Monday, May 23, 7 p.m.Roméo DallaireThey Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children (Walker, $26)

In 1994, then Lieutenant-General Dallaire led U.N. peace-keeping forces in Rwanda. He was horrified at the use of children as soldiers, and his outrage has fueled this urgent call to action to end the practice—which has grown more extensive since the 1990s.

Tuesday, May 24, 7 p.m.Arthur PhillipsThe Tragedy Of Arthur (Random House, $26)In his fifth novel, the author of Prague and The Song is You channels Shakespeare. Or is the newly-discovered work by the Bard in fact the latest forgery by the father of a writer named Arthur Phillips? An ingenious literary romp, the story is

also an exploration of love and family ties.

Wednesday, May 25, 7 p.m.Hannah NordhausThe Beekeeper’s Lament (Harper Perennial, $14.99)

Like an apian version of Johnny Appleseed, John Miller travels the country with his bees, bringing hives of pol-linators to farmers who have none. Nordhaus’s book profiles Miller and examines the challenges he and other beekeepers face as the still unexplained Colony Collapse Disorder continues to decimate these essential insects.

Thursday, May 26, 7 p.m. Francine ProseMy New American Life (HarperCollins, $25.99)Prose’s 16th novel is narrated by Lula, a young Albanian working (legally) as a nanny in New Jersey. Her life has gone from a nightmare to a dream, but American society and politics during the second Bush term give Lula plenty of material

for sharp, ironic commentary. And if suburban life is a tad dull, three Albanian thugs and the immigration bureaucracy liven things up.

Saturday, May 28, 6 p.m.Matthew AlgeoThe President Is A Sick Man (Chicago Review, $24.95)Author of the popular Harry Truman’s

Excellent Adventure, Algeo here reveals how Grover Cleveland spent the Fourth of July in 1893: Cleveland disappeared from public view and had surgery for cancer. When the secret operation was reported, Cleveland denied it and the public believed him. Twenty-four years later, Cleveland’s sur-geon admitted the truth—and still no one believed it.

Tuesday, May 31, 7 p.m.Tayari JonesSilver Sparrow (Algonquin, $19.95) In her third novel, the author of Leaving Atlanta and The Untelling chronicles the two families of a biga-mist. James’s daughters are born four months apart and despite his best efforts to prevent it, meet and become friends. While they share a biological father,

their material and emotional circumstances are strikingly different, and Jones skillfully contrasts their distinct coming-of-age stories.

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Sunday, May 15, 1 p.m.Amy StollsThe Ninth Wife (HarperCollins, $14.99)

An accomplished author of novels for young adults, Stolls here shifts to an older age group with a story about marriage. Bess has just got-ten engaged and is shocked to learn that her intended has eight former wives. Desperate to understand him, she sets out on a cross-country trip to meet each of her fiancé’s erstwhile spouses.

Sunday, May 15, 5 p.m.Marc KaufmanFirst Contact (Simon & Schuster, $26)Once thought inhospitable to living creatures, glaciers, volcanoes, and other extreme habitats in fact do harbor life. So why not the universe beyond Earth? Kaufman follows a range of scien-tists, from geologists and physicists to astrobiolo-gists, explaining the challenges and theories of

the search for extraterrestrial life.

Monday, May 16, 7 p.m.Alexandra StyronReading My Father (Scribner, $25)

Styron’s biography of her father, the great nov-elist William Styron, is studded with famous names, book awards, and ambition. It’s also a memoir of living under the shadow of her father’s depression—a complement to his Darkness Visible, in which she comes to terms with the anguish that caused them both pain.

Tuesday, May 17, 7 p.m.Michael SpenceThe Next Convergence (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $27)As the extraordinary growth of China, India, and other developing nations continues apace, the new world economy poses fresh challenges for everyone involved. Spence, the 2001 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, offers a lucid analysis of current trends and what they

mean for the future.

Wednesday, May 18, 7 p.m.Roy Blount, Jr.Alphabetter Juice (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $26)

Words have sense appeal, Blount declares. And proves. The humorist and author of Alphabet Juice has combed a range of sources, from the OED to YouTube, for language with a “son-icky” punch. Eschewing objective definitions, Blount clearly indicates his picks and his peeves, fleshing out ety-mologies and usage with many a crazy story.

