Click here for our events calendar - January and February events are now posted.
 Click here for descriptions of the books and to buy signed copies online.
Members always save 20% on event books. Click here to register!

Happy New Year to all!!  As we ring out the old year, we again reflect on how blessed we are to have such a large loyal base of customers and a tight-knit group of dedicated, experienced booksellers.  According to a report last week in an online bookselling newsletter, "Shelf Awareness," Washington, D.C. has just moved up to second place in an annual ranking of "literate cities," edging out Minneapolis and just short of Seattle.  We can’t help but think that our growing number of customers contributed to propelling Washington up to its new rank.

Not so quantifiable is the extraordinary commitment of our booksellers, which was never so much manifested as during last weekend’s blizzard.  Saturday morning, with a night-long’s blanket of snowfall on the ground, which had increased in intensity after daybreak, all six of our booksellers scheduled for the morning shift were here to work.  One had even walked from Silver Spring!!  Saturday afternoon, when the snow accumulation had reached about 18 inches, we closed at 4:00 p.m., but two especially adventurous booksellers took the Metro downtown to a book party at the Capital Hilton for David Plouffe, President Obama’s campaign manager - where they sold 175 copies of his account of the election, The Audacity to Win.

We now enter 2010 with thanks to all who have contributed to our success and a continued dedication to our bookselling in the Nation’s Capital.

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HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

NEW POLITICS & PROSE MEMBERSHIP RATES

Remember this is the LAST DAY to buy or renew a membership at the $20 rate.

Why does the store promote the member program? We are part of your community. Your purchase goes much farther when you shop locally, and we thank you for continuing to do so. Not only can you meet a friend for an author talk or to have coffee at the store, but we pay taxes to the District of Columbia to support city services. We contribute our time and our money with donations of books and resources to many educational and cultural institutions in the metropolitan area.

Membership means loyalty to Politics and Prose. When you try us first, we are able to continue offering a superb selection of books every day. We hope that our calendars remind you of new book releases and encourage you to attend our excellent author presentations. We offer discounts as benefits.

Members receive:

• Our Monthly Events Calendar in the mail 10 times a year.
• 20% off all books featured in the Events Calendar each month
• 20% off books on the P&P Hardcover Fiction and Nonfiction Bestsellers
• Storewide discounts during four annual members' sales, as well as other promotions

The P&P membership program helps the store by maintaining a loyal customer base on whom we can depend. The P&P membership program helps you by allowing you to shop at your favorite bookstore and save money on books you want to buy.   

On January 1, Politics & Prose Membership enrollment increases to $25 a year, $40 for two years, $100 for five years.

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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. P&P members save 20% on these author event titles.

Monday January 4

Greg Jaffe And David Cloud - The Fourth Star
7 p.m. In profiles of four generals, Cloud and Jaffe, Pentagon correspondents for The New York Times and The Washington Post, respectively, encapsulate the history of the American armed forces from Vietnam to Iraq. Studying the careers of Generals John Abizaid, George Casey Jr., Peter Chiarelli, and David Petraeus, the authors present leaders of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, all of whom have proved influential in redefining the American way of war.

Tuesday January 5

Jon Scieszka introduces the next Ambassador of Children’s Literature
4:30 p.m. After the morning appointment of the new Ambassador of Children’s Literature at the Library of Congress, join us for an afternoon event when former ambassador Jon Scieszka will introduce his successor. As the first Ambassador, Scieszka defined the role of Chief Promoter of Children’s Literature. His advice to his successor will ensure his continued stamp on the world of children’s books while graciously paving the way for new ambassador’s reign.

Daniel Pink - Drive
7 p.m. The author of the bestselling A Whole New Mind presents motivation as the product of the drives to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to better ourselves and our world. Pink also examines the successful workplaces that have enlisted his principles of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.

Wednesday January 6

Atul Gawande - The Checklist Manifesto
7 p.m. General surgeon at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, New Yorker writer, and author of Complications and Better, Gawande returns to present the elegantly simple idea of the checklist. Implemented by the Air Force decades ago, the list of a task’s essential steps has been responsible for reducing surgical fatalities by a third in one hospital and for increasing accuracy and efficiency in disaster response, construction, and even banking.

Thursday, January 7, 7 p.m.

Elizabeth Gilbert - Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage
at SIXTH & I HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE
600 I Street NW
Metro: Gallery Place/ Chinatown
Talk, Q&A, and Signing
Readers of Eat, Pray, Love will recall that Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship while she was in Indonesia. In this sequel to her best-selling memoir, Gilbert looks for guidelines historically and internationally as she reflects how to approach the institution of marriage differently her second time around.
$30 general admission tickets, which include a copy of Committed, may be purchased by clicking this link. (Politics & Prose members receive a discounted price of $24.) Call 202-364-1919 for more information.

