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Click here for our events calendar to preview upcoming events through the end of March.
Members always save 20% on author event books and titles included in other special promotions. Click here to register!
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Thursday, February 24
7 p.m. Bing West - The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan
Friday, February 25
7 p.m. Michael Chorost - World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines, and the Internet
Saturday, February 26
6 p.m. Edward Dolnick - The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World
Sunday, February 27
5 p.m. Stanley Meisler - When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years
Monday February 28
7 p.m. Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish - I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity @ Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
Tuesday, March 1
Tom Lichtenheld - Cloudette - CANCELLED
7 p.m. Sophy Burnham - The Art of Intuition: Cultivating Your Inner Wisdom
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Wednesday March 2
7 p.m. David Kirp - Kids First: Five Big Ideas for Transforming Children's Lives and America's Future
Thursday March 3
7 p.m. Linda Pastan - Traveling Light: Poems
Friday March 4
7 p.m. Carla L. Peterson - Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City
Saturday March 5
1 p.m. Benjamin Wittes - Detention and Denial: The Case for Candor After Guantanamo
6 p.m. Charles King - Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams
Sunday March 6
5 p.m. Tom Shroder & John Konrad - Fire on the Horizon: The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster
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LETTER FROM BARBARA |
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 The Washington Post featured Amy Chua's visit to Politics & Prose in an article which you can read here. The article included a short video, but you can click here to listen to our recording of Amy Chua’s entire talk including the question and answer period.
Previously known for challenging conventional thinking about developing democracies and the rise and fall of great powers, economic historian Amy Chua followed her acclaimed studies World on Fire and Day of Empire with an unusually revelatory and personal choice for her third book, a memoir exposing her approach to parenting. In BATTLE HYMN OF THE TIGER MOTHER, she eschews what she sees as the permissive Western style for a more disciplined Asian method. Chua recounts how she and her husband raised their two daughters to meet high academic standards, develop a strong work ethic, and respect authority.
Her book caused quite a stir, receiving both praise and criticism as she forthrightly shared her unorthodox parenting method. At our event, Dr. Chua deftly handled provocative questions and the controversy, as she claimed that the excerpt featured in The Wall Street Journal only portrayed a small piece of the story. We felt that she effectively disarmed our audience with her self-effacing humor and the segments she chose to read. On Wednesday, the Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, where Amy Chua spoke the following evening, emailed us: "She visited our store tonight and it was great to get a preview of her talk through your tweets. She was such a great (and gracious) speaker!"
LINDA PASTAN
 Next Thursday, March 3 will be a special evening for me because an old friend, Linda Pastan, is reading from her new collection of poetry, TRAVELING LIGHT (W.W. Norton, $24.95) I’ve known Linda since 1978, the year her second volume of poems, The Five Stages of Grief, was published. I owned the bookstore in Linda’s neighborhood, and she was such a good reader, and still is, that I frequently saw her, and still see her, in the store. Once she introduced me to a visiting poet, William Stafford, which made a great impression on me. That was all 33 years ago.
Hugo Rizzoli, another poet and my bookstore partner, bought the my half of the bookstore, but years later a poem that Linda wrote about the store, “The Bookstall,” was selected by Metro for a public service poster in the Metro trains. Linda has written many more books of poetry, received many awards and prizes in recognition of her magnificent gifts with words, and basked in the local successes of two of her children: daughter Rachel Pastan’s two well-received novels and son Peter’s two very successful restaurants, Obelisk and 2 Amys. At Politics & Prose’s coffeehouse she has frequently congregated with other poets to read and critique each other’s work. I like to think that she has been instrumental, along with poet Jane Shore, in putting P&P on the map as a destination for books of poetry.
All this will be jumbling around in my head when I proudly introduce Linda to read from her new poems next Thursday evening.
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DAVID'S DELIBERATIONS
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Mary Alice Garber, a staff member of the Politics & Prose Children's Department, sent me Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac salute to Wallace Stegner. Stegner's birthday was February 18. I am forever grateful.