Thursday, May 19, 7 p.m. Joel AchenbachA Hole At The Bottom Of The Sea (Simon & Schuster, $25.99)The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon last April set in motion an environmental disaster that posed engineering challenges of unprec-edented proportions. Achenbach, Washington Post columnist and National Geographic science writer, focuses on the event’s political dimension as well

as on the daunting technical aspects of plugging the burst Macondo well that lay a mile below the ocean’s surface.

Friday, May 20, 7 p.m.Mary GordonThe Love Of My Youth (Pantheon, $25.95)

Adam and Miranda seemed made for each other when they were teenagers during the sixties. Then their passions turned to careers and they went their separate ways. Meeting again after 30 years, they walk around Rome and gradually relive the past. A veteran novelist, Gordon skillfully evokes her characters through a subtle range of emotions.

Saturday, May 21, 1 p.m.Helon HabilaOil On Water (W.W. Norton, $14.95)Christie WatsonTiny Sunbirds Far Away (Other Press, $15.95)Join us for two new novels by Nigerian writers, both set in the oil-rich and environmentally-devastated Delta region. Habila won the 2003 Commonwealth Prize, and his third novel is the story of a pair of journalists investigating the dis-appearance of the wife of an oil executive. Watson’s debut recounts the experiences of a mother and two children who leave Lagos for a rural village where they must do without electricity and run-ning water, but where they find strength in some of the traditional values.

Saturday, May 21, 6 p.m.Tim HarfordAdapt (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $27)

Whether the problem at hand is personal, busi-ness-related, or on the order of new global chal-lenges, Harford, The Undercover Economist, says that the old ways won’t cut it. Instead, we need to use adaptive trial-and-error methods, and Harford draws on recent thinking in psychology, econom-ics, and evolutionary biology to illustrate how adapting can foster innovation.

Sunday, May 22, 1 p.m.Ron Capps & ContributorsVeterans Writing ProjectThe Veterans Writing Project is a Washington D.C.-based

non-profit that offers writing seminars and workshops for veterans. In honor of Memorial Day, VWP staff members and seminar par-ticipants, all veterans, will read fiction, non-fiction, and poetry from and about service in World War II, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Sunday, May 22, 5 p.m.St. Albans School Writers In Residence Writers Among Us (St. Albans, $19.95)Since 1983 the St. Albans Writer-in Residence program has brought poets, essayists, and fiction writers to teach and continue their writing at the school. This anthology contains work from all the visiting writers; join us to hear some of the con-

tributors read and talk about their experiences at St. Albans.

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Thursday, May 5, 7 p.m.Michael & Audrey LevatinoThe Joy Of Hobby Farming

(Skyhorse, $14.95)Proprietors of a twenty-three-acre farm near Gordonsville, the authors grow vegetables, raise livestock, and participate in local farmers’ markets. They support this rural lifestyle with careers else-where, and their primer offers advice on the nuts and bolts of small-scale agriculture, from compost to tractors, berries to cut flowers. Buy acopy of the book, attend the event, and enter to win products fresh from the farm like eggs, honey, llamanure soil amendment, homeade jam orflowers.

Friday, May 6, 7 p.m.Alexi ZentnerTouch (W.W. Norton, $24.95)An accomplished short story-writer, Zentner has written a haunting first novel. Set in northern Canada, it focuses on Stephen, an Anglican priest who has come home to see his dying mother. His vigil is full of memories, and Zentner’s evocative

prose balances the somber occasion with powerful descriptions of log-ging, long winters, woodland spirits, and unforgettable characters.

Saturday, May 7, 1 p.m.Sophia RosenfeldCommon Sense: A Political History(Harvard Univ., $29.95)

Before Tom Paine made common sense American and integral to popular democracy, it had played a varied role in Europe during the Enlightenment and the Age of Revolutions. In her history of populist wisdom as a political tool, Rosenfeld, a history professor and author of A Revolution in Language, shows that it has been as manipulable as any other ideal.

Saturday, May 7, 6 p.m.Miranda KennedySideways On A Scooter (Random House, $26)Kennedy lived in New Delhi for five years, working as a journalist and experiencing the fast pace of a vibrant modern city. But beneath the Westernized surface, traditional culture continued to exert a strong hold, especially for women. Kennedy’s memoir introduces several Indian women she knew,

recounting how they negotiated old and new rules of behavior.

