Photo by Jason Rearick, Staff Photographer for The News-Times

Historical fiction author, Jeff Shaara, captivated everyone with his animated “Author Talk” on his father’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War book, The Killer Angels, on August 9 at WCSU.

On Tuesday evening, August 9, a good representation of folks from the five towns surrounding Candlewood Lake were treated to an engaging “Author Talk’” by the New York Times best-selling writer of historical fiction, Jeff Shaara. This event was the finale of ONE BOOK ONE LAKE, a partnered summer reading program offered this summer by the five libraries around Candlewood Lake, the Brookfield Library, Danbury Library, New Fairfield Free Public Library, New Milford Public Library, and the Sherman Library.

Jeff Shaara, the son of Michael Shaara, spoke passionately about his deceased father’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book , The Killer Angels, which tells the compelling story of the Battle of Gettysburg, the battle that many historians consider a pivotal battle of the American Civil War.

Following his father’s untimely death at the age of sixty, Jeff made a life-altering decision to protect and extend his father’ legacy. He changed careers, took up writing, and successfully wrote “bookends” to The Killer Angels. His first two attempts at writing historical fiction tell the stories of the beginning and the end of the Civil War, using his father’s technique of story-telling. These two books, Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure feature the real generals as the “main characters,” giving Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant feelings and putting words in their mouths. This technique of historical “story-telling” is tremendously appealing to readers because it breathes humanity into dry history! And Jeff Shaara has shown (with some 11 books under his belt) that he as good a story teller as his father was!

ONE BOOK ONE LAKE is so pleased to have provided this opportunity to hear such an acclaimed author share his insights into his personal writing process, the generals who led the Confederacy and the Union armies to defeat and victory, and the exasperating experience of having your book made into a feature film without being included in that creative process.

This final event for One BOOK ONE LAKE was free and open to the public, as were all of the twenty-one events in the program. ONE BOOK ONE LAKE extends a sincere THANK YOU to these local businesses and organizations who were major sponsors: Praxair Corp., Union Savings Bank in Danbury, Ellen Knowles Harcourt Foundation in New Milford, New Fairfield Community Thrift Shop, and Friends of the New Milford Public Library, Inc.

These local businesses and organization also sponsored this summer reading program and deserve sincere thanks for their generosity: Friends of the Brookfield Library, Friends of the Danbury Library, the Friends of the New Fairfield Public Library, New Fairfield Historical Society, La Quinta Inn and Suites in Danbury, Webster Bank in Sherman, Barn Gallery and Frame Shop in New Fairfield, and Western Connecticut State University.

More than a handful of events were sponsored by local organizations who freely gave of their time and talents. Thanks to: Sherman Chamber Ensemble, Naromi Land Trust, Sherman Historical Society, Brookfield Museum and Historical Society, Brookfield Senior Center, and New Fairfield Senior Center.  Also, graphic artist Michael Stetson is recognized for his creative efforts on the program ’s brochure and the Citizen News’ generous coverage of the ONE BOOK ONE LAKE events is very much appreciated.

ONE BOOK ONE LAKE is proud to have provided this enriching summer program to our lake communities. It is a biennial program, but the organizing committee is already considering a good book for the 2013 summer program! If you have a title to suggest or you want to be a sponsor of the next program, we’d love to hear from you. Visit our website: www.onebook onelake.org. We encourage your participation as well as your comments about this 2011 program. And, by the way, it’s not too late to swing by your local participating library to check out a copy of The Killer Angels or any of Jeff Shaara’s other books of historical fiction. You’re in for a treat!

~ from the New Fairfield Library Newsletter