Boston Public Library author talks feature a wide range of talented writers. Hear authors read from their books, purchase a copy, get it signed, and learn about the creative process that gets such magnificent stories told. To look for even more author talks taking place Boston Public Library locations, please use our calendar of events.
Home to the Boston Red Sox since its construction in 1912, Fenway Park is perhaps best known as the site of some of baseball's most historic moments. Piecing together a century of history, Field of Our Fathers: An Illustrated History of Fenway Park celebrates the legacies of those who have played and performed in the shadow of the Green Monster over the years, making Fenway what it is today. Author Richard A. Johnson compiles an impressively comprehensive collection of essays, newspaper clippings, fan memorabilia, and photos, expertly capturing the essence and inexplicable charm of one of America's most venerable ballparks.
Richard A. Johnson serves as the curator of the Sports Museum at TD Garden. He has authored and edited numerous books on a variety of sports topics, including histories of each of Boston's four major sports franchises as well as the Boston Braves, Boston Garden, Boston Marathon, and A Century of Boston Sports.
The alarming spike in autism in recent years has sent doctors and parents on a search for answers. Many controversies have erupted around the issue and many key concerns remain unexplored. The Autism Puzzle: Connecting the Dots Between Environmental Toxins and Rising Autism Rates is the first book to address the compelling evidence that it is the pairing of environmental exposures with genetic susceptibilities that may be influencing the brain development of children. Journalist Brita Belli brings us into the lives of three families with autistic children, each with different ideas about autism. The Autism Puzzle puts a human face on the families caught between the debates, and offers a refreshingly balanced perspective. Belli is the editor of E – The Environmental Magazine, an independent magazine dedicated to green issues. She has appeared on numerous TV programs as an eco-expert and maintains a blog on autism and the environment at www.autismandtoxins.com.
Everyone thinks they know the internet. The most powerful information network ever conceived – an indispensable tool and constant companion in both our professional and personal lives. We’re all connected, but connected to what? In Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet, acclaimed young journalist Andrew Blum takes readers on a fascinating journey to find out.
Andrew Blum is a correspondent at Wired and a contributing editor at Metropolis. His work has also appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Business Week, Slate, and Popular Science, among many other publications.
Interoperability – the standardization and integration of technology – has been facilitating innovation for centuries, and in our networked and interconnected world it is more important than ever. In order to get the most out of this critical principle, however, we need to revisit our understanding of how it works.
In Interop, John Palfrey and Urs Gasser propose a stable theory of interoperability that increases productivity while ensuring information security and minimizing risks. Pointing the way forward for the new information economy, Interop shows how the promises and challenges of interoperability will determine our success in the coming decades and beyond.
John Palfrey, Professor of Law and Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources at Harvard Law School, is the author of Intellectual Property Strategy and Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives.
For anyone who has looked at a map of the United States and wondered how Texas and Oklahoma got their panhandles, or flown over the American heartland and marveled at the vast grid spreading out in all directions below, American Boundaries will yield a treasure trove of insight. The first book to chart the country’s growth using the boundary as a political and cultural focus, Bill Hubbard’s masterly narrative begins by explaining how the original thirteen colonies organized their borders.
Bill Hubbard taught the first design studio for undergraduates at MIT's Department of Architecture. On a summer vacation in 1997, he encountered the Sand Hills of Nebraska. Stunned by their severe beauty, he embarked on the decade of research that resulted in American Boundaries: The Nation, the States, the Rectangular Survey.
Thursday
June 21
6:00 p.m.
Central Library
Orientation Room
700 Boylston StreetLarry Tye, author of Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero
Seventy-five years after he came to life, Superman remains one of America’s most adored and enduring heroes. Now Larry Tye, a prize-winning journalist, has written the first full-fledged history not just of the Man of Steel but also of the creators, designers, owners, and performers who made him the icon he is today.
Larry Tye runs the Boston-based Health Coverage Fellowship. From 1986 to 2001, Tye was a reporter at the Boston Globe, where his primary beat was medicine. He also served as the Globe’s environmental reporter, roving national writer, investigative reporter, and sports writer. He is the author of Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, which was on the New York Times bestseller list and named a Times Notable Book.
Why does President Obama’s healthcare plan remain so controversial? In this readable, entertaining, and substantive book, Stuart Altman and fellow healthcare specialist David Shactman explain not only the Obama plan, but also many of the intriguing stories in the hundred-year saga leading up to the landmark 2010 legislation. Blending political intrigue, policy substance, and good old-fashioned storytelling, Power, Politics, and Universal Health Care is the first book to place the universal health plan within historical perspective.
