National Archives Welcomes Author Peter Carlson
Press Release · Thursday, November 19, 2009

Washington, DC

The National Archives presents special programs in December in remembrance of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal for the Arts and its enduring legacy. This event is free and open to the public, and will be held in the Jefferson Room of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, which is fully accessible. Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on the corner of 7th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. National Archives Fall/Winter exhibit hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (Closed Thanksgiving and December 25).

In K Blows Top:   A Cold War Comic Interlude, Starring Nikita Khrushchev, America's Most Unlikely Tourist, Peter Carlson marks the 50th anniversary of Khrushchev's 1959 trip across America. From New York to Los Angeles, Khrushchev cracked corny jokes, threw tantrums, sparked a riot in a San Francisco supermarket, and befriended or offended a cast of characters including Richard Nixon, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Marilyn Monroe. This surreal road trip takes place against the backdrop of the fifties in capitalist America, the Cold War, and the all-too-human follies of flawed men who possess the power to incinerate civilization.

A book signing will follow the program, and the book can be purchased in advance at a discount by calling the Archives Shop at 202-357-5271. This is the last in a year-long series of 75th Anniversary Author Lectures - featuring authors whose research significantly reflects the holdings of the National Archives.

Peter Carlson is a former feature writer and columnist for The Washington Post, where he wrote the weekly column "The Magazine Reader." The author of Roughneck: The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood, and a co-author—with Hunter S. Thompson and George Plimpton, among others—of The Gospel According to ESPN.

Background on the 75th Anniversary

Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 19, 1934, the legislation established a National Archives to preserve the permanently valuable papers of the federal government. Today the institution has become a cornerstone of our democracy, making billions of documents created by federal officials available for inspection, thereby holding public officials accountable for their actions. See the 75th Anniversary web site (www.archives.gov) for highlights of defining moments in the agency's history, photo galleries, and notices of special events at National Archives facilities nationwide.

To request an accommodation (i.e. a sign language interpreter) for a public program, please e-mail public.program@nara.gov or call 202-357-5000 at least two weeks prior to the event. To verify dates and times of the programs, call 202-357-5000 or view the Calendar of Events online.