Tuesday, July 9th
Folklorist and Rutgers American Studies Professor Angus Gillespie will read from his bestseller, Twin Towers: The Life of New York City's World Trade Center, and discuss the cultural significance of this monumental work of civil engineering, on Tuesday, July 9th from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Alexander Library's fourth floor Scholarly Communication Center. A light reception will precede the author talk.

All attendees will be entered in a drawing for one of ten copies of Gillespie's book, which was hailed by the New York Times as ?"Well-researched...gives us a sense of the historical richness and complexity of what we have lost."

As a researcher, Gillespie likes to take a monumental work of civil engineering and analyze it for its cultural implications. This technique was used in Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike, co-authored with Michael Aaron Rockland in 1989. Through a series of well-told, compelling, sometimes frightening, and often humorous anecdotes, the authors convey the flavor of a massive, modern turnpike.

Gillespie's book, Twin Towers: The Life of New York City's World Trade Center, was first published in late 1999. In that book, Gillespie argued that the Twin Towers were more than just office buildings. They were symbols of America, just as the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben represent their countries. Completed in 1976, these edifices were the tallest man-made structures in New York City. After the events of September 11, 2001, that book became a New York Times bestseller.

This author talk is cosponsored by the Rutgers Summer Session and the Rutgers University Libraries. Admission is free but space is limited. To reserve a seat, please click here or call 732-932-7565.