Monday, May 9, 7 p.m.Sixth & I Historic SynagogueGeraldine BrooksCaleb’s Crossing

(Viking, $26.95) As she did in her People of the Book, Brooks again transforms a suggestive historical nugget into a rich, fascinating novel. The eponymous Caleb, a Wampanoag from Martha’s Vineyard, in 1665 became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard. As narrated by Bethia—herself denied an education in her patriarchal Puritan community—Caleb’s is a powerful story of soaring aspirations and constraining realities. This is a ticketed event. Tickets are $10 each in advance of the event ($12 on the day of and at the door), or two free admission tickets are provided with each book purchased from P&P.

Tuesday, May 10, 7 p.m.Melissa Fay GreeneNo Biking In The House Without A Helmet (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $26)In Without Me There is No You, Greene told the moving story of AIDS orphans in Ethiopia. Her new memoir is a humorous, and no less affecting, account of her own experiences with adoption; she and her husband have nine children, five

of them adopted, one from Bulgaria, and the others from Ethiopia. How this group has formed a family makes for a lively, loving book.

Wednesday, May 11, 7 p.m.Adam HochschildTo End All Wars (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $28)

Hochschild’s history of World War I focuses on those who had the courage to speak out against the conflict. Along with setting the social and political context and charting the course of the war, he profiles the pacifists and conscientious objectors who suffered derision, imprisonment, and torture for their convictions.

Thursday, May 12, 7 p.m. Alexis MadrigalPowering The Dream (Da Capo, $27.50)Many of the ideas currently being considered for renewable energy sources aren’t new. As Madrigal, Atlantic senior editor, reminds us, electric cars were on the road in the 1890s, and solar-powered heaters warmed California water before World War I. In looking back, Madrigal

looks forward, showing how we can learn from the past for a truly sustainable energy future.

Friday, May 13, 7 p.m.David BezmozgisThe Free World (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $26)

Bezmozgis earned acclaim with his book of linked stories, Natasha, and was named one of The New Yorker’s twenty young writers to watch. His first novel is the powerful story of the Krasnaskys, Soviet Jews who leave the USSR in 1978. Each family member has his or her own set of ambivalences and fears about emigration, and as they wait in Rome to see where they will go next, Bezmozgis skillfully ratchets up the personal and political stakes.

Saturday, May 14, 1 p.m.Brian TillConversations With Power (Palgrave Macmillan, $16)Inspired by leaders such as Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Vaclav Havel, Till, a young journalist and researcher at the New America Foundation, set out to meet these people. He did, and the conversations he had with them—along with many other world leaders and Nobel

laureates—are illuminating looks at public life.

Saturday, May 14, 6 p.m.Frederick KempeBerlin, 1961 (Putnam, $29.95)The Berlin Crisis was overshadowed by

the Cuban Missile Crisis, but Kempe, former Wall Street Journal columnist and editor, argues that it was more decisive in shaping later Cold War developments. Drawing on documents and extensive interviews, Kempe recreates the chill-ing moment when Soviet and American troops faced each other directly, just yards apart.

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20% off P&P Hardcover Bestsellers and all Event Titles for Members throughout May 2011

Wednesday, May 4, 10:30 a.m.John FlanaganThe Emperor Of Nihon-Ja: Book 10 (Philomel, $17.99)In the tenth and final book of the Ranger’s Apprentice series, Horace is sent on a mission to the eastern nation of Nihon-Ja. After no word from him for months, Will, Alyss, and Evanlyn set out to discover his whereabouts, eventually finding that Horace has been caught up in a

plot by Senji warriors to overthrow the emperor. Ages 10 and up.

Thursday, May 5, 10:30 a.m.Tom Lichtenheld Cloudette (Holt, $16.99)

This enchanting book from the best-selling illustrator of Duck! Rabbit! and Shark vs. Train features Cloudette, a smaller than average cloud who longs to grow bigger and throw lightning, show off rainbows, and make big storms. One day she discovers a world that needs just enough rain and she turns a mud puddle into a pond, to the delight of the resident frogs. Ages 3-6.

Friday, May 6 10:30 a.m.Robbin GourleyFirst Garden(Clarion, $16.99)Michelle Obama started the White House kitchen garden in 2009--it’s the first veg-etable garden on the grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt’s World War II Victory Garden. Gourley gives a colorful tour in prose and

drawings, describing the produce, telling where it goes, and includ-ing recipes. Ages 5-8.