Stuart Altman is an internationally recognized expert in health policy. He served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Nixon administration and as a member of the health policy team for Barack Obama.
David Shactman is a freelance writer who was a Senior Fellow in Health Policy at the Heller School. He is coeditor of two books, Policies for an Aging Society and Regulating Managed Care.
Elin Hilderbrand’s latest novel begins as a graduation night celebration ends in tragedy. As the story unfolds, Hilderbrand explores the power of community, family, and honesty, and proves that even from the ashes of sorrow, new love can take flight.
Summerland is the latest in a series of best-selling books by Hildebrand. Dubbed “The Queen of the Beach Novel,” Hilderbrand has used Nantucket as the setting for all of her books, including A Summer Affair, Barefoot, The Island, and The Castaways. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket and choosing it as her muse. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.
Bestselling author and Hollywood veteran Jennifer Weiner takes her readers into the world of Los Angeles show business culture in her latest novel, The Next Best Thing. With an insider’s ear and eye for writers’ rooms and set politics, Weiner tells a heartfelt story about what it’s like for a young woman to love and lose in the land where dreams come true.
Jennifer Weiner is the author of ten novels, including In Her Shoes, which was made into a major motion picture, and was the co-creator and executive producer of the ABC Family sitcom State of Georgia. Weiner has appeared on The Today Show, The CBS Early Show, and The Martha Stewart Show. Her work has appeared in Seventeen, Salon, Redbook, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, In Style and Elle. In 2011, Time Magazine named hers as one of its 140 Best Twitter Feeds.
Tuesday
July 24
6:00 p.m.
Central Library
Rabb Lecture Hall
700 Boylston StreetGerald Chertavian, author of A Year Up: How a Pioneering Program Teaches Young Adults Real Skills for Real Jobs with Real Success
Gerald Chertavian, founder and CEO of Year Up, has dedicated his life to closing what he sees as an “Opportunity Divide” that strands millions of young, disadvantaged, yet motivated workers at the bottom of the job ladder. To close that gap, the former technology entrepreneur founded Year Up, an intensive program that offers low-income young adults training, mentorship, internships, and ultimately real jobs – often with Fortune 500 companies.
Following a Year Up class from admissions through graduation, A Year Up lets students share – in their own words – the challenges, failures, and personal successes they have experienced.
In The Disappearing Spoon, bestselling author Sam Kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. In The Violinist’s Thumb, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA. There are genes to explain cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin to Einstein's genius. They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists. Kean's vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species' future.
Sam Kean is a writer in Washington, D.C. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Disappearing Spoon and his work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Mental Floss, Slate, the New York Post, and New Scientist. In 2009, he was a runner-up for the National Association of Science Writers' Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for best science writer under the age of thirty, and he was a Middlebury Environmental Journalism fellow.
Thursday
August 9
6:00 p.m.
Central Library
Orientation Room
700 Boylston StreetRobert Taylor, author of A New Way to Be Human: 7 Spiritual Pathways to Becoming Fully Alive
Part spiritual guidebook and part remarkable life story, A New Way to Be Human identifies seven pivotal life occurrences as spiritual pathways. In addition to telling Taylor's story and anecdotes from fellow seekers, A New Way to Be Human encourages the reader to dig into his or her own life story, break through personal difficulties, and "polish the world with kindness."
Robert V. Taylor is Chair of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation in New York, and founding Chair of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County, Washington.
The newest addition to Arcadia’s Popular Images of America series is Filene’s: Boston’s Great Specialty Store. William Filene's Sons Company, founded in 1870, brought fashion and entertainment to generations of Bostonians. The Filene family championed employee relations and innovative merchandising techniques. Michael Lisicky focuses on the history of the company's flagship 'upstairs' business, in addition to several of the store's historic competitors on Boston's Washington Street.
Michael J. Lisicky is a leading expert on department store history and has written three bestselling books on various American department stores. Lisicky's books have been featured on National Public Radio and have received acclaim from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Investors Business Daily and Fortune Magazine.
Theodore W. Grippo’s With Malice Aforethought: The Execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti tells the tragic story of two Italian immigrants who were charged and convicted of the murder of a payroll guard in a Boston suburb in 1920. Grippo takes the reader through the murder trial, examining new documents and other recently discovered evidence that demonstrate a conspiracy to frame Sacco and Vanzetti. While the debate over their guilt may continue for some, With Malice Aforethought will end the argument for many.
Theodore W. Grippo’s professional experience in the fields of law enforcement and private practice spans more than 50 years. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Northwestern University Law School and a member of the American Bar Association.
