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Pulitzer Prize-Winning Presidential Historian Jon Meacham
November 16, 2017 @ 7:30 am PST
UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Jon Meacham delivering a public lecture titled The Art of Leadership: Lessons from the American Presidency on Thurs., Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. at UCSB Campbell Hall
Jon Meacham is one of America’s most prominent public intellectuals. A contributing editor at Time, former managing editor at Newsweekand executive editor at Random House, his venerated books on American presidents include American Lion: Andrew Jackson; Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power; and Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush. A brilliant speaker with deep knowledge of politics and current affairs, Meacham will explore the transformation and progression of presidential powers.
Meacham is a contributor to The New York Times Book Review and a regular guest on Morning Joe, known as a skilled raconteur with a depth of knowledge about politics, religion and current affairs. He understands how issues and events impact our lives and why historical context matters.
Meacham’s latest Presidential biography, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list in November 2015. The Times said, “Destiny and Power reflects the qualities of both subject and biographer: judicious, balanced, deliberative, with a deep appreciation of history and the personalities who shape it.”
His No. 1 New York Times bestseller Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power was hailed as “masterful and intimate” by Fortune magazine. His other national bestsellers include Franklin and Winston, American Gospel and American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009.
A contributing editor at Time, Meacham writes for the magazine’s Ideas section. He also pens “The Long View” column in The New York Times Book Review in which he “looks back at books that speak to our current historical and cultural moment.” He served as Newsweek’s managing editor from 1998-2006 and editor from 2006-2010. The New York Times called him “one of the most influential editors in the news magazine business.”
He has appeared on Meet the Press, The Colbert Report and Ken Burns’ documentary series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. Fox News produced an hour-long special about Meacham’s Destiny and Power in November 2015.
Named a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a fellow of the Society of American Historians and chairs the National Advisory Board of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. Meacham is a Distinguished Visiting Professor of History at The University of the South and a Visiting Distinguished Professor at Vanderbilt.
He is currently at work on a biography of James and Dolley Madison.
Jon Meacham is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. Part of the A&L Thematic Learning Initiative: Our Changing World. Event Sponsors are the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli and Casa Dorinda.
Tickets are $25-$38 for the general public and $10 for UCSB students (Valid student ID required)
For tickets and more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or visit www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu. UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges the generous support of SAGE for its major corporate support of the 2017-18 season.