Thursday, May 12, 7 p.m.The Bethesda LibraryLauren MyracleShine

(Amulet, $16.95)This mystery by the author of the Internet Girls trilogy follows sixteen-year-old Cat as she tries to determine who is behind a hate crime perpetrated against her friend. To get to the truth, Cat risks the alienation of her small Southern town. Ages 14 and up.

Thursday, May 19, 10:30 a.m.Rob ScottonSplish, Splash, Splat! (HarperCollins, $16.99)In his latest adventure, Splat watches while the rest of the class goes swimming. He’s alone on the sidelines—except for Spike, who is also afraid of the water. The two haven’t been friends, but now find they have something in

common. Can they bolster each other’s confidence enough to jump in the pool with the others? Ages 3-6.

Monday, May 23, 4 p.m.Michael ScottThe Warlock(Delacourt, $18.99)

In the fifth of the six-part Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, Sophie and Josh are separated, and Sophie must find an immortal to teach her Earth Magic. But Nicholas and Perenelle are growing weak-er....Scott, an authority on world mythology and folklore, has created a sophisticated fantasy that interweaves historical, mythic, and fictional characters into a thrilling plot. Ages 12-15.

Children and Teens’ Department

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May 2011

P & P book groups meet monthly, and are free and open to the public. Book group titles are 20% off for attendees. Read the book and join us!

Book Groups

• Capital James Joyce Club (1st Thursday, 7:30 p.m.)5/5: • Classics (1st Monday, 7:30 p.m.)5/2 The Nicomachean Ethics, Books 8 and 9, . by Aristotle• Daytime (3rd Wednesday, 12:30 p.m.)5/18: The Solitude of Prime Numbers, by Giordano• Evening Fiction (2nd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.)5/10: A Fine Balance, by Mistry• Fascinating History (4th Thursday, 7:30 p.m.)5/26: Truman, by McCullough • Futurist (1st Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.)5/4: Crisis Economics, by Roubini• Graphic Novel (4th Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.)5/25: The Fixer, by Sacco • Legacies of American Exceptionalism (3rd Monday 7:30)5/16: The Holder of the World, by Mukherjee

• Lez Read (2nd Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.)5/11: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, by Bechdel

• Poetry (4th Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.)5/24: The April Issue of Poetry Magazine • Public Affairs (4th Monday, 7:30 p.m.)5/23: • Science Fiction & Fantasy (2nd Thurs., 7:30 p.m.)5/12: Demolished Man, by Bester• Spanish Language (3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.)5/17: • Spirituality (3rd Sunday, 6 p.m.)5/15: • Teen (4th Sunday, 3:30 p.m.) 5/22: TBD• Travel (1st Tuesday, 7 p.m.) 5/3: The Discovery of France, by Robb

• Veterans Book Group (3rd Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) 5/19:

• Women’s Biography (2nd Monday, 7:30 p.m.) 5/9:

Photo Credits: Adam Hochschild - Spark Media, Arthur Phillips - Barbi Reed, Francine Prose - Stephanie Berger, David Bezmozgis - David Franco, Geraldine Brooks - Randi Baird, Melissa Fay Greene - Judith Augustine

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Sunday, May 1, 1 p.m.Joe Palca & Flora LichtmanAnnoying: The Science Of What Bugs Us (John Wiley, $25.95) Slow traffic. One persistent mosquito. Someone humming that awful song. These things get on our nerves, but why? Palca and

Lichtman, NPR science correspondent and voice of Science Friday, respectively, explore the psychology, evolutionary biology, and anthropology behind things that annoy us, and offer tips for man-aging irritation.

Sunday, May 1, 5 p.m.Elif ShafakBlack Milk (Viking, $25.95)

Shafak’s memoir explores creativity and mother-hood from the place where they collide. Author of two acclaimed novels, The Bastard of Istanbul and The Forty Rules of Love, Shafak stopped writ-ing after having a child; suffering from postpar-tum depression and doubting her art, Shafak turned to the experi-ences of other women writers—Plath, Woolf, Alice Walker—and regained her confidence in literature.

