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Joseph Fox Bookshop
1724 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215.563.4184
Store Hours:
9:30AM - 6:00PM Monday - Saturday
9:30AM - 7:00PM Wednesday
Closed Sunday
04 / 19
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04 / 20
Start: 7:30 pm
Pearl of China: A Novel Anchee Min Praised for her lyrical writing and historical knowledge, Anchee Min is the author of the bestselling memoir Red Azalea. Growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China, Min spent time in a labor camp and was chosen for a lead role in a propagandist movie before the Mao communist regime collapsed. The New York Times Book Review said that Red Azalea, her account of that time, exists as "a powerful political as well as literary statement.” Min has since written five other works of historical fiction, among them Becoming Madame Mao and Empress Orchid. Her new novel is an intimate portrayal of Nobel Laureate Pearl S. Buck, exploring the fateful friendship between the writer and a young Chinese woman.
Central Library This is a TICKETED event; $14 General Admission, $7 Students. Tickets on sale Friday, January 15 at 10:00 a.m. at freelibrary.org/authorevents or by phone at 1-800-595-4TIX (4849). For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
04 / 21
Start: 6:30 pm
Unhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open: A Free Press for a New Century Lee Bollinger Lee Bollinger, President of Columbia University, is one of the nation’s foremost experts on the First Amendment. In his new book, Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open: A Free Press for a New Century, Bollinger explores the troubled history of a free press in America and looks toward the challenges ahead. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press in seemingly clear terms. However, over the course of American history, Bollinger notes, the idea of freedom of the press has evolved, in response to social, political, technological, and legal changes. It was not until the twentieth century that freedom of the press came to be understood as guaranteeing an “uninhibited, robust, and wide-open” public discourse. But even during the twentieth century, the government has tried to erect barriers: the sedition laws of WWI, the use of libel law, the Pentagon Papers case, and efforts to limit press access to information. Bollinger sheds light on this history and explores the meaning of freedom of the press in our globalized, internet-dominated era. Bill Marimow, editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, moderates. Annenberg Center for Outreach and Education F.M. Kirby Auditorium
National Constitution Center This is a TICKETED event; $9 for members, $15 for non-memebers, $7 for students & teachers, FREE for 1787 Society members. Reservations required. Please call 215.409.6700 or click here. Start: 7:30 pm
Everything but the Coffee: Learning About America from Starbucks Bryant Simon Bryant Simon’s new book, Everything but the Coffee, looks at Starbucks’ psychological, emotional, political, and sociological power to discover how the chain’s explosive success and rapid deflation reflect American culture today. Most importantly, it shows that Starbucks speaks to a deeply felt American need for predictability and class standing, community and authenticity, and reveals that Starbucks’ appeal lies not in the product it sells, but in the easily consumed identity it offers.
Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West Stephen Fried A two-time winner of the National Magazine Award and a professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Stephen Fried is the author of Thing of Beauty, Bitter Pills, The New Rabbi, and Husbandry. In Appetite for America, he tells the story of entrepreneur Fred Harvey, founder of the renowned “Harvey House” hotels, restaurants, and bookstore chains that served patrons along the Santa Fe railroad well into the 1960’s and became a family empire whose marketing and business innovations are still used in chain stores and restaurants today.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
04 / 22
Start: 5:00 pm
Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes Elizabeth Bard In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman--and never went home again. Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pave au poivre, the steak's pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce? Lunch in Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs--one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine. Packing her bags for a new life in the world's most romantic city, Elizabeth is plunged into a world of bustling open-air markets, hipster bistros, and size 2 femmes fatales. She learns to gut her first fish (with a little help from Jane Austen), soothe pangs of homesickness (with the rise of a chocolate souffle) and develops a crush on her local butcher (who bears a striking resemblance to Matt Dillon). Elizabeth finds that the deeper she immerses herself in the world of French cuisine, the more Paris itself begins to translate. French culture, she discovers, is not unlike a well-ripened cheese-there may be a crusty exterior, until you cut through to the melting, piquant heart. Peppered with mouth-watering recipes for summer ratatouille, swordfish tartare and molten chocolate cakes, Lunch in Paris is a story of falling in love, redefining success and discovering what it truly means to be at home. Grange Marketplace Design Center, #106 2400 Market Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103 This is a FREE event, but reservations are required. Please RSVP by April 19th by calling 215.217.1367, or emailing marketing@grangeny.com Start: 5:30 pm
Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters Louis Begley In December 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a brilliant French artillery officer and a Jew of Alsatian descent, was court-martialed for selling secrets to the German military attaché in Paris based on perjured testimony and trumped-up evidence. The sentence was military degradation and life imprisonment on Devil’s Island, a hellhole off the coast of French Guiana. Five years later, the case was overturned, and eventually Dreyfus was completely exonerated. Meanwhile, the Dreyfus Affair tore France apart, pitting Dreyfusards—committed to restoring freedom and honor to an innocent man convicted of a crime committed by another—against nationalists, anti-Semites, and militarists who preferred having an innocent man rot to exposing the crimes committed by ministers of war and the army’s top brass in order to secure Dreyfus’s conviction. Was the Dreyfus Affair merely another instance of the rise in France of a virulent form of anti-Semitism? In Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters, the acclaimed novelist draws upon his legal expertise to create a riveting account of the famously complex case, and to remind us of the interest each one of us has in the faithful execution of laws as the safeguard of our liberties and honor.
Rosenwald Gallery, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, 6th Floor University of Pennsylvania 3420 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA, 19104 This is a FREE event, but reservations are requested. For reservations, click here. Please RSVP by April 14th. For more information, call 215-665-2300 or click here Start: 6:30 pm
Ballistics Billy Collins Billy Collins served two terms as the Poet Laureate of the United States, from 2001 to 2003, and was selected as the New York State Poet from 2004 to 2006. One of America’s bestselling poets, Collins writes with a feel for the mystery of the everyday and is lauded as “a poet of plentitude, irony, and Augustan grace” (The New Yorker). His acclaimed books include Questions About Angels; The Art of Drowning; Picnic, Lightning; and Sailing Alone Around the Room. In Ballistics, Collins employs his trademark wit and comic insight as he considers the difficult topics of death and loneliness.
