Tribute to Herblock; Author Events with George Packer, Julie Andrews

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Greetings From Politics and Prose! E-mail for the Week of November 12, 2009 Tribute to Herblock; Author Events with George Packer, Julie Andrews
Shortcut Bar: Click below to skip to popular destinations Letter from Barbara & Carla \| Barbara's Byline \| Carla Comments \| Winter Class \| Upcoming Events Off-Site Events \| Bestsellers \| New In Paperback \| Children and Teens \| Markdown Books \| Music \| Book Groups \| Coffeehouse
UPCOMING EVENTS - 10 DAY SUMMARY
Click here for our events calendar. Click here for more complete descriptions and online purchase. Members always save 20% on event books. Click here to register!
Thursday November 12 10:30 a.m. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - Faith, Hope, and Ivy June 7 p.m. Haynes Johnson - Herblock Friday November 13 7 p.m. Mary Gordon - Reading Jesus Saturday November 14 1 p.m. Jennifer Kaplan - Greening Your Small Business 3 p.m. Mark Andersen & Mark Jenkins - Dance Of Days 6 p.m. Woody Holton - Abigail Adams Sunday November 15 5 p.m. Hank Stuever - Tinsel Monday November 16 7 p.m. John Cassidy - How Markets Fail Tuesday November 17 10:30 a.m. & 4:30 p.m. Shannon Hale - Forest Born 6:30 p.m. Dinner with the Author: Rick Atkinson - The Long Gray Line 7 p.m. James McManus - Cowboys Full	Wednesday November 18 10:30 a.m. David Catrow - Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt 4 p.m. Jack Bishop - The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook- More Best Recipes 7 p.m. George Packer - Interesting Times Thursday November 19 4 p.m. Julie Andrews And Emma Walton Hamilton - Julie Andrews’ Collection Of Poems, Songs And Lullabies see below or visit our website for event guidelines 7 p.m. Joan Biskupic- American Original Friday November 20 7 p.m. Carmen Reinhart & Kenneth Rogoff - This Time Is Different Saturday November 21 1 p.m. Thomas Mallon - Yours Ever 6 p.m. Robert M. Poole - On Hallowed Ground Sunday November 22 1 p.m. Brad Leithauser - The Art Student's War 5 p.m.Patricia Sullivan - Lift Every Voice
LETTER FROM CARLA & BARBARA
NIEN CHENG We want to acknowledge the death of Nien Cheng, author of Life and Death in Shanghai published in 1987. One of the incomparable benefits of our job is to get to know some remarkable people. Nien was one of those people. In our small store across the street we packed people in to hear Nien talk about her imprisonment in China and her escape. It was difficult for her to describe the death of her daughter, who was hounded to death by the Red Squads while Nien was imprisoned. It was difficult for the audience to listen. Nien told us that she had to leave China because every time she came around a corner and saw a young woman, it reminded her of her daughter. Nien's bearing was regal, but she laughed a lot and was very warm. A visit from her was special. She always called us for books, especially recently when she found it difficult to move around. Once she insisted on treating us to a wonderful Chinese dinner at a local restaurant, a special dinner that we could never find on the menu. Click to read the excellent obituary in the Post. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS RICK ATKINSON will be the speaker at the next Dinner-with- the-Author on Tuesday, November 17 at Rock Creek Restaurant at nearby Mazza Gallerie. Rick is the author of the Battle trilogy of World War II, of which two have been published so far: *Army at Dawn* and *Day of Battle. Rick won the Pulitzer Prize for the first volume. Rick’s books are among the few military histories that I have been able to read from beginning to end. He has such a sense of character and drama; his books move and entertain like a good novel; and he is a compelling speaker as well. Next Tuesday, he will discuss his first book, THE LONG GRAY LINE, which has recently been republished in a 20th anniversary edition. The bookfollows the young graduates of the West Point class of 1966 to Vietnam where they carry much of the burden of the day-to-day fighting. Those of you who attend will be in for a treat. To make a reservation, email Bonnie Kogod* or call her at 202-363-7738. On Saturday, November 14, 8 p.m., STEFAN FATSIS, author of *Word Freak, will host a SCRABBLE TOURNAMENT. We will be raffling off 8 spots at 8 o’clock for a chance to play Stefan 1-on-1. Sign up at the event or mail your name to cmoran@politics-prose.com to enter. Entrants must be present at 8 p.m. to claim their seats at the table. The format will be an 8-person playoff. Each person will play three 45-minute games and the player with the best record (combination of wins and points) will have the chance to play Stefan Fatsis. For those people who aren’t in the tournament, we will be raffling off signed books and there will be Scrabble and other word games set up so you can learn from DC’s resident Scrabble expert. See you Saturday! Monday, November 23 - 7 p.m.