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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

Funding provided by:

Georgia Center for the Book

Founded in 1920, the Georgia Center for the Book, based at the DeKalb County Public Library, is the statewide affiliate of the Library of Congress with a mission of serving libraries, literacy and literature. We sponsor two popular literary competitions for students, develop and encourage programming for and other literary-related organizations and sponsor some 90 literary programs each year, bringing more than 125 authors to metro Atlanta and the state for free public events.

http://www.georgiacenterforthebook.org

Civil War Wives

Mon, Oct 12, 2009

Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor at Baruch College in New York, discusses her revelatory new book, *Civil War Wives*. It focuses on the life and times of three wives -- Julia Dent Grant,wife Of U.S. Grant, Varina Howell Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis, and Angelina Grimke Weld, American politician, lawyer, abolitionist and suffragist -- whose lives offer a unique window on to our national past. Berkin's many notable books include *Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence*, and *A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution*.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Jane Mendelsohn: American Music

Mon, Jun 21, 2010

Jane Mendelsohn, author of The New York Times’ bestselling novel *I Was Amelia Earhart*, discusses her new book, *American Music*. It’s a luminous love story centering on Milo, a severely wounded Iraq war veteran, and Honor, a former dancer who is now his physical therapist. Whenever she touches his damaged back, mysterious images from the past appear to both Milo and Honor, ultimately revealing the source of their growing love.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Joshilyn Jackson: Backseat Saints

Tue, Jun 29, 2010

Joshilyn Jacson was a finalist for the Townsend Award for Fiction, and her wonderful novel *The Girl Who Stopped Swimming* was selected as one of the Center for the Book’s 2010 ”25 Books All Georgians Should Read.” She talks about her brand new novel, *Backseat Saints*. It’s a can’t-put-it-down story about love, survival and shedding the past that features a memorable new voice: the tough, passionate and funny Rose Mae Lolly. She’s arguably the best character Jackson has ever come up with and is perfect for a book that is both high spirited and darker than her previous novels *Gods in Alabama* and *Between Georgia*.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Jon Clinch: Kings of the Earth

Mon, Jul 12, 2010

Jon Clinch, author of the prize-winning debut novel *Finn*, an original work drawn from Mark Twain that focused on Huckleberry Finn’s brutal father, discusses another imaginative work, *Kings of the Earth*. It’s a gripping and haunting story of life, death and family in rural America. Centered on three brothers, one of whom dies in his sleep, the surviving brothers are suspected of murder. Told in a chorus of distinctive voices that span a generation, the novel examines the bonds of family and blood, faith and suspicion that link not just the brothers but their community as well. Critics call it ”blunt and brutal yet beautifully told, a classic tale of family kinship twisted askew.” Clinch is a native of New York now living in Pennsylvania whose work has appeared in a number of literary magazines.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Jane Green: Promises to Keep

Fri, Jun 25, 2010

Jane Green, the bestselling author of 11 popular novels discusses a compelling new novel just right for summer reading, *Promises to Keep*. It’s the story of one remarkable summer in Maine when the lives of several families intersect, and what happens when you have to be your parent’s child long after you’ve grown up. The novel focuses on enduring love, building relationships and making tough decisions, the challenges we all have to face. Green has won acclaim for her novels which include such favorites as *The Beach House, Babyville, Dune Road* and* Second Chance*

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Georgia Center for the Book
Tom Harbin: Waking Up Blind

Wed, Jul 7, 2010

Dr. Tom Harbin has been practicing ophthalmology with a specialty in glaucoma in Atlanta for more than 30 years and is a Clinical Professor Emeritus at Emory University. His new book, *Waking Up Blind: Lawsuits Over Eye Surgery*, is an eye-opening (pun intended) look at a highly respected surgeon’s terrible mistake and how it was covered up by the leadership of a major academic medical center: Emory University. Through the use of court documents, transcripts of tape-recorded conversations, interviews and personal observations, Dr. Harbin examines the case in detail, uncovering all levels of wrongdoing and secrecy that will surprise you.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Helena Andrews: Bitch is the New Black

Thu, Jul 15, 2010

Helena Andrews is young, smart, successful and black. She's an Ivy League graduate with great jobs who finds herself asking, ”Can a strong, successful and single black woman ever find love?” The answer comes in her hilarious, tell-it-like-it-is new book, *Bitch is the New Black*, whose title comes from a now-famous Saturday Night Live sketch and writer-comedienne Tina Fey. Already optioned as a feature film, the book deftly captures the author’s lively spirit as she describes growing up with her pot-smoking mother, navigating a mostly white workplace and getting a date with one of President Obama’s body guards, Reggie Love.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Rafe Esquith: Lighting Their Fires

Mon, Aug 2, 2010

Rafe Esquith is the only teacher to have been awarded the President’s Medal of the Arts and is the author of the bestseller, *Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire*. Rafe Esquith teaches in Los Angeles, and his super-successful, inspirational teaching methods have helped thousands of children maximize their potential. His new book is *Lighting Their Fires: Raising Extraordinary Children*, a book that enlarges on his themes and shows us how to make our kids not just great students but thoughtful and honorable citizens.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Charles E. Cobb Jr.: On the Road to Freedom

Tue, Feb 19, 2008

Charles E. Cobb Jr., a prominent black journalist and reporter for NPR and PBS' *Frontline*, discusses *On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail*. The book is a guide to over 400 historic sites in America linked to the Civil Right Movement.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Kurt Andersen: Heyday

Wed, Jan 16, 2008

Kurt Andersen, author of *Turn of the Century*, a cofounder of *Spy* magazine and former columnist for *Time* and *The New Yorker*, discusses his new novel, *Heyday*. Set in the midst of the 19th century, the book explores America's coming of age with a handful of memorable characters discovering the nature of freedom and true love. Andersen hosts the award-winning public radio program, *Studio 360*.

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Georgia Center for the Book