Central Library This is a TICKETED event; $14 General Admission, $7 Students. Tickets on sale Friday, January 15 at 10:00 a.m. at freelibrary.org/authorevents or by phone at 1-800-595-4TIX (4849). For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here Start: 8:00 pm
The Rock Bottom Remainders The Rock Bottom Remainders, a band of bestselling and award-winning authors, are playing a special benefit concert on Thursday, April 22nd at the Electric Factory. Featuring a musical line-up including Amy Tan, Scott Turow, Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Roy Blount, Jr., Greg Iles, James McBride, and Kathi Goldmark--plus some surprise guests!--the Rock Bottom Remainders will take to the stage during their first-ever stop in Philadelphia! Since the band's inception in 1992, the Rock Bottom Remainders have generously donated proceeds to literary organizations, and this year, the Free Library will receive 100 percent of the ticket profits in Philadelphia. Merchandise sales and proceeds from an exciting auction, as well as profits from a special VIP reception with members of the band, will benefit the Free Library and its valuble programs, services, and resources. General Admission Ticket Information General admission tickets cost $35 and are available for purchase at ticketmaster.com. Doors open at 7:30PM, and the concert runs from 8:00PM to 9:30PM. VIP Ticket Information This rockin' evening includes an exclusive VIP reception at 6:30PM (doors at 6:15PM), where guests can mix and mingle with the band while enjoying appetizers by Stephen Starr Events and drinks from an open bar. All of the authors' latest works will be for sale during the reception, and guests may have their books signed by the band. These guests will also have access to the VIP area throughout the reception and the concert that follows. VIP Tickets are $150.00 and can be optained by calling Sabrina at 215.567.7710. Electric Factory For more information about this special benefit concert, please click here | ||
04 / 23
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04 / 24
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04 / 25
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04 / 26
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04 / 27
Start: 10:00 am
Start: Tue, 04/27/2010 - 10:00am
End: Sat, 05/01/2010 - 6:00pm
Philadelphia International Children's Festival Shows for the young and young-at-heart! The 26th annual Philadelphia International Children's Festival at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will be April 27th-May 1st. Enjoy a variety of family-friendly performances including a live-action musical version of The Little Engine That Could by Omaha Theater Company, a comical puppetry adaptation of The Man Who Planted Trees by Puppet State Theatre Company of Scotland, the explosive hip-hop and break-dance moves of STREET BEAT and a sing along musical journey through African American history with Linda Tillery & The Culteral Heritage Choir. In addition, famillies can participate in a host of fun and interactive activities for free in the FUN ZONE on the Outdoor Plaza including crafts, face painting, jugglers, musicians and more! On Saturday, May 1st, join the Joseph Fox Bookshop and the actors from The Little Engine That Could for an autograph signing after the 1:00PM performance, and the actors from The Man Who Planted Trees for an autograph signing after the 2:30PM performance! Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts 3680 Walnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104 This is a TICKETED event; all tickets are $10 each, groups of ten or more, $8 each. For tickets, call 215.898.3900, group orders call 215.898.6789. For more information, please click here Start: 7:30 pm
Wait and
On Whitman C.K. Williams A winner of the Pushcart Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Award, C.K. Williams has been called “one of the most distinguished poets of his generation,” by the Times Literary Supplement. He writes with harrowing psychological insight about war, death, and desire in his poems. His books include The Singing, which won the National Book Award; Repair, winner of a Pulitzer Prize; and Flesh and Blood, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Wait is his new collection of poems. In On Whitman, Williams examines why Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass remains so important both to the public and to himself. Former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky describes the book as “the exuberant, true book of a poet, of two poets: a personal, illuminating, and beautiful demonstration of the truest reading.”
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
04 / 28
(all day)
Start: Tue, 04/27/2010 - 10:00am
End: Sat, 05/01/2010 - 6:00pm
Philadelphia International Children's Festival Shows for the young and young-at-heart! The 26th annual Philadelphia International Children's Festival at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will be April 27th-May 1st. Enjoy a variety of family-friendly performances including a live-action musical version of The Little Engine That Could by Omaha Theater Company, a comical puppetry adaptation of The Man Who Planted Trees by Puppet State Theatre Company of Scotland, the explosive hip-hop and break-dance moves of STREET BEAT and a sing along musical journey through African American history with Linda Tillery & The Culteral Heritage Choir. In addition, famillies can participate in a host of fun and interactive activities for free in the FUN ZONE on the Outdoor Plaza including crafts, face painting, jugglers, musicians and more! On Saturday, May 1st, join the Joseph Fox Bookshop and the actors from The Little Engine That Could for an autograph signing after the 1:00PM performance, and the actors from The Man Who Planted Trees for an autograph signing after the 2:30PM performance! Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts 3680 Walnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104 This is a TICKETED event; all tickets are $10 each, groups of ten or more, $8 each. For tickets, call 215.898.3900, group orders call 215.898.6789. For more information, please click here | ||
04 / 29
(all day)
Start: Tue, 04/27/2010 - 10:00am
End: Sat, 05/01/2010 - 6:00pm
Philadelphia International Children's Festival Shows for the young and young-at-heart! The 26th annual Philadelphia International Children's Festival at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will be April 27th-May 1st. Enjoy a variety of family-friendly performances including a live-action musical version of The Little Engine That Could by Omaha Theater Company, a comical puppetry adaptation of The Man Who Planted Trees by Puppet State Theatre Company of Scotland, the explosive hip-hop and break-dance moves of STREET BEAT and a sing along musical journey through African American history with Linda Tillery & The Culteral Heritage Choir. In addition, famillies can participate in a host of fun and interactive activities for free in the FUN ZONE on the Outdoor Plaza including crafts, face painting, jugglers, musicians and more! On Saturday, May 1st, join the Joseph Fox Bookshop and the actors from The Little Engine That Could for an autograph signing after the 1:00PM performance, and the actors from The Man Who Planted Trees for an autograph signing after the 2:30PM performance! Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts 3680 Walnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104 This is a TICKETED event; all tickets are $10 each, groups of ten or more, $8 each. For tickets, call 215.898.3900, group orders call 215.898.6789. For more information, please click here Start: 12:00 pm
Every Last One Anna Quindlen The no. 1 New York Times bestselling author Anna Quindlen has made her mark writing about families, relating domestic concerns to wider social issues. Quindlen earned earning the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for her New York Times column “Public and Private,” and she now writes the “My Turn” column for Newsweek. Her bestselling books include the novels Object Lessons and One True Thing, the collection Living Out Loud, and the bestseller A Short Guide to a Happy Life. Her new novel portrays a loving mother, her depressed son, and the explosive, violent consequences of what seem like inconsequential actions.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here Start: 3:00 pm
How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace Charles Kupchan Is the world destined to suffer endless cycles of conflict and war? Can rival nations become partners and establish a lasting and stable peace? How Enemies Become Friends provides an account of how nations escape geopolitical competition and replace hostility with friendship. Drawing on historical examples that span the globe range from the thirteenth century through the present, Kupchan explores how can transform enmity in amity - and he exposes prevalent myths about the causes of peace. Dr. Kupchan is senior fellow for Europe studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), as well as professor of international affairs at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He was previously director for European affairs at the National Security Council (NSC) during the Clinton administration. Before joining the NSC, he worked in the U.S. Department of State on the policy planning staff. Prior to government service, he was an Assistant Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is the author of multiple books and articles, including The End of the American Era: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Geopolitics of the Twenty-first Century (2002), Power in Transition: The Peaceful Change of the International Order (2001), Civic Engagement in the Atlantic Community (1999), and Atlantic Security: Contending Visions (1998).
