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Click here for our events calendar to preview upcoming events through the end of August.
Members always save 20% on author event books and titles included in other special promotions. Click here to register!
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Thursday, June 23
7 p.m. Brooke Gladstone - The Influencing Machine (in conversation with James Fallows)
Friday, June 24
7 p.m. Steven Weinberg and Casey Scieszka - To Timbuktu
Saturday, June 25
10:30 a.m. Alex & Hal Malchow - The Sword of Darrow (Book signing only)
6 p.m. Keith Donohue - Centuries of June.
Sunday, June 26
5 p.m. John Prendergast & Michael Mattocks - Unlikely Brothers: Our Story of Adventure, Loss, and Redemption
Monday, June 27
7 p.m. Eleanor Henderson - Ten Thousand Saints
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Tuesday, June 28
7 p.m. Linda Stout - Collective Visioning: How Groups Can Work Together for a Just and Sustainable Future
Wednesday, June 29
7 p.m. Amanda Foreman - A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War
Thursday, June 30
7 p.m. Josh Ritter - Bright's Passage
Friday, July 1 – Monday, July 4 - Independence Day Weekend - No events
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LETTER FROM BARBARA & DAVID
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WELCOME TO BRAD AND LISSA
 Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine, the new owners of Politics & Prose.
From our first conversation, long before they introduced themselves to the public in their article in the The Washington Post, it was clear that they share the core principles that we value. Not only are they serious about books, but they know how to enjoy them.
Of course, they are intimately acquainted with the craft of writing and accomplished in their fields; Lissa collaborated on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s memoir Living History, and Brad’s biography of Donald Rumsfeld, By His Own Rules, was a monumental work of research and journalism. Yet, as we were making our decision, we were also deeply impressed by the way in which Brad pursued learning about the current state and future of the bookselling industry. He took the time to travel the country, visiting other nationally known bookstores. As independent book store owners and managers are unique in their collegiality and professional support of each other, they told us of his visits and spoke highly of their conversations, providing their references on his behalf.
Locally, they are active members of the community, widely respected for their thoughtful approach to their civic involvement. They are engaged in education and in their neighborhood, and they are devoted parents. Furthermore, Brad and Lissa understand that our staff provides an essential part of the legacy. They already have exhibited an interest in learning from the experience of all of the individuals who make up the team, listening attentively to their ideas. They understand the necessity of being present in the store, accessible to customers as well as employees
Carla maintained that one must be an advocate for change while staying committed to one’s core principles. We know that Brad and Lissa will guide the P&P community respectfully, while also demonstrating their own energy, initiative and creative innovations. They have the attitudes and mindsets which will allow them to participate actively in a changing industry, while nurturing P&P’s core commitments to community building, disseminating ideas, and providing a public space for cultivating conversation, education, and relationships.
As they said very articulately in their letter last week, “Carla always said that change is essential to any organization, and some changes will be necessary in the future. But they will be evolutionary, not revolutionary, and aimed at modernizing the institution without compromising its character, integrity, and special place in our community.” While both of us, Barbara and David, will stay on in an advisory capacity until at least the end of the year, rest assured that Brad and Lissa give us and our staff great confidence in the future of Politics & Prose.
- Barbara Meade & David Cohen
MEMBER DISCOUNTS ON AUDIOBOOKS
During the month of June, we are discounting all audiobooks 20% for our members. They provide the perfect accompaniment for those trips you will be taking this summer and can make your daily commute more enjoyable.
Our staff recommended books included in our SUMMER NEWSLETTER are also discounted 20%. Click here to download the catalog or stop in by the store for a copy, browse our display, and pick up something to read before you go away on your vacation!
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BOOKNOTES
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JUNE GRAPHIC NOVEL FAVORITES
Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard by David Petersen and others (Archaia Studios, $19.95)
The Mouse Guard universe is well known, but, Legends of the Guard sees a handful of creators give the characters and world a different take. Set in an inn, the book begins with a contest, open to all customers, to tell the best story. The prize? Whoever best regales the innkeeper has his tab wiped clean. There are a number of favorites here, including Jeremy Bastien’s stunningly penned story, and some clever retelling of classic stories—the raven, the mouse and the lion—and even stories which form a world of their own, in a time many millennia before their telling, where kings and queens, generals and warriors, are forced into battle, and are made legend.