Keillor brought back instant memories of Carla's love for Stegner, her boosting him to the Politics & Prose community, her introducing me to his novels, my introducing others to Crossing to Safety. On long road trips, we listened to recordings of him reading his books.
Wallace Stegner credited Carla with helping him to become recognized in the east as a national writer. The New York intellectuals had recognized him, but only as a regional writer. The New York crowd exemplified the famous New Yorker cartoon with Manhattan larger than the United States.
Stegner was a committed environmentalist. He recalled with pride his service on Secretary Udall's Advisory Committee for National Parks.
When Stegner came to Politics & Prose for a reading, the line went outside the store and down Connecticut Ave. It was one of the largest in-store event crowds P&P has drawn except perhaps for Bill Clinton's appearance and some of the Harry Potter release parties.
Thank you, Garrison Keillor and Mary Alice, for helping me recall these memories.
Click here to read a transcript and listen to the podcast of the Writer’s Almanac from February 18.
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DISCOUNTS ON BIOGRAPHIES
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During the month of February, we are offering 20 % discounts to all P&P members on books from our Biography sections (which includes, of course, memoirs and autobiographies, Children and Teen's titles, and any biographies from our remainder room). This is a great opportunity to find a presidential biography for President's Day or read about a notable figure for African-American History Month. This discount applies to any biographies which we currently have in stock on the shelves, and which do not need to be specially ordered.
A customer named Alec Rogers responded to my blog last week on political biographies with his review of one of our recent favorites Ron Chernow's WASHINGTON: A Life (Penguin, $40). He commented,
I've read a lot of bios, many political, but this is the very best for me. Although [Washington was] easily overlooked as a military figure, Chernow demonstrates that even in uniform, it was Washington's skill as a politician rather than a general that allowed him to play the decisive role he did in our country's history. Having used the new edition of Washington's papers (including not just those from him, but to, and about him as well) he paints such a vivid picture I feel as if I knew him for the very first time.
Another political biography that he recommends is William Manchester's outstanding two-volume series, THE LAST LION: William Spencer Churchill (Delta, $25/$23). Please feel free to send more recommendations to Andrew Getman for inclusion in our emails.
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BOOK NOTES |
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February has brought two fantastic books, both set in the Pacific Northwest.
 Urban Waite's debut THE TERROR OF LIVING(Little, Brown, $24.99) blends ruminations on personal history and choices with moments of thrilling action. When Phil Hunt agrees to transport a drug shipment through the woods of Washington State and is discovered by Deputy Sheriff Drake, Hunt finds himself on the run from both the law and from the criminals he has disappointed. As Drake tries to find Hunt before the drug cartel does, he discovers his connection to Hunt goes back much farther than this deadly chase.
The past and the present merge in the fictional town of Pont Bonita in WEST OF HERE by Jonathan Evison (Algonquin, $24.95). The novel tells two parallel stories set about a century apart, one the formation of this town as a thriving community and the other its present day slide into irrelevance. Compelling characters from both periods must decide how their lives will develop and evolve as the place they call home changes around them. Evison has really created two narratives that feed off each other and create a wonderful whole.
Mark your calendars as we are looking forward to hosting Jonathan Evison on Wednesday, March 9 at 7 p.m.
Mark your calendars as we are looking forward to hosting Jonathan Evison on Wednesday, March 9 at 7 p.m.
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UPCOMING TICKETED EVENTS
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In order to accommodate a larger audience, we sometimes hold our events at other locations. Please reserve your tickets early if you plan to attend.
Monday, February 28, 7 p.m.
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
DR. IZZELDIN ABUELAISH
I SHALL NOT HATE: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity (Walker, $24)
"Anger is not the same as hate," Dr. Abuelaish states, and his words carry weight. Born in the Jabalia refugee camp and now a physician, Abuelaish treats both Israelis and Palestinians. His account of everyday life in the contested Gaza Strip is a story of check points and embargoes, humiliations and violence—yet even after his daughters were killed in their home by Israeli forces, Dr. Abuelaish still believes that a commitment to peaceful solutions can end the region's terrible bloodshed. Learn more about him and his foundation here -> http://www.daughtersforlife.com/
Click here for $8 tickets, or to receive two free tickets with purchase of the book from P&P.