Foreign Policy Research Institute Library This is a FREE event; however reservations are requested. For more information, call 215-732-3774, email lux@fpri.org or click here Start: 7:30 pm
Parrot and Olivier in America Peter Carey Peter Carey “has built a distinguished career out of offbeat, risk-taking novels,” writes Time magazine critic Paul Gray. He has won the prestigious Man Booker Prize twice, for his novel Oscar and Lucinda and for True History of the Kelly Gang, a fictionalized memoir of legendary Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. With inventiveness and humor, Carey’s new novel explores the unlikely friendship between a Frenchman and an Englishman working in early 19th-century America.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
04 / 30
(all day)
Start: Tue, 04/27/2010 - 10:00am
End: Sat, 05/01/2010 - 6:00pm
Philadelphia International Children's Festival Shows for the young and young-at-heart! The 26th annual Philadelphia International Children's Festival at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will be April 27th-May 1st. Enjoy a variety of family-friendly performances including a live-action musical version of The Little Engine That Could by Omaha Theater Company, a comical puppetry adaptation of The Man Who Planted Trees by Puppet State Theatre Company of Scotland, the explosive hip-hop and break-dance moves of STREET BEAT and a sing along musical journey through African American history with Linda Tillery & The Culteral Heritage Choir. In addition, famillies can participate in a host of fun and interactive activities for free in the FUN ZONE on the Outdoor Plaza including crafts, face painting, jugglers, musicians and more! On Saturday, May 1st, join the Joseph Fox Bookshop and the actors from The Little Engine That Could for an autograph signing after the 1:00PM performance, and the actors from The Man Who Planted Trees for an autograph signing after the 2:30PM performance! Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts 3680 Walnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104 This is a TICKETED event; all tickets are $10 each, groups of ten or more, $8 each. For tickets, call 215.898.3900, group orders call 215.898.6789. For more information, please click here | ||
05 / 1
End: 6:00 pm
Start: Tue, 04/27/2010 - 10:00am
End: Sat, 05/01/2010 - 6:00pm
Philadelphia International Children's Festival Shows for the young and young-at-heart! The 26th annual Philadelphia International Children's Festival at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will be April 27th-May 1st. Enjoy a variety of family-friendly performances including a live-action musical version of The Little Engine That Could by Omaha Theater Company, a comical puppetry adaptation of The Man Who Planted Trees by Puppet State Theatre Company of Scotland, the explosive hip-hop and break-dance moves of STREET BEAT and a sing along musical journey through African American history with Linda Tillery & The Culteral Heritage Choir. In addition, famillies can participate in a host of fun and interactive activities for free in the FUN ZONE on the Outdoor Plaza including crafts, face painting, jugglers, musicians and more! On Saturday, May 1st, join the Joseph Fox Bookshop and the actors from The Little Engine That Could for an autograph signing after the 1:00PM performance, and the actors from The Man Who Planted Trees for an autograph signing after the 2:30PM performance! Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts 3680 Walnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104 This is a TICKETED event; all tickets are $10 each, groups of ten or more, $8 each. For tickets, call 215.898.3900, group orders call 215.898.6789. For more information, please click here Start: 9:00 am
Start: Sat, 05/01/2010 - 9:00am
End: Sun, 05/02/2010 - 1:00pm
Living Beyond Breast Cancer 4th Annual Conference for Women Living with Advanced Breast Cancer: Enhancing Your Health and Quality of Life Join Living Beyond Breast Cancer for a national conference focusing on the unique needs of women living with advance breast cancer. Leaders in breast cancer research and support will explore the medical, emotional, and practical concerns affecting this group of women. Featuring The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me Bruce Feiler Bestselling author Bruce Feiler was a young father when he was diagnosed with cancer. He instantly worried what his daughters' lives would be like without him. "Would they wonder who I was? Would they wonder what I thought? Would they yearn for my approval, my love, my voice?" Three days later he came up with a stirring idea of how he might give them that voice. He would reach out to six men from all the passages in his life, and ask them to be present in the passages in his daughters' lives. The Council of Dads is the inspiring story of what happened next. Feiler introduces the men in his Council and captures the life lesson he wants each to convey to his daughters. He mixes these with an intimate, highly personal chronicle of his experience battling cancer while raising young children, along with vivid portraits of his father, his two grandfathers, and various father figures in his life that explore the changing role of fathers in America. Through Rose Colored Glasses Donna Deegan Donna Deegan is the evening anchor for First Coast News in Jacksonville, Florida. She will share her inspiring journey of thriving while managing breast cancer. After her initial diagnosis, Ms. Deegan established The Donna Foundation, which provides financial support to northern Florida women living with breast cancer. Deegan also founded 26.2 with Donna: The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer, the only marathon in the country that is dedicated exclusively to raising funds for breast cancer research and care.
Her first book, The Good Fight, chronicles her second bout with breast cancer and the on-line journal that she kept during that time. Deegan's second book, Through Rose Colored Glasses, gives hope to women living with the reality of breast cancer and inspires them to not let this reality damage their spirit and outlook on life.
