While most students were enjoying themselves themselves during Field Day’s extended lunch, Advanced Placement U.S. History students got the chance to meet David Kennedy, the author of their textbook, The American Pageant, at noon on Friday.

This is not the first time Kennedy has visited Paly; his visit has become an exciting annual event at Paly and Gunn High School over the past several years, according to APUSH teacher Jack Bungarden.

“He’s been doing it [talking to Paly students] since before I began teaching AP History…at least 12 years,” Bungarden said.

Kennedy started off the discussion with a history lesson of the importance of May 8, both V-E Day and the day students took the U.S. History AP test this year. He then jumped directly into a discussion of conflicting views on World War II and the decision to drop the atomic bombs upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki, giving the students a brief taste of the discourse between historians.

According to Bungarden, Kennedy did not begin past visits in this way.

“When he began, he spent some time on the significance of May 8; he hasn’t done that before,” Bungarden said.

Keeping the discussion light-hearted, Kennedy read a college student-written essay of Western world history that was plagued with errors, a more traditional part of his discussion. He also initiated a conversation about what history is and the joys of studying it.

Students also asked Kennedy about double entendres present in The American Pageant. He said that Thomas Bailey, the original author of the textbook, wanted to interest every kind of student in history with his textbook.

“He [Bailey] was going to grab their [history students’] attention and hold it,” Kennedy said. “It [adding in double entendres] was part of the conscious strategy of writing the book.”

Throughout the presentation, Kennedy emphasized the inconstant nature of history.

“If the historical record were dead, inert, there’d be no business for guys like us [historians],” Kennedy said. “Historical interpretation is evolving and changing all the time. We argue about these kind of things, and when we do, we learn something about ourselves. Why am I approaching this with this kind of presumption, and why is my classmate approaching with that kind of presumption? It’s what keeps guys like Mr. Bungarden and I in business.”

In preparation for the event, juniors Sam Herzog and Gracie Dulik made T-shirts campaigning for Kennedy as a 2012 presidential candidate. Bungarden was amused by the shirts and thought Kennedy was as well.

“I think they [the shirts] were funny,” Bungarden said. “I believe Dr. Kennedy got a kick out of them. He has requested one.”

According to Dulik, the shirts were an expression of appreciation for Kennedy’s work.

“We just thought it would be; we just wanted to show him how much we love his book and how entertaining it was,” Dulik said. “It brightened the year for us, all his little quotes.”

Kennedy’s visit exceeded Dulik’s expectations.

“I thought it was much better than I expected,” Dulik said. “He [Kennedy] was exactly like I imagined him. He was hilarious but he was very smart. He knew his stuff. It was interesting to hear about the process that goes into writing the book.”

Bungarden thought Kennedy had a good time speaking to the APUSH students.

“I think he [Kennedy] enjoyed it,” Bungarden said. “He enjoys enthusiastic high school students.”