* at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue David Plouffe - THE AUDACITY TO WIN David Plouffe has chosen a career in politics. He has managed many campaigns, including Tom Harkins’s run for the Senate. He served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Democratic leader Dick Gephardt. In 2003 he joined a political firm with David Axelrod and they began their association with Senate candidate Barack Obama. Newsweek called Plouffe “the campaign’s mastermind.” His book will reveal the management strategies that he used in Obama’s presidential campaign. Click here to purchase $8 tickets or receive two free tickets with the purchase of the book. Thursday, December 3 - 6:30 p.m. at CulinAerie, 1131 14th Street NW Trina Hahnemann - THE SCANDINAVIAN COOKBOOK (Andrews McMeel, $29.99) Join Chef Hahnemann as she demonstrates how to prepare Citrus Cured Salmon, Chicken Lovage Salad, Meatballs with Kale Salad and Apple Trifle. The cost is $60 and includes a tasting of the dishes, wine and a copy of the book. Please register with Bonnie Kogod by November 19 by phone at 202-363-7738 or email bkogod@politics-prose.com P&P TRIP TO MEXICO -- February 22- March 4 Every year Carla Cohen leads a Politics and Prose trip to Mexico. We leave in depths of winter and when we arrive in Mexico City we are greeted by sun and bougainvillea and jacaranda. When we return to Washington we know that we have but a few weeks left before spring comes to Washington. This year we have planned a trip that will allow us to drive from Mexico City to major archeological sites; view extraordinary painting and murals from the awakening that followed the Mexican revolution; and visit indigenous villages that are borrowing on ancient traditions to create beautiful crafts. We will stay in Mexico City, one of the great cities of the world, and a small colonial city Tlaxcala and a resort/hotel twenty minutes outside of the lovely city of Cuernavaca. Please contact me at Carla@politics-prose.com if you are interested in more information. Go back to top of email
BARBARA'S BYLINE
This past week I found a handsome new coffee table book put out by the National Geographic Society: THE IMAGE COLLECTION, with an introduction by Michelle Delaney (National Geographic, $50). I only regret that I didn’t discover it in time to include it in our holiday catalog. One of the grand movers behind this spectacular volume of photographs, which covers more than 100 years, was National Geographic photographer Volkmar "Kurt" Wentzel, whom I knew in two widely disparate times of my life. The first was 1957-1959 when, in my first job out of college, I was working for National Geographic as a geographic researcher and Kurt Wentzel was as much a prince of photographers as it was possible to be. We all worshipped him because, not only were his photos magnificent, he himself was impossibly handsome. Fast forward some thirty years to around 1987, when the newly retired Kurt became a regular customer at Politics & Prose and one of the nicest customers we ever had. We talked frequently about his photography and also about the possibility of making a card collection from his black and white Washington images - *Washington by Night: Vintage Photographs from the 30s* (Fulcrum Group, $18.95). Beginning in the 1990s, Kurt was in close contact with "The Society," as insiders always referred to it, to begin assembling this iconic collection demonstrating the history of photography as done by Society photographers, and the result is this standout volume ranging from the black and whites and Autochromes of early polar exploration to the first digital images published the magazine in 1998. The pictures are awesome and the quality of the selection difficult to match. Go back to top of email
CARLA'S COMMENTS