Philadelphia Marriot West 111 Crawford Avenue West Conshohocken, PA, 19428 For full conference information, including registration, please click here Start: 5:30 pm
Dreaming of Dior: Every Dress Tells a Story Charlotte Smith Charlotte Smith had already had more than her fair share of fabulous dresses and adventures. She lived life to the fullest in London, Paris and New York before falling in love with Australia and making it her home.Then she discovered that she had inherited a priceless vintage clothing collection from her American Quaker godmother, Doris Darnell.When the boxes started arriving, they were filled with more than three thousand pieces dating from 1790 to 1995, from Dior and Chanel originals to a dainty pioneer dress.But when she unearthed her godmother’s book of stories, the true value of what she had been given hit home. This wasn’t merely a collection of beautiful things; it was a collection of lives. Women’s lives. Tiny snapshots of our joys and disappointments, our entrances and exits, triumphant and tragic.This is a book for any woman who knows a dress can hold a lifetime of memories. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Historic Landmark Building 118 North Broad Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 19102 This is a TICKETED event; $50 Admission. Reservations are required; please contact the Alliance Francaise at 215.735.5283 | ||
05 / 2
End: 1:00 pm
Start: Sat, 05/01/2010 - 9:00am
End: Sun, 05/02/2010 - 1:00pm
Living Beyond Breast Cancer 4th Annual Conference for Women Living with Advanced Breast Cancer: Enhancing Your Health and Quality of Life Join Living Beyond Breast Cancer for a national conference focusing on the unique needs of women living with advance breast cancer. Leaders in breast cancer research and support will explore the medical, emotional, and practical concerns affecting this group of women. Featuring The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me Bruce Feiler Bestselling author Bruce Feiler was a young father when he was diagnosed with cancer. He instantly worried what his daughters' lives would be like without him. "Would they wonder who I was? Would they wonder what I thought? Would they yearn for my approval, my love, my voice?" Three days later he came up with a stirring idea of how he might give them that voice. He would reach out to six men from all the passages in his life, and ask them to be present in the passages in his daughters' lives. The Council of Dads is the inspiring story of what happened next. Feiler introduces the men in his Council and captures the life lesson he wants each to convey to his daughters. He mixes these with an intimate, highly personal chronicle of his experience battling cancer while raising young children, along with vivid portraits of his father, his two grandfathers, and various father figures in his life that explore the changing role of fathers in America. Through Rose Colored Glasses Donna Deegan Donna Deegan is the evening anchor for First Coast News in Jacksonville, Florida. She will share her inspiring journey of thriving while managing breast cancer. After her initial diagnosis, Ms. Deegan established The Donna Foundation, which provides financial support to northern Florida women living with breast cancer. Deegan also founded 26.2 with Donna: The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer, the only marathon in the country that is dedicated exclusively to raising funds for breast cancer research and care.
Her first book, The Good Fight, chronicles her second bout with breast cancer and the on-line journal that she kept during that time. Deegan's second book, Through Rose Colored Glasses, gives hope to women living with the reality of breast cancer and inspires them to not let this reality damage their spirit and outlook on life.
Philadelphia Marriot West 111 Crawford Avenue West Conshohocken, PA, 19428 For full conference information, including registration, please click here | ||
05 / 3
Start: 6:30 pm
We Don't Know We Don't Know Nick Lantz Nick Lantz is a former Jay C. and Ruth Halls Poetry Fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Called a startling new voice, he is author of We Don’t Know We Don’t Know, winner of the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference Bakeless Prize and Winner of the 2008 Katharine Bakeless Nason Prize for Poetry.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 4
Start: 11:00 am
Farrow & Ball: The Art of Color
Barry Dixon Interiors Brian Coleman Inspiration is the beginning of any good design, establishing a particular ambience and appeal. Brian Coleman, author of Farrow & Ball®: The Art of Color and Barry Dixon Interiors, and nationally recognized designer Barry Dixon take us on a tour of homes Barry has designed, from an urban loft in New York to an idyllic mountain villa in the Caribbean, giving us perspective and inspiring design tips and advice.
Marketplace Design Center This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.561.5000 or click here Start: 7:30 pm
Isabel Allende Island Beneath the Sea: A Novel Isabel Allende takes traditional Latin-American magical realism and bends it to her own purposes to weave beguiling historic, political, and feminist narratives. Her first international bestseller was The House of the Spirits, which was adapted into the eponymous film starring Meryl Streep. She is the author of several other popular novels, including Daughter of Fortune (a 2000 Oprah Book Club selection), Zorro, and Portrait in Sepia. She has also written a collection of stories, three memoirs, and a trilogy of young adult novels. Her books have been translated into more than 27 languages and are bestsellers across four continents. Her new novel tells of Tété, a slave and concubine, and her struggle for independence.
Central Library This is a TICKETED event; $14 General Admission, $7 Students. Tickets on sale Friday, January 15 at 10:00 a.m. at freelibrary.org/authorevents or by phone at 1-800-595-4TIX (4849). For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 5
Start: 5:30 pm
Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution Richard Beeman In May 1787, in an atmosphere of crisis, delegates met in Philadelphia to design a radically new form of government. Distinguished historian Richard Beeman captures as never before the dynamic of the debate and the characters of the men who labored that historic summer. Virtually all of the issues in dispute-the extent of presidential power, the nature of federalism, and, most explosive of all, the role of slavery-have continued to provoke conflict throughout our nation's history. This unprecedented book takes readers behind the scenes to show how the world's most enduring constitution was forged through conflict, compromise, and fragile consensus. As Gouverneur Morris, delegate of Pennsylvania, noted: "While some have boasted it as a work from Heaven, others have given it a less righteous origin. I have many reasons to believe that it is the work of plain, honest men."
Athenaeum of Philadelphia This is a FREE event, but reservations are required; please contact Susan Gallo at 215-925-2688 or sgallo@philaathenaeum.org For more information, please click here Start: 6:30 pm
The Living Constitution David A. Strauss
Guns and Violence: The English Experience Joyce Lee Malcolm Join the National Constitution Center for a conversation with Joyce Lee Malcolm and David A. Strauss about one of the most important and controversial case before the Supreme Court this term: the Chicago gun-rights case. At issue in McDonald v. Chicago is whether the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental constitutional privilege - like freedom of speech, press and religion - that can be invoked by individuals against the actions of state and federal government. As the briefs start coming to the Court for the case, a battle is brewing over the so-called "incorporation doctrine" which has applied most, but not all, guarantees of the federal Bill of Rights to state and local governments.
Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach This is a FREE event, but reservations are required. Please call 215.409.6700 or click here Start: 7:30 pm
Dead in the Family: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel Charlaine Harris Dead in the Family is book 10 of Charlaine Harris’s no. 1 New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series. The basis for the hit HBO series True Blood, the novels follow telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse as she navigates a southern Louisiana world full of vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, and fairies. The books have garnered an Agatha Award nomination and an Anthony Award for best paperback original; the television series has won Golden Globe, People’s Choice, and Emmy awards. Harris is the author of three more mystery series (Aurora Teagarden, Lily Bard, and Harper Connelly), as well as the stand-alone mysteries, Sweet and Deadly and A Secret Rage.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 6
Start: 7:30 pm
Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Iquiry into the Value of Work Matthew B. Crawford In Shop Class as Soul Craft, Matthew B. Crawford—a mechanic with a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Chicago—examines the pretentions of the high-prestige workplace and, he writes, “advances a nestled set of arguments on behalf of work that is meaningful because it is genuinely useful. It also explores what we might call the ethics of maintenance and repair.” Francis Fukuyama, in his New York Times review, called Shop Class as Soul Craft “a beautiful little book about human excellence and the way it is undervalued in contemporary America.” As jobs become increasingly abstract, Crawford offers a moving reflection on why and how to live more meaningfully in the world.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 7
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05 / 8
Start: 4:00 pm
White Cat (The Curse Workers, Book One) Holly Black
City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, Book Three) Cassandra Clare White Cat is the first of the Curse Workers books, the highly-anticipated new fantasy series from Holly Black. Black isthe New York Times bestselling author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, basis for the successful eponymous feature film. With White Cat, Black leaves behind tales of old-world faerie mischief for a modern-day dark fantasy caper complete with con artists, criminal curses, family intrigue, and romance. Black’s first book, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, was included in the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults; her other young adult novels include Valiant and Ironside, winner of the Andre Norton Award for excellence in young adult literature.
Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series has a fan in Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, who writes, “The Mortal Instruments series is a story world that I love to live in… if it has to end, then City of Glass is the most perfect way for that to happen. Beautiful!” Beginning with City of Bones and City of Ashes—both New York Times bestsellers—this dark, urban fantasy tells the story of Clary Fray, a teenage girl who becomes entangled with Shadowhunters—a race of powerful, demon-destroying warriors—and the quest to find the “mortal instruments” that can control them. Clare’s next book, Clockwork Angel, is due to be released in September 2010.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 9
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05 / 10
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05 / 11
Start: 6:30 pm
Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America Jack Rakove On the release of his newest book, Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America, Pulitzer Prize-winner Jack Rakove joins the National Constitution Center to discuss how the country came to be and why the idea of America endures. Richard Beeman moderates. Rakove tells the stories of the founders before they were fully formed leaders, as individuals whose lives were radically altered by the explosive events of the mid-1770s. They were ordinary men who became extraordinary. Spanning the two crucial decades of the country's birth, from 1773 to 1792, Rakove uses little-known stories of these famous (and not so famous) men to capture--in a way no single biography ever could--the intensely creative period of the republic's founding. From the Boston Tea Party to the First Continental Congress, from Trenton to Valley Forge, from the ratification of the Constitution to the disputes that led to our two-party system, he explores the competing views of politics, war, diplomacy, and society that shaped our nation.
Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach This is a FREE event, but reservations are required. Please call 215.409.6700 or click here
Start: 7:00 pm
Ask Arthur Frommer: And Travel Better, Cheaper, Smarter Arthur Frommer Fifty years ago, only the rich vacationed in Europe. Then along came the guidebook Europe on $5 a Day. Traveling was changed forever! Travel writing legend Arthur Frommer continues to inform the world with books, blogs, articles, and interviews. His latest book, Ask Arthur Frommer: And Travel Better, Cheaper, Smarter is an indispensible addition to anyone's travel library with savvy advice on everything from internet tools to exposing the myths of modern travel. His daughter carries on the family tradition in 14 of her own award-winning Pauline Fommer Guides with more tips on how to Spend Less, See More...in Paris, New York, London, Costa Rica, and more destinations worldwide. The Geographical Society welcomes this unique father/daughter team for an evening of outspoken and entertaining commentary on travel.
Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing This is a TICKETED event; $25 for program only, $90 for program & dinner. Reservations are required. Please RSVP by May 1st. For more information, call 610.649.5220, or click here
Start: 7:30 pm
Beat Cop to Top Cop: A Tale of Three Cities John F. Timoney Named “America’s Top Cop” by Esquire magazine, John F. Timoney has served as First Deputy Commissioner for the New York Police Department, Police Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia, and Chief of Police for the City of Miami. An immigrant from Dublin, Ireland, Timoney joined the New York Police Department, serving as a Narcotics Specialist in the South Bronx and rising to become the youngest four-star chief in the history of the NYPD. At the NYPD, he helped develop CompStat, a crime analysis and police management process, which he also implemented in Philadelphia to great success—crime decreased in all categories, especially homicide. Beat Cop to Top Cop is a riveting ride through Timoney’s career and offers advice on how police departments can make lower crime rates last.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 12
Start: 12:00 pm
The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of Little Bighorn Nathaniel Philbrick The author of modern and authoritative historical narratives, New York Times bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick won the National Book Award in 2000 for In the Heart of the Sea, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Mayflower in 2007, and won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Revenge of the Whale. In The Last Stand, Philbrick evokes the history, geography, and haunting beauty of the Great Plains and tells one of the most iconic and misunderstood stories of the American West.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here Start: 5:30 pm
Crime Does Pay A Special Panel Discussion featuring William Lashner, Merry Jones, George Anastasia, Gerald Kolpan, and Jonathan Levitan with moderator Codelia Frances Biddle Join local authors William Lashner, Merry Jones, George Anastasia, Gerald Kolpan, Jonathan Levitan, and moderator Cordelia Frances Biddle for a lively discussion of the art of mystery and suspense writing. Whether the genre is historical, thriller, traditional, or true crime with plots ripped out of the daily headlines, these experts will reveal their fascination with all things dangerous and sinister.
