Mr. Charles Horner gave an engaging, thought-provoking talk, laced with humor, on China on Thursday, October 29 at 3:00 p.m. in the Turman Room in Preston Library. His presentation was entitled “Rising China and Its Postmodern Fate,” based on his new book, Rising China and its Postmodern Fate: Memories of Empire in a New Global Context. Mr. Horner provided insights into China’s history and referenced a number of associations with China from the local area (e.g. Mary Price Coulling whose father, Francis Wilson Price, was a missionary to China and sinologist). A sizable number of faculty, cadets, and members of the community enjoyed the talk which was followed by engaging questions and discussions.
Mr. Horner is Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. He is a China scholar who pays special attention to how China’s evolving views of its 
modern historical experience and its intellectual and cultural traditions influence contemporary developments.
From 1980 to 1982, Mr. Horner was Adjunct Professor in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and an associate of its Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy. During the 1970s, Horner served on the staff of the late Senator Henry M. Jackson and then as Senior Legislative Assistant for Foreign Affairs and National Security policy to the late Senator Daniel P. Moynihan.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he did graduate work in Chinese history at the University of Chicago and, overseas, from 1967 to 1970, at National Taiwan University and Tokyo University.
Dr. Lewis Sorley provided the Friends of Preston Library with an engaging Spring Program Thursday, March 26, at 3:00 p.m. in the Turman Room of Preston Library. Dr. Sorley spoke on “Adventures in Research” and revealed several fascinating tales of discovery learned in the course of his research. We learned how his scholarly “detective work” tracked down a member of Gen. Creighton Abrams’ World War II tank crew, how rescuing the records of Lt. Col. Harold Cohen from a fire resulted in his receiving the Distinguished Service Cross–fifty years after the war in which he earned it, how he discovered the secret location of Abrams’ command staff tapes, and other tales of research adventures. A lively and informative question and answer session followed and all had a good time.
Dr. Sorley is the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Army Historical Foundation. In 2007, he received the General Andrew J. Goodpaster Prize for military scholarship. This spring he serves as VMI’s Gottwald Visiting Professor of Leadership and Ethics. A third-generation graduate of the United States Military Academy, Dr. Sorley earned his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University. In his academic career he has served on the faculties of West Point and the Army War College. His U.S. Army assignments include tank and armored cavalry unit commands in Germany and Vietnam and staff service for the Secretary of Defense and Army Chief of Staff.
Dr. Sorley’s latest book is Honor Bright: History and Origins of the West Point Honor Code and System.
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Crisp reads a passage from Goodbye Vienna
The Friends of Preston Library’s Spring Program featured William Crisp, ’63, Friday, 25 April in the Turman Room of Preston Library. Will read from several of his novels as well as from novels of other writers of spy thrillers such as Len Deighton. He discussed how he writes and how various writers influenced him. These included Deighton, LeCarre, and Hemingway. Will gave an interesting and engaging talk and answered numerous questions from his audience.
Will has written several suspense novels: Spy Trap (1982), The Compleat Agent (1984), and Vengeance is Thine (1986). His latest novel is Goodbye Vienna, published in 2006 by PublishAmerica.
After serving as a rifle platoon leader in Vietnam, Mr. Crisp served as a US Foreign Service officer in Yugoslavia and worked for twenty-five years as an East European business specialist with the Economist Intelligence Unit in Vienna, Austria. In 1996, he returned to VMI to teach in the International Studies program. He is currently working on a non-fiction work about Vietnam.
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The Friends of Preston Library hosted their annual Fall Program on Friday, October 5, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. in the Turman Room of Preston Library. Our guest speaker was Colonel Keith E. Gibson, ’77. Colonel Gibson is the Executive Director of Museum Programs and the Architectural Historian at the Institute. His most recent work is entitled Moses Ezekiel: Civil War Soldier, Renowned Sculptor and was the topic of his presentation on October 5. Col. Gibson presented an interesting and engaging program on Moses Ezekiel who survived the Battle of New Market and went on to become a celebrated sculptor.
| The Friends of Preston Library held its Fifth Annual Authors’ Colloquium on Thursday, February 22, 2007, in the Turman Room. Authors participating in the formum were Jenny Siler, Frank Grizzard, Phil Hirsh, and Lisa Tracy. |
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Jenny Siler has written several best-sellling thrillers. Her latest novel is An Accidental American: A Novel (Mortalis) to be released in March under the pen-name Alex Carr. Frank Grizzard, well-known Washington scholar, is the author of a new book about Jamestown entitled The Jamestown Colony: An Encyclopedia. Phil Hirsh has written an engaging personal account of life in Appalachia, Voices from the Hollow: What Happened When the Blue Bloods Met the Blue Ridge, and Lisa Tracy has written a work exploring the recent natural disasters on the Gulf Coast entitled Muddy Waters: The Legacy of Katrina and Rita: Health Care Providers Remember–and Look Ahead.
 The Fifth Annual Authors’ Colloquium sponsored by the Friends of the Preston Library was a great success. The audience included cadets, faculty, and local community members. The panel of authors conducted a lively discussion of their books with the audience.
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| The Friends of Preston Library hosted Dr. Richard Jadick at their Spring Program that was held Friday, April 27th, in the Turman Room of Preston Library. Dr. Jadick spoke about his book On Call in Hell: A Doctor’s Iraq War Story. Commander Jadick and his experiences were featured on the cover of Newsweek in March 2006, and he was awarded the Bronze Star with “Combat V” device for valor. |
Left to Right: Col. Samdahl, Head Librarian, Mr. George Warren, Friends Board of Governors, Dr. Jadick, Col. Tom Moncure, Head of Friends
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Dr. Jadick answers questions from Cadets
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Dr. Jadick discussed his experience in Iraq and the process of getting On Call in Hell written and published. The presentation drew a large crowd of cadets, VMI faculty and staff, and members of the community. Dr. Jadick took time to converse with many cadets and audience members after his presentation.
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| On Call In Hell is available at Preston Library. |
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The Friends of Preston Library featured guest speaker Col. Jim Hentz on Friday, October 20. Col. Hentz’s topic was “A Regionalist Approach to International Relations: Theory and Practice.” Col. Hentz gave an engaging presentation and a lively question and answer session followed.
Pictured are Col. Moncure, Chairman of the Friends of Preston Library, and Col. Hentz.
Col. Hentz is the head of VMI’s International Studies and Political Science Department as well as a prolific author.