If you can, attend a presentation this afternoon, Thursday, November 12 at 2:30 p.m. by Michael Rosen of his book, WHAT ELSE BUT HOME: Seven Boys and an American Journey Between the Projects and the Penthouse at University of the District of Columbia/Windows Lounge, 4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW. Michael was here in August to present a remarkable story. At the UDC event, Michael will be accompanied by two of the youths about whom he writes. Michael and his wife Leslie took into their apartment - and into their lives - a half dozen teenagers who lived nearby their Lower East Side building. They fed and clothed them, and more important, tutored and encouraged them to graduate from high school and go on to college. Yes, they all had mothers, but mothers who were so overburdened with other children and jobs that they welcomed the Rosens’ help. Michael Rosen shows us how wide the gap is between middle and lower class life. The cultural disparities are huge. In this new information age, we expect much more of workers. Industrial work is disappearing. Service work pays badly. How can American society intervene to provide youngsters with the skills and know how they need to navigate in the global economy? If you miss the talk, we will have signed books on hand. NEIGHBORHOOD MURAL Some of you may have heard the All Things Considered report "A Widow Paints a Health Care Protest" by Joseph Shapiro on the neighborhood mural. It faces the CVS parking lot and is on the building owned by the BP Station. Regina Holliday created this painting in honor of her husband Fred, who died from kidney cancer. Joseph’s report was excellent and you can find the NPR story on the internet at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120028213. Go back to top of email
WINTER CLASS
We are still accepting enrollment registration for the Wednesday sessions of British History in Fiction taught byVirginia Newmyer and Susan Willens. Please register soon if you wish to participate! British History in Fiction Several contemporary British novelists look back four generations to explore the legacy of the World Wars in modern Britain. In five lecture/discussions with PowerPoint illustrations, Virginia Newmyer and Susan Willens study those violent events and the artistic representations given them by young writers in recent novels. This class will be held at Politics and Prose the second Wednesday of each month, from 1-3 p.m. (please choose the day you prefer). The course will examine these works: January 13 -- Regeneration by Pat Barker February 10 -- The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro March 10 -- Atonement by Ian McEwan April 14 -- White Teeth by Zadie Smith May 12 -- Small Island by Andrea Levy The above course books are available at a 20% discount for class participants. Class fees are: $80 (Current P&P Members), $100 (Class fee, plus a one-year P&P Membership) Click here to register online. Go back to top of email
COMING NOW TO YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE
COMING NOW TO YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE If you can’t attend a talk, but would like to reserve a signed copy, or a recorded author talk, click the title links to purchase online. Members save 20% off on these titles. Thursday, November 12 Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - Faith, Hope, and Ivy June 10:30 a.m. Ivy June lives a rustic life with her grandparents in the mountains. Catherine lives in the city in a large house with her own bedroom. When a natural disaster affects both families, the girls find out that they have more in common than they'd realized and become true friends. Ages 9-12 Haynes Johnson - Herblock 7 p.m. Johnson, who worked with Herblock at The Washington Post, will launch a new anthology celebrating Herblock’s life and career. The Post’s editorial cartoonist was a protean figure whose career spanned thirteen American Presidents. Friday, November 13 Mary Gordon - Reading Jesus 7 p.m. Gordon (*Circling My Mother) seeks a deeper understanding of the Gospels by reading them as literature and studying Jesus as a character. Her questions and reflections on the parables and mysteries lead her to a fresh and personal experience of Christianity. Saturday,* November 14 Jennifer Kaplan - Greening Your Small Business 1 p.m. This is an affordable, comprehensive guide to implementing green policies and practices, from basics - such as recycling, reducing waste, and energy efficiency - to wider concerns - such as green marketing and communications, green business travel, and green employee benefits. Mark Andersen & Mark Jenkins - Dance Of Days 3 p.m. First published in 2003, this classic look at D.C.’s underground punk scene of the 1980s and ’90s charted the careers of artists like Bad Brains, Henry Rollins, Minor Threat, Rites of Spring, Fugazi, and Bikini Kill. This updated edition includes fresh material on the artists and their work. Woody Holton - Abigail Adams 6 p.m. Holton reveals the second First Lady as an extraordinary woman and fine writer who championed women’s education as well as financial independence for women. He shows her as witty, charismatic, and savvy enough to amass a fortune in her own name. SCRABBLE Tournament 8 p.m. Politics & Prose is hosting a SCRABBLE tournament led by Stefan Fatsis, author of *Word Freak. Come early and enter the drawing for a chance to play Stefan 1-on-1, get a signed book, and learn from DC’s resident Scrabble expert. Contact Conor Moran at cmoran@politics-prose.com for more information. Sunday,* November 15 Hank Stuever - Tinsel 5 p.m. Stuever, a Washington Post journalist, follows the rituals of lights and decorations to chronicle how three suburban Dallas households have celebrated Christmas over three holiday seasons and observes "our weird economy, our modern sense of home, our oft-broken hearts, and our notions of God." Monday, November 16 John Cassidy - How Markets Fail 7 p.m. The New Yorker writer traces “the rise and fall of free market ideology,” producing a combination of history of ideas, narrative of the financial crisis, and a call to arms. This detailed analysis of the last decade points back to the Reagan era, when an understandable respect for free-market forces rejected all regulation, and calls for restoring the balance between public intervention and private initiative. Tuesday, November 17 Shannon Hale - Forest Born 10:30 a.m. & 4:30 p.m. Rin has always been at home in the forest, but suddenly the trees seem to reject her and offer no solace. After her brother's homecoming, she accompanies him to the palace. There she joins the fire sisters and tries to find the mysterious threat to the kingdom of Bayern. Ages 10-16. Dinner with the Author: Rick Atkinson - The Long Gray Line 6:30 p.m. The third event in our Dinner with the Author series features Rick Atkinson discussing the history of the West Point class that led the American forces in Vietnam. His book, The Long Gray Line, is now available in a 20th anniversary edition. For more details, contact Bonnie Kogod at 202-363-7738 or bkogod@politics-prose.com. James McManus - Cowboys Full 7 p.m. Poker got its start in China, moved through the Middle East, and was a French parlor game when it became popular in the United States, around the time of the Civil War. As McManus (*Positively Fifth Street)* traces poker’s route to Vegas, he looks at how the game influenced presidents, diplomacy, and, of course, popular culture. Wednesday, November 18 David Catrow - Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt 10:30 a.m. Max Spaniel ransacks his backyard for the spare parts that will make a ferocious dinosaur. By using his imagination, he finds the perfect components for his purpose. When he puts them together with water pressure from the hose, his creation comes to life under an autumn moon. Ages 5-7. Jack Bishop - The Complete America’s Test Kitchen Tv Show Cookbook- More Best Recipes 4 p.m. Editorial director of America’s Test Kitchen and cast member of the PBS cooking show, Jack Bishop will be sharing the latest fool-proof recipes and useful solutions to common cooking problems. Sweets will be served. George Packer - Interesting Times 7 p.m. One of the nation’s foremost journalists has collected his essays, from The New Yorker and other publications, to retrace the past seven years, noting that “following an earlier time of domestic tranquility and triviality, [they] were crowded with drama: wars, suicide bombings, secret prisons, partisan combat, wild gyrations in the stock market, economic collapse, the disappearance of entire industries, political transformation.” Thursday, November 19 Julie Andrews And Emma Walton Hamilton - Julie Andrews’ Collection Of Poems, Songs And Lullabies 4 p.m. Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, will join us to celebrate a collection of favorite poems and songs. Each themed section is introduced with stories from the women’s family memories, giving the collection an intimate feel. This keepsake edition with a CD is designed to introduce young children to the world of poetry, and features striking watercolor paintings by James McMullan. Ages 5 and up. See below or on our website for event guidelines Joan Biskupic - American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia 7 p.m. Biskupic, a former Washington Post correspondent, has covered the Supreme Court for twenty years She delves into Scalia's upbringing, his experiences in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations, and assesses the impact of his quarter-century tenure on the court’s decisions. Friday, November 20 Carmen Reinhart & Kenneth Rogoff - This Time Is Different 7 p.m. The authors, both economics professors, Reinhart at Maryland and Rogoff at Harvard, say that we could have known an economic crisis was looming. In this deeply researched and analytical book, the authors have laid out a method for anticipating fluctuations in the economy. Saturday, November 21 Thomas Mallon - Yours Ever 1 p.m. This tribute to the epistolary art looks at letters of all kinds from all eras, in genres ranging from love letters to suicide notes, fan mail to hate mail. Mallon, a novelist who has previously considered people and their diaries, here offers a sensitive appreciation of Sacco and Vanzetti’s letters from prison, Madame de Sévigné’s sharp-tongued court gossip, and paternal advice from F. Scott Fitzgerald to his daughter, among much else. Robert M. Poole - On Hallowed Ground 6 p.m. Poole’s history of Arlington National Cemetery intertwines the often poignant stories of some of the 300,000 individuals laid to rest there with America’s martial history since the Civil War. The site itself testifies to the nation’s war-torn past. Poole, author of Explorers House and a contributing editor as Smithsonian, has produced a deeply felt and thoroughly researched book. Sunday, November 22 Brad Leithauser - The Art Student's War 1 p.m. The sixth novel from the versatile poet and fiction writer is set in wartime Detroit. It’s 1943, and automobile factories are producing tanks; young men are returning wounded from war. Bianca Paradiso, an art student, dreams of painting masterpieces, but is asked to draw portraits of the injured soldiers. Leithauser interweaves the larger national trauma with Bianca’s domestic difficulties for a compelling portrait of the era. Patricia Sullivan - Lift Every Voice 5 p.m. Sullivan has written the first history of the now 100-year-old National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Sullivan offers a fresh view of courageous leaders who mounted the struggle for rights: W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, William Pickens, Charles Hamilton Houston, Ella Baker, Walter White, and Roy Wilkins. To see the complete schedule and to purchase any of the above books, click here. Go back to top of email
P&P CUSTOMERS ARE ALSO INVITED TO...
Politics & Prose supplies books to the following book signing events. Reservations and tickets should be acquired from the hosting organization. If you can’t attend a talk, but would like to purchase a signed book, call 202-364-1919 or 1-800-722-0790 or click the title links below. Thursday, November 12, 2:30 p.m. University of the District of Columbia/Windows Lounge 4200 Connecticut Ave, NW MICHAEL ROSEN WHAT ELSE BUT HOME: Seven Boys and an American Journey Between the Projects and the Penthouse(PublicAffairs, $24.95) Meeting neighborhood boys in a pick-up ball game on the Lower East Side led to a six-year period during which Michael and his wife Leslie mentored a group of mostly Dominican-American youngsters. Rosen’s entertaining and powerful story illustrates the challenges facing America in integrating low-income people into mainstream society. More information at hooksbookevents.com. Thursday, November 12, 6 p.m. Zola Wine & Kitchen 505 9th Street, NW LUCINDA SCALA QUINN MAD HUNGRY: Feeding Men and Boys (Artisan, $27.95) Quinn (Lucinda's Rustic Italian Cooking, Lucinda's Authentic Jamaican Cooking) will share winning strategies for how she gets the men in her life, a husband and three sons, into the kitchen. Seating is limited. $75 tickets and more information at hooksbookevents.com. Thursday, November 12, 7:30 p.m. Friendship Heights Village Center 4433 S. Park Avenue Chevy Chase, MD RONALD