In History's Embrace: Past and Present in Concord, Massachusetts - Hardcover

Concord, Massachusetts, is known throughout the country as the idyllic font for such literary heavyweights as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Louisa May Alcott. The town boasts notable landmarks recognizable to anyone familiar with United States history: Old North Bridge, Walden Pond, and Wright's Tavern, where the Concord minutemen gathered in April 1775 to oppose the approaching British troops. But this is what you already knew about Concord. In History's Embrace, written by Leslie Perrin Wilson, a curator with the Concord Free Public Library, refuses to simply retell the tales. Wilson concentrates her historical research and literary talents on some of the most memorable and well-worn accounts of the past, singling out the gem-like details that breathe fresh life into old stories. She then directs our gaze to the present, reminding us that Concord is a living town, facing the same challenges and dilemmas of any modern township in America. How does a place so steeped in the past move its citizens forward and deal with the pressing modern concerns of development, education, business, and civic responsibilities? What compromises must be struck between preserving the historical fabric of Concord while making the town livable and workable for its present and future inhabitants? It is a delicate balance, to be sure, and Wilson's keen eye zeroes in on the nuances involved in blending a tourist industry, integral to Concord's economy, with the everyday demands of local residents. Yet, Concord is special. Its history is the history of our country, and readers of In History's Embrace are treated to wonderful and rich description in the form of masterful storytelling, sprinkled with archival photographs that bring the people and places of Concord off the page and into our imaginations. A foreword by the award-winning author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin whets the reader's appetite for the stories to come. In History's Embrace honors the past while blowing the dust off some of Concord's most well known legends. If you think you know the story of this New England town, you might be surprised, and delighted, to find you are mistaken.

"By exploring the tensions Concord has experienced over the years between honoring the past while adapting to the needs of the present, Leslie Perrin Wilson provides valuable lessons for communities far beyond the confines of Concord's embrace."--Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winning author of No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The American Homefront During World War II