Hochschild (King Leopold's Ghost), one of America's best narrative historians, examines one of the greatest and most puzzling examples of civilized evils in history and the now obscure civilians and soldiers who waged a bitter, often heroic, struggle against it.
In the eight years after her four children left home, Melissa Greene and her husband adopted five children from orphanages in Bulgaria and Ethiopia. She chronicles their adventures from the front lines of parenthood.
Join Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Snyder and friends for an evening of spoken word to celebrate the work of Beat poet Lew Welch, on the 40th anniversary of his disappearance.
In his monumental new novel, Sayles-the great indy filmmaker-travels from the Yukon gold fields, to New York's bustling Newspaper Row, to Wilmington's deadly racial coup of 1898, to the bitter triumphs at El Caney and San Juan Hill in Cuba, and to war zones in the Philippines.
Written in the aftermath of his wife's death, Goldman's tale weighs the unexpected gift of love against the blinding grief of loss.
Shteyngart, one of the New Yorker's "Best Under 40" novelists, offers a devilishly funny cyber-apocalyptic vision of an America future that seems eerily like the present.
Kincaid, former New Yorker staff writer and author of more than ten books, is known for her candid and emotionally-charged writing. She reads from her forthcoming novel about a family's life in a small Vermont town and discusses her creative process.
How did tribal order and society evolve into the political institutions of today? Drawing on a vast body of knowledge-- two celebrated scholars discuss the origins of democratic societies and raise essential questions about the nature of politics.
One of America's most celebrated classical dancers writes of his years with Balanchine, Robbins, LeClercq, and Farrell-the irresistible story of an exhilarating life in dance.
An intimate work by one of America's great writers chronicles the unexpected death of her husband of forty-eight years and its wrenching, surprising aftermath.
Skloot's stunning narrative about the use and misuse of medical authority delves into the life of a poor Southern tobacco farmer named Henrietta Lacks, whose cells-taken without her knowledge-became one of the most important tools in medicine.
What is literature? How might we restore it to the center of our lives? Garber, Harvard English professor and Ulin, book critic for the Los Angeles Times, explore how reading can be a \"revolutionary act\" in the digital age.
How does a poet view time, the slant of light on a windowsill? How might a theoretical cosmologist approach those same phenomena? Hirshfield and Carroll---both at the vanguard of their disciplines-- discuss different (and perhaps similar) points of entry into the realm of observation and metaphor.
Lemmon, a former ABC news reporter, tells the remarkable true story of an unlikely entrepreneur who, against all odds, saved her family and inspired her community in Afghanistan under the Taliban.
The New York Times columnist uses revolutionary discoveries in neuroscience and cognition to paint a surprisingly moving picture of how we can educate our emotions to lead richer lives.
A reading and panel discussion Moderated by Susan Salter Reynolds, L.A. Times book reviewerWith Chuck Rosenthal, Alicia Partnoy, Ramón Garcia, & Gail Wronsky. Projected paintings by Gronk.Members of the L.A.-based Glass Table Collective read their work and discuss publishing outside the lines.
Two of the world's most respected travel writers discuss pilgrimages to exceptional places, mining one's personal history, and the holiest mountain on earth.
What makes us who we are? An award-winning science journalist and a leading scientific investigator delve into the rich history of ideas about how we're shaped before birth.
The Los Angeles-based artist and designer behind the ubiquitous Obey Giant stencil and the now legendary Obama HOPE poster, talks about his life, his work and his move from the street to large-scale museum exhibitions.
Patricia Highsmith's dazzling, dangerous novels entered the American consciousness in classic films such as Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Join us for an evening celebrating Highsmith: Schenkar's author talk that captures Highsmith's brilliance in creating disturbing fictions, a dramatic presentation by Obie Award- winning actress Chalfant, and never-before seen photos.
One of literature's masters offers a wild, riveting saga that explores passion, magic and corruption in modern Mexico, mixing ancient mythologies with the avarice of the twenty-first century.
One of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people and best-selling author of Dead Aid reveals the economic myopia of the West and the radical solutions it needs to adopt in order to assert itself as a global economic power once again.
Two brilliant young writers (among the New Yorker's \"Twenty Under Forty\" noted fiction writers) read and discuss their work and the role of the unexpected in writing fiction.
She eloped with Winston Churchill's nephew, severing her ties to privilege. She fought in the Spanish Civil War and joined the Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Alabama. She bore witness to the defining history of the 20th century. Jessica Mitford: queen of the muckrakers.
Chemerinsky-- founding dean at U.C. Irvine School of Law-- and Eastman-- Kennedy Chair in Law at Chapman University-- debate whether the country's highest court has been ideologically motivated during recent decades, thus denying justice to millions of Americans.
Barnes, successful entrepreneur (Working Assets Long Distance) and Appleby, eminent historian (The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism) discuss whether the market can effectively serve both private interest and public good. Can capitalism be upgraded for the 21st century?
In a voice that is humble, elegiac, and practical, the award-winning author of The Woman Warrior contemplates the meaning of family, the politics of war, and the striving for peace in this unconventional memoir
From autism to basic self-awareness, \"the Marco Polo of neuroscience\" traces the strange links between neurology and behavior, probing the mystery of human uniqueness.
Rachman's witty novel-- about the the ragtag staff of an English language newspaper in Rome facing financial oblivion-- is based on his own experience as a foreign correspondent.
A Palestinian doctor's response to the tragedy of losing four family members to an Israeli shelling has won him humanitarian awards around the world. Rather than revenge, he calls for people in the region to come together in understanding, respect, and peace.
