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From its earliest beginnings, the land that became Maine produced adventurous inhabitants who went outside its boundaries to do interesting things that sometimes made them famous or even infamous.

In his new book, Maine in the World:  Stories of Some of Those from Here Who Went Away (Tilbury House), former Â鶹´«Ã½trustee and noted author and historian Neil Rolde tells the stories of Mainers who left their mark. 

From the famous, such as poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Pulitzer Prize winner Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Hollywood movie director John Ford, to the lesser known such as Sir William Phips, the wilderness shepherd boy who went to sea, found a Spanish treasure and was knighted by the king of England, Rolde captures a range of Mainers' contributions to the world at large.

Rolde will discuss and sign his book (copies will be available for purchase) on the Â鶹´«Ã½Biddeford campus Feb. 10, 2010 in the St. Francis Room of the Jack Ketchum Library from 12:00-1:30 p.m.

Informative and fun to read, the book is told chronologically from the time of pre-history Indians in Maine to the present day, where it looks at our current connections overseas and at several Maine women who have dedicated their lives to helping the poor in Central and South America. Rolde reveals the human stories in his book, and each of its 20 chapters is peopled with characters, rich with detail, and full of action.

A former legislator and an award-winning historian, Neil Rolde is the author of Continental Liar from the State of Maine: James G. Blaine; Unsettled Past, Unsettled Future: The Story of Maine Indians; The Interrupted Forest: A History of Maine's Wildlands, and many other books. He lives in York, Maine. 

A light lunch will be served.  This event, sponsored by Â鶹´«Ã½Library Services, is free and open to the public.