The Wrong Place by Brecht Evens (Drawn & Quarterly, $24.95)
The first thing you'll notice about Brecht Evens’s book is his stunning use of watercolor. His ability to paint movement and cacophony (especially dozens of people spilling onto a subway platform, or the condensed mess of dancers and partiers at a club) is truly amazing. He uses color to describe emotion and to illustrate his characters’ moods. The Wrong Place follows the exploits, adventures and myths of Robbie, a celebrity whose charisma attracts women and men alike. Evens has crafted a vibrant book about friendship, loneliness, love and social interaction. Totally original. Highly recommended.
Click here to see more of our recommendations for the month of June.
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SIGNED BOOK AND PODCAST OF THE WEEK
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On Wednesday, June 8, 2011, Politics & Prose hosted Ann Patchett for her newest novel, State of Wonder. And we just received another supply of first edition, first printings, which she has signed for us! 
State of Wonder
Signed by Ann Patchett
(HarperCollins, $26.99/ $21.60 for P&P Members)
Hardcover - June 2011
First editions, first printings!
At once a vivid adventure story and an unfolding ethical dilemma, the latest novel from the author of the bestselling Run and Bel Canto follows a team of pharmaceutical researchers into the Amazon. Focusing on Marina, a failed medical resident, the narrative shows the personal, cultural, and economic stakes of developing modern medicines from exotic rainforest plants.
Click here to download an MP3 or to listen to the talk online.
Click here for more information about the book and to buy a signed copy.
Click here to buy the ebook.
We still have signed copies from many of our recent author events. We have just updated our signed book page. Click here to see other signed books available now.
We also record nearly every in-store author event. In addition to posting many on our website's multimedia page, P&P stores these recordings on a public archive. Click here to browse and download more MP3s. Enjoy the free recordings and thanks for supporting our author events!
Politics & Prose will make CDs of our author talks for $7.50 plus tax. We ask for a pre-payment for these orders. Please click here to order a CD. If you would like to request a recording from an event which is not already posted, send an email to Wendy Brown.
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COMING SOON TO YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE
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Click www.politics-prose.com/event for our author events calendar through August.
For children's and teens' events, see the Children's Department News below.
Thursday, June 23
Brooke Gladstone - The Influencing Machine (in conversation with James Fallows)
7 p.m. The host of NPR’s On the Media here harnesses the power of text and graphics to guide readers through the history of mass communications. Understanding today’s myriad technological resources entails looking back as far as ancient Rome, and Gladstone is a witty and instructive guide, showing us how to be shapers, not just consumers, of the media. Gladstone will be in conversation with James Fallows of The Atlantic Monthly.
Friday, June 24
Steven Weinberg and Casey Scieszka - To Timbuktu
7 p.m. After graduating from college, the authors embark on a two-year adventure, teaching English in China, then traveling through Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Mali. Their travelogue is fresh and humorous; the story of the people they meet and of their own relationship is told in both prose and witty cartoon sketches.
Saturday, June 25
Keith Donohue - Centuries of June
6 p.m. Jack, the narrator of Donohue’s darkly humorous third novel, has been hit in the head, and as he tells his story from the bathroom floor, he’s interrupted by eight women, each wanting to tell her story, including why she would have wanted to knock him off.
Sunday, June 26
John Prendergast & Michael Mattocks - Unlikely Brothers: Our Story of Adventure, Loss, and Redemption
5 p.m. When the authors met, Prendergast was twenty, an activist on his way to working for human rights in Africa; Mattocks was seven, shuttling among D.C. homeless shelters with his mother and siblings. For the next twenty-five years the two treated each other as brothers, their relationship surviving the very different traumas and problems they each experienced.
Monday, June 27
Eleanor Henderson - Ten Thousand Saints
7 p.m. New York City’s youth culture of the 1980s meant CBGBs, ‘zines, Hare Krishnas, AIDS. All this and more awaits the protagonists of Henderson’s sweeping and vivid debut novel, as the children of the activist/hippie generation leave Vermont for the city.
Tuesday, June 28
Linda Stout - Collective Visioning: How Groups Can Work Together for a Just and Sustainable Future
7 p.m. Director of Spirit in Action and founder of the Piedmont Peace Project, Stout, in her extensive experience as an organizer, has observed that many groups hinder their own progressive ideals by failing to recognize all members equally. She offers a systematic process by which leaders can be mindful of diversity as they work toward a common goal.
Wednesday, June 29
Amanda Foreman - A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War
7 p.m. Following her bestselling Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire, Foreman’s second book examines the role of the British in the American Civil War. While Britain antagonized the North by buying Southern cotton and supplying the Confederacy with weapons, British citizens helped both the North and the South, serving as soldiers, nurses, and spies.
