Hyde Park's Book Club
meets on the 2nd Tuesday each month at 6:30 pm in the Dining Room.
February 2026 – The Great Oklahoma Swindle by Russell Cobb
Far from being a placid place in the heart of Flyover Country, Oklahoma has been a laboratory for all kinds of social, political, and artistic movements, producing a singular list of weirdos, geniuses, and villains. In a century, Oklahoma gave birth to movements for an African American homeland, a vibrant Socialist Party, and armed rebellions of radical farmers.
In the same era, the state saw numerous oil booms, one of which transformed the small town of Tulsa into the “oil capital of the world.” Add to the chaos one of the nation’s worst episodes of racial violence—the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921—a statewide takeover by the Ku Klux Klan, and the rise of a paranoid far-right agenda by a fundamentalist preacher, and you have the recipe for America’s most paradoxical state.
In The Great Oklahoma Swindle Russell Cobb tells the story of a state rich in natural resources and artistic talent, yet near the bottom in education and social welfare. Raised in Tulsa, Cobb engages Oklahomans across race and class to elucidate their contradictory and often stridently independent attitudes. Interweaving memoir, social commentary, and sometimes surprising research around race, religion, and politics, Cobb presents an insightful portrait that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about the American Heartland.
In the same era, the state saw numerous oil booms, one of which transformed the small town of Tulsa into the “oil capital of the world.” Add to the chaos one of the nation’s worst episodes of racial violence—the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921—a statewide takeover by the Ku Klux Klan, and the rise of a paranoid far-right agenda by a fundamentalist preacher, and you have the recipe for America’s most paradoxical state.
In The Great Oklahoma Swindle Russell Cobb tells the story of a state rich in natural resources and artistic talent, yet near the bottom in education and social welfare. Raised in Tulsa, Cobb engages Oklahomans across race and class to elucidate their contradictory and often stridently independent attitudes. Interweaving memoir, social commentary, and sometimes surprising research around race, religion, and politics, Cobb presents an insightful portrait that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about the American Heartland.
March 2026 – The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Sybil Van Antwerp, a formidable 73-year-old retired lawyer, lives her life through the rhythmic ritual of the written word. Each morning at half-past ten, she sits down to compose letters—not just to her family and lifelong friends, but to university presidents, customer service representatives, and even literary icons like Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry.
Through these letters, a vivid and often prickly portrait emerges of a woman who uses her sharp wit and directness to maintain control in a world that is beginning to fray at the edges. But beneath her polished prose lies a "scream" of grief from a decades-old tragedy that has quietly isolated her from those she loves most.
Her carefully constructed "house of cards" begins to tumble when threatening letters arrive from a mysterious figure from her past, forcing her to confront a painful legal decision she made years ago. Simultaneously, a failing eyesight diagnosis adds a desperate urgency to her correspondence, pushing her to finally address the letters she has written but never dared to send.
As Sybil navigates this unexpected "winter season" of her life, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery that includes a DNA-fueled quest for her origins and a tender, late-life romance with her German neighbor. Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent is a moving exploration of the "immortal" nature of written words and the liberating power of forgiveness.
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