Terry Teachout - Pops
7 p.m. Teachout, the drama critic for The Wall Street Journal and culture critic for Commentary, presents a masterful and affectionate biography of the king of jazz, Louis Armstrong.  Born in the poorest quarter of New Orleans, Armstrong was one of the few artists to criticize President Eisenhower for failing to enforce desegregation.

Friday January 8

Janine Wedel - Shadow Elite
7 p.m.  Wedel, professor of public policy at George Mason University and a fellow of the New America Foundation, examines how a growing number of private networks, including Washington think tanks, have come to wield significant power over domestic, foreign, and financial policy with little or no accountability.

Saturday January 9

Alan Sipress - The Fatal Strain
6 p.m., Remember the avian flu scare some five years ago?  It may have left the headlines, but an avian flu pandemic remains a threat. Sipress, a former Washington Post journalist, accompanied WHO experts as they tracked underreported cases of flu and infected birds throughout Southeast Asia.

Sunday January 10

Mimi Clark Gronlund - Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark
5 p.m., Clark, the 90th Supreme Court Justice, sat on the high bench for 18 years. Before that, from 1945 through 1949, he served as the U.S. Attorney General. Gronlund, his daughter, has written a thorough and engaging account of her father’s career, including his crucial role as a swing vote in cases involving criminal justice and separation of powers.

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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.

Wednesday, January 13,  3 p.m.

Friendship Heights Village Center
4433 S. Park Ave.
Chevy Chase, MD
TRACY CHEVALIER
REMARKABLE CREATURES  (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26)
Tracy Chevalier caused a literary sensation with her debut novel, Girl With the Pearl Earring. Remarkable Creatures tells the story of Mary Anning, who unearthed the ichthyosaurus at age 12, a discovery that rocked the scientific world. She later discovered the plesiosaurus and pterodactyl. These discoveries became key pieces of evidence for extinction. Please sign up in advance for this FREE event by calling the Village Center at 301-656-2797.

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P&P members always save 20% on our top twelve FICTION and NON-FICTION hardcover bestsellers.
To see our complete bestseller lists, click on the titles below.

#1 FICTION:  WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel

#1 NONFICTION: STONES INTO SCHOOLS by Greg Mortenson

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Click FICTION or NON-FICTION  to browse a complete list of recent paperback releases.

BECOMING JANE EYRE by Sheila Kohler

LORDS OF FINANCE   by Liaquat Ahamed

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BOOK OF THE WEEK
(20% off through 01/06/2010)
Anyone who loves NY, whether a child or adult, will marvel at this incredible illustration of New York’s skylines, avenues, shops, street signs, buildings and so many other details of the Big Apple!  Relying on pen and ink, Robinson methodically conquers the city and delights the eye with his detail and simplicity.  Originally published in 1967, NEW YORK, LINE BY LINE: From Broadway to the Battery (Universe Publishing, $19.95) is a timeless piece, with a few gentle reminders of the period in which it was created.  One could spend hours poring through the pages and the drawings for familiar sites and idiosyncrasies. Look up Times Square just in time for the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop. All ages. - Kerri Poore

Tuesday, January 5, 4:30 p.m.
Jon Scieska and the NEW Ambassador of Children's Literature
After the morning appointment of the new Ambassador of Children’s Literature at the Library of Congress, join us for an afternoon event when former ambassador Jon Scieszka will introduce his successor. As the first Ambassador, Scieszka defined the role of Chief Promoter of children’s literature. His advice to his successor will ensure his continued stamp on the world of children’s books while graciously paving the way for new ambassador’s reign.

Lisa Chaplin-Hobbs hosts story time for young children every Monday morning.
Story Time will resume on Monday, January 11th at 10:30am. Please join us then!

For upcoming events and more from the Children and Teens' Department, click here.

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Make a New Year's resolution to surround yourself with beautiful books--and here are three to start with:

HIROSHIGE: BIRDS AND FLOWERS features 91 of the thousands of nature studies created by the great Japanese printmaker. Based on Chinese drawings and the miniaturist tradition, which Hiroshige (1797-1858) had been trained in, these large-scale prints are colorful, detailed images that reflect both the reality of the subject and the lyrical sensibility of the artist. Each image is accompanied by a poem in Japanese, translated into English, with a brief commentary by Israel Goldman.

