In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the University’s founding in 1853, the University is publishing a new history book, Beginning a Great Work: Washington University in St. Louis, 1853-2003, written by Candace O’Connor.
The book will be available early next year, but pre-orders are now being accepted at a discounted price.
Former University Provost Ralph E. Morrow, Ph.D., authored Washington University in St. Louis: A History, a book that ended at July 1, 1995, when Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton assumed office.
While Morrow’s tome primarily chronicles the administrative history of the University, Beginning a Great Work takes an anecdotal approach to focus on the people and events that have shaped the institution.
More than 500 pictures and illustrations will be included in the new book.
O’Connor is an award-winning writer, editor and documentary producer. She has written extensively for regional and national magazines and newspapers, as well as for corporations and health-care institutions.
The founding editor in chief of Missouri Historical Society Press, O’Connor has edited, substantially revised and co-authored a number of books. She has also contributed to the Washington University in St. Louis Magazine, Outlook Magazine and the Record.
Her historical documentary, Oh Freedom After While: The Missouri Sharecropper Protest of 1939, which aired nationally on PBS, won an Emmy award. Julian Bond narrated the documentary, which depicts the struggle of 1,500 evicted sharecroppers who, in the winter of 1939, took their stand against the plantation South, the farming policies of the federal government and the desperate conditions of their lives.
To order Beginning a Great Work for the discounted price of $39.95, go online to 150.wustl.edu/book, where you can download a PDF order form; or go to the Campus Store Web site, www.wustl.bkstr.com.
After Dec. 1, the book will cost $44.95.
Beginning a Great Work will be available for purchase from the Campus Store in Mallinckrodt Student Center early next year.