2014 One Book One Nebraska
Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen by Bob Greene
In
search of "the best America there ever was," bestselling author and
award-winning journalist Bob Greene finds it in a small Nebraska town few
people pass through today—a town where Greene discovers the echoes of the
most touching love story imaginable: a love story between a country and its
sons.
During World War II, American soldiers from every city and walk of life rolled through North Platte, Nebraska, on troop trains en route to their ultimate destinations in Europe and the Pacific. The tiny town, wanting to offer the servicemen warmth and support, transformed its modest railroad depot into the North Platte Canteen.
In this poignant and heartwarming eyewitness history, based on interviews with North Platte residents and the soldiers who once passed through, Bob Greene tells a classic, lost-in-the-mists-of-time American story of a grateful country honoring its brave and dedicated sons.
Source: HarperCollins Publishers
Libraries across Nebraska will join the Nebraska Center for the Book and other literary and cultural organizations in planning book discussions, activities, and events that will encourage Nebraskans to read and discuss this book.
One Book One Nebraska 2014 is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, Nebraska Library Association, and Nebraska Library Commission.
2014 One Book One Nebraska Announced
Once Upon a Town by Bob Greene is Nebraska’s reading choice for the 2014 One Book One Nebraska statewide reading program. In this nonfiction story, bestselling author and award-winning journalist Bob Greene goes out in search of "the best America there ever was," and finds it in a small Nebraska town few people pass through today--a town where Greene discovers the echoes of a love story between a country and its sons. A committee of the Nebraska Center for the Book selected this book from a list of 71 titles nominated by 141 Nebraskans from across the state. The Nebraska Center for the Book board announced the choice for the 2014 One Book One Nebraska at the Celebration of Nebraska Books on October 26 in Lincoln. Read more...
Finalists for 2014 One Book One Nebraska Announced
One nonfiction book and two novels--all stories with ties to Nebraska and the Great Plains-are the finalists for the 2014 One Book One Nebraska statewide reading program. The finalists are:
- Goodnight, Nebraska by Tom McNeal
- Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen, by Bob Greene
- Plainsong by Kent Haruf
The One Book One Nebraska reading program, now in its tenth year, is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, Nebraska Library Commission, and Nebraska Library Association. It encourages Nebraskans across the state to read and discuss the same book, chosen from books written by Nebraska authors or that have a Nebraska theme or setting. A committee of the Nebraska Center for the Book selected the three finalists from a list of 71 titles nominated by 141 Nebraskans.
Resources
Official Website
Related Links
- One Book One Nebraska Official Website
- One Book One Nebraska Start Page — An introduction to the selections for each year