5:00 pm Reception / 6:00 pm Presentation / 7:00 pm Book signing

In conjunction with the opening of the special exhibit, Turning Point: The Doolittle Raid, Battle of the Coral Sea, and Battle of Midway, author Elliot Carlson presents the story of the man who cracked the code that helped make victory a reality in the Pacific. Lecture will be preceded by a reception at 5:00 pm and followed by a book signing. Please RSVP to Jeremy Collins or call 504-528-1944 x 331.

Elliot Carlson is a longtime journalist and author of Joe Rochefort’s War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker who Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway. Capt. Joe Rochefort headed Station Hypo, the U.S. Navy’s signals monitoring and cryptographic intelligence unit at Pearl Harbor, and broke the Japanese navy’s code before the Battle of Midway, helping to change the course of the war.

Turning Point: The Doolittle Raid, Battle of the Coral Sea, and Battle of Midway examines the early, dark days of World War II when the prospect of victory was far from certain. Stopping the Japanese onslaught would come down to a woefully out-gunned and outnumbered task force of aircraft carriers, diligent intelligence work and a handful of intrepid aviators. Turning Point is on exhibit through July 8, 2012.