Wednesday night (24 October), the Ethical Society of St. Louis (https://ethicalstl.org/) in Richmond Heights, Missouri hosted an event for the new book "My Blues Note." It is the memoir by Bernie Federko--St. Louis Blues (https://www.nhl.com/blues) legend, 2002 Hockey Hall of Fame (http://www.hhof.com/) inductee, and current Blues studio analyst for Fox Sports Midwest (https://www.foxsports.com/midwest). Federko and his co-author, Jeremy Rutherford--Blues beat writer for The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/stlouis/)--were on stage for a discussion about the book, with Rutherford asking Federko about stories from his life and career. They then fielded questions from the audience before going into the lobby to sign copies of "My Blues Note."
It was quite a wait in line, but it was worth it to meet Federko--who I greatly admired as a player--as he signed my copy of his book. After signing the book, Federko and I posed for a picture. (I wore a replica of the Blues home sweater circa 1986. It was worn by Federko and his teammates when they came from behind the defeat the Calgary Flames in Game 6 of the 1986 Conference Finals--known to Blues fans as "the Monday Night Miracle.") I also got Rutherford's signature on the book, and I let him know how much I admire his work. As I left, I thanked the people from Left Bank Books for this program.
Last night after work, I headed to the Auditorium at Maryville University (https://www.maryville.edu/) for a Maryville Talks Books program. Acclaimed author Ron Chernow (https://ronchernow.com/) spoke about his most recent book, "Grant," which came out last year. It is his biography of Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), Union Army General during the American Civil War and 18th President of the United States (in office 1869-1877). In approximately 40 minutes, Chernow spoke about his approach to writing Grant's story--wanting to clear up misconceptions about Grant (a butcher of a commander, a drunkard, a scandal-plagued President), and summarizing Grant's life. His scholarship shows Grant as a brilliant, but flawed man who showed generosity towards the defeated Confederates at the Civil War's end and did much to advance civil rights for African-Americans prior to and while President. It was a most informative, and at times witty presentation. Chernow then fielded questions from the audience for about 15 minutes before having to leave for an engagement in Chicago the next morning.
Going into the Auditorium, I and the other attendees received a paperback copy of "Grant," which Chernow signed before the event. (I have been reading a hard back copy of "Grant" that my brothers gave me for Christmas.) It was too bad he had to leave right away--Chernow said he would have if he could--because he is a most interesting speaker and talented author. His earlier works include biographies of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton--the latter being the bases for "Hamilton: An American Musical." (Chernow joked about "Hamilton" early in his talk.)
Later
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