Click here for our events calendar and preview upcoming events through April.
 Click here for more complete descriptions and to buy signed copies online.
Members always save 20% on event books. Click here to register!

On Thursday, March 18th, the ACLU of the National Capital Area will be honoring us at their 47th Annual Bill of Rights Awards Dinner with their Henry Edgerton Civil Liberties Special Recognition Award "for uniquely demonstrating how the freedoms of speech and press contribute to the public good." We are flattered and appreciative of this distinctive recognition of Politics and Prose’s unique contribution to our city’s intellectual life.  Any customers who would like to attend the dinner or who would like more information, please click the link below.

We are also delighted to learn that our longtime friend and customer Jane Shore has been awarded this year's Poets' Prize, awarded annually for the best book of verse published by an American in the previous calendar year.  Her poetry collection, A YES-OR-NO ANSWER (Houghton Mifflin, $22), was singled out for the award, chosen by a jury of 20 American poets.  We have many copies in the store and will ask Jane to stop by and autograph them. Previous winners of the prize include Wendell Berry, Marilyn Hacker, Maxine Kumin, and Adrienne Rich.  Way to go, Jane! 

Some of the highlights of our upcoming week include:

Tonight, March 4, Robert Mnookin, who leads the Harvard Program on Negotiation, describes tension-filled situations from historical events, business, and international politics and sets out his instructions for effectively handling these adversarial situations. In negotiations, one often portrays the other party as an untrustworthy opponent, and sometimes they truly are. His book BARGAINING WITH THE DEVIL (Simon & Schuster, $27) will help clarify when this is appropriate, and when it is not, as he coaches the reader to pay attention to instincts, but also critically assess what both sides have to gain and lose from the relationship and how their unique interests are likely to motivate each party.

Tomorrow, March 5, we are pleased to host Chris Cleave whose book LITTLE BEE (Simon & Schuster, $14) was a store favorite in hardcover and is now available in paperback. Told from the perspective of a young girl who has fled the violence in Nigeria hoping to find a better situation in England, Little Bee is put in a detainment facility while the authorities determine if she is truly a refugee. The story begins as she, seeking help in this incomprehensible country, tries to make contact with a British family whom she met during a traumatic circumstance. They discover that she is also uniquely suited to helping them. This book is a great selection for bookgroups.

In another thoughtful and tragically beautiful expression of the impact of trauma on human lives and relationships, Chang-rae Lee's THE SURRENDERED (Riverhead, $26.95) is exquisite. The novel mostly deals with the aftermath of the Korean War, but also takes place thirty years later, and in a prelude, during the Manchurian War. The principal characters - June Han, a young Korean girl; Hector Brennan, an American GI; and Sylvie Tanner, a missionary - have complex emotions and complicated motivations. They hide their pain and shift between the need for human interaction and isolation. Chang-rae Lee will visit the store next Thursday, March 11. Highly recommended.

Finally, next Monday, March 8, Lorraine Adams (Harbor) brings her exciting roman à clef, THE ROOM AND THE CHAIR (Knopf, $25.95), home to Washington where it is set. D.C. insiders will recognize Thompson's Boat House and thinly disguised versions of well-known people. A story about the press corps converges with one about military espionage when an Air Force pilot inexplicably loses control of her aircraft.

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Wednesday, March 10, 5 - 6 p.m.

A JOURNAL KEEPING SEMINAR with Phyllis Theroux
followed by an author talk and booksigning

Upon editing six years of her journals, Phyllis commented, "I detected a profound intelligence and order about my life that surpassed my own ability to provide. . . I believe it is there for anyone who keeps a journal."

The seminar will address the difference between a diary and a journal and will include two brief periods of writing and reflection. Participants should bring notebooks that are easy to balance on their laps.

Seminar participation includes a copy Phyllis Theroux's memoir, The Journal Keeper.
Click here for more information and to register for this $30 seminar online.

