PA Books

PA Books is a weekly program on PCN that features an hour-long conversation with authors of newly published books on topics unique to Pennsylvania. After more than 20 years on the air, the program continues to produce an extensive video collection of interviews with the experts on Pennsylvania's history and culture. PA Books has preserved key moments for Pennsylvania by focusing on significant events like the Battles of Gettysburg and the Industrial Revolution, examining the lives of Pennsylvania's most famous citizens like W.C. Fields and Andrew Mellon, and hosting notable guests like Pulitzer Prize-Winner Joseph Ellis and former Phillies' greats Bill White and Tug McGraw. Back when it premiered on PCN in 1996, PA Books was only available on PCN on cable. With the PCN Select streaming service, viewers can stream new and on demand episodes of PA Books at any time.

New episodes air Sundays at 7 PM. You can also catch your favorite episodes daily at 8 AM.

Upcoming Episodes:

July 5: “Declaration” - In "Declaration," William Hogeland brings to vibrant life both the day-to-day excitement and the profound importance of those nine fast-paced weeks essential to the American founding yet little known today. He depicts the strange-bedfellow alliance the Adamses formed with scruffy Philadelphia outsiders and elegant Virginia planters to demand liberty. He paints intimate portraits of key […]

July 12: “Ike’s Bluff” - Upon assuming the presidency in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower set about to make good on his campaign promise to end the Korean War. Yet while Eisenhower was quickly viewed by many as a doddering lightweight, behind the bland smile and simple speech was a master tactician. To end the hostilities, Eisenhower would take a colossal risk […]

July 19: “The Houses of Louis Kahn” - Louis Kahn (1901–1974), one of the most important architects of the postwar period, is widely admired for his great monumental works, including the Kimbell Art Museum, the Salk Institute, and the National Assembly Complex in Bangladesh. However, the importance of his houses has been largely overlooked. This beautiful book is the first to look at […]

July 26: “Bridges…Pittsburgh at the Point…A Journey Through History” - “Bridges…Pittsburgh at the Point…A Journey Through History” tells the stories of the 34 bridges that crossed the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio rivers in Pittsburgh from 1818 to today. Told through the words of engineers, architects, planners, and historians this is a story of the development of technology, the rise of a city, and the progress […]