KESSLER IN THE PRESIDENT’S SECRET SERVICE: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect (Crown, $26) After conducting exclusive interviews with more than 100 current and former Secret Service agents, award-winning reporter Kessler reveals their secrets for the first time. Please sign up in advance for this FREE event by calling the Village Center at 301-656-2797. Sunday, November 15, 1:30 p.m. - NB: TIME HAS CHANGED Lisner Auditorium George Washington University 21st & H St., NW LOUISE GIKOW SESAME STREET: A Celebration of Forty Years of Life on the Street (Black Dog and Leventhal, $40) Sesame Street’s 40th Birthday Party Meet Grover, Elmo, Abby Cadabby and their Muppeteers Kevin Clash, Leslie Cararra-Rudolph, and Eric Jacobson, who will join Executive Producer Carol-Lyn Parente to talk about the show’s 40 years and share clips from the first season in 1969 as well as scenes from brand new episodes. For tickets, call 202.633.8700: $15 for Smithsonian Resident Associate Members, $18 for Non-Members. All Ages. Monday, November 23, 7:30 PM. Friendship Heights Village Center 4433 S. Park Ave. Chevy Chase, MD STEVE LUXENBERG ANNIE’S GHOSTS (Hyperion, $24.99) Steve Luxenberg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning senior editor at the Washington Post, was in his forties when he discovered that his mother had a sister named Annie who had been institutionalized at age 21. Using his skills as a reporter, Mr. Luxenberg pieced together the story of his mother’s motivations for hiding her sister’s existence. Please sign up in advance for this FREE event by calling the Village Center at 301-656-2797. Tuesday, November 24, 7:30 PM. National Geographic Society 1600 M Street, NW COLIN AND JULIE ANGUS ROWED TRIP (Menasha Ridge Press, $16.95) Last year, Canadian couple Colin and Julie Angus set out from Scotland on a 7,000-kilometer journey to Syria. Named 2006 Adventurers of the Year by National Geographic Adventure for their human-powered, global circumnavigation, this intrepid pair once again tested the limits of human-powered travel in a journey that was also a personal odyssey. Click here for $15/$18 tickets. Go back to top of email
P&P BESTSELLERS
Our top twelve hardcover FICTION and NON-FICTION bestsellers are always 20% off for P&P members. For our complete lists, click on the titles below. #1 FICTION: THE LACUNA by Barbara Kingsolver #1 NONFICTION: THE AUDACITY TO WIN: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory by David Plouffe Go back to top of emaii
NEW IN PAPERBACK
Click FICTION or NON-FICTION to browse a complete list of recent paperback releases. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin Somewhere Towards the End: A Memoir by Diana Athill Go back to top of emaii
FROM THE CHILDREN AND TEENS' DEPARTMENT
BOOK OF THE WEEK (20% off through 11/18) Walk down memory lane with a trip to Sesame Street. Making sure that it is always a sunny day and everything is A-OK on this ground breaking television program takes a lot of research and talent. In SESAME STREET: A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the Street (Black Dog & Leventhal, $40), author Louise Gikow covers the origins of the show, biographies of actors and muppets, original scripts, and other background information on this fabulous program. Learn how the show is choreographed and how the various muppets work. Each page is resplendent with photographs that can’t help but bring out a smile as your mouth waters and you hum, "C is for cookie…" All Ages - Dara La Porte Please come to the Children and Teens' Department to see our wide selection of books about autumn and Thanksgiving. Lisa Chaplin-Hobbs hosts story time for young children every Monday morning at 10:30 a.m. Please note: Story time will be on hiatus throughout the month of December. Thursday, November 19, 4-6 p.m. Julie Andrew and Emma Walton Hamilton Event Julie Andrews and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton will be signing their new book, Julie Andrews’ Collection of Songs, Poems, and Lullabies, from 4-6 pm on Thursday, November 19. While we will do our best to get everyone’s book signed, please note that since the authors will only be able to sign for two hours, it is possible that they will not be able to sign books for everyone in line. The following guidelines are set by the publisher: The authors will sign 1 book per family. Each book must be accompanied by a Politics