The Book to Screen series concludes with “The Dead,” the final work by the legendary director John Huston. It tells the story of a husband and wife who have just enjoyed a Christmas dinner at the house of the husband’s aunt. Soon after dinner the couple starts tackling some prickly marital issues which result in an epiphany for both of them. Huston had a passion for classic literature, and this is a wonderful adaptation of the classic short story by James Joyce. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, and is placed on Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list. Steve Hunt will present. (1987, 85 min., PG)

Most people, and particularly journalists, believe that they know what happened when the United States adopted the Prohibition Constitutional Amendment after World War I and was laterrepealed in 1933. In fact, this commonplace historical memory is based largely on myth and misunderstanding. What really happened turns out to be more interesting and with different current significances than one might expect.

Presented by John Burnham who is research professor of history at The Ohio State University. He is the author of a dozen books in the fields of medical history and social history, including Bad Habits: Drinking, Smoking, Taking Drugs, Gambling, Sexual Misbehavior, and Swearing in American History. Dr. Burnham has taught at various universities in Australia as a Fulbright Lecturer, and at Bowdoin College as Tallman Professor. Before coming to Ohio State, he was a faculty member at Stanford, Claremont McKenna College, and San Francisco State University.

the myths of prohibition by john burnham

Tom Logsdon is a long-distance hiker who has carried a pack over 5,000 miles of back country trails in the last ten years. He has completed the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, and the Long Trail over the Green Mountains from Vermont to Canada. For the last three years he has been section hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for a month each summer. The PCT extends from the Mexican border with California to the Canadian border. In this talk, Tom will discuss his hike through the High Sierra section from Mount Whitney to Yosemite Valley. The High Sierra trail is very remote and at elevations generally above 8,000 feet, with mountain passes at or above 11,000 feet. During this hike in July 2010, Tom experienced an exceptional amount of snow pack and a higher than normal level of water at stream crossings. Join us to hear some of Tom’s fascinating stories and to see some breathtaking photographs.