A free book review luncheon will be held this Wednesday at the Sherman Public Library. Lunch will be served at 11:45 a.m., with the review beginning at noon. Seating is limited and reservations are required. Call the Sherman Public Library at 903-892-7240 for reservations.

Dr. James Pledger will review "Public Enemies" by Bryan Burroughs. The book tells the events of the war on crime waged in 1933 and 1934. Among the characters in the book are Bonnie and Clyde John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, Alvin Karpis and the Barker family. Topics include the crime wave during those years, including the Kansas City massacre in June of 1933 which resulted in the deaths of a number of detectives and law enforcement officers. The massacre was the largest catalyst for starting the war on crime, led by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI.

Pledger grew up in Arkadelphia, Ark. and earned his bachelor of arts degree in history and political science in 1969 from Hendrix College. He then attended the University of Central Arkansas, pursuing his master's degree in counseling, then completed his master's degree in theology from Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, in 1977. He went on to earn his doctorate's degree in ministry from Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, in 1983, and has served as the senior pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Sherman since 1994.

Hosting the review are the Friends of the Sherman Public Library.