Monday, May 2, 7 p.m.Adina Hoffman & Peter ColeSacred Trash (Schocken, $26.95)

A geniza is a repository for worn out papers, and in 1896 Solomon Schechter, a Romanian-born Jewish intellectual, discovered in Cairo a remark-able trove of documents—wills, poems, letters, and more—chronicling medieval Mediterranean Jewish life. In their story of these “Living Sea Scrolls,” the authors, Jerusalem-based writers, meditate on the importance of the written word to Judaism.

Tuesday, May 3, 7 p.m.Manning Marable TributeMalcolm X (Viking, $30) Manning Marable was scheduled for tonight to present his eagerly awaited biography of Malcolm X. Sadly, Dr. Marable passed away on Friday, April 1, due to complications from pneumonia. The African-American studies pro-fessor was 60 years old. To honor his life and his

life’s work we will host a discussion with his friends, colleagues, and other authors. More information to come.

Wednesday, May 4, 7 p.m.David K. ShiplerThe Rights Of The People (Knopf, $27.95)

In the first of two volumes examining the Bill of Rights in contemporary America, Shipler, author of The Working Poor and Arab and Jew, focuses on the Fourth Amendment. He finds privacy rights violated by Bush-era warrantless wire-tapping, and in visits to minority neighborhoods witnesses how racial profil-ing regularly flouts the guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures.

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7 p.m.Alexandra StyronReading My Father

7 p.m.Michael Spence

The Next Convergence

7 p.m.Roy Blount, Jr.

Alphabetter Juice

7 p.m.Mary Gordon

The Love Of My Youth

7 p.m.Arthur Phillips

The Tragedy Of Arthur

7 p.m.Hannah Nordhaus

The Beekeeper’s Lament

7 p.m. Francine Prose

My New American Life

7 p.m.David Bezmozgis

The Free World

1 p.m.Brian Till

Conversations With Power

6 p.m.Frederick Kempe

Berlin, 1961

1 p.m.Amy Stolls

The Ninth Wife

5 p.m.Marc Kaufman

First Contact

1 p.m.Helon Habila

Oil On Water Christie Watson

Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

6 p.m.Tim Harford

Adapt

6 p.m.Matthew Algeo

The President Is A Sick Man

10:30 a.m.Rob Scotton

Splish, Splash, Splat!

7 p.m. Joel Achenbach

A Hole At The Bottom Of The Sea

1 p.m.Ron Capps &

ContributorsVeterans Writing Project

5 p.m.St. Albans School

Writers In Residence Writers Among Us

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday10:30 a.m.

Robbin GourleyFirst Garden

7 p.m.Alexi Zentner

Touch

1 p.m.Sophia Rosenfeld

Common Sense: A Political History

6 p.m.Miranda Kennedy

Sideways On A Scooter

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7 p.m.Sixth & I Historic Synagogue

Geraldine BrooksCaleb’s Crossing

7 p.m.Melissa Fay Greene

No Biking In The House Without A Helmet

7 p.m.Adam Hochschild

To End All Wars

7 p.m.The Bethesda Library

Lauren MyracleShine

7 p.m. Alexis Madrigal

Powering The Dream

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Memorial Day

7 p.m.Tayari Jones: Silver Sparrow

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7 p.m.Adina Hoffman &

Peter ColeSacred Trash

7 p.m.Manning Marable Tribute

Malcolm X

10:30 a.m.John Flanagan

The Emperor Of Nihon-Ja: Book 10

7 p.m.David Shipler

The Rights Of The People

10:30 a.m.Tom Lichtenheld

Cloudette

7 p.m.Michael &

Audrey LevatinoThe Joy Of Hobby Farming

1 p.m.Joe Palca &

Flora LichtmanAnnoying: The Science Of What

Bugs Us

5 p.m.Elif Shafak

Black Milk

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4 p.m.Michael Scott

The Warlock

7 p.m. Roméo Dallaire

They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children

Author Photo Credits

May 201120% off P&P Hardcover Bestsellersand all Event Titles for Members

throughout May

Mother’s Day

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May 2011Events Calendar

May

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Tuesday, May 3, 7 p.m.Manning Marable Tribute

Thursday, May 26, 7 p.m. Francine Prose

Friday, May 13, 7 p.m.David Bezmozgis

Wednesday, May 11, 7 p.m.Adam Hochschild

Monday, May 9, 7 p.m.Geraldine Brooks

Tuesday, May 24, 7 p.m.Arthur Phillips

Tuesday, May 10, 7 p.m.Melissa Fay Greene