Athenaeum of Philadelphia This is a FREE event, but reservations are required; please contact Susan Gallo at 215-925-2688 or sgallo@philaathenaeum.org For more information, please click here | ||
05 / 13
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05 / 14
Start: 7:30 pm
One Hundred Great French Books: From the Middle Ages to the Present Lance Donaldson-Evans One Hundred Great French Books invites readers to discover - or rediscover - some of the major achievements of French culture and civilization. Concise, provocative, and entertaining, it features one hundred timeless masterworks across ten centuries of writing in French. Many of the famous classics of French literature are presented, along with political, philosophical, and devotional texts, and detective novels and science fiction. Each of the chronologically arranged entries introduces one book in its historic, cultural, and social context, provides key information about the author, and gives a clear and focused summary of its content. Included are books by writers from metropolitan France as well as by francophone authors from Canada, the Caribbean, Africa, Belgium, and Switzerland. One Hundred Great French Books offers a rich, varied, and multicultural panorama of one of the most beloved and inpiring literatures in the world. Lance Donaldson-Evans is Professor of Romance Languages at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has taught courses on all periods of French literature and culture for some forty years. In 2008, the French government awarded him the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre des Palmes Academiques for his services in helping spread French literature and culture.
Ethical Society of Philadelphia This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.735.5283, or click here | ||
05 / 15
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05 / 16
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05 / 17
Start: 8:00 pm
No Wonder My Parents Drank: Tales from a Stand-Up Dad Jay Mohr From Saturday Night Live to stand-up, from a blockbuster film career to the star of CBS’s hit television show Gary Unmarried, Jay Mohr is one of the funniest people in comedy today. Now, in this down and dirty tale of modern fatherhood, Mohr shares his stories as a first-time parent. No Wonder My Parents Drank reveals the details behind Mohr’s humiliating test-tube conception attempts and then recounts the trauma of not only having to keep this child alive, but having to spend time alone with him! He waxes poetic about dirty diapers; spins theories on spanking; and mulls over the more hidden advantages of parenthood, like carpool lane access, carte blanche to use the ladies restroom, and an alibi for missing family dinners. Mohr describes, in painfully funny detail, the bizarre situations that all parents inevitably face but can never prepare for as well as moments of pure joy like taking his son to his first baseball game. Riotously acerbic and refreshingly honest, No Wonder My Parents Drank casts the very funny Jay Mohr with an even funnier mini-me sidekick as a supporting character in a little comedic love story that every person who either is a parent or has a parent will find delightful.
Helium Comedy Club This is a TICKETED event; $30 General Admission, $35 Reserved. To order tickets, please call 215.496.9001 or click here
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05 / 18
Start: 7:30 pm
Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the International Hunt for His Assassin Hampton Sides Hampton Sides is an acclaimed bestselling author and a National Magazine Award nominated journalist. He won the PEN USA Award for nonfiction and the 2002 Discover Award from Barnes and Noble for Ghost Soldiers, a historical narrative following the rescue of WWII Bataan Death March survivors that was later adapted into the Miramax feature film The Great Raid. His next book, Blood and Thunder, was adapted into an episode of the Public Broadcasting Service’s American Experience series. Hellhound On His Trail, is a taut and thrilling account of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 65-day manhunt for his killer, the longest in American history.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 19
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05 / 20
Start: 7:30 pm
War Sebastian Junger A contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Sebastian Junger has won both the SAIS Novartis Prize for journalism and a National Magazine Award. His first book, The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, was a surprise bestseller and became a hit feature film, starring George Clooney. In War, Junger explores closely the physical, social, and psychological impacts of war by recounting time spent with a U.S. Army platoon engaged in Afghanistan. CBC (Canada) news anchor Peter Mansbridge calls War, “frontline, raw, combat reporting the quality of which you don't often read, because quite frankly, most war reporters never see it.”
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 21
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05 / 22
Start: 2:00 pm
The Clock Without a Face Augustus Twintig Twelve (real) emerald-studded numbers from the (fictional) Emerald Khroniker clock—each handmade and one-of-a-kind—have been buried across the United States. These treasures will belong to whoever digs them up first. The question: Where to dig? The answer: Clues are hidden in the detailed drawings of the 13 floors of Ternky Tower in The Clock Without a Face, online at gustwintig.com, and at author appearances! The hunt is updated in real time on the authors’ Twitter feed, @GusTwintig. Co-author Eli Horowitz edits and designs books and journals for McSweeneys; Mac Barnett is the author of the acclaimed children’s books The Brixton Brothers: The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity, Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem, and Guess Again!
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 23
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05 / 24
Start: 7:30 pm
Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities Martha Nussbaum “Among academic stars, Nussbaum is one of the brightest,” writes one Publishers Weekly reviewer. One of America’s most influential philosophers, she is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics in the Philosophy Department, Law School, and Divinity School at the University of Chicago. With clarity and intelligence, Nussbaum has written on liberal education, feminism, and social justice, and the influence of emotion on society. Her award-winning books include Cultivating Humanity, Sex and Social Justice, and Hiding from Humanity. In Not for Profit the celebrated philosopher makes a passionate case for the reinstatement of the liberal arts at the center of all levels of education as a way to give students the capacity to be true democratic citizens.
Central Library This is a TICKETED event; $14 General Admission, $7 Students. Tickets on sale Friday, January 15 at 10:00 a.m. at freelibrary.org/authorevents or by phone at 1-800-595-4TIX (4849). For more information call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 25
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05 / 26
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05 / 27
Start: 7:30 pm
Future Tense: Jews, Judaism, and Israel in the Twenty-First Century Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Sacks is Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. A frequent contributor to The Times (London) and the BBC, Rabbi Sacks was knighted in 2005 and granted life peerage in the House of Lords in 2009. He has authored more than 15 books, including The Dignity of Difference, which was awarded the 2004 Grawemeyer Prize for religion, and A Letter in the Scroll, winner of the 2000 National Jewish Book Award. Rabbi Sacks is an expert on Jewish tradition and a strong advocate for the peaceful coexistence of all religions. His most recent work argues that Jews should transform themselves from “the people that dwells alone,” into a community willing to work with others in order to achieve freedom and social justice.
