Pages of History: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Program Type:

Clubs and Book Discussions

Age Group:

Teens, Adults
  • Registration is required for this event.
  • Registration will close on March 3, 2026 @ 7:00pm.
  • This event is for registrants age 15 and above.

Event Details

The Pages of History book-inspired lecture series is back for USA 250!

This year's books are chosen in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Presenters are invited to take the audience beyond the books to discuss history or contemporary topics within the stories.
 
Author James Ciccone, descendant of Lake County settler Amos Bennett, will join us from New York City. He will explore the life of "Doc Bennett" in Lake County. A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Ciccone’s own book, The Lake County Trilogy, will be available at the library and at the event.
 
Registration is NOT required to attend but encouraged as books will be available for pick up at the library upon registration.NOTE: We are meeting at the library this month!
JAMES CICCONE is the author of five books, including the award winning novel titled The Horse. His most recent book, The Lake County Trilogy, is the subject of today's event. It is a group of short stories chronicling the life and times of Amos Bennett, an early African American settler of Lake County who styled himself "the first white man tio plant corn in Lake County." Mr. Ciccone observes the irony of this catchy tagline is Bennett was neither 'a white man' nor 'the first to plant corn in Lake County.' Instead, his life was emblematic of American exceptionalism precisely because he was neither of those things. Mr. Ciccone's stories in The Trilogy focus attention on early Illinois history and the psychology of the region shortly after the Treaty of Chicago was signed in 1833. 
 
Mr. Ciccone taught college writing briefly before attending law school and practicing law as a trial lawyer for over two decades. He is the founder of Wang & Jean Publishers in New York City, a subsidiary of Average White Press LLC. In 2017, he was inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in recognition of his many years of service as the American Tennis Association's general counsel. Interested parties are encouraged to visit Mr. Ciccone's website: https://wjbookpublishers.com.

 

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