Schenectady County Library Public Event

SCHENECTADY, NY (03/08/2012)(readMedia)-- Award-winning local author David Pietrusza will speak at the Mabee Farm Historic Site's George E. Franchere Education Center on Sunday, March 18, at 3 p.m. This free program is sponsored by the Mabee Farm Historic Site in partnership with Schenectady County Public Library. Call 388-4511 for more information and to register.

The Mabee Farm is located at 1080 Main St. (Route 5S) in Rotterdam Junction. The Education Center is wheelchair accessible and has off-street parking.

Pietrusza will discuss his book "1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year that Transformed America." The author brings readers to the backstage events that resulted in Truman's victory in an election fought against the background of an erupting Cold War, the Berlin Airlift, the birth of Israel, a post-war America facing exploding storms over civil rights, and domestic communism.

His other books include: "1920: The Year of the Six Presidents," "Silent Cal's Almanack: The Homepsun Wit and Wisdom of Vermont's Calvin Coolidge," 1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon – The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidencies," and "Rothstein: The Life, Times and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series" (Edgar Award finalist), and "Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis" (CASEY Award winner, Seymour Medalist finalist, NASSH Award nominee).

The author's body of work has garnered attention from such media outlets as the New York Times, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, NPR, and C-SPAN.

The Open Door Bookstore will be holding a book sale and signing after the program. There will be a 20 percent discount of the book if ordered before Tuesday, March 13. To order a copy, call The Open Door at 346-2719. Books will be sold at full price the day of the program.