Chats with Champions will welcome New York Times bestselling author Lynne Olson on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 10 a.m. in the Porter Meeting Hall of Skidompha Public Library.  Olson will speak about her latest book, “Last Hope Island,” the story of how Britain and occupied Europe joined forces to combat Nazi Germany, the mightiest military force in history. Be sure to allow plenty of time for parking.

“Last Hope Island” is a groundbreaking account of how Britain became an island of refuge for Europeans escaping the blitzkrieg rolling over continental Europe. Olson describes an extraordinary cast of characters, from monarchs and politicians to unknown heroes and heroines working deep behind enemy lines.

One of Olson’s themes will be what an unexplored subject this story has been. No other historian has looked at it in detail, how Britain, as the last European country to hold out against Hitler, provided a refuge for the leaders of a number of occupied countries. This enabled them to set up governments in exile to help defeat Germany. In return, they and thousands of their compatriots made crucial contributions to Britain’s survival and the eventual Allied victory.

Lynne Olson’s books about Britain and America before and during World War II have earned international praise and awards. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has called Olson “...our era’s foremost chronicler of World War II politics and diplomacy.” In her writing, she has focused on Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as on ordinary Americans and Britons, to show how these two countries joined together to defeat Hitler and win the war.

Olson is the author of the national bestseller “Citizens of London,” which was named one of the year’s top 10 Notable Nonfiction Books by the American Library Association. Her other books include “Troublesome Young Men and Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh and America’s Fight Over World War II, 1939–1941,”  an instant New York Times bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book. She has been a guest on numerous television and radio programs, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition. She is a consultant to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

Born in Hawaii, Olson graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arizona. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a journalist for 10 years, first with the Associated Press as a national feature writer in New York, a foreign correspondent in AP’s Moscow bureau, and a political reporter in Washington. She left the AP to join the Washington bureau of the Baltimore Sun, where she covered national politics and eventually the White House.

Chats with Champions is a free community offering from your national award winning Skidompha Library (184 Main Street) and is sponsored by Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop. For more information call 207-563-5513.