A partnership of the History Book Festival and the Lewes Public Library, this monthly history book discussion group is open to all lovers of history meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 2 pm.

This month's book is The Hour of Fate: Theodore Roosevelt, J. P. Morgan, and the Battle to Transform American Capitalism, by Susan Berfield. (Bloomsbury, 2020). Author Susan Berfield will join the discussion via Zoom. REGISTER HERE

In 1902, one of J. P. Morgan’s companies, Northern Securities, was sued by Theodore Roosevelt’s administration for antitrust violations. As the case ramped up, the coal miners went on strike, abandoning the anthracite pits that fueled Morgan’s trains and heated the homes of Roosevelt’s citizens. With millions of dollars on the line, winter bearing down, and revolution in the air, it was a crisis that neither man alone could solve. The outcome of the strike and the case would change the course of history.

Susan Berfield is an investigative reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg News, where she has covered some of America’s largest corporations. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

NOTE: This meeting is being conducted through Zoom, an online meeting platform that is very user friendly. You may join the meeting using your computer or telephone. However, you MUST REGISTER for this event. You will receive specific instructions for joining Zoom the day prior to the meeting.

Here are basic written instructions for using Zoom and a brief video tutorial.

Purchase Hour of Fate at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival, and help support local independent bookstores. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by the store, order books online, or call in your order to 302-226-2665.

The History Book Discussions are presented by the History Book Festival and the Lewes Public Library, in conjunction with the Delaware Division of Libraries and Sussex County Libraries, and sponsored by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery.