Modern Times Coffeehouse
202-362-2408
Opens at 8 a.m.daily
Request that your book be signed at the author's talk
Signed books make great gifts!!!
Did you know that it is possible to get a signed copy of our event books? We are best able to accommodate your request if you order signed copies at least 48 hours in advance
of the author's appearance. If you are interested in obtaining a signed book from
an event occurring tonight or tomorrow - or from an event that has already passed, please call the store at
202-364-1919 or 1-800-722-0790 to confirm availability and to ensure that we receive your order more quickly.
Pre-order a signed book by selecting the book from our events calendar and adding a request for a signed book in the order comments field.
Interested in purchasing e-books from Politics & Prose Bookstore, but haven’t gotten around to signing up for an account? Join us for a Kobo sign-up and training session this Saturday, May 25, from 3:30 - 5 p.m. Our staff will be on hand to help customers open Kobo accounts, register devices, and answer any other questions you may have about Kobo. No registration necessary—just stop by!
How many rings were forged by Sauron in J.R.R. Tolkein’s Middle Earth? Excluding monuments, what is the tallest building in D.C.? Put on your thinking cap, grab a drink, and join us for our monthly trivia night! Enjoy the grilled cheese sandwich special at MTC from 7-8 p.m., grab a latte (with a lid!) and trek upstairs to four rounds of mind-bending trivia questions. Prizes will be awarded. Trivia night is open to all ages and runs until 9 p.m.
Join Politics & Prose and SPACIOUS for our second S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G B-E-E.
Stefan Fatsis (author of Word Freak) and Peter Sokolowski (lexicographer at Merriam-Webster) emcee a night of competitive spelling glory. From appoggiatura to serrefine, show off your nerd credit to all of your friends. The competition is free but arrive early to guarantee your spot. Can’t spell? Neither can half the U.S. population! Sit in the audience and watch your friends struggle with the spelling of euonym. This event is co-sponsored by SPACIOUS, www.spacious.me.
Childhood sweethearts in Lagos, Ifemelu and Obinze envision a life for themselves free of Nigeria’s military dictatorship. Ifemelu goes to study in America, but Obinze is denied entrance after 9/11. As their paths diverge for many years, Adichie, a MacArthur “Genius” and winner of the Orange Prize for Half of a Yellow Sun, depicts the changing times of multi-ethnic London, racist America, and a democratic Nigeria.
Nader is perhaps this country’s best-known consumer advocate, and for some forty-five years he has worked to establish tougher safety standards, calling for greater corporate accountability and galvanizing citizens to do likewise. He’s also been a tireless writer, and this volume offers a representative sample of his many columns.
What’s the difference between a foreign correspondent and a spy? Johnson, the journalist, gains people’s trust to write stories. His father, a CIA operative, gains it for—well, that’s classified. Johnson’s memoir about growing up with secrets is also a meditation on the nature of truth, loyalty, and their opposites.
After crashing in Albania in November 1943, the surviving members of the 807th Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron fought blizzards and enemy fire as they struggled to escape Nazi-occupied territory. Lineberry, former National Geographic Magazine Europe editor, tells a story of war and rescue.
When a humpback whale became tangled in crab trap lines off the San Francisco coast, a team of volunteers mobilized to try and save her. OConnell's detailed picture book recounts the successful effort and poses questions about the emotional capability of animals. Ages 6 - 8.
While some see fracking as the key to a secure energy future, others look to green technologies and renewable sources. Both sides make big claims; what‘s the truth? Levi, senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations, has fully investigated old and new visions of energy and finds that some combination of the two may offer the best solution.
While covering the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863, two New York Tribune reporters were captured and held in a Confederate prison for twenty months until they escaped. Carlson, Washington Post reporter and author of K Blows Top, retraces the arduous 340 miles the pair traveled—mostly on foot, aided by unpredictable allies, from covert pro-Union groups to guerilla leaders—to reach safety
A social entrepreneur and activist, Schwarz is the founding rabbi of Adat Shalom and the author of Finding a Spiritual Home and Judaism and Justice. In his new book the rabbi, working with prominent figures from throughout the Jewish community, considers how Jewish institutions and norms formed in the past century can be adapted to meet the needs of coming generations.
For the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, Guelzo, Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, director of its Civil War Era Studies program and author of numerous works on Lincoln, has written a fresh and authoritative account of the legendary three days. His study considers the complex interactions of topography, weapons, personalities, and politics, and delivers a wealth of insight.
Based on his 2012 Richard Ullman Lectures, Nye’s book is a comparative look at the leadership styles and foreign policies of seven presidents, from Theodore Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush. Nye, author of Soft Power, The Future of Power, and other studies, assesses which chief executives were truly “transformational,” and which only managed the status quo.
Horace Pippin loved drawing. Throughout childhood and adulthood, he made art with whatever leftover materials he could find. After sustaining a debilitating shoulder injury during World War I, Pippin persevered and became a world-famous artist whose paintings are still displayed in museums including The Phillips Collection. Ages 7 and up.
