Happy 4th July!

Photo by Denise Krebs (mrsdkrebs),
available from Flickr under Creative Commons licence

Yes, it’s the 4^th July, also known as American Independence Day. Take a look at our database Oxford Reference Online to find out more about the history of the day and to see how it’s celebrated in the USA today picnics and fireworks!). You could also brush up on your American history by browsing the shelves in Townhill Library at shelf mark 973. For a more British perspective, try looking at some of our books on George III, who was monarch when America won its independence. George III, of course, is famous as the ‘mad’ king in Alan Bennett’s play The Madness of George III and the later film The Madness of King George. You can find the play script in Townhill Library at 822.914/BEN (not much mention of America, to be honest, but it is a good play!).

If novels are more your thing, you’ll find all sorts of classic American fiction at Townhill. The Great Gatsby had its show-stopping release in cinemas this year, but the original novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes some beating. If you’re more interested in 1950s and 1960s counter-culture, try Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and The Big Sur. For the ultimate American novel, though, perhaps we need look no further the Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, full to the brim with adventure, friendship and freedom.

If all this gives you a taste for travel and exploration, pop in to Swansea Business School Library to take a look at their travel guides. You’ll find a whole host of countries covered, including the USA, so you’ll have no trouble planning a trip to rival Kerouac’s!

If that’s a bit beyond your budget, or your planning expertise, you could always watch other people living, and struggling with, the American dream. Griffith Library at Dynevor has a whole host of American movies on DVD: Once Upon a Time in the West, Thelma and Louise, American Beauty, Malcolm X, Bowling for Columbine, The Social Network and loads more are available to borrow for free! Remember, we’re into the summer loan period now, so even two-day loans will be issued out until the 4^th October.