There's more of Hiroshige's wonderful work in THE SIXTY-NINE STATIONS OF THE KISOKAIDO. Dating from the mid-1830s, this collection of prints documenting life along the Kisokaido, a highway between Edo and Kyoto, was originally assigned to the artist and ribald poet Keisai Eisen. When Eisen abandoned the project after creating just 24 pictures, Hiroshige took over. This volume includes images by both artists, along with commentary on the men's different approaches and techniques by Sebastian Izzard.

HOKUSAI: ONE HUNDRED POETS is a collection of both color and black-and-white plates that Hokusai (1760-1849) created to go with the poetry anthology, One Hundred Poets. As close and careful a reader as he was a visual artist, Hokusai didn't merely illustrate the book but sought to capture the multi-layered nuances of the poetry's language and themes, as well as expressing his own feelings on the subjects. The poems and the images they inspired appear on facing pages, with brief commentary by Peter Morse.
 
These three books were published by Braziller and are available in hardcover, (all originally $80, now only $39.98 each). Click here to browse more recently arrived remainders.

•  Laurie Greer

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MILESTONES
Many greats in the world of music—some recognized, some unsung—passed away in the last twelve months.

Jazz & Salsa:
David “Fathead” Newman, Hank Crawford, Bud Shank & Charlie Mariano,
saxophonists; Louie Bellson, drummer; Sirone, bassist; Manny Oquendo & Joe Cuba, bandleaders; Rashied Ali, drummer; Blossom Dearie, Eartha Kitt & Chris Connor, singers; George Russell, composer and theorist; Frankie Manning, swing-dance pioneer

Pop:
John Martyn, British singer & guitarist; Michael Jackson, pop entertainer; Les Paul, pioneering guitarist, inventor and sound pioneer;  Jim Dickinson, pianist and producer; Vic Chesnutt, singer-songwriter

Blues & Gospel:
John Cephas, Piedmont blues master; Snooks Eaglin, New Orleans guitarist; Koko Taylor, singer; Claude Jeter, leader of the Swan Silvertones; Horace Boyer, gospel singer and pioneering scholar

Composers:
Lukas Foss; George Perle; Leon Kirshner; Maurice Jarre; Ellie Greenwich;

Folk:
Mike Seeger, singer, instrumentalist, folklorist; Bess Lomax Hawes, folklorist; Mary Travers, folksinger; Liam Clancey, folksinger

Global:
Mercedes Sosa, Argentine singer; Ali Akbar Khan, sarod master and teacher;

Classical:
Alicia De Larrocha, pianist; Hildegard Behrens, Elizabeth Soderstrom, singers; Eric Kunzel, conductor

• András Goldinger

Click here for more of Andrá́s’s reviews and Music News.

 

Nina Dodge, writes from Copenhagen where she is representing the Politics & Prose Climate Action Project at parallel, public climate meetings and events in Denmark and Sweden, from Dec. 3 – Dec. 14.

DENMARK’S ISLANDS BRING
ENERGY SOLUTIONS TO THE ISLANDS OF MAINE

by Leila Bisharat, Board, Island Institute

Dec. 2009

Islands with families that still fish, build boats and farm are under threat of disappearing everywhere. Only 14 inhabited islands remain off the coast of Maine. Once there were hundreds. Dependence on high-priced energy from the mainland has them in a stranglehold. These are the proud maritime centers where wind once powered great vessels across the seas. Maine’s strong offshore winds and currents made these communities viable 100 years ago, when sailboats carried granite, timber, livestock, people, food and vital supplies.

Foreclosed fishing vessels and lobster boats now litter the coast, too expensive to operate. Today islanders wait for barges to bring oil and scrimp to pay double to quadruple mainland prices at the landing. Electricity prices on Monhegan Island produced from diesel-fed generators are 70 cents per kilowatt hour, making it a community with one of the highest power costs anywhere in the country.

The Island Institute (www.islandinstitute.org), based in Rockland Maine, is helping Maine island communities reach out to find survival strategies forged elsewhere that will work locally. The Danish Island of Samso, 12 miles off the coast of Jutland, Denmark, and its spokesperson Soren Hermansen with his wife Malene(www.energiakademiet.dk), brought new ideas of the possible to Chebeague Island this past year.

“Politics & Prose Climate Action Project goes to Copenhagen!”
Nina Dodge is representing the Politics & Prose Climate Action Project at parallel public climate meetings and events in Denmark and Sweden during the UN's Climate Conference in Copenhagen. Click here to read more, follow her experiences, and see some of her photos.