Lewiston native and former Deputy City Administrator Phil Nadeau is set to speak about and read from his new book, “The Unlikeliness of it All — Part 1,” at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19.

The talk is to be held in Callahan Hall at Lewiston Public Library, 200 Lisbon St. This free, public program will also include a book sale and signing.

In “The Unlikeliness of it All,” a narrative history of Lewiston, Nadeau explains how 150 years of immigration influenced the city’s economic, social and political trajectory. He discusses how Lewiston and Auburn made up a community where 70% of its jobs in the early 20th century were tied to local textile and shoe manufacturing industries, and the state’s largest economy.

Over time, many immigrants and the city’s predominantly French Canadian community worked through cultural, political and religious discrimination to improve their lives and to become less dependent on their mature, declining industries.

At once prescient toward the shifting modern landscape and thoughtful in the careful collection of historical details, the book uncovers little-known and new information regarding notable historic moments, facts, and people. It explains how the city’s “global singularity” began with a world championship fight and why the eyes of the world remained fixated on this small Maine town.

Nadeau has had several careers, including the Air Force, a family business, and public administration, serving as the town manager of Richmond in 1994 and retiring from his role as Lewiston deputy city administrator in 2017.

In 2001, Nadeau became the city’s primary information official for matters associated with new Somali refugees. In this role, he began to research refugee information and data that, at the time, was not widely available to the public. This research became part of his graduate work, leading to a Master of Arts degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern Maine in 2005.

Nadeau has worked on myriad local, state and federal refugee policy as well as community programming and action initiatives. He has been interviewed by dozens of national and international media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, National Public Radio, and Al-Jazeera, as well as various books about Lewiston. Additionally, he has spoken and presented on his work in Lewiston at conferences throughout the U.S.

“The Unlikeliness of it All — Part 1” is his first book.

Copies of the book will be available for sale at the event and a book signing will follow the talk.

For more information, contact the library’s Adult & Teen Services desk at 207-513-3135 or lplreference@lewistonmaine.gov.

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