Tuesdays, April 6 - May 11, 3 - 4:30 p.m.

SPRING POETRY CLASS
Come celebrate spring with our poetry group as we read two straight-talking contemporary women poets from the United Kingdom and Ireland.  Born in Glasgow, Carol Ann Duffy is the first female British Poet Laureate ever.  She writes wry, witty poems in a sharp contemporary idiom that often inhabit the voices of others.  Eavan Boland is generally acknowledged to be the foremost woman writing in Ireland today.  Her mature work shares with Duffy the aim to re-interpret history from a female point of view.  This is an appreciation group, not a critical studies class, so no prior experience is necessary, just a love of words and pleasure in the company of others.  Taught by Gigi Bradford, former NEA Literature Director and Chair of the Folger Poetry Board.

Six Tuesdays: April 6 - May 11, 3 - 4:30 p.m.  $80 Members, $100 Non-members.
Syllabus: (click the book titles to purchase)
Selected Poems, Carol Ann Duffy
New Collected Poems, Eavan Boland

Click here to register online.

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Last fall, 200 pages into Orhan Pamuk’s The Museum of Innocence, I wrote a rave initial reaction, hurrying to get back to the book.  But then I switched gears and started on another novel, leaving it untouched on my bedside table since then.  Last week, a long-time customer came to our office door. She belongs to a book group and, on the basis of my rave, had recommended Paumuk’s new novel for the bookgroup.  She asked whether I had cooled towards the book when I read on during the next 300 pages.  Much to her chagrin, not only she, but many members of her group, got impatient enough with a sudden, mid-book drop in the pace to cease reading it, and at their monthly meeting, everyone, she reported, disliked the book.  When I heard this, in the next two days I went back and finished the novel.

The narrator has an eight-year obsession with a young girl, Fusun, who jilts him after a torrid love affair. There is no doubt that in the second half of the story, this portion succeeds in slowing the tempo almost to a halt.  However, Kemal's self-absorption is not without its own humor.  Kemal visits Fusun’s family home for dinner most nights and from where he begins to steal hundreds of objects out of which he constructs his museum of innocence.  Kemal then travels the world visiting over 5000 similar museums dedicated to the relics of a single life and expressing its "soul"- starting with Freud's in Vienna.

I won’t spoil the ending but I think it’s fair to say that Pamuk has written a thoroughly post-modern novel that challenges our assumptions about reality while at the same time offering a beautifully intricate portrait of Istanbul.  Yes, I’m still raving about Pamuk’s new work, but out of curiosity I went to the website of www.goodreads.com  and found that there was a wide spectrum of readers' reactions.  Many loved it, but more than a few hated it, and that’s always our daily challenge in our bookstore, to find the right book for the right person.

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Last week at Politics & Prose, local book group members participated in an unusual opportunity. They were able to offer their own questions by Skype when Katie Couric interviewed Kathryn Stockett about her best-selling book THE HELP (Amy Einhorn, $24.95). You can see the broadcast of this interview by clicking below!

 

Exclusive offer for My Name is Asher Lev at Round House Theatre

Politics & Prose customers can get $10 off orchestra level seats at Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday performances of My Name is Asher Lev at Round House Theatre Bethesda. This stage adaptation of the Chaim Potok novel runs from March 17 through April 11. To receive the discount, enter code POTOK when ordering full-priced orchestra level tickets at www.roundhousetheatre.org or mention POTOK when calling the Round House box office at 240-644-1100. (Discounts may not be combined. Not valid on previously purchased tickets. Online orders subject to $3.50 per ticket convenience charge.) Round House Theatre is located at 4545 East-West Highway, one block from the Bethesda station on Metro’s Red Line.

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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.

Thursday March 4

Fred Bowen - No Easy Way
10:30 a.m. Fred Bowen, who writes a weekly sports section for Washington Post Kidspost, will be here to read and discuss three new books about the life lessons provided by participation in sports. No Easy Way: The Story of Ted Williams and the Last .400 Season (Dutton, $16.99) is one of them; it tells the inspirational story of Red Sox legend, Ted Williams, brought to life by exciting sports writing and classic illustrations. In 1941, he hit .406; no one has been able to match this record.

