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Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store is an independently run bookstore serving the greater Cambridge area. The bookstore is located in Harvard Square and has been family-owned since 1932. We are known for our extraordinary selection of new, used and remaindered books and for a history of innovation. In 2009, we introduced same-day "green delivery" and a book-making robot capable of printing and binding any of millions of titles in minutes. Find out more about us at www.harvard.com.

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Toxic Injustice: A Transnational History of Exposure and Struggle

Fri, May 8, 2015

Susanna Rankin Bohme tells an intriguing, multilayered history that spans fifty years, highlighting the transnational reach of corporations and social justice movements. The pesticide dibromochloropropane, known as DBCP, was developed by the chemical companies Dow and Shell in the 1950s to target wormlike, soil-dwelling creatures called nematodes. Despite signs that the chemical was dangerous, it was widely used in U.S. agriculture and on Chiquita and Dole banana plantations in Central America. In the late 1970s, DBCP was linked to male sterility, but an uneven regulatory process left many workers—especially on Dole’s banana farms—exposed for years after health risks were known. Susanna Rankin Bohme tells an intriguing, multilayered history that spans fifty years, highlighting the transnational reach of corporations and social justice movements. Toxic Injustice links health inequalities and worker struggles as it charts how people excluded from workplace and legal protections have found ways to challenge power structures and seek justice from states and transnational corporations alike.

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Viet Thanh Nguyen: The Sympathizer

Mon, May 4, 2015

A profound, startling, and beautifully crafted debut, The Sympathizer is the story of a man of two minds, someone whose political beliefs clash with his individual loyalties. It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that one among their number, the captain, is secretly observing and reporting on the group to a higher-up in the Viet Cong. The Sympathizer is the story of this captain: a man brought up by an absent French father and a poor Vietnamese mother, a man who went to university in America, but returned to Vietnam to fight for the Communist cause. A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story, The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today.

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T.C. Boyle reads from The Harder They Come: A Novel

Wed, Apr 22, 2015

Award-winning author **T.C. Boyle** read from his book, _The Harder They Come_, a gripping novel that explores the roots of violence and anti-authoritarianism inherent in the American character. Set in contemporary Northern California, _The Harder They Come_ explores the volatile connections between three damaged people as they careen toward an explosive confrontation: an aging ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran, his psychologically unstable son, and the son’s paranoid, much-older lover. On a cruise to Central America, seventy-year-old Sten Stensen unflinchingly kills an armed robber menacing a busload of tourists. The reluctant hero is relieved to return home to Fort Bragg, California, only to find that his delusional son, Adam, has spiraled out of control. Adam has become involved with Sara, a hardened member of a right-wing anarchist group that refuses to acknowledge the laws of the state. Adam’s senior by some fifteen years, she becomes his protector and inamorata. As Adam’s mental state fractures, he becomes increasingly delusional until a schizophrenic breakdown leads him to shoot two people. On the run, he takes to the woods, spurring the biggest manhunt in California history. As T.C. Boyle explores a father’s legacy of violence and his powerlessness in relating to his equally violent son, he offers unparalleled insights into the American psyche. Inspired by a true story, _The Harder They Come_ is a devastating and indelible novel from a modern master. [Photo Credit:Nicoleleec](https://www.flickr.com/photos/51550312@N08/4733445650/in/photolist-fcAAnG-fcmo1z-fcm6zg-mb3pJ-dqbGq-9CtiE8-38zrX-aDJi1k-KXLQ6-2wxmae-FZdey-FZatQ-9bxgaV-iZxAtU-5DjWwR-8A1cA-hyFzCB-37Tp3m-8QKuz4-6ZUsXF-77GvPC-bFixoe-fCoaKz-fChRex-4zA269-aDJiXz-4f5qQe-8dh9tU-9Dmtu-fm1EEs-hjbY9-4ZD9tp-kN773-be2czc-ahgdG4-N3fwr-rbiH4E-masJP-pMVg-6Aih9-5Dw4KX-deKK9Z-9QSAiP-dzdDag-mAG98y-4jiiNU-5Jgimy-5SVpcv-bvQqEW-5PpMa2/ "")

