Embattled Lawrence
Project Overview
In 2001, Dennis Domer and Barbara Watkins published Embattled Lawrence: Conflict & Community, featuring a collection of articles from historians, civic leaders, and community stakeholders. Today, Dennis Domer again leads a group of dedicated volunteers in expanding the series into three additional volumes. The Embattled Lawrence series remains the only summary of the history of Lawrence published in the last three decades. Help the series continue by donating to the book project. All proceeds from the book sales go towards the Watkins Museum of History.
Embattled Lawrence Volume 3:
Building The City
The Embattled Lawrence team is eager to launch Vol. 3: Building the City, but we need your help! As a community-led project, every dollar raised to create the book comes from generous patrons like you.
In 2023, a team of volunteers led by Dennis Domer released Embattled Lawrence Vol. 2: The Enduring Struggles for Freedom, published by the Watkins Museum of History. This long-awaited history book remained the #1 bestseller for five weeks at The Raven Bookstore during the summer of 2023.
Embattled Lawrence Volume 2:
The Enduring Struggle For Freedom
After a four-year campaign, the community welcomed the highly-anticipated arrival of Embattled Lawrence Vol. 2: The Enduring Struggle For Freedom in 2023. Books can be purchased at the Watkins Museum of History or at the The Raven Bookstore located in downtown, Lawrence.
Embattled Lawrence Volume 2: The Enduring Struggle for Freedom and the upcoming addition, Volume 3: Building the City, features chapters written by dozens of experts on various facets of Lawrence history. A dedicated team of volunteers has sorted countless photographs from the Spencer Research Library, the Watkins Museum of History, the Kansas Historical Society and private collections for Volume 4: A New Pictorial History of Lawrence.
Embattled Lawrence Volume 1:
Conflict & Community
The first volume of Embattled Lawrence — Conflict & Community, published in 2001—is long out of print and difficult to find. But you can download a PDF copy of this landmark history of Lawrence for free from KU ScholarWorks.