Forum Network

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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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Collaborate or Perish! Reaching Across Boundaries in a Networked World

Wed, Feb 1, 2012

"In *Collaborate or Perish!*, William Bratton and Zachary Tumin lay out a field-tested playbook for collaborating across the boundaries of our new, networked world. Today, when everyone is connected, collaboration is the game changer. Agencies and firms, citizens and groups who can collaborate, Bratton and Tumin argue, will thrive in the networked world; those who can't are doomed to perish. Boston native William Bratton is known around the world for his ability to get citizens, governments, and industries working together to improve the safety of cities. At Harvard, Zachary Tumin has led executives from government and industry in sessions and classrooms for over a decade. Together, they draw on in-depth accounts from Fortune 100 companies, and the education, social work, and military sectors to discuss the keys to effective collaboration. "

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Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are

Tue, Feb 7, 2012

Neuroscientist Sebastