Governor’s Lecture

Best selling author Candice Millard delivered the 2022  Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities, “A Clear and Steady Eye: Storytelling and Our Shared History.” The lecture was presented by Humanities Nebraska (HN) in partnership with the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues. It also kicked off the Thompson Forum’s 2022-23 series on Creativity to Solve Global Challenges. William Padmore of Nebraska Public Media served as moderator.

Candice Millard’s talk touched on her four New York Times best sellers: “The River of Doubt,” “Destiny of the Republic,” “Hero of the Empire,” and “River of the Gods.” Her first book, “The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey,” was also a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and  a Book Sense Pick. It won the William Rockhill Nelson Award and was a finalist for the Quill Awards.

Her second book about President James Garfield, “Destiny of the Republic: A Tail of Madness, Medicine and Murder of a President,” won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, the One Book One Lincoln Award, and the Kansas Notable Book Award. Millard’s “Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape and the Making of Winston Churchill,” was named Amazon’s number one history book of 2016.

Her most recent book, “River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile” is already a top ten New York Times best seller. Focused on English explorers Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke, Millard tells a story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers. This book also profiles Sidi Mubarak Bombay, their formerly enslaved local guide. Without Bombay and men like him, who led, carried, and protected the expedition, neither Englishman would have come close to the headwaters of the Nile, or perhaps even survived.

Her essays have also appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, the Guardian, National Geographic and TIME.

Co-chaired by HN board members Lynette Krieger of Hastings and Chris Zygielbaum of Lincoln, the lecture was free and open to the public. A benefit event prior to the free lecture raised important funds for HN’s statewide programs.