Presidents at Work and at Play

Event Details

Dwight Young, author of Dear Mr. President, has been involved in the preservation of America's history for thirty years as a staff member of the National Trust. He is also the author of Alternatives to Sprawl and Saving America's Treasures.

John Sayle Watterson, an adjunct assistant professor of history at James Madison University, has written frequently about the history of American sports. His latest book, The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency, looks at presidents in a new way: through their sporting endeavors. Washington's athleticism contributed to his success on the battlefield, Watterson argues, and the growth of mass media helped transform presidential sports into a means of establishing a positive self-image in the age of Theodore Roosevelt.

This Forum celebrates the Virginia Festival of the Book; book signings will follow the event.