Ed Larson
What do polar explorer Ernest Shackleton, the Scopes Trial, and American Revolutionary War-era sociology have in common?
Those three topics will be the focus of three separate discussions by Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian Ed Larson at The Center for Life Enrichment.
Larson, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for his work “Summer of the Gods” will start his run with a discussion of the Scopes Trial at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 27.
“I’m an attorney, but also a historian and a scientist,” Larson said. “Until I sat down and wrote the book, there wasn’t a comprehensive work on the Scopes Trial, despite it’s incredibly important place in American history and it’s place in our culture.”
Larson describes the surprising and sometimes comic first skirmish in what has become an American culture war. Set in the unlikely hamlet of Dayton, Tennessee in the summer of 1925, the Scopes trial focused on evolution, but it ignited a broader, increasingly complex debate about the tension between science and religion that continues a century later – fundamentalism versus modernity, majority rule versus individual rights, school curriculum versus textbook content, etc.
Larson not only captures the drama of the trial and the great encounter between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan; he also discusses misconceptions about the trial that have persisted.
For his second lecture, at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 28, Larson will discuss his most recent book “American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation.” The book looks at the role slavery played immediately prior to, during, and soon after the revolutionary war.
Unlike much history of the period, Larson’s book highlights the urgency of liberty through the voices of Black Americans. The depth of the contradictions between freedom and bondage present at the founding helps explain the enduring legacy of slavery that Americans confront today.
“One thing that has been great since the book was published, is that I haven’t gotten a lot of pushback from folks on either side of the debate,” Larson said. “I’ve had conservative reviewers give the book positive reviews and I have had more liberal critics also give the book positive reviews. I have no axe to grind, and I’m not here to throw political grenades, so the book really is a historic look at a profound social issue of the time.”
Larson’s third lecture at CLE will take place at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 29 and will cover a much more lighthearted topic – polar explorer and legendary historic figure Ernest Shackleton.
Even though he never reached either pole, he is better known and more widely admired than any of those that did – particularly for his remarkable efforts to save his Endeavour crew after their boat was crushed in the Antarctic ice on his failed third and final effort to reach the South Pole. A 700-mile journey to Elephant Island via lifeboat, Shackleton’s unwavering resolve and adept problem solving are still admired to this day.
“I was working on a book about the early scientific discoveries made in Antarctica, and that led me on several exhibitions there,” Larson said. “Having been to Antarctica 17 times, and having heard all the legendary stories about Shackleton and the incredible things he accomplished, I dove into his life and work.”
Larson’s series of lectures at CLE are sponsored by Al and Martha Pierson. The cost of each lecture is $30 for CLE members and $40 for non-members. For more information, or to register, visit www.clehighlands.com.