David Costigan, PhD, Professor Emeritus of History, Quincy University, will outline the beginnings behind the Vietnam Conflict. Dr. Costigan will outline policies adopted by Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy that involved the United States ever more deeply in Vietnam.

In this period every President had a policy for Indo-China, of which Vietnam was a part. For each President, Vietnam was a back-burner issue, a part of a bigger entity, the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and other grave concerns over the direction China was taking. This presentation sets the stage for the most intense years of the Vietnam War, 1964-1974, presented by Dr. Justin Coffey.

Big Read participants will have a chance to learn more about the Vietnam War era during the "Revisiting the Vietnam War Lecture Series" on four consecutive Tuesday nights at the Quincy Public Library. The lectures are designed to encompass a diverse range of topics: from the beginnings of the Vietnam Conflict and its aftermath to a lecture on Protest Songs from the period.
This program is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested. Please call 223-1309, ext. 501 or go online to www.quincylibrary.org to make your reservation.