Monday, March 14, 7 p.m.
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
JOSHUA FOER
MOONWALKING WITH EINSTEIN: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything (Penguin Press, $26.95)
Foer's unlikely journey from chronically forgetful science journalist to U.S. Memory Champion frames a revelatory exploration of the vast, hidden impact of memory on every aspect of our lives. This book will be released on March 3, but you can read an excerpt online with Google Preview by clicking here.
Click here for $10 tickets, or to receive two free tickets with purchase of the book from P&P.
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HEMINGWAY CLASS |
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THE FICTION OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY: Taught by Jackson R. Bryer
The Nick Adams Stories, The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms
March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, April 6, 1-2:30 p.m.
(On March 9, the class will meet 3-4:30 p.m.)
This course will study the short fiction and two novels of Ernest Hemingway, whose themes and unique prose style have influenced several generations of writers around the world. The emphases of the course will be on discussion of the common themes, characters, and stylistic devices that run through his work; on Hemingway’s fiction as a reflection of the times in which he wrote; and on the development of his fictional techniques and themes.
Two 90-minute classes will be devoted to each book. The texts used will be the Scribner paperback editions.
Enrollment: $100 (P&P Members: $80). Click here to read more about the books and to sign up.
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TICKET GIVEAWAY |
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Win 2 free tickets to a screening of the film TRANSCENDENT MAN: The Life and Ideas of Ray Kurzweil, presented by I.M.P at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. Enter the drawing by emailing BOOKS@politics-prose.com with RAY in the subject field. Include your full name and contact info in the body of the email. This drawing will take place on Wednesday, March 2.
Thursday, March 10, 8 p.m.
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
TRANSCENDENT MAN: The Life and Ideas of Ray Kurzweil
with RAY KURZWEIL & BARRY PTOLEMY
Revolving around the concept of Singularity, when technological growth becomes so rapid that computers/machines reach superintelligence, Ray Kurzweil’s documentary Transcendent Man is as eye-opening as it is thought-provoking. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Kurzweil and Barry Ptolemy, the director of the film.
Click here to buy $45 tickets and to view the film trailer. Click here to browse and buy Ray Kurzweil’s books.
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| NEW IN PAPERBACK |
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WILD CHILD: And Other Stories by T.C. Boyle (Penguin, $16)
T.C. Boyle is a master storyteller. In "Balto," a young girl is asked to lie in court for her alcoholic father; in "Sin Dolor," a young boy, who lives in squalor and has the inability to feel physical pain, provokes marvel in a community - including its detached doctor; in the title story, "Wild Child," Boyle chronicles the heartbreaking tale of The Savage of Aveyron, while asking, “Who are the real savages?” Boyle frequently works with issues of social and environmental justice; these tales of humanity - confronted by the natural world and brought to weakness by our own flawed nature - prove that he captures human folly and frailty better than many of his contemporaries.
36 ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD: A Work of Fiction by Rebecca Goldstein (Vintage, $15)
A secular humanist raised in an Orthodox Jewish household, Rebecca Goldstein creatively integrates philosophy into the lives of her characters while managing to avoid the death-knell of Ayn Randian didacticism. Some of the most delightful aspects of the novel are the banter between pairs of characters, many of whom are ridiculously self-absorbed recruiters of a singular cause (themselves). Although Goldstein is unlikely to concede any philosophical or theoretical ground to theists, her novel deftly handles characters of all perspectives with refreshing grace. Watching their interlinking worlds unfold is similar to watching a performance of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off!; each scene expands on the humor of its predecessor, beginning with the joke in the title.
CHRISTIANITY: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch (Penguin, $25)
MacCulloch won multiple awards for The Reformation and Thomas Cranmer. His most recent study traces the history of Christianity from the Hebrew Bible through the New Testament, charts the growth of evangelicalism from its German and English origins, and shows the faith’s pivotal role and influence during the Enlightenment, the Age of Explorations, and the First and Second World Wars.