Robert Mnookin - Bargaining with the Devil
7 p.m. Mnookin, the head of Harvard's Program on Negotiation, explores the many challenges of  conflict resolution, including the temptation to vilify the enemy. His book offers illuminating casestudies from politics, business, and family life along with practical tools for defusing antagonism.

Friday March 5

Chris Cleave - Little Bee
7 p.m. By turns charming, funny, and terrifying, this novel tells the story of 16-year-old Little Bee, an orphaned Nigerian girl. She meets a British couple vacationing in her country and, after an unexpected, violent incident, she goes to Britain, a place of abundance unimaginable in her home village.

Saturday March 6

Sally Denton - The Pink Lady
1 p.m. Helen Gahagan Douglas served three terms in Congress, her career as an elected official ending in 1950 when Nixon, using smear tactics, defeated her in a Senate race. Dentons biography describes the multi-faceted life of this singer, actress, and progressive activist, who had the infamous run-in with Tricky Dick.

Mark Perry - Talking to Terrorists
6 p.m. Perry, a military, intelligence, and foreign-affairs analyst, has spent some 20 years in and out of the Middle East, where he sometimes engaged in secret meetings with members of terrorist groups. His new book argues that face-to-face dialogue with representatives of organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah can define specific and addressable grievances.

Sunday March 7

Peter Birkenhead - Gonville
1 p.m. Taking his title from the violent character played by Michael Caine in Zulu, Birkenhead recounts growing up with an erratic, abusive father. More than just combative, Birkenhead père was also an anti-war activist and a popular economics professor. His cruel, contradictory behavior left deep scars on his family, and his son's memoir is a harrowing look at memory, trauma, and healing.

Laurie Strongin - Saving Henry
5 p.m. Strongin's powerful account of her son's rare, usually fatal heart disease is a moving story of a family's struggle to save a life and a strong argument for stem cell research. Strongin is the founder and executive director of the Hope for Henry Foundation and a regular panelist on Clear Channel's Sunday radio program Women Talk.

Monday March 8

Lorraine Adams - The Room and the Chair
7 p.m. The second novel from the former Washington Post journalist opens with a fighter pilot losing control of her plane over the Potomac and crashing into Roosevelt Island.  What follows is a taut story of Washington intrigue as the pilot and an investigative reporter search for the truth behind the plane's downing.

Tuesday March 9

Jarrett Krosoczka - Lunch Lady and the Author Vendetta
10:30 a.m. A famous author, Lewis Scribson, visits Thompson Brook School, but Lunch Lady and her sidekick Betty know something is wrong when the PE teacher goes missing. The pair head for their secret headquarters behind the cafeteria refrigerator and, armed with high-tech cooking gadgets, serve justice while serving lunch.

Steve Goldman and Clay Davenport - Baseball Prospectus 2010
7 p.m. With prescient statistical predictions and entertaining articles, Baseball Prospectus has become the ultimate guide to baseball players and teams. Come hear baseball's leading analysts when Clay Davenport, Steve Goldman, and other editors make their annual pre-season visit.

Wednesday March 10

Phyllis Theroux - The Journal Keeper
7 p.m. A prolific essayist, columnist, and fiction writer, Theroux also leads writing and creativity seminars. All this - plus writer's block - figure in her new memoir, a dual narrative chronicling her life on the page and the one as daughter, wife, lover, citizen.  Phyllis Theroux will also give a seminar on the art of journal keeping at 5 p.m.  The cost for the seminar is $30 ($27 for members), which includes a copy of the book. Click here to register for the seminar portion of the evening.

