Events at the Nixon Library

Author of “Arthur Vandenberg: The Man in the Middle of the American Century”

7PM Lecture, Audience Q&A and Book Signing

The idea that a Senator—Republican or Democrat—would put the greater good of the country ahead of party seems nearly impossible to imagine in our current climate of gridlock and divisiveness. But this hasn’t always been the case. Arthur H. Vandenberg (1884–1951), Republican from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was the model of a consensus builder, and the coalitions he spearheaded continue to form the foundation of American foreign and domestic policy today. Edward R. Murrow called him “the central pivot of the entire era,” yet, despite his significance, Vandenberg has never received the full public attention he is due—until now. With this authoritative biography, Hendrik Meijer reveals how Vandenberg built and nurtured the bipartisan consensus that created the American Century.

Hendrik Meijer worked as a reporter and editor before joining Meijer, Inc., where he is executive chairman. He is the author of a biography of his grandfather, “Thrifty Years: The Life of Hendrik Meijer” and is the executive producer of the documentary, “America’s Senator: The Unexpected Odyssey of Arthur Vandenberg.”

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Author of “Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution”

7PM Lecture, Audience Q&A and Book Signing

A revelatory portrait of the creative partnership that transformed musical theater and provided the soundtrack to the American Century.

They stand at the apex of the great age of songwriting, the creators of the classic Broadway musicals “Oklahoma!”, “Carousel”, “South Pacific”, “The King and I”, and “The Sound of Music”, whose songs have never lost their popularity or emotional power. Even before they joined forces, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written dozens of Broadway shows, but together they pioneered a new art form: the serious musical play. Their songs and dance numbers served to advance the drama and reveal character, a sharp break from the past and the template on which all future musicals would be built.

Though different in personality and often emotionally distant from each other, Rodgers and Hammerstein presented an unbroken front to the world and forged much more than a songwriting team; their partnership was also one of the most profitable and powerful entertainment businesses of their era. They were cultural powerhouses whose work came to define postwar America on stage, screen, television, and radio. But they also had their failures and flops, and more than once they feared they had lost their touch.

Todd S. Purdum is the author of “An Idea Whose Time Has Come” and “A Time of Our Choosing.” He is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a senior writer at Politico, having previously worked at The New York Times for more than twenty years, where he served as White House correspondent, diplomatic correspondent, and Los Angeles bureau chief. A graduate of Princeton University, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Dee Dee Myers, and their two children, Kate and Stephen.

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