- Recommended by Laurie Greer
Click here to see more recently released paperbacks, both Fiction and Non-Fiction.
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COMING SOON TO YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE |
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If you can't attend a talk, but would like to buy a signed copy or a recorded author presentation, click the title links to reserve your book online.
P&P members save 20% on all of these event titles.
Click www.politics-prose.com/event for our author events calendar through March.
Thursday, February 24
Bing West - The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan
7 p.m. A former Marine colonel, West has chronicled recent wars in a series of books, including The Village and The Strongest Tribe. His new work is a close look at the challenges U.S. forces face in Afghanistan. West argues that the overall battle will be won or lost according to what happens in villages and among tribes, not in capital cities or think tanks.
Friday, February 25
Michael Chorost - World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines, and the Internet
7 p.m. Chorost’s vision is the ultimate in connectedness: insert new DNA into neurons via viruses, implant nanowires, and one brain can be wirelessly linked to others. Techno-miracle or nightmare? As he outlines a possible cyborg future, Chorost, journalist and author of Rebuilt: My Journey Back to the Hearing World, describes the very human functions of the mind and its dreams.
Saturday, February 26
Edward Dolnick - The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World
6 p.m. Kepler, Galileo, and Newton were as involved in theology as they were with science. In his new history of the life and times of these seventeenth-century thinkers, Dolnick, author of The Forger’s Spell and The Rescue Artist, weaves mathematical and astronomical breakthroughs together with their discoverers’ faith in the role of a deity at the heart of the universe.
Sunday, February 27
Stanley Meisler - When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years
5 p.m. A journalist for the Los Angeles Times, author of a biography of Kofi Annan, and former deputy director of the Peace Corps Office of Evaluation and Research, Meisler marks the 50th year of the Corps with a history of its work. Based on his own experience and those of the many former volunteers he interviewed, Meisler contrasts the organization’s ideals with the political realities, both domestic and foreign, that have affected its mission.
Monday February 28
Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish - I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity @ Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
7 p.m. “Anger is not the same as hate,” Dr. Abuelaish states, and his words carry weight. Born in the Jabalia refugee camp and now a physician, Abuelaish treats both Israelis and Palestinians. His account of everyday life in the contested Gaza Strip is a story of check points and embargoes, humiliations and violence. Yet even after his daughters were killed in their home by Israeli forces, Dr. Abuelaish still believes that a commitment to peaceful solutions can end the region’s terrible bloodshed. Learn more about him and his foundation here -> http://www.daughtersforlife.com/
This is a ticketed event. Two admission tickets are free with each book purchased from P&P (or at the event). Tickets are $8 each without purchase of the book.
Tuesday, March 1
Tom Lichtenheld - Cloudette - CANCELLED
Sophy Burnham - The Art of Intuition: Cultivating Your Inner Wisdom
7 p.m. Don’t ignore that sudden feeling that something is about to happen—chances are it’s your intuition trying to get your attention. From the author of A Book of Angels, this primer on the “intuitive heart” offers a way to tap into your own overlooked powers of insight.
Wednesday March 2
David Kirp - Kids First: Five Big Ideas for Transforming Children's Lives and America's Future
7 p.m. While childcare, healthcare, and education costs have steadily risen, since 1960 the portion of the federal budget devoted to children has fallen 22 %. Kirp, professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy, member of President Obama’s transition team, and author of several books on education policy, presents five cradle-to-college initiatives designed to support families and ensure that all children get a quality education.
Co-sponsored by House of Mercy’s Rosemount Center.
Thursday March 3
Linda Pastan - Traveling Light: Poems
7 p.m. Pastan’s poems are impeccably crafted gems that capture the rich complexity of their subjects. In her thirteenth collection, the former Poet Laureate of Maryland and two-time National Book Award nominee celebrates the daily pleasures of domesticity while also considering events “against which there is no planning” and the old stand-bys, hope and luck.
