All are welcome to join the Museum and Bloomington Public Library on Tuesday, February 4 at 7:00 p.m. for the first History Reads Book Club for 2025, in person at Bloomington Public Library or online via Zoom.
The first book to be discussed this year will be Abe and Fido: Lincoln’s Love of Animals and the Touching Story of His Favorite Canine Companion by Matthew Algeo. In early 1861, as he prepared to leave his home in Springfield, Illinois, to move into the White House, Abraham Lincoln faced many momentous tasks, but none he dreaded more than telling his two youngest sons, Willie and Tad, that the family’s beloved pet dog, Fido, would not be accompanying them to Washington. Lincoln was afraid the skittish dog couldn’t endure the long rail journey, so he decided to leave the mutt behind with friends in Springfield.
Fido had been by Lincoln’s side as the prairie lawyer rose from obscurity to the presidency, sometimes carrying bundles of letters from the post office in his mouth as he and his master walked the streets of the state capital. Abe & Fido tells the story of two friends, an unlikely tandem who each became famous and died prematurely.
The book also explores the everyday life of Springfield in the years leading up to the Civil War, as well as Lincoln’s sometimes radical views on animal welfare and how they shaped his life and his presidency. It’s the story of a master and his dog, living through historic, tumultuous times.
History Reads meets quarterly in February, May, August, and November. Meetings are at 7pm and are typically* offered both in the Conference Room at the library and online via Zoom. People can join a book club at any time and do not have to attend previous book club meetings to participate.
Registration is ONLY REQUIRED for online participants and can be completed by clicking here, in person at the Adult Help Desk on the library's second floor, or by calling 309.590.6168.
Contact the Adult Help Desk at 309.590.6168 or reference@bloomingtonlibrary.org to check out or reserve a print copy of the book. Digital copies of this book (eBook or eAudiobook) may be available through the Libby or Hoopla apps.