Fighting Against War
September 23, 2014 In 1978, Jimmy Carter brought Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin to Camp David in one of the highest-stakes diplomatic moves ever made by a U.S. president. The talks, as chronicled by Lawrence Wright in his new book, Thirteen Days in September, were a struggle of faith and personality that resulted in a triumph of peace over war. Wright will appear at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 10-12, 2014. All festival events are free and open to the public.
September 19, 2014 The poems in TJ Jarrett’s stunning second collection, Zion, are shaped by the desire to summon mercy and forgiveness in the face of terrible wrong, and they celebrate, without a trace of sentimentality, the sustaining power of love. TJ Jarrett will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 26, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. and again at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 10-12, 2014.
September 18, 2014 In 2007, Ishmael Beah received widespread praise for his memoir, A Long Way Gone, a troubling account of his life as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. In his first novel, Radiance of Tomorrow, Beah lyrically explores a village much like his own as it struggles toward normal life after a wartime massacre. Beah will appear at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 10-12. All festival events are free and open to the public.
September 17, 2014 Kirsten Gillibrand is only the sixth—the sixth—woman in history to give birth while serving in Congress, and though she has unfortunately few peers, she gets the challenges facing contemporary women. Her new book, Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World, is a call to arms urging women to get involved and change the outcome on issues important to them. Gillibrand will discuss her book at a 
September 16, 2014 With Wolf in White Van, John Darnielle, singer and lyricist for The Mountain Goats, has produced an LP of a novel that delves into the damaged psyche of a disfigured young man who retreats into a role-playing game he has invented, a fantasy world where he—and others—can feel safe. Darnielle will discuss Wolf in White Van at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 24, 2014, at 6:30 p.m.
September 12, 2014 Carol Bradley’s meticulously researched new book, Last Chain on Billie: How One Extraordinary Elephant Escaped the Big Top, is a heartrending biography of an Asian elephant brutalized for decades. But it is also a history of the perverse form of entertainment known as the circus. Carol Bradley will discuss Last Chain on Billie at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on September 19, 2014, at 6 p.m., at I Love Books in Kingsport on September 20, 2014, at 1 p.m., and at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 10-12, 2014.