At age twenty-six, in the wake of a divorce and her mother’s death, Cheryl Strayed made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to Washington State—and to do it alone. Wild, Strayed’s best-selling memoir, is the utterly compelling story of a…
Caroline Kennedy, editor of eight New York Times bestselling books on American history, politics, law, and poetry, discusses her new anthology, Poetry to Live By with Los Angeles’ first Poet Laureate, Eloise Klein Healy. In their far-ranging conversation, these two long-time poetry advocates…
Hemon returns to his childhood roots in Sarajevo, a small blissful city where he used to write bad poetry, play soccer, and listen to American music. Years later, Sarajevo came under siege while Hemon was in Chicago starting a new life and new family, as his parents were fleeing all they’d ever…
More valuable than gold, more ubiquitous than water, what is really brewing behind the $100 billion global coffee industry? Local coffee connoisseurs gather to discuss the journey of the bean from seed to cup. From the role of organic farming and the livelihood of producers, to trends in curating…
Many generations have been moved by Dorothea Lange’s iconic image of "Migrant Mother," photographed during the Great Depression. In her decades-spanning new novel, Mary Coin, author Marisa Silver presents a brilliant reimagining of the story behind that arresting face. In today’s world, bombarded…
Borrowing the ambitious structure of a self-help guide, Hamid, a radically inventive storyteller and author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, tells the riveting tale of a man’s journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon. Both social satire and love story, Hamid’s new book braves its way…
Krause, a musician and naturalist and one of the world’s leading experts in natural sound, explores how the myriad voices and rhythms of the natural world—from snapping shrimp to cracking glaciers—formed a basis from which our own musical expression emerged. His book is an impassioned plea for the…
Considered one of the masters of the short story form, Nathan Englander offers fiction that is both edgy and timeless. His new collection, the title of which is inspired by Raymond Carver’s masterpiece on love, grapples with some of today’s questions with great care. As Jonathan Lethem praises,…
Is it possible for Americans to better their future by reinventing their relationship with government? Newsom, lieutenant governor of California and San Francisco's former mayor, explores how a modern digital government could house the information, concerns, convictions-even the protests of an…
Betty Friedan's groundbreaking book is now 50 years old, and the global struggle for gender equality is-according to many-the paramount moral struggle of this century. Different generations of feminists discuss their perspectives on the issues defining the struggle for women's rights today. Where…
Gale, one of the world's leading experts on radiation, together with writer Eric Lax, draw on the most up-to-date research and on Gale's extensive experience treating victims of radiation accidents around the globe to correct myths and establish facts about life on our radioactive planet in our post…
"We work in the dark," said Henry James. "Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task." Two completely original, and often hilarious writers, Saunders (Tenth of December) and Cooper (The Bill from My Father) begrudgingly agree. Saunders and Cooper step out of the dark and onto the stage to…
From acting in award-winning films such as Before Night Falls, Frida, and Milk, to directing a forthcoming feature on Cesar Chavez, Luna's passion for storytelling as an agent for social change is illuminated in his film work. As an activist, he speaks out against the bi-national arms trade and he…
