Join us for an evening of discussion about Ambrose’s final book, Liberated Spirits: Two Women Who Battled Over Prohibition.

5:00 p.m. Reception | 6:00 p.m. Presentation | 7:15 p.m. Book Signing

The Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, with generous support from the Strake Foundation, is delighted to host an event in honor of the Museum’s own Hugh Ambrose and his posthumously published book Liberated Spirits: Two Women Who Battled Over Prohibition. 

Ambrose was a best-selling author and advisor to the team behind HBO’s Band of Brothers and The Pacific miniseries and also an integral participant in the founding and development of The National D-Day Museum as a beloved member of our senior staff.

Though he passed away in 2015, his final project—a provocative new take on the women behind a perennially fascinating subject, Prohibition—is now coming to the public.

The passage of the 18th and 19th Amendments—which banned the sale of alcohol and granted women the right to vote—in the same year is no coincidence. These two constitutional amendments enabled women to redefine themselves and their place in society in a way historians have neglected to explore. Liberated Spirits describes how the fight to pass and later to repeal Prohibition was driven by women, as exemplified by two remarkable women in particular, Mabel Willebrandt and Pauline Sabin. 

Featuring a colorful cast of supporting characters, from rumrunners and Prohibition agents on the take to senators and feuding society matrons, Liberated Spirits brings the Roaring Twenties to life in a brand new way.

Join us for an evening that will reflect on Ambrose’s life and importance to the Museum, and a conversation between Robert M. Citino, PhD, Executive Director of the Museum’s Institute for the Study of War and Democracy and Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian, and John Schuttler, who was asked by Ambrose to see his project through. The evening will conclude with remarks from Ambrose’s wife, Andrea. 

The reception and presentation, which are free and open to the public but please register to attend, are  brought to you by the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy with generous support from the Strake Foundation.

For more information or to register, call 504-528-1944 x 412.

About the Authors:

Hugh Ambrose was a noted historian and the best-selling author of The Pacific. He served as Vice President of Development at the Museum before leaving to pursue his own career as an author. Ambrose passed away in 2015 after completing this book.

John Schuttler is a consulting historian, researching and writing on several topics for dozens of clients in the public and private sectors. At Ambrose’s request, Schuttler saw Liberated Spirits through to publication.