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The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett January 18, 2012 Reaching God is always a struggle spiritually; imagine how difficult it is to build a cathedral in order to reach Him physically in a symbolic way. This lengthy novel reads fast partly because of its style but partly because it is a furious romp through a long-ago period, the 12th century in England. You will meet a displaced builder and his starving family, monks and bishops, a king, landed gentry, bad men and good men. You’ll learn how castles are constructed and the significant parts of a cathedral. In our world we are impatient if something isn’t done within a year. In the 12th century, building plans took decades to finish. How did they manage to drink all that ale for breakfast? Read this book and find out.

Presenter

Judith Steininger is a professor emeritus at MSOE. She has also taught at UW-Milwaukee, Boston College and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya, East Africa. She is a free lance writer both locally and nationally. In 2010, she published two essays-one on Willa Cather’s Pulitzer Prize novel One of Ours and another on Jim Harrison’s novella collection The Farmer’s Daughter. She regularly contributes to Milwaukee Public Radio’s “Lake Effect” program. Her bachelor’s degree is in chemistry from the University of Kentucky and master’s in literature from Boston College. Steininger taught the first Great Books discussion, Arrowsmith. The Milwaukee Press Club awarded her cover story “Hot Stuff” the Best Feature Length Magazine Article for 2006 in a statewide competition.

Menu
Appetizer - Prior Philip’s Potted Shrimp on Toast Rounds
Soup/salad - Kingsbridge Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing
Entrée - A Nobile Steak and Mushroom Pie in Puff Pastry, Carrots and Potato
Dessert - Countess of Shiring's Warm Fruit Crumble


Registration
You may register and pay online for any Great Book session. Look for the red "register online" button on each book's web page. Alternately, you can download this Great Books registration form (Adobe Acrobat Reader software required) to fill out and mail in with your payment. Reserve your space for one or all of the monthly discussions!

All Great Books programs are scheduled on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. in MSOE's historic Alumni Partnership Center.

To receive a Great Books brochure or for more information about the Great Books Series, contact Cathy Varebrook at (414) 277-4523 or via email.