You’ve heard of Hemingway’s wives, but what about Pilar? A
thirty-eight-foot motor yacht, Pilar was Papa’s refuge, his escape
vehicle, and his occasional muse. Reflecting the boat’s central place
and myriad roles in the writer’s life, Hendrickson, author of Sons of
Mississippi, focuses this critical and biographical study on Hemingway’s
voyages, his on-board entertaining, and the vessel’s effect on his
turbulent moods.
Wright examines what fundamentally
makes a religion a religion, and
whether Scientology is, in fact, deserving of this constitutional
protection. With the thorough investigative skills that earned him a Pulitzer for The Looming Tower, his exhaustive account of 9/11, Wright has
given us an evenhanded yet keenly incisive book that
reveals the very essence of what makes Scientology the
institution it is.
On August 22, 2012, Jennifer Close and Rebecca Harrington spoke at Politics & Prose about their booksGirls in White Dressesand Penelope.
Join us for an evening of great summer fiction. Harrington’s debut novel
tells the story of a geeky young woman’s first year at college. She may
lack a few social graces, but her observations of her classmates are
spot-on and very, very funny. Close’s first novel—now in
paperback—focuses on a group of young women who put up with bad jobs and
worse boyfriends as they find their ways in life.
Co-written with her son Sam, subject of Operating Instructions
and a new father at age 19, Lamott here ventures into the new ground of
grandmotherhood. Based on a journal she kept during her grandson's
first year, this memoir is a candid and often funny chronicle of family
adjustments.
In her bestsellingReading Judas and The Gnostic Gospels,
Pagels, Princeton professor of religion, made ancient texts vital by
illuminating their history. Here she considers the Book of Revelation in
light of events in the year 66 C.E., which included John of Patmos’s
response to the Roman occupation of Jerusalem.
It’s hard enough to keep up with all the new books coming out—but when
you consider the titles you’ve overlooked through the years, the task is
truly daunting. From 2003 until January 2010, The Washington Post’s
book critic offered an occasional, selective look at books worth going
back to. Now some of these essays have been collected—here’s great
reading on great reading.
Could a book change the world? In Stephen Greenblatt’s
illuminating study of the Renaissance, the answer is yes, and the book is On the Nature of Things by the
Roman philosopher Lucretius. Greenblatt, a Harvard Shakespeare scholar and
author of the bestselling Will
in the World, presents Lucretius’s ideas, shows whom they
impressed and why, and demonstrates their pivotal and ongoing influence.
On September 16, 2011, Sylvia Nasar spoke at Politics & Prose about her book, Grand Pursuit, in which she follows her bestselling biography, A Beautiful Mind,
by showing thinkers in action. From Alfred Marshall walking around
Dickens’s London to Sen in today’s India, Nasar’s narrative history of
political economics lays out the challenges society has faced since the
industrial revolution proved that socio-economic status wasn’t a given,
but lay within human power to change.
On the evening of Wednesday, September 14, Calvin Trillin spoke about his new collection, Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin, at Politics & Prose.
Trillin’s humor knows no bounds. From politics to driving etiquette, meals to economics, family life to current events, he’s a wealth of wit and elegant commentary—often in rhyme. This collection draws from all periods of his more than forty years in print, featuring essays, columns, and poems.
During the month of an author's appearance, an event title is discounted 20% to Politics & Prose members. By registering commitment to the store, members support us in bringing these authors to your community.