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Stiglitz on Economic Inequality

Mon, Apr 20, 2015

In The Great Divide, Joseph E. Stiglitz expands on the diagnosis he offered in his best-selling book The Price of Inequality and suggests ways to counter America’s growing problem. With his signature blend of clarity and passion, Stiglitz argues that inequality is a choice—the cumulative result of unjust policies and misguided priorities. Gathering his writings for popular outlets including Vanity Fair and the New York Times, Stiglitz exposes in full America's inequality: its dimensions, its causes, and its consequences for the nation and for the world. From Reagan-era policies to the Great Recession and its long aftermath, Stiglitz delves into the irresponsible policies—deregulation, tax cuts, and tax breaks for the 1 percent—that are leaving many Americans farther and farther beyond and turning the American dream into an ever more unachievable myth. With formidable yet accessible economic insight, he urges us to embrace real solutions: increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthy; offering more help to the children of the poor; investing in education, science, and infrastructure; helping out homeowners instead of banks; and, most importantly, doing more to restore the economy to full employment. Stiglitz also draws lessons from Scandinavia, Singapore, and Japan, and he argues against the tide of unnecessary, destructive austerity that is sweeping across Europe. Ultimately, Stiglitz believes our choice is not between growth and fairness; with the right policies, we can choose both. His complaint is not so much about capitalism as such, but how twenty-first-century capitalism has been perverted. His is a call to confront America's economic inequality as the political and moral issue that it is. If we reinvest in people and pursue the other policies that he describes, America can live up to the shared dream of a more prosperous, more equal society. [Photo Credit: By Simon Cunningham](https://www.flickr.com/photos/lendingmemo/11942712503/in/photolist-jckwmg-qFmenb-oX3g7C-pSsrNB-qrbJBb-g71SpA-2u4aL6-7veker-qJLtyC-p5cV1Q-qpKJsK-qFncAU-pCePef-qtUr1y-6SLgow-qx59A5-5Zavff-7nSQGU-6SG5x6-p73j5k-5Z5XyV-pLQTVx-6SM3sH-qt3MF8-dRTfQ8-qK4Nht-qrcS7N-qgEsT7-6SL8qf-8tCDCQ-oDYXGK-kmJAkG-bWAzwc-oHnL38-87CPtH-6SLAxu-3pNxqp-dpN1CB-fAk1UZ-dBjFpg-aSqw2a-7BVqXG-5kJguG-dQTyck-4TsueN-6SGiga-aqe4GL-igvPYh-32Y5v2-bWCco8 "")

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Peter Singer: How Effective Altruism Is Changing Ideas About Living Ethically

Mon, Apr 13, 2015

Harvard Book Store and Oxfam America presented acclaimed ethicist **Peter Singer** for a discussion of his latest book, _The Most Good You Can Do: How Effective Altruism Is Changing Ideas About Living Ethically._ Peter Singer’s books and ideas have been disturbing our complacency ever since the appearance of _Animal Liberation_. Now he directs our attention to a new movement in which his own ideas have played a crucial role: effective altruism. This movement is built upon the simple but profound idea that living a fully ethical life involves doing the "most good you can do." Such a life requires an unsentimental view of charitable giving: to be a worthy recipient of our support, an organization must be able to demonstrate that it will do more good with our money or our time than other options open to us. Singer introduces us to an array of remarkable people who are restructuring their lives in accordance with these ideas, and shows how living altruistically often leads to greater personal fulfillment than living for oneself.

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Why Do People Deny Climate Change?

Wed, Sep 3, 2014

George Marshall visited the Harvard Book Store to discuss his book, _Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change._ Marshall explains why he believes climate change is "the perfect crime" and why the innate psychology of human beings is inhibiting our ability to understand and accurately confront climate change. Having interviewed leaders in social psychology, Marshall discusses the importance of reframing views of climate change for those who still deny its existence.

