July 16, 2010 Most of the scientific information predicting global warming that Gwynne Dyer outlines in his new book, Climate Wars, has been in the news for years. Many people have ignored it, however, and even those who are both informed and concerned may not have thought through the logical consequences of what scientists predict: famine and war—and human extinction. Dyer will discuss Climate Wars at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on July 20 at 7 p.m.
July 8, 2010 Pat Benatar ruled the radio airwaves during the 1980s, and for good reason. Her talent for writing and choosing clever, anthemic, and arena-ready songs earned her four Grammy Awards, produced nineteen top-forty singles, and sold more than 22 million records worldwide. Now she’s written a memoir, Between A Heart And A Rock Place, which she’ll discuss at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on July 9 at 12:30 p.m.
June 29, 2010 A Comfortable Boy is essayist Sam Pickering’s twenty-third book, but the message is the same one he’s been offering since he first began writing relatively late in life. For Pickering, ambition and conformity are overrated, paling in comparison to a life led not so much for purpose as for finding pleasure and passion in the most quotidian occasions.
June 24, 2010 The word “genocide” evokes thoughts of the worst horrors humans can inflict on each other. In Genocide: A Normative Account, Vanderbilt law professor Larry May dissects the surprisingly complex legal and philosophical questions of genocide, and argues that the special harms caused by this crime have little to do with bloodshed.
June 21, 2010 In “Tell Them We Are Singing for Jesus,” her lively account of the first Fisk Jubilee Singers, Toni P. Anderson provides a vivid portrait of the ideals and personalities that shaped one of America’s musical treasures.
June 18, 2010 There are no statistics on this, but given that some six-to-twelve million Americans are gay, lesbian, or bisexual, it seems fair to assume that every straight person in this country knows someone who isn’t. But as civil-rights activist Abby Dees has observed, it’s not always easy for even the most open-hearted straight people to ask their gay friends and family members about the kinds of issues they really wonder about. And without open dialog, Dees believes, it’s too easy for misunderstandings to fester, for stereotypes to persist. That’s why she wrote Queer Questions Straight Talk: 108 Frank, Provocative Questions It’s OK to Ask Your Lesbian, Gay or Bi Loved One. The book is both witty and earnest, a conversation-starter designed not to answer questions but to invite others to ask them. Dees will sign copies of Queer Questions Straight Talk on June 19 at Nashville Pride and on June 20 at 3 p.m. at OutLoud!