Thursday March 11

Meet the Author: Rosemary Wells
4 p.m. Come and meet the creator of the irrepressible Max; his bossy big sister, Ruby; Noisy Nora; and Queen Janet of the Bunny Planet. With board books, picture books, and unforgettable creations, this author has delighted millions of children with her art and humor. Please note: The time has been changed to 4 p.m. so that fans can come and see her after school.

Chang-rae Lee - The Surrendered
7 p.m. Author of Native Speaker,  A Gesture Life, and Aloft, Lee focuses in his fourth novel on a trio of battered survivors. June Han, age 11, is alone and starving in war-torn Korea when she's rescued by an American soldier who has recently lost his father. June recovers at an orphanage where she comforts the director's wife, whose parents were killed in Manchuria. Lee's narrative sweeps across times and places, exploring the lasting emotional consequences of trauma, loss, and violence.

Friday March 12

Ian Buruma - Taming the Gods
7 p.m. Journalist, Bard College professor, and author of Murder in Amsterdam, Buruma here studies the history of church/state relations in Europe, the U.S., and Asia. Moving beyond seemingly irreconcilable differences between secular and religious authorities, Buruma offers a rich, complex look at ways the two can productively find common ground.

Saturday March 13

Gina Welch - In the Land of the Believers
1 p.m. A secular Jew, Welch spent two years as a member of Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church attempting to understand the evangelical world. Immersed in the music, vision, and missionary ventures of these impassioned believers, Welch dropped her initial skepticism. Her compassionate portrait includes the recognition that the congregation met needs she hadn't known she had.

Helen Simonson - Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
6 p.m. Simonson's debut novel focuses on Ernest Pettigrew, the epitome of the staid, dutiful Englishman, and his efforts to reunite a pair of heirloom shotguns. Meanwhile, his friendship with a local shopkeeper unexpectedly blossoms into something more. Herself British-born and educated at the London School of Economics, Simonson (a two-decade D.C. resident) offers a delightful tour of British traditions and recent changes.

Sunday March 14

Thomas Kaufman - Drink the Tea
1 p.m. Kaufman's debut mystery introduces Willis Gidney, a former foster child who has grown into a talented D.C. private eye. Gidney searches for a friend's missing daughter and becomes entangled with an ambitious right-wing politician, security thugs, and a murder. Kaufman's background as director, cameraman, and two-time winner of the Gordon Parks Award for cinematography is evident in the book's vivid, fast-paced action.

Annie Leonard - The Story of Stuff
5 p.m. One of Time's 2008 Heroes of the Environment, Leonard has visited some 40 countries to investigate patterns of consumption and disposal. An expert on environmental health issues and sustainability, she identifies the systemic nature of the ecological threat posed by current ways of living and offers an agenda for practical action.

To see the complete schedule and to purchase any of the above books, click here.

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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.

Saturday, March 13, 2 – 4 p.m.

The Oneness-Family School
St. John's Norwood Church
6701 Wisconsin Avenue
Chevy Chase, MD
CHRISTINE CARTER
RAISING HAPPINESS: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents
(Ballantine Books, $24)
In this two-hour interactive workshop for parents and children, Christine Carter - sociologist, executive director of UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, and mother of two - will share skills and mindsets that foster confidence, gratefulness and optimism. $20/person, $35/couple, $10/child. For more information about this workshop, visit www.onenessfamily.org .

Monday, March 15, 6-8 p.m.

Zola Wine and Kitchen
505 9th Street, NW
MICHAEL GELB
WINE DRINKING FOR INSPIRED THINKING: Uncork Your Creative Juices (Running Press, $19.95)
Come join Michael Gelb at Zola Wine & Kitchen for Hooks Book Events and Stir Food’s author series, Food for Thoughts. Michael is the author of 11 books on creativity and innovation (How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci and Innovate Like Edison). He is also a passionate connoisseur of fine wine and food, and has been featured in the Wine Spectator, The Wine Enthusiast, and in the wine column of the Washington Post. In Wine Drinking for Inspired Thinking, Gelb shares how wine can help us both tap into our creative potential and forge bonds with friends and co-workers. For more information and to purchase $60 tickets, visit hooksbookevents.com.

