Alexander Heffner is the co-author with his late grandfather, the historian Richard D. Heffner, of a revised and expanded 2018 edition of the million-selling book, A Documentary History of the United States, first published in 1952. Bill Moyers said, “Here is fertile soil for exploring our past and imagining our future. Present crises notwithstanding, you cannot spend time within these pages and be skeptical of our capacity to overcome, survive, and thrive….” Alexander is also the twenty-something host of the PBS talk show, The Open Mind, “a thoughtful excursion into the world of ideas across politics, media, technology, the arts, and all realms of civic life.” Founded by his grandfather in 1956, The Open Mind is the longest-running public broadcast in the history of American television.
Note: Prior to the evening conversation, a diverse range of community members, from political leaders to elementary school children, will take the stage to read memorable lines from America’s founding documents.
Cosponsored by the State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education and Friends of the New York State Library.