Friday March 4
Carla L. Peterson - Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City
7 p.m. Knowing only “scraps” about her ancestors, Peterson, author of Doers of the Word, has traced her family back to the 1820s. As she reconstructs the lives of her relatives, free blacks in New York, Peterson tells the cultural and social story of African-American contributions to the city.
Saturday March 5
Benjamin Wittes - Detention and Denial: The Case for Candor After Guantanamo
1 p.m. In his study of U.S. detention practices, Wittes, senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and author of Law and the Long War, finds that Guantánamo and other military-run detention centers are operated without any coherent policy. Wittes argues for a more honest, consistent, and sustainable application of preventive detention.
Charles King - Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams
6 p.m. The great port city on the Black Sea was founded in 1794. By 1940, it had survived plagues and wars to become a thriving cosmopolitan metropolis with a large Jewish population, yet in 1944, only a few dozen Jews remained there. In charting Odessa’s dramatic rise and fall, King focuses on the brilliant figures, such as Isaac Babel and Sergei Eisenstein, who made it flourish.
Sunday March 6
Tom Shroder & John Konrad - Fire on the Horizon: The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster
5 p.m. The oil rig that exploded on April 20, 2010, had been constructed in South Korea for half a billion dollars in 2000. Shroder, a longtime Washington Post journalist, and John Konrad, an experienced oil rig captain, give a detailed account of the Deepwater Horizon from its start to its disastrous finish, including a look at its engineering, crew, and owners.
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P&P CUSTOMERS ARE ALSO INVITED TO . . .
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Thursday, February 24, 12 noon
 Hay-Adams, Top of the Hay
Sixteenth & H Streets, NW
RON CHERNOW
WASHINGTON: A LIFE (Penguin Press, $40)
This event is presented as part of The Hay-Adams Author Series
Join the National Book Award winner for a three-course lunch and lively discussion of his latest New York Times bestseller, a richly nuanced and vivid portrait of the real George Washington. The first public event in the new Top of the Hay, with stunning views directly across from the White House, will be co-hosted by renowned historian Michael Bechloss. A book signing will follow.
Ron Chernow's first book The House of Morgan received the 1990 National Book Award. His books Alexander Hamilton and Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller were nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography and spent months on the New York Times bestseller list.
$85 ticket includes lunch, wine, tax and gratuity. Click here or call (202) 220-4844 for more information.
Friday, February 25, 1 p.m. (Exhibit opens)
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
JT WALDMAN
MEGILLAT ESTHER: The Book of Esther (Jewish Publication Society of America, $22)
JT Waldman turns The Book of Esther, with its twisting plot, into an illustrative masterpiece. The graphic novel is brought to life in an exhibit with interactive elements and an invitation for visitors to take part in the creative process. Waldman is a comic book illustrator and interaction designer. He is currently working on his next graphic novel, which he designed with the late Harvey Pekar. This exhibit will be on view from Monday through Friday, February 25 - April 29 during open tour hours from 1-2 p.m. Waldman will be speaking at 6th in the City Shabbat on March 11. Click here for information about attending this service. Click here for more information about the exhibit. Click here for a Google Preview of the book and its art.
Saturday, February 26, 7:30 p.m.
 Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
MICHAEL SHOWALTER
MR. FUNNY PANTS (Grand Central, $25)
Michael Showalter, the writer and star of The State, Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, and Michael & Michael Have Issues, combines funny anecdotes, stories, jokes, observations, and graphic elements in his first book, Mr. Funny Pants. Full of Showalter's odd charm, Mr. Funny Pants journeys into the deep (and not-so-deep) recesses of his creative mind to tell Showalter's story: his obsessions--creative and otherwise--his successes, and his failings.
Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 the day of the event, or receive 2 FREE tickets with the purchase of the book ($25) through Sixth & I. If you have questions, please call 202.408.3100.
Wednesday, March 2, 7 p.m.
 Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
TRACEY JACKSON
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HOT PLACE (HarperCollins, $25.99)
The aphorism, "Fifty is the new thirty," emerged from a collective sense of denial which masked the fears of a generation unwilling to relinquish their youth. Jackson skewers the myth with a hilarious and practical appraisal of what middle age really means. She examines the changing roles of motherhood and wifehood; the necessity of planning a "career after your career"; the reality of aging bodies; and the generational shift in our perception of age. Jackson is a screenwriter with credits including Confessions of a Shopaholic. She will be interviewed by Sally Quinn, co-moderator of On Faith for The Washington Post.
Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 the day of the event, or receive 2 FREE tickets with the purchase of the book ($26) through Sixth & I. If you have questions, please call 202.408.3100.
Thursday, March 3, 7:30 p.m.
 National Geographic Live
Grosvenor Auditorium
1600 M Street, NW
MIREYA MAYOR
PINK BOOTS AND A MACHETE (National Geographic, $26)
Mireya Mayor’s life has been a wild ride. As a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader, Fulbright scholar, television correspondent—currently star of National Geographic WILD’s Wild Nights—and field biologist who discovered a new species of lemur in Madagascar, she energizes audiences everywhere. Join her for an evening of adventure.
- Wear pink boots to the event and get a special surprise!
- Read a profile of Mireya Mayor on the NG Speakers Bureau site.
Click here to buy $18 tickets (3-Part Series: $48; NG Member: $16, 3-Part Series: $42).
Saturday, March 12, 9 a.m.
Temple Sinai
3100 Military Road, NW
ANNUAL AUTHORS’ ROUNDTABLE
featuring: JOAN NATHAN, JENNIFER NATALYA FINK & RUTH FRANKLIN
Joan Nathan’s latest book, QUICHES, KUGELS, AND COUSCOUS: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France (Knopf, $39.95) explores Ms. Nathan’s decades-long fascination with France and its tumultuous Jewish history. She is also the author Jewish Cooking in America and The New American Cooking, which each won a James Beard Award and the IACP cookbook of the year Award.
Jennifer Natalya Fink, author of THE MIKVAH QUEEN (Rebel Satori, $15.95), a coming-of-age story set in Ithaca, New York, in the ‘80s. Dr. Fink is the winner of the Dana Award and her previous writing has been nominated for the Pulitzer, National Jewish Book, and National Book Awards.
Ruth Franklin is a literary critic and senior editor at The New Republic. Tablet magazine named her “one of our most important critics under 40.” Her provocative book, A THOUSAND DARKNESSES: Truth and Lies in Holocaust Fiction (Oxford Univ., $29.95), has been called a “towering work of criticism and insight” and a “superb study” of the subject.
Click here for more information and to buy your $15 ticket. Deadline for reservations is Saturday, March 5.
Tuesday, March 22, 7 p.m.
 Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
JODI PICOULT
SING YOU HOME (Atria, $28)
Of all the hot-button issues Jodi Picoult has explored in her bestselling novels, probably none is more divisive and emotional than the one at the heart of her new book, Sing You Home, about a same-sex couple and their attempts to have a child. Sing You Home includes a CD of original songs created for the novel by Ellen Wilber (lyrics by Picoult). Wilber will perform at the event. Picoult will be in conversation with Ron Charles, deputy editor and a weekly fiction critic for The Washington Post "Book World."
$35 tickets include one (1) copy of Sing You Home when you purchase tickets through Sixth & I. If you have questions, please call 202.408.3100.
Bookmark this link for future offsite events.
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P&P BESTSELLERS
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All Politics & Prose Weekly Hardcover Bestsellers are 20% off for Members.
Click the book titles for more information about these featured books.
Bookmark www.politics-prose.com/bestsellers/hardcover-fiction and www.politics-prose.com/bestsellers/hardcover-nonfiction for our weekly discounted bestsellers.
Click here to receive the benefits of Politics & Prose membership.