There are two modes of swearing: oaths and obscenities. Both reflect deep cultural values, signaling what’s sacred and what’s taboo. Mohr’s history of swearing looks back to ancient Rome, considering how “swear” came by its dual meanings, examining both the psychological and physiological effects of swearing, and pondering whether we swear more now than people did in the past.
at Tenley-Friendship Library,
Second Floor Auditorium
4450 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Scott D. Seligman
Chinese in America endured abuse and discrimination in the late nineteenth century, but they had a leader and a fighter in Wong Chin Foo (1847–1898), whose story is a forgotten chapter in the struggle for equal rights in America. The first to use the term “Chinese American,” Wong defended his compatriots against malicious scapegoating and urged them to become Americanized to win their rights. A trailblazer and a born showman who proclaimed himself China’s first Confucian missionary to the United States, he founded America’s first association of Chinese voters and testified before Congress to get laws that denied them citizenship repealed. Wong challenged Americans to live up to the principles they freely espoused but failed to apply to the Chinese in their midst. The First Chinese American: The Remarkable Life of Wong Chin Foo (Hong Kong University Press, $25.00) is the first book-length account of the life and times of one of America’s most famous Chinese—and one of its earliest campaigners for racial equality.
The first novel by the noted essayist and short-story writer (under the name of Amin Ahmad) is both a thriller and a deft exploration of status, class, and identity. Ranjit is a caretaker on Martha’s Vineyard, but he was once an Indian Army captain. He works for an African-American senator who struggled up from poverty. But when Ranjit betrays his employer’s trust, he finds himself entangled in an underworld of secrets and deceits.
To sports legends like Jessie Owens and John Beresford, add the University of Washington eight-oar crew that rowed to victory in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Brown’s third book draws on the young athletes’ diaries and letters, giving a vivid sense of their camaraderie, dedication, and the long odds they faced in going for the gold.
Sauté, blanch, grill, roast: these four basic methods are all you have to know to prepare satisfying meals, and if the three ingredients of Crovato’s title aren’t quite the only ones you’ll need, they’re the foundations of a healthful and tasty diet. Crovato, a private chef and owner of Healing with Fresh Foods, has designed a cookbook that will free you from both processed foods and unnecessarily complicated home cooking.
Before 9/11, before Pearl Harbor, there was the burning of Washington in 1814. Led by British Admiral Cockburn, English soldiers looted the capital, forcing President Madison to flee. For six weeks the fate of the nation hung in the balance. Vogel, a Washington Post reporter specializing in military affairs and author of The Pentagon, recounts in vivid detail how the U.S. emerged victorious, with a renewed sense of purpose—and a national anthem.
Guided by the three fundamental principles, or Testimonies, of equality, simplicity, and peace, the American Quakers have advocated on behalf of groups—from Native Americans to immigrants to the mentally ill—for some three hundred years. Goldman’s detailed account of the group shows how deeply it has affected the nation’s history.
“One falls in love with a 184-mile ditch slowly, unaware,” Anthes says. The award-winning photographer and writer spent two years studying the C&O canal, both on-site, with his camera, and in archives, researching the canal’s history. The result is a beautiful set of nature and architecture pictures matched with informative essays.
For Sarah Zuckerman, growing up in 1980s D.C., the Cold War may not have ended with the fall of the Soviet Union. Was her best friend, who had visited the USSR at Andropov’s invitation, really killed in a plane crash in 1985? Ten years later, Sarah goes to Russia to get answers. Holt’s debut novel is a powerful evocation of a time and of the timeless sting of the loss of a friendship.
Tighter security may ensure a president’s safety, but it also exacerbates the chief executive’s already heightened isolation. In his sixth book, the veteran White House correspondent looks at the White House “bubble,” considering its effect on the lives and job performances of residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
While a therapist is trained to help a client through grief, how do therapists cope with their own pain at a patient’s death, especially while maintaining a professional distance? Malawista and co-author Anne J. Adelman, who also collaborated on Wearing My Tutu to Analysis, consider the complications of bereavement in the therapeutic setting.
When we last saw him, in the 2007 Blonde Faith, Easy Rawlins had driven off a cliff, and it looked like the end….But not so fast. In Mosley’s twelfth Rawlins mystery, Easy has recovered after two months in a coma and is ready for action. He’s back out on the streets of L.A., this time in search of a missing man—and more.
at Sixth & I
600 I Street NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown Marc Maron
From standup to television to his popular podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, Maron is a disarmingly honest and intensely smart comic who finds wisdom in the strangest places. Attempting Normal (Spiegel & Grau, $26) is Maron's journey through the wilderness of his own mind, a collection of painfully funny stories about hope and hopelessness, failing, flailing, and finding a way.
One ticket: $20
One book and one ticket: $36/$30 for members
One book and two tickets: $46/$40 for members
In order to obtain the Politics & Prose member price you must
enter the coupon code that has been emailed to members separately.
Shriver’s sharp, satiric fiction has tackled complex, even terrifying, issues from health care to terrorism to school shootings. Her twelfth novel is a story of family, consumption, and ultimatums, centering on Pandora, who loves to cook; her husband, a compulsive exerciser who no longer eats as much as he used to; and Pandora’s once-svelte, now obese, pianist brother, who comes to visit and won’t leave.
Fast, easy, often anonymous, the Internet version of free speech can reach unprecedented degrees of freedom—and of irresponsibility. Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, and Wolfe, privacy and data-security law expert, cite the increasing use of the Web for hate speech, and call on citizens to demand accountability.
All our in-store events are free and open to the public. All event titles are 20% off for members during the month in which the author appears at the store. Click here for directions. There is ample parking available in the lot behind the store and in the surrounding neighborhood.
If you can't come to an event and still want an autographed copy of the book, you may purchase titles in advance either in the store, over the phone (202.364.1919 or 1.800.722.0790), or through our website.
When buying online, simply use the checkout comments field to indicate that you would like us to request the author's signature at our event before shipping it to you. Event recordings on MP3 are also available online.
co-presented with Modern Times Coffeehouse
Join Politics & Prose and SPACIOUS for our second S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G B-E-E.
at Tenley-Friendship Library, 
at Sixth & I
to purchase.