Here are some photos from the November 19th session at Villa Mosconi: Roberta Burkan, Jay Termine, and the much esteemed presentor for the evening, Alan Shaw Taylor. We were treated to an excellent presentation on his new book, with a special discussion on the post-Appomatox maneuvers in Texas where Grant sent Phil Sheridan to resist Confederate renegades seeking to align with the French-imposed emperor of Mexico, Maximilian, in setting up a new slave-owning nation south of the border. The Cinco de Mayo victory by Benito Juarez and his Republican supporters launched the resistance against Maximilian, a victory for the democracy in the Mexican republic. Both Juarez and Lincoln saved democracy for these two neighbors in North America.