauck.”
Hosted by Andrew Klumpp and John Lauck.
The first-ever chronicle of the Midwest’s formative century, “The Good Country” describes a rich civic culture that prized education, literature, libraries and the arts. *Iowa History Month Program.
Register

May 11, 7 p.m. “Saved by Schindler: The Life of Celina Karp Biniaz” by William B. Friedricks.
Hosted by Andrew Klumpp and William B. Friedricks.
Celina Karp Biniaz was 8 years old when Germans invaded her homeland of Poland in 1939. She landed on Schindler's list and escaped to Iowa.
Register

Sept. 7, 7 p.m. “A Woman of Adventure: The Life and Times of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover” by Annette Dunlap.
Hosted by Andrew Klumpp and Annette Dunlap.
When World War I began, life changed for Iowa-native Lou Henry Hoover. Her husband, Herbert Hoover, began a political career while she devoted her time to domestic causes and issues.
Register

Nov. 30, 7 p.m. “Woman Suffrage and Citizenship in the Midwest, 1870-1920” by Sara Egge.
Hosted by Andrew Klumpp and Sara Egge.
Uncover the ways midwestern suffragists understood citizenship as an obligation. The suffragists – primarily Yankees from the Northeast – settled in the region and founded libraries, schools, churches and parks.
Register

For more information visit iowaculture.gov.