Thursday, June 30
Josh Ritter - Bright's Passage
7 p.m. In his debut novel, the lauded singer-songwriter brings his gifts of lyricism and magic to the tale of a World War I veteran's time in the trenches, and his life upon returning to West Virginia.
Friday, July 1 – Monday, July 4 - Independence Day Weekend - No events
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P&P CUSTOMERS ARE ALSO INVITED TO . . .
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Politics & Prose supplies books to many book signing parties and events. The events below are open to the public; however, reservations and tickets should be acquired from the hosting organization. Please contact offsite@politics-prose.com if you are planning an event and would like us to supply the books.
Tuesday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.
 National Geographic Live
1600 M Street, NW
Christopher Heaney
CRADLE OF GOLD: The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real-Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchu (PalgraveMacmillan, $27)
One hundred years ago this July 24, a young Peruvian boy led Hiram Bingham, a historian from Yale, into the ruins of an ancient Inca citadel on a mountain whose very name today conjures up images of mysterious ruins and past civilizations: Machu Picchu. The revelation of this incredible “lost city” in the pages of National Geographic Magazine captured the imagination of a generation, and also set off a century of debate over the disposition of the artifacts Bingham excavated—and ultimately over the control and interpretation of pre-Columbian history in the Americas. Christopher Heaney drew on previously untapped archives to give a well-rounded, critical assessment of Bingham and his "discovery," will tell the exciting story of this romantic but complex explorer, and offer an update on the recently-resolved dispute over ownership of the citadel’s treasures. Click here for tickets. NG Members: $16; General Public: $18
Co-presented with the Embassy of Peru.
Friday, July 2, 8:30 – 10:15 a.m.
 Greater Washington Board of Trade Speaker Series
Key Bridge Marriott
Capital View Ballroom
1401 Lee Highway
Arlington, VA 22209
TOM GARDNER & LOUANN LOFTON
WARREN BUFFETT INVESTS LIKE A GIRL: AND WHY YOU SHOULD, TOO (HarperBusiness, $25.99)
Warren Buffett and all of the women of the world have one thing in common: They are better investors than the average man, a fact proven by psychologists, scientists, and the value of their portfolios. In this well-researched, eye-opening, and wonderfully witty must-have book, the impresarios at The Motley Fool show that women, with their capability for patience and good decision-making, epitomize the Foolish investment philosophy, and the investment practices of the most successful investor in history: Warren Buffett.
For more information and to register, visit www.hooksbookevents.com.
(The authors will also appear at P&P on July 8 at 7 p.m. Click here for details.)
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FROM THE CHILDREN AND TEENS' DEPARTMENT
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SUMMER READING DISCOUNTS
Through Labor Day, Politics & Prose offers a 10% discount on books purchased from school summer reading lists. If your school does not provide a summer reading list, check with your public library. All public libraries provide suggested reading lists and we will also honor them with a 10% discount. Just bring your list; we will be glad to help you make selections for an enjoyable summer of reading.
SHARE YOUR FAVORITES
Share your favorite books with us and each other. Keep track of your reading on our Summer Book Log and submit reviews of your favorites to the Children and Teens’ Department. Every week, starting the week of July 4, we will post a review on our web site. You may submit more than one review; however, we will post no more than one review per person.
 CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK
(20% off through June 29)
A little dog is blown away on an autumn wind with nothing but THE UMBRELLA (Lemniscaat, $16.95) clutched in his paws. The dog’s adventure unfolds across continents and seas, with the trusty umbrella as his savior: it morphs from parachute to sword to one-man skiff until the wind carries him safely home. Ingrid and Dieter Schubert’s richly colored and detailed illustrations speak for themselves in this wordless picture book. All ages – Dana Chidiac
For more recommendations, you can browse our catalog of Children's Department Summer Favorites in .pdf format by clicking here. The printed catalogs are available in the store.
Read about - and buy - more of our favorite books for children and teens by clicking here.
EVENTS FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS
Friday, June 24
Steven Weinberg and Casey Scieszka - To Timbuktu
7 p.m. After graduating from college, the authors embark on a two-year adventure, teaching English in China, then traveling through Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Mali. Their travelogue is fresh and humorous; the story of the people they meet and of their own relationship is told in both prose and witty cartoon sketches. Ages 14-18
Saturday, June 25
Alex & Hal Malchow - The Sword of Darrow (Book signing only)
10:30 a.m. Written by a father and his then eight-year-old son who struggled with a learning disability at the time, The Sword of Darrow is a fantasy adventure that shows how even the unlikeliest of heroes can rise against injustice. Ages 9-12
All customers who purchase this book from Politics & Prose will save 20% off the cover price. This sale applies to both the hardcover and the paperback.