Monday, March 15, 7:30 p.m.

Friendship Heights Village Center
4433 S. Park Ave.
Chevy Chase, MD
SARAH PEKKANEN
OPPOSITE OF ME (Washington Square Press, $15)
Twenty-nine-year-old Lindsey Rose works for an elite New York advertising agency yet lives in the shadow of her ravishingly beautiful fraternal twin sister, Alex. This is a novel of the twin sisters' rivalry and of their family's secrets. Ms. Pekkanen is a nationally known writer and writes a monthly column called "Domestic Disturbances," for Bethesda Magazine. Please sign up in advance for this FREE by calling the Village Center at 301-656-2797.

Tuesday, March 16, 7:30 p.m.

National Geographic Society
1600 M Street, NW
PETER MATTHIESSEN
THE SNOW LEOPARD  (Penguin Classics, $15)
SHADOW COUNTRY (Modern Library, $16)                                                                                 
A two-time National Book Award winner for his travel journal The Snow Leopard and his novel Shadow Country, Matthiessen has turned an unflinching eye on some of the most controversial issues of our time. In this National Geographic Live appearance, he will discuss an issue of special urgency: the impact of our technological, profit-driven society and of climate change on the indigenous cultures of the far north. Presented as part of the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, Click here for more information and for $25 tickets ($20 NG Members).

Tuesday, March 23, 6:30-9 p.m.   

One Washington Circle Hotel
One Washington Circle, N.W.
The Transition Networks  (TTN) presents
BARBARA GREENSPAN SHAIMAN
LIVE YOUR LEGACY NOW! Ten Simple Steps to Find Your Passion and Change the World (iUniverse, $16.95)
Barbara Shaiman will lead participants on their own unique discovery of “what’s next” and how to find more meaning and fulfilment in our lives. Click here for more information and to purchase $38 tickets ($30 TTN Members) or email nikros@verizon.net.

Friday, March 26, 7:30 p.m.

Folger Shakespeare Library
201 East Capitol Street, S.E.
PEN/Faulkner presents
WALTER MOSLEY
KNOWN TO EVIL(Riverhead Press, $25.95)
With The Long Fall, Walter Mosley launched the new Leonid McGill mystery series; his reading with PEN/Faulkner coincides with the release of the second installment, Known to Evil.  Mosley will read at the Folger Shakespeare Library, followed by a wine reception and book sale/signing. Call 202-544-7077 or click here for more information and to purchase $15 tickets.

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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:  THE INFINITIES by John Banville

#1 NONFICTION: THE BUSINESS OF HAPPINESS by Ted Leonsis

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These two titles were both store favorites when they were in hardcover. Click FICTION or NON-FICTION  to browse a more complete selection of recent paperback releases.

SECRET SON by Laila Lalami

THE WOMAN BEHIND THE NEW DEAL: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins
 by Kirstin Downey

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THE GREAT ANTI-WAR CARTOONS, edited by Craig Yoe (Fantagraphics, $24.99)

This exemplary collection of anti-war cartoons edited by comic scholar and historian, Craig Yoe, depicts the visually powerful role cartoonists have had protesting against war. They range from 17th century Dutch and French cartoons to the modern work of Art Spiegelman, R. Crumb, Ralph Steadman and Bill Maudlin. They include luminaries, such as Winsor McCay and Francisco Goya, and styles as varied as pencil drawings, woodblock prints, and full-color illustrations. This collection is encyclopedic in its ability to capture a wide range of expressive outcries against war. For a number of these cartoons, this is the first time they’re presented to an American audience. A historically important and stunning work.
- Adam Waterreus

Click here for more of our booksellers' graphic novel recommendations

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CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK
(20% off through 03/10/2010)