and Prose receipt. The signing line will begin forming in the store at 3pm. The signing begins at 4pm. Signing will end at 6pm. We will try to get everyone through the signing line by 6pm, but we cannot guarantee that all books will be signed. No photographs. The authors will only be signing Julie Andrews' Collection of Songs, Poems, and Lullabies, no memorabilia or other titles. Sunday, November 22, 1:30 - 3 p.m. Eat Your Words - Tween Creative Writing Workshop Please join Capitol Letters Writing Center for its free monthly workshop at Politics and Prose. Thanksgiving is here, and what better way to celebrate the high holy day of food then by writing about it? In this workshop, we'll reveal the secrets of delicious food writing and teach you how to write pieces so good your readers will taste the food their mouth. By the end of our session, each student will complete a piece on their perfect Thanksgiving meal. Ages 10-14 are welcome. Admission is free, but space is limited to 15, please RSVP to kira@capitolletters.org. For upcoming events and more from the Children and Teens' Department, click here. Go back to top of email
MARKDOWN BOOKS
Margaret Atwood’s most recent fiction speculates on the future, but this witty and versatile writer is no less inspired by the mythic past. Her PENELOPIAD (which means "the matter of Penelope") looks back to Homer's Odyssey, relating events as Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, experienced them. She waited 20 years for her husband's return, spending the time raising their son, fending off suitors, weaving, and unweaving. As Atwood fills in the details of Penelope's daily life and thoughts, this ancient figure becomes a smart, complex woman with a lot to say. Available in hardcover, $4.98. A great adventure and buddy story set in the Caucasus Mountains somewhere around the year 950, Michael Chabon's GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD features Zelikman and Amram, an odd couple of survivors, one a moody physician, the other an aging ex-soldier. Together they swindle and bamboozle, con and seduce, and eventually find themselves in the service of a prince of the Khazar Empire, who will do anything to regain the throne unjustly taken from him. In Chabon's hands, the classic plot of good vs. evil gets a new vitality and style. Available in hardcover, $5.98. Click here to browse more recently arrived remainders. Go back to top of email
MUSIC NEWS
Coal Country CD, DVD & Book Music/Concerts: Leif Ove Andsnes, Trio Mediaeval & Bang On A Can Henry Threadgill Box Set: Complete Beethoven Symphonies Click here for András’s reviews and Music News and to buy these albums. • András Goldinger Go back to top of email
BOOK GROUPS
Politics & Prose currently hosts sixteen different book groups in the store each month. P&P's book groups meet monthly and are free and open to the public. Book-group titles are discounted 20% to participants. These are the selections for the next week. Please join us! Click here to read more about how to participate in these and other upcoming book groups. Science Fiction Book Group Thursday, November 12, 7:30 p.m. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville Spirituality Bookgroup Sunday, November 15, 6 p.m. House of Light by Mary Oliver Modern Japanese Literature /Swarthmore Bookgroup Monday, November 16, 7:30 p.m. The Waiting Years by Fumiko Enchi Spanish Language Bookgroup Tuesday, November 17, 7:30 p.m. El Viaje del Elefante by José Saramago Daytime Bookgroup Wednesday, November 18, 12:30 p.m. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin Fascinating History Bookgroup Thursday, November 19, 7:30 p.m. Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations By Georgina Howell Go back to top of email
NEWS FROM THE COFFEEHOUSE
Read news from the coffeehouse on the Modern Times blog. Go back to top of email
Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW Washington, DC 20008 (202) 364-1919 or (800) 722-0790 Fax: (202) 966-7532

Tribute to Herblock; Author Events with George Packer, Julie Andrews

UPCOMING EVENTS - 10 DAY SUMMARY

LETTER FROM CARLA & BARBARA

BARBARA'S BYLINE

CARLA'S COMMENTS

WINTER CLASS

COMING NOW TO YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE

P&P CUSTOMERS ARE ALSO INVITED TO...

P&P BESTSELLERS

NEW IN PAPERBACK

FROM THE CHILDREN AND TEENS' DEPARTMENT

MARKDOWN BOOKS

MUSIC NEWS

BOOK GROUPS

NEWS FROM THE COFFEEHOUSE