Inside the Hanoi Hilton: The Story of POW Doug Hegdahl
2025-12-03 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Public Library and Historical Association invites you to a virtual event on Wednesday, Dec. 3 as Marc Leepson, the author of the best-selling book, The Unlikely War Hero: A Vietnam War POW’s Story of Courage and Resilience in the Hanoi Hilton, discusses the amazing Vietnam War story of Doug Hegdahl, the youngest and lowest-ranking POW captured in North Vietnam and held in Hanoi.
This event will take place via Zoom. Register through the “Register Now” button below to receive the Zoom link for this event.
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“What a strange, fascinating, and ultimately powerful account of one man’s endurance of life as a POW during the American war in Vietnam . . . This book, I believe, will stand the test of time as one of the finest nonfiction narratives to emerge from the Vietnam War.” —Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried

Journalist and historian Marc Leepson is the author of eleven books, including four biographies: What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life; Lafayette: Idealist General; The Ballad of the Green Beret; and The Unlikely War Hero. A former staff writer for Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C., he written for many newspapers and magazines, and the Encyclopedia Britannic, and has been interviewed many times on radio and television, including on The Today Show, Discovery Channel, The History Channel, All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and The BBC NewsHour. He is Senior Writer, Arts Editor and columnist for The VVA Veteran, the magazine published by Vietnam Veterans of America, and taught U.S. history at Laurel Ridge Community College in Warrenton, Va. from 2008-15.
Marc Leepson graduated from George Washington University in 1967. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1967-69, including a year in the Vietnam War, he received his honorable discharge and went on to earn a Master’s Degree in history from George Washington in 1971. He lives in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Santa Storytime
2025-12-12 11:00 - 12:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
Bring your littles ones for a special Santa Storytime! Join Santa for a story followed by a photo meet and greet opportunity with the big guy himself.

Mystery Book Club: "Playing for the Ashes"
2025-12-15 14:00 - 15:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Public Library’s Mystery Book club meets regularly on the third Monday of each month. Receive reminder emails about our meeting by registering. Registration is encouraged but not required.

This month we will be discussing Playing for the Ashes by Elizabeth George. Check out the book in print from the Coronado Library catalog by clicking here, or ebook and e-audiobook format by checking the catalogs of your Libby and CloudLibrary apps.

Best of the Best Book Club: "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" by Becky Chambers
2025-12-17 11:00 - 12:00 | Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA, 92118, United States
The Coronado Public Library’s Best of the Best Book Club meets regularly on the fourth Wednesday of each month to discuss books that have won major awards. Please note the different date this month due to the holiday.
For our December meeting, we will discuss the 2022 Hugo Award winner A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, a novel that asks us: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
Place this title on hold via our online catalog, or check out the e-book through the CloudLibrary app.

About A Psalm for the Wild-Built
It’s been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.
One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered.
But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.
They’re going to need to ask it a lot.
