Author Amity Shlaes to speak at SMU on new Coolidge biography on March 6

DALLAS (SMU) – Amity Shlaes, syndicated columnist and director of the 4% Growth Project at the George W. Bush Institute, will speak at SMU’s McCord Auditorium at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, on her highly praised new book about Calvin Coolidge. The lecture is presented by the Center for Presidential History at SMU and the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

“The President Who Said No: Debt, Temperament and Calvin Coolidge’s Lessons for Today” is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and reservations are requested at http://cphshlaes.eventbrite.com/#.  Shlaes’ book will be available for purchase, and a reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

McCord Auditorium is located on the third floor of Dallas Hall, 3225 University Boulevard.

“Amity Shlaes has given us an enduring portrait of a President who has tremendous relevance to our world today.  We are honored to have her as our guest and hope the community will join us for what is certain to be a thought-provoking evening.” said Alan Lowe, director of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

“With contemporary national debate increasingly focused on budgets, taxes, and spending, historians seeking a conservative scion have renewed their pursuit of Calvin Coolidge, embodiment for many of financial restraint and limited government,” said Jeffrey Engel, director of SMU’s Center for Presidential History.  “At the vanguard of Coolidge historians, Shlaes stands at the forefront of this popular debate over a government's economic role balanced against its moral responsibility toward its citizens and the open market."

See the article Shlaes wrote for the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 19 titled, “The Coolidge Lesson on Taxes and Spending,” at http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/books/20130215-book-review-coolidge-by-amity-shlaes.ece. Read the complete Dallas Morning News review of “The President Who Said No” at http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/books/20130215-book-review-coolidge-by-amity-shlaes.ece.

The Center for Presidential History (CPH) at Southern Methodist University is dedicated to exploring and disseminating the history of the American presidency by sponsoring cutting-edge research on the presidency, delivering the fruits of that research in published academic and public forums, and by simultaneously adding to the rich archival record of the presidency through a wide-ranging Collective Memory Project.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum serves as a resource for the study of the life and career of George W. Bush, while also promoting a better understanding of the presidency, American history, and important issues of public policy. The Library and Museum accomplishes its mission by preserving and providing access to Presidential records and other donated collections, hosting public programs, creating educational initiatives, preserving artifacts, and producing innovative museum exhibits.

SMU is home to the George W. Bush Presidential Center, housing the Presidential Library and Museum, operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, and the George W. Bush Institute, an independent public policy organization. The Bush Center is scheduled to open to the public May 1, 2013.

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