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Adams Center Receives Significant Donation

Lt. Col. Joel Christenson ’99 holds the “Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant,” a treasured part of the book collection recently donated to the Adams Center.

Lt. Col. Joel Christenson ’99 holds the “Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant,” a treasured part of the book collection recently donated to the Adams Center. –VMI Photo by Kelly Nye.

LEXINGTON, Va. Oct. 2, 2024 — The John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History and Strategic Analysis (Adams Center), a specialized element of Virginia Military Institute dedicated to Cold War military history, recently received a significant donation of 600 books from the library of Malcolm Muir Jr., founding director of the center and former professor of history at VMI.

According to Lt. Col. Joel Christenson ’99, associate professor in the Department of History and current director of the Adams Center, the most valuable books in the collection are the first edition “Personal Memories of U.S. Grant,” published in 1885, and Alfred Thayer Mahan’s, “The Influence of Sea Power Upon History,” dating to 1890. Together, the volumes are worth thousands of dollars.

Muir served at VMI from 2003 to 2011. “He took the Adams Center from an agreement on paper to a living, breathing organization dedicated to producing, preserving, and perpetuating knowledge about Cold War history. Within the profession, he was dedicated to developing scholars. He put the cadets in touch with the past, and often spent his spring furloughs traveling with them to World War I and World War II battles sights in Europe and Japan. His endowment of these books is a very generous gift, and we are extremely grateful,” shared Christenson. 

Many of Muir’s books have been shelved in the common room for cadets to take. The more valuable ones will remain behind locked doors, and a process is being established by which the cadets and other scholars may access them. The “Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant” is a treasured part of the book collection recently donated to The John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History and Strategic Analysis at VMI.

The Adams Center offers an annual essay contest on any aspect of the Cold War for scholars around the world, and a dissertation grant for graduate students. It organizes conferences, symposia, and lectures to heighten awareness of the enduring importance of Cold War military history and strategic analysis. Events are designed to promote interaction among VMI cadets, Cold War scholars, and national security professionals.

Additional information on the Adams Center and upcoming events may be found here.

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE

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Lt. Col. Sherry Wallace
Director of Communications and Marketing

P: 540-464-7207

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