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Barney Frank, Partisan Democrat

Tue, Mar 24, 2015

How did a disheveled, intellectually combative gay Jew with a thick accent become one of the most effective (and funniest) politicians of our time? Growing up in Bayonne, New Jersey, the fourteen-year-old **Barney Frank** made two vital discoveries about himself: he was attracted to government, and to men. He resolved to make a career out of the first attraction and to keep the second a secret. Now, fifty years later, his sexual orientation is widely accepted, while his belief in government is embattled. _Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage_ is one man’s account of the country’s transformation—and the tale of a truly momentous career. Many Americans recall Frank’s lacerating wit, whether it was directed at the Clinton impeachment (“What did the president touch, and when did he touch it?”) or the pro-life movement (some people believe “life begins at conception and ends at birth”). But the contours of his private and public lives are less well-known. For more than four decades, he was at the center of the struggle for personal freedom and economic fairness. From the battle over AIDS funding in the 1980s to the debates over “big government” during the Clinton years to the 2008 financial crisis, the congressman from Massachusetts played a key role. In 2010, he coauthored the most far-reaching and controversial Wall Street reform bill since the era of the Great Depression, and helped bring about the repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell."

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Nina MacLaughlin: Hammerhead

Mon, Mar 16, 2015

Former Boston Phoenix editor Nina MacLaughlin discusses her book _Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter_—a book for anyone who has ever dreamed of changing tracks: the story of a young woman who quit her desk job to become a carpenter. (Photo: [Vicky Hugheston/Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/vicky_dom/ ""))

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The Future of Violence: Robots, Germs, Hackers and Drones

Fri, Mar 13, 2015

From drone warfare in the Middle East to digital spying by the National Security Agency, the U.S. government has harnessed the power of cutting-edge technology to awesome effect. But what happens when ordinary people have the same tools at their fingertips? Advances in cybertechnology, biotechnology, and robotics mean that more people than ever before have access to potentially dangerous technologies—from drones to computer networks and biological agents—which could be used to attack states and private citizens alike. Law and security expert **Gabriella Blum** details the myriad possibilities, challenges, and enormous risks present in the modern world, and argue that if our national governments can no longer adequately protect us from harm, they will lose their legitimacy.

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Bruce Schneier: Why We Should Reform Surveillance Policies

Wed, Mar 4, 2015

You are under surveillance right now. Your cell phone provider tracks your location and knows who’s with you. Your online and in-store purchasing patterns are recorded, and reveal if you're unemployed, sick, or pregnant. Your e-mails and texts expose your intimate and casual friends. Google knows what you’re thinking because it saves your private searches. Facebook can determine your sexual orientation without you ever mentioning it. The powers that surveil us do more than simply store this information. Corporations use surveillance to manipulate not only the news articles and advertisements we each see, but also the prices we’re offered. Governments use surveillance to discriminate, censor, chill free speech, and put people in danger worldwide. And both sides share this information with each other or, even worse, lose it to cybercriminals in huge data breaches. Much of this is voluntary: we cooperate with corporate surveillance because it promises us convenience, and we submit to government surveillance because it promises us protection. The result is a mass surveillance society of our own making. But have we given up more than we’ve gained? In _Data and Goliath_, **Bruce Schneier** offers another path, one that values both security and privacy. He shows us exactly what we can do to reform our government surveillance programs and shake up surveillance-based business models, while also providing tips for you to protect your privacy every day. You'll never look at your phone, your computer, your credit cards, or even your car in the same way again. (Photo: [nolifebeforecoffee/Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nolifebeforecoffee "")) **Of similar interest:** Watch the **Frontline** story on government surveillance and the companies who are compliant in sharing your data. [United States of Secrets.](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/united-states-of-secrets/ "Frontline: United States of Secrets")

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