Central Library This is a TICKETED event; $14 General Admission, $7 Students. Tickets on sale Friday, January 15 at 10:00 a.m. at freelibrary.org/authorevents or by phone at 1-800-595-4TIX (4849). For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
05 / 28
Start: 6:00 pm
Bicycles: Love Poems Nikki Giovanni Art Sanctuary presents the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award to world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator Nikki Giovanni. One of the most widely read American poets and the author of more than 30 books for adults and children, Giovanni prides herself on being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother and a professor of English." The celebration includes a performance by jazz guitarist Monette Sudler-Honesty featuring the Original SNCC Freedom Singers; words from illustrator Bryan Collier, author Derrick Barnes, and US Representative Chaka Fattah; a special tribute by Philadelphia's own Sonia Sanchez, HBO Def Poet Bassey Ikpi and wordsmith Oni Lasana; and a hip-hop video tribute including Questlove of The Roots. Author Veronica Chambers hosts. Church of the Advocate This is a TICKETED event; for pricing and registration, click here.
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05 / 29
Start: 9:30 am
End: 5:30 pm
The 26th Annual Celebration of Black Writing Festival The purpose of the Celebration of Black Writing Festival is to deepen Philadelphia's literary life and polish its tourist shine with a rich infusion of African-American writers in all genres during the week of Memorial Day. Join Art Sanctuary for inspiring workshops and panel discussions, fun family activities, powerful performances, a book fair with author signings, delicious food, fabulous crafts and much more! Authors appearing throughout the day include Solomon Jones (Payback: The Return of C.R.E.A.M.), Lise Funderburg (Pig Candy: Taking My Father South, Taking My Father Home), Steven Barnes (Shadow Valley), Sonia Sanchez (Morning Haiku), and Haki R. Madhubuti (Tough Notes: A Healing Call for Creating Exceptional Black Men), and many more. The Celebration of Black Writing Festival also includes performances of poetry, music, and dance by local talents such as Jean Baylor, one half of the hit duo Zhane, who will perform songs from her gorgeous solo debut album Testimony: My Life Story, Misty Sol, Davina, Art Sanctuary's North Stars, and Haiku Writing Contest winners. Dynamic spoken word artist K.D. Morris hosts.
Temple University Campus Ritter Hall Annex This is a FREE event, but tickets to lectures, workshops, and panel discussions are required. For registration and a complete event listing, click here.
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05 / 30
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05 / 31
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06 / 1
Start: 6:30 pm
The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898 Evan Thomas The National Constitution Center presents bestselling historian and Newsweek Assistant Managing Editor Evan Thomas for a conversation about his new book, The War Lovers, the story of six men at the center of a transforming event in U.S. history and why the Spanish-American war has uncanny resonance today. On February 15, 1898, the USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor. Despite the fact that the explosion was almost certainly a self-inflicted accident, Teddy Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge, along with newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, fabricated evidence of a Spanish attack. As they had long hoped, President McKinley soon declared war, which would turn out to be a bloody quagmire that would come at a tremendous cost. The war would ultimately transform Roosevelt into an American hero, but would shatter friendships among Roosevelt, Lodge, their close friends and former allies, philosopher William James and the powerful Speaker of the House, Thomas Reed. Princeton historian Sean Wilentz returns to the Center to moderate the conversation.
Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach This is a FREE event, but reservations are required. Please call 215.409.6700 or click here Start: 7:30 pm
Role Models John Waters On Role Models—the new memoir from legendary American filmmaker, actor, and writer John Waters—author Augusten Burroughs comments, “How did somebody from a quiet Baltimore neighborhood grow up to become the outlandish, brilliant, and insane John Waters? Two words: Johnny Mathis.” In addition to the cult films he is famous for—among them Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and Polyester—Waters has published two previous books, Shock Value and Crackpot, a collection of essays. A window into one of the most unique and entertaining artists of our time, Role Models is a self-portrait told through intimate descriptions of the people who have both inspired and subverted him, including playwright Tennessee Williams, atheist leader Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the insane martyr Saint Catherine of Siena, and of course, singer Johnny Mathis.
Central Library This is a TICKETED event; $14 General Admission, $7 Students. Tickets on sale at freelibrary.org/authorevents or by phone at 1-800-595-4TIX (4849). For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
06 / 2
Start: 5:30 pm
Haunt Me Still Jennifer Lee Carrell Kate Stanley, Jennifer Lee Carrell's dauntless Shakespearean scholar- turned-director, made a memorable-and New York Times bestselling-debut in Interred with Their Bones. Having chased down her mother's killer (and recovering one of Shakespeare's lost plays in the process), Kate's fame as a director with an expertise in "occult Shakespeare" catapults her-and Ben Pearl, her partner in crime- solving-into a new production of Macbeth, showcasing a fabled collection of objects relating both to the play and the historical Scottish king for whom it is named.
Athenaeum of Philadelphia This event is FREE for Athenaeum Members; $10 admission for non-members. Reservations are required; please contact Susan Gallo at 215-925-2688 or sgallo@philaathenaeum.org. For more information, please click here | ||
06 / 3
Start: 7:30 pm
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Nomad Born in Somalia and raised Muslim, Ayaan Hirsi Ali fled to Holland—where she eventually became a member of the Dutch parliament—to avoid a forced marriage. An outspoken advocate for women’s rights and a staunch critic of Islamic extremism, Ali made a documentary about domestic abuse among Muslim women with director Theo van Gogh, who was subsequently killed by an Islamic extremist. Continuing death threats have forced her into hiding. Her first book, The Caged Virgin, was a collection of essays concerning the oppression of Muslim women. In Nomad—the follow up to her no. 1 bestselling memoir Infidel—Ali tells the story of her search for a new life in the United States.
Central Library This is a TICKETED event; $14 General Admission, $7 Students. Tickets on sale Friday, January 15 at 10:00 a.m. at freelibrary.org/authorevents or by phone at 1-800-595-4TIX (4849). For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
06 / 4
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06 / 5
Start: 2:00 pm
Mohamed's Ghosts: An American Story of Love and Fear in the Homeland Stephan Salisbury Please join CAIR-PA for a screening of Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think, a new documentary film from Unity Productions Foundation, and a discussion after the film, featuring author Stephan Salisbury and many more. Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think, a new documentary film from Unity Productions Foundation, explores the expertly gathered opinions of Muslims around the globe as revealed in the world’s first major opinion poll, conducted by Gallup, the preeminent polling organization. Gallup researchers began by asking the questions on every American’s mind. Why is there so much anti-Americanism in the Muslim world? Who are the extremists and how do Muslims feel about them? What do Muslims like and dislike about the West? What do Muslim women really want? Focused on the issues of Gender Justice, Terrorism, and Democracy –the film presents this remarkable data deftly, showing how it challenges the popular notion that Muslims and the West are on a collision course. Like the research, the film highlights a shared relationship that is based on facts – not fear.
