Third Thursday Presentation Richard Radune

Author Richard Radune gave a talk on his latest book, Sound Rising: Long Island Sound at the Forefront of America’s Struggle for Independence on September 20, 2018, at the Connecticut State Library.  The Long Island Sound is a tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean lying between the eastern shores of Bronx County, New York City, southern Westchester County, Connecticut to the north, and the North Shore of Long Island to the south. 

Sound Rising challenges our perception of the Long Island Sound in many surprising ways. The Sound was at the forefront of American trade with the West Indies, and its location was in a position to influence the course of history during the critical years between 1750 and 1820.  Sound Rising was designated a finalist in the 2012 Next Generation Independent Book Awards competition in 2 categories (Military and Historical Non-fiction). It was also reviewed by the Long Island History Journal and by the Association for the Study of Connecticut History.  Both reviews were positive for presenting Long Island Sound as a central and unifying waterway that in many ways transcended the artificial colonial and later state boundaries by bringing people from all over the region into a single maritime system based on maritime activities.

Richard Radune, a resident of Branford, Connecticut, is an author and independent historian.  After graduating from Syracuse University in 1965 with a major in U. S. History, he served as an Air Force Captain in North Dakota and Alaska.  Following a 30 year business career, Mr. Radune researched and wrote the award winning book, Pequot Plantation: The Story of an Early Colonial Settlement which was published in 2005.  His second book, Sound Rising, was published in 2011.  Mr. Radune’s research has provided many opportunities to give presentations to historical societies, museums and other organizations.  He was a presenter at the Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of Connecticut History in 2008 and 2009 and at the Ninth Maritime Heritage Conference in Baltimore in 2010.