On Wednesday, April 20, bestselling author A.J. Baime virtually returns to The War Memorial to speak about his new book, White Lies: The Double Life of Walter F. White and America’s Darkest Secret.

Originally scheduled as an in-person American Democracy event, with an online component, Baime’s discussion will now be online only. The author talk will be on Zoom at 7pm.

The online event at The War Memorial is under the auspices of the American Democracy Initiative, an ongoing War Memorial effort to produce better informed, more effective, and more responsible citizens.

Released in February to positive reviews in the New Yorker, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and other publications, White Lies is a true story of undercover investigations, political organizing, and racial identity. The book explores the complexities of Walter White’s life and illustrates his lasting impact on American life.

Baime called White the most influential civil rights leader of the first half of the 20th century, “Walter White was a minor character in the last four books I’ve written and every time in my research I came back to him, I found his story got more and more incredible.”

“I’m always excited to come to Detroit and even more so for this book,” Baime said. He went on to explain that White Lies has a Detroit connection through the Dr. Ossian Sweet trials, which riveted the nation in 1925 and 1926. Baime said Sweet was a prominent black physician who, in 1925, moved into a largely white section of Detroit with his wife and 14-month-old baby. On the night that the Sweet family moved into their new home, Ku Klux Clan-inspired mob violence broke out and a man was shot and killed. Dr. Sweet, family members, and friends were charged with murder but successfully defended by a defense team organized by Walter White and including the famous Clarence Darrow.

The 7pm author talk can also be streamed to your computer or other device, that option is free, but registration is required. Register at warmemorial.org/virtualevents-calendar/whitelies.

About the speaker:

A.J. Baime is a California-based author, journalist, and public speaker. He is a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal and increasingly known for his books: Dewey Defeats Truman: The 1948 Election and the Battle for America’s Soul, The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months that Changed the World, The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War, and Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans.

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About The War Memorial

For more than 70 years, The War Memorial has been an arts, culture, patriotic, and community leader organization for Southeast Michigan. The War Memorial annually hosts more than 3,000 performances, classes, and family or community events drawing 250,000 visitors to its campus on the shores of Lake Saint Clair in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI. The War Memorial offers premier hospitality services for community and private gatherings as well as a diverse lineup of innovative programming for all ages. The War Memorial celebrates the ideals of American democracy through its programming while serving as place to honor and remember those who have defended those ideals. The War Memorial is a place for all people with no membership or residency requirements.