International House Philadelphia This is a FREE event, but tickets are required. For complete event information and to reserve tickets, please click here
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06 / 6
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06 / 7
Start: 6:30 pm
Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone Rajiv Chadrasekaran In this acclaimed firsthand account, the former Baghdad bureau chief of The Washington Post gives us an intimate portrait of life inside this Oz-like bubble, which continued unaffected by the growing mayhem outside. This is a quietly devastating tale of imperial folly, and the definitive history of those early days when things went irrevocably wrong in Iraq.
Among Empires: American Ascendancy and its Predecessors Charles Maier To inquire about empire is to ask what the United States has become as a result of its wealth, inventiveness, and ambitions. It is to confront lofty national aspirations with the realities of the violence that often attends imperial politics and thus to question both the costs and the opportunities of the current U.S. global ascendancy. With learning, dispassion, and clarity, "Among Empires" offers bold comparisons and an original account of American power. It confirms that the issue of empire must be a concern of every citizen.
The Rule of Empires: Those Who Built Them, Those Who Endured Them, and Why They Always Fall Timothy Parsons In The Rule of Empires, Timothy Parsons gives a sweeping account of the evolution of empire from its origins in ancient Rome to its most recent twentieth-century embodiment. He explains what constitutes an empire and offers suggestions about what empires of the past can tell us about our own historical moment.
Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach
This is a FREE event, but reservations are required. Please call 215.409.6700 or click here
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06 / 8
Start: 7:30 pm
Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer Novella Carpenter Novella Carpenter studied under writer and food guru Michael Pollan for two years at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. In Farm City—a book that one New York Times reviewer compared to both Julie Powell’s Julie & Julia and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love and Pollan found “by turns edgy, moving, and hilarious”—she chronicles the creation and maintenance of her urban farm in Oakland, California, where she raises vegetables, chickens, rabbits, ducks, goats, turkeys, pigs, and bees. “The fast-paced account of the day-to-day drama unfolding in one backyard in Oakland… transforms Carpenter's personal experience into a broader, more engaging inquiry into our culture's complex relationship with food.”(San Francisco Chronicle)
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
06 / 9
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06 / 10
Start: 7:30 pm
Globish: How the English Language Became the World's Language Robert McCrum Robert McCrum is the associate editor of The Observer (London) and co-author of the bestseller The Story of English, a history of the English language, that went on to be adapted into an Emmy Award-winning nine-part PBS television series. He is the author of six works of fiction, including In the Secret State and Mainland. Among his nonfiction books are the acclaimed biography Wodehouse: A Life and the memoir My Year Off: Recovering Life after a Stroke. In Globish, McCrum argues, “that a seismic shift in the foundations of our lingua franca has transformed [British and American English] from an expression of Anglo-American cultural sovereignty into a supra-national phenomenon, with its own powerful inner dynamic.”
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
06 / 11
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06 / 12
Start: 4:30 pm
The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Race, Class, and Crime in America Charles Ogletree Shortly after noon on Tuesday, July 16th, 2009, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., MacArthur Fellow and Harvard professor, was mistakenly arrested by Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley for attempting to break into his own home. The ensuing media firestorm ignited debate across the country. The Crowley-Gates incident was a clash of absolutes, underscoring the tension between black and white, police and civilians, and the privileged and less privileged in modern America. Charles Ogletree, one of the country's foremost experts on civil rights, uses this incident as a lens through which to explore issues of race, class, and crime, with the goal of creating a more just legal system for all.
Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.276.7200, or click here
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06 / 13
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06 / 14
Start: 7:30 pm
Spies of the Balkans Alan Furst The New York Times calls Alan Furst “America’s preeminent spy novelist” and “an incomparable expert at his game.” He is the bestselling author of more than 10 historical thrillers, which have been translated into 17 languages. His milieu is the world of European intelligence services during the 1930s and 40s, and his books are admired for their attention to period detail, evocative atmosphere, and compelling plot. His novels include Night Soldiers, Dark Star, The Polish Officer, The World at Night, Red Gold, Kingdom of Shadows, Blood of Victory, Dark Voyage, The Foreign Correspondent, and The Spies of Warsaw. His latest book follows Costa Zannis, a senior police officer serving in Greece just before the Nazi occupation, as he becomes involved with spies who have invaded the country.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
06 / 15
Start: 7:30 pm
Hitch-22 Christopher Hitchens Called “America’s foremost literary pugilist” by a reviewer for The Village Voice, Christopher Hitchens is a prolific and controversial writer, as well as a popular radio and TV commentator. A self-styled “radicalist,” Hitchens is notorious for his strong opinions and conflicting views—he was against the Vietnam War and for the Iraq invasion. He has written books excoriating Mother Teresa, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Henry Kissinger, as well as biographies elevating Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Orwell. His polemic against organized religion, God Is Not Great, was a no. 1 New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the National Book Award. Providing new insight into his life and beliefs, Hitch-22 sheds light on the formative experiences and personal relationships with famous writers and political figures that helped make him the intellectual he is today. Mr. Hitchens will be interviewed by Marty Moss-Coane, host of WHYY's Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane.
Central Library This is a TICKETED event; $14 General Admission, $7 Students. Tickets on sale at freelibrary.org/authorevents or by phone at 1-800-595-4TIX (4849). AUDITORIUM SOLD OUT; SIMULCAST SEATING STILL AVAILABLE! For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
06 / 16
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06 / 17
Start: 7:30 pm
A Visit fom the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan According to the New York Times Book Review, Jennifer Egan writes with “an admirably deft touch, but more impressive than her craftsmanship is the emotional authenticity she achieves.” She is the author of novels The Keep, National Book Award finalist Look at Me, The Invisible Circus, and the story collection Emerald City. Her fiction has appeared in the New Yorker and Harper’s. In A Visit from the Goon Squad, Egan explores the human desire for immortality, escape, and redemption through music as she weaves the stories of an aging punk rocker and the young woman he employs.
Central Library This is a FREE event; no tickets or reservations are required. For more information, call 215.567.4341, or click here | ||
06 / 18
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