For more upcoming events and news from the Children and Teens' Department, click here.
Click here to access the teen blog.
To receive periodic updates about events and news for children and teens at Politics & Prose, click here to add "Children's & Teens' News and Events" or "Teen Events and News" to your mailing lists! |
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MARKDOWN BOOKS
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Karen Armstrong has the market cornered when it comes to brief, informative books on religion. In BUDDHA she distills the little that is known of Siddhatta Gottama, the founder of Buddhism, delving into history, myth, and biography to outline the life of one of the world’s most influential thinkers. Along the way she offers a broader picture of the 6th century B.C. and of the development of Gottama’s ideas in later centuries. Available in paperback, $5.98.
LOWBOY is a truly amazing novel. Written by John Wray, it’s the story of Will Heller, who earned the nickname “lowboy” for spending a lot of time in the New York subway system. On the day in question, Will sets out on the subway to save the world from global warming. He’s sixteen, he’s a schizophrenic, and he’s off his meds. His mother and a police officer try to track him down, and Wray brilliantly interweaves their story with Will’s, shifting perspectives and juggling voices. The story is suspenseful and moving, the writing is haunting. Available in paperback, $4.98.
Think of comics and you might think of superheroes, but in the burgeoning era of graphic novels, a superhero could be just about anyone…even a scholar, or a mathematician. It could even be Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), the British logician, philosopher, and anti-nuclear activist. Russell’s story is at the heart of LOGICOMIX: An Epic Search for Truth, which represents Bertie recounting his own history, from his first enchantment with the rigor and absolutism of mathematics through his slow acceptance of life’s messiness and refusal to fit any neat proof. Breaking into Russell’s story at intervals, the writers/artists/consultants for the project (Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos Papadimitru, Alecos Papadatos, and Annie DiConna) offer their views on their own and Russell’s work. Available in paperback, $8.98.
Click here to shop for more recently acquired remainders.
• Laurie Greer
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MUSIC NEWS
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NEW
Bon Iver, BON IVER (Jagjagwar, $14.98) - Justin Vernon (AKA Bon Iver)
recorded his acclaimed debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, in 2008, and he's
expanded his sound on his follow-up. His recognizable falsetto is still
there, so are the often obscure lyrics, but now with a full band. The Washington Post reviewed it Tuesday, calling it "the best album of
our halfway-over year".
Aaron Goldberg & Guillermo Klein, BIENESTAN (Sunnyside, $16.98) - Two
jazz pianists take a very fresh approach on this album: Aaron Goldberg
plays Guillermo Klein compositions and arrangements, with Klein making
occasional contributions on Fender Rhodes. Klein's jumpy, polyrhythmic
originals are showcased along with new takes on tunes by Charlie Parker,
Luiz Bonfa, and Jerome Kern. The band is outstanding: Matt Penman, bass;
Eric Harland, drums; with Miguel Zenon, alto sax, and Chris Cheek, tenor
and soprano sax featured on alternating tracks.
Sade, THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION (Epic, 2 CDs, $18.98) - Sade, the ultimate
cool pop chanteuse of the last two decades, is on a rare U.S. tour, and
was at the Verizon Center on Wednesday night. With her new compilation,
you can sit back and relax to all her hits.
Next Week:
THE HARROW AND THE HARVEST, Gillian Welch's first album in eight years
RED HOT AND RIO 2, a lively, 2-CD tribute to Tropicalia
Click here for more 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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NEWS FROM THE COFFEEHOUSE
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While visiting Istanbul's Sahaflar Çarşısı (Old Book Bazaar) last month, I came across some beautiful examples of Ebru, or Turkish Paper Marbling. What struck me initially was the similarity between the various marbling designs (mainly flowers and hearts) with our own "folk art" practiced in the coffeehouse - latte art. Upon returning from my trip, I found videos online showcasing some of the techniques used in creating such intricate, dazzling patterns.
We owe the emergence of the coffeehouse to Istanbul's dynamic history. Now I can say that we also share kinship in the creation of intricate designs using the simplest of materials (although ours are inherently ephemeral in order to be enjoyed fully).
Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine have assumed full ownership of Politics and Prose Bookstore. Read their welcome message on P&P's website.
I am looking forward to sharing a long and prosperous relationship with them, and want to express my never-ending love, gratitude, and admiration for Carla and David Cohen and Barbara Meade - true mentors and good friends.
- Javier Rivas
Click here for more news from the Modern Times blog or follow them on Twitter.
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parallel evolution?