Speaking
Do you belong to an organization that needs speakers ? (Historical society? Service league? Book club? AAUW chapter? Knitting circle? Revolutionary cell?) contact me at pdtoler@sbcglobal.net. I have delivered more than 200 programs in person and virtually for groups, including conventions, libraries, museums, historical societies, literary festivals, colleges and universities, veterans associations, women’s groups, and book clubs. Whether I’m talking to a small intimate group or an auditorium packed with hundreds of history buffs, I deliver an engaging combination of vivid storytelling and solid historical chops.
Popular topics include:
That Dragon from Chicago—The gripping story of American journalist Sigrid Schultz, whose career as the Chicago Tribune's Berlin bureau chief from 1925 to January 1941, provides an up-close look at the rise of the Nazis and a vital lesson on how we can reclaim truth in an era marked by the spread of disinformation and claims of “fake news.”
Not Like Joan of Arc—Women have always gone to war, and they've gone for the same reasons as their male counterparts. Toler tells the stories of queens and commoners, those who commanded from the rear and those who fought in the front lines, those who fought because they wanted to, because they had to, or because they could. She looks at ordinary women who did extraordinary things as well as the truly exceptional. And she kicks a few historical shins in the process.
From Unwanted to Indispensable: The Real Nurses of the Civil War—The story of how thousands of women with little or no experience with nursing volunteered to serve their country during the Civil War, taught themselves how to do the job under adverse circumstance (including hostility from the surgeons with whom they worked), and created a profession that did not exist before the war.
In Disguise –The stories of women who disguised themselves as men to enlist in the American Civil War and how they fit into the long lineage of cross-dressing women soldiers.
Where I'll be: 2024
March 20
University of Chicago Service League
July 25 7 pm Central (virtual)
History Camp Author Discussions
August 6 6:00-8:30 Central
Book launch, in conversation with Chicago-area author Kathryn Atwood
City Lit Books
August 10
History Camp Boston 2024
August 18 3:00 Central (virtual)
History Happy Hour
August 19, 7:00 Central
Highland Park Library in conversation with Judy Levin
September 16 8:15 Central time
Inland Empire Civil War Round Table
September 20
Seminary Coop Bookstore
November 12, 10:00 am Central
Godey Questers
