Book Sale this month

The Friends of the Library will be holding a book sale Friday, July 31 and Saturday, August 1. The sale is during our regular open hours and features discarded and donated items. There is a special preview hour on Thursday, July 30 from 6-7 PM for Friends’ members. Join today to get the first deals at all of our book sales throughout the year! Donations of gently used materials are appreciated all year long.

Field of Dreams- 20 years ago

Did you know it was twenty years ago when a film about a baseball field, father-son reunion was in the theaters? It was “Field of Dreams”, a 1989 film staring Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones and Burt Lancaster in his last film appearance. It was adapted from the novel “Shoeless Joe” by W.P. Kinsella. Different aspects from the film still resonate today and thousands of people come to reconnect with their love ones or just have a catch in what many consider a sacred baseball place in Dyersville, Iowa. We can help you plan your weekend or day getaway with many different travels guides to Iowa at 917.77 in our nonfiction collection.

Don Knotts- 85 years ago

Don Knotts was born 85 years ago on July 21st. He is an actor who is most known for his portrayal of the loveable deputy Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith Show. Jesse Donald Knotts was a comedic genius. He displays a true gift for portraying the nervous, hypertensive fall guy. He received five Emmys for the Andy Griffith Show and is most known for “The Apple Dumpling Gang” and the ABC sitcom “Three’s Company”. He was also in the “Ghost and Mr. Chicken”, “Incredible Mr. Limpet”, “Reluctant Astronaut”, “The Love God” and “The Shakiest Gun in the West”. We have just added Stephen Cox’s book “The Incredible Mr. Don Knotts” an eye-popping look at his movies. This book will answer what ever happened to Barney after he left Mayberry. Don Knotts was one of the earliest TV stars to make the transition from small screen to the big screen. This book will take you through all of his films and is as fun as watching one of the movies themselves.

40 Years Ago- Man on the Moon

July 20, 1969 is the 40th anniversary of man’s first landing on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed lunar module Eagle at 4:17 EDT and remained on the lunar surface 21 hours, 36 minutes and 16 seconds. This was almost science fiction at the time. We have a display of space books and videos at the library by the standup of Neil Armstrong. You may enjoy the new book Craig Nelson’s “Rocket Men” which is the epic story of the first men on the moon or Tanya Stone’s “Almost Astronauts”. This book tells the story of 13 women who underwent a battery of physical endurance tests and psychological analysis to determine their readiness to travel in space during early 1960s. Discover the long road home from the moon in Buzz Aldrin’s “Magnificent Desolation”. His second memoir describes what he saw, how he felt in space and his difficult years following the moon landing.

30 Years Ago

Gene Wilder stars as a Polish Rabbi crossing the United States during 1850, in the comedy film "The Frisco Kid", co-starring Harrison Ford as the young bank robber he befriends along the way.

July 8, 1979

Happy Birthday Nancy Reagan

Happy 88th Birthday to Nancy Reagan.

Learn more at 921 Reagan in our nonfiction section.

The former First Lady and wife of Ronald Reagan was bonr July 6, 1921 in New York, New York.

Robert S. McNamara

WASHINGTON – Robert S. McNamara, the cerebral secretary of defense who was vilified for his role in escalating the Vietnam War, a role he later deeply regretted, died Monday. He was 93.

McNamara died at 5:30 a.m. at his home, his wife Diana told The Associated Press. She said he had been in failing health for some time.
McNamara was fundamentally associated with the Vietnam War, "McNamara's war," the country's most disastrous foreign venture, the only American war to end in abject withdrawal rather than victory.

Known as a policymaker with a fixation for statistical analysis, McNamara was recruited to run the Pentagon by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 from the presidency of the Ford Motor Co. — where he and a group of colleagues had been known as the "whiz kids." He stayed in the defense post for seven years, longer than anyone since the job's creation in 1947.

Author of few books, including "In Retrospect- lessons of Vietnam" and "Wilson's Ghost" which are in library.