In a refreshingly original fantasy, Melina Marchetta (Prinz Medal winner of Jellicoe Road (HarperTeen, $8.99)) enhances the traditional Quest story with realistic themes of displaced peoples, refugee life, and questions of ethnic and familial identity. FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK (Candlewick, $18.99) and his mentor Sir Topher are exiles, among the last remnant of the fugitive kingdom of Lumatere.  After the five days of the unspeakable, during which the royal family was murdered and an imposter set on the throne, Lumatere was cursed, and no one has been able to enter or leave. Years after the brutal massacre, even as Finnikin and Sir Topher wander the outlying kingdoms in search of a homeland for their people, they encounter the mysterious, young mystic, Evanjalin. Her revelation: that Balthazar, true heir to the throne of Lumatere, still lives. Evanjalin leads Finnikin and Sir Topher to find the lost prince, in one last hope to reclaim the kingdom and restore the exiles to their rightful home.  Ages 13-17  -  Sylvan Bongi

Read about - and buy - more of our favorite books for children by clicking here.

Lisa Chaplin-Hobbs hosts story time for young children every Monday morning at 10:30 a.m.

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

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NEW
Dee Dee Bridgewater, ELEANORA FAGAN (1915-1959): TO BILLIE WITH LOVE FROM DEE DEE (DDB/Emarcy, $17.98) – Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater recently brought her tribute to Billie Holiday to Strathmore, and the program of songs is finally on CD. Hear striking arrangements of “Your Mother’s Son-in-Law,” “Lover Man,” “God Bless the Child,” and other songs associated with Billie. Dee Dee’s all-star band is led by arranger Edsel Gomez on piano, Christian McBride on bass, Lewis Nash on drums, and James Carter on saxophones and bass clarinet.

Peter Gabriel, SCRATCH MY BACK (Real World, $15.98) – Peter Gabrile’s somber, orchestra-backed covers of tunes by Neil Young, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Regina Spektor, Arcade Fire, Lou Reeed, Magnetic Fields, Arcade Fire, and more.

Stile Antico, MEDIA VITA: JOHN SHEPPARD (Harmonia Mundi, SACD $19.98) – The English chamber vocal group Stile Antico released Song of Songs last year: a program featuring music by Palestrina, Gombert, and Lassus, among others. It was a breakthrough CD, winning Gramophone Maganine’s Best Early Music Album, and was on many year-end best-of lists. The group’s follow-up spotlights the Tudor master John Sheppard.

Rafal Blechacz, CHOPIN: THE PIANO CONCERTOS (Deutsche Grammophon, $18.98) –Last week, Polish pianist Rafal Blechacz amazed Washington audiences with his recital at the Kennedy Center (see Philip Kennicot’s review). Hear Blechacz new CD, featuring Chopin’s Piano Concertos, backed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

PATTI SMITH’S JUST KIDS and HORSES
I just finished reading Patti Smith’s great memoir, JUST KIDS (Ecco, $27). The book describes the dual artistic apprenticeship of Patti and Robert Mapplethorpe in late 1960s and early 1970s New York. The book features appearances by Sam Shepard, Harry Smith, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and many other mentors, friends, and collaborators. Patti’s unique combination of poetry and rock and roll culminated in her first record, HORSES (Arista, $11.98), released in 1975, with a beautiful cover shot by Mapplethorpe (the photo session is described in the book).

WIN TICKETS FOR GILBERTO GIL AT LISNER
Gilberto Gil is a giant in Brazilian music. Singer, songwriter, he was a leading figure of the Tropicalia and MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) movements, and he’s still making great music today. He’ll be at Lisner Auditorium on Saturday, February 13, accompanied by his son, Bem, and cellist/arranger Jacques Morelenbaum. Lisner is giving away a pair of tickets to the concert. To enter the drawing, email: Agoldinger@politics-prose.com , with GILBERTO and your FIRST NAME in the subject field.

 

Click here for more reviews and news. Please call us at 202-364-1919 to order these CDs.