FICTION
- Swamplandia!, by Karen Russell (Knopf, $24.95)
- Room, by Emma Donoghue (Little, Brown, $24.99)
- The Weird Sisters, by Eleanor Brown (Amy Einhorn, $24.95)
- Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $28)
- A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel, by Alan Bradley (Delacorte, $23)
- A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan (Knopf, $25.95)
- An Object of Beauty, by Steve Martin (Grand Central, $26.99)
- Rodin's Debutante, by Ward Just (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26)
- The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson (Knopf, $27.95)
- The Matchmaker of Kenmare: A Novel of Ireland, by Frank Delaney (Random House, $26)
- The Collaborator, by Gerald Seymour (Overlook Press, $25.95)
- The Fates Will Find Their Way, by Hannah Pittard (Ecco, $22.99)
Click here for our paperback fiction bestsellers.
NONFICTION
- Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua (Penguin Press, $25.95)
- Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness to Freedom, by Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Lawrence Hill, $26.95)
- Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age, by Susan Jacoby (Pantheon, $27.95)
- Cleopatra: A Life, by Stacy Schiff (Little, Brown, $29.99)
- I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity, by Izzeldin Abuelaish (Walker, $24)
- Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House, $27)
- Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage, by Douglas Waller (Free Press, $30)
- A Widow's Story: A Memoir, by Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco, $27.99)
- Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier, by Edward Glaeser (Penguin Press, $29.95)
- The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life, by Bettany Hughes (Knopf, $35)
- Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America, and the Future of the Global Jihad, by Bruce O. Riedel (Brookings, $24.95)
- And Furthermore, by Judi Dench (St. Martins, $26.99)
Click here for our paperback non-fiction bestsellers.
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FROM THE CHILDREN AND TEENS' DEPARTMENT |
 CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK
(20% off through March 2)
Nina has grown up watching the gorgeous Lipizzaners prance elegantly in their ring at the Royal Academy of Dancing Horses in Vienna. When World War II breaks out, she must flee the city with her father and the stallions, but she can’t bear to abandon Zelda, the old cab horse. Nina hopes to save Zelda’s life by riding rather than leaving her, and later Zelda saves the day. Alison Lester beautifully depicts what it was like to go RUNNING WITH THE HORSES (NorthSouth, $16.95)—in bold, stunning illustrations, she brings the countryside to life. Ages 6-9. Amy Kane
Read about - and buy - more of our favorite books for children and teens by clicking here.
Click here to access the teen blog.
Monday mornings at 10:30 a.m.
STORY TIME
BearSong, the Guitar Man, leads his weekly morning story time with stories, songs, finger plays, and more for children from birth to 4 years old and their caregivers.
For upcoming events and more from the Children and Teens' Department, click here.
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MARKDOWN BOOKS
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Countering disaster stories that present the chaos and even brutality people fall into as they struggle to survive, Rebecca Solnit examines five catastrophic events that brought out the best in people. A PARADISE BUILT IN HELL: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster looks back at the earthquakes in San Francisco (1906) and Mexico City (1985), a 1917 explosion in Halifax, and the more recent 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. In each instance she found that people pulled together, helped each other, and worked for the greater good; while infrastructure and institutions failed, individuals found new ways to support one another. Available in hardcover, $9.98.
Whether you prefer novels or short stories, the eight pieces in Jhumpa Lahiri’s latest book, UNACCUSTOMED EARTH, have the strengths of both genres. With rich plots and complex characters, the stories are as absorbing as longer works, but their relative conciseness allows for greater emotional suggestiveness and precise, well crafted prose—every word is essential. Lahiri’s themes involve exile and identity, relationships and belonging. Her characters are Indians and Indian Americans, all looking for ways to make homes for themselves in circumstances not always of their choosing. Available in hardcover, $6.98.
The novels of Carlos Ruiz Zafón combine suspense, mystery, and, often, the magical qualities of books. His recent THE ANGEL’S GAME, like his best selling The Shadow of the Wind, is set in Barcelona where a troubled and reclusive writer dreams up a series of dark fictions. Or are they fiction? As he begins to wonder about what is sparking his imagination, the writer gets an offer from an editor to write something that is truly life changing—for both himself and his readers. Available in hardcover, $7.98.
Click here to shop for more recently acquired remainders.
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MUSIC NEWS
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PAOLO PANDOLFO AND BRAD MEHLDAU AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
I will be selling CDs at two rare concerts this coming week. Don’t miss the chance to hear these performers!
On Saturday, February 26, at 2 p.m., Paolo Pandolfo, one of the greatest gamba players in the world, will give a recital featuring works by Marin Marais and the mysterious Mon. de Sainte Colombe, accompanied by Thomas Boysen on the Baroque guitar and theorbo. I'll have a selection of Pandolfo's CDs on hand: MON. DE SAINTE COLOMBE (Glossa, $21.98), MARAIS: LE LABYRINTHE (Glossa, $21.98), MARAIS: GRAND BALLET (Glossa, $21.98), A SOLO (Glossa, $21.98)--which has selections from many composers--as well as Pandolfo's latest, BACH: SONATAS AND ARIAS FOR VIOLA DA GAMBA (Glossa, $21.98).
On Tuesday, March 1, at 8 p.m., jazz pianist Brad Mehldau will give a solo performance at the Library. To hear Mehldau's great solo work, listen to the just released LIVE IN MARCIAC (Nonesuch, 2 CDs/1 DVD, $21.98), recorded at the Marciac jazz festival in 2006. The CD/DVD set includes Mehldau originals, standards by Cole Porter, Bobby Timmons, and Rodgers and Hammerstein, as well as Mehldau's takes on tunes by Radiohead, Nirvana, Nick Drake and the Beatles, which have so influenced a new generation of pianists.
NEW & IN TOWN
It's always a happy convergence of events when artists are in town just as their new CDs appear. That's the case tonight, Thursday, February 24, not once but twice.
At the Phillips Collection in the early evening at 6 p.m., there's an unusual opportunity to meet a composer as well as to listen to his works. The New Tallinn Trio will play chamber works by the Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür; and after, there will be an opportunity for conversation and questions from the audience. Tüür's newest release, ERKKI-SVEN TÜÜR: STRATA (ECM, $17.98), features two orchestral works played by the Nordic Symphony Orchestra and is conducted by Anu Tali.
Later tonight, at 8 p.m., The Low Anthem, the quartet from Providence, Rhode Island, will headline at 6th and I Synagogue. Listen to their brand new SMART FLESH (Nonesuch, $13.98), combining strains of folk, old-timey, blues, and pop, with an odd clarinet and singing saw, too.
I hope to see you there!
Click here for news and reviews. Please call us at 202-364-1919 or email me at agoldinger@politics-prose.com to order these CDs.
• András Goldinger
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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.
These are the selections for the next week. Click the titles to read more about these books.
Click here to learn more about participating in a Politics & Prose book group
and to see the entire month of upcoming meetings.
Book-group titles are discounted 20% to participants. Please join us!
Thursday, February 24, 7:30 p.m.
Fascinating History Book Group
Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World, by Roger Crowley
March 24 selection: Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, by Richard Rhodes
Monday, February 28, 7:30 p.m.
Public Affairs Book Group
Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History, by Margaret MacMillan
March 28 selection: The Fourth Turning, by William Strauss and Neil Howe
Tuesday, March 1, 7 p.m.
Travel Book Group
Cape Cod, by Henry David Thoreau
April 5 selection: Country Driving, by Peter Hessler
Wednesday, March 2, 7:30 p.m.
Futurist Book Group
The Climate Fix, by Roger Pielke
April 6 selection: Shock of Gray: The Aging of the World's Population and How it Pits Young Against Old, by Ted Fishman
Thursday, March 3, 7:30 p.m.
Capital James Joyce Book Group
The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri (Trans. Mark Musa) beginning at Canto 11
April 7 selection: TBA |
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NEWS FROM THE COFFEEHOUSE |
Look at this video link! This reminded me of some of the patterns our baristas create out of simple materials: milk and espresso. Living paint! Art in everything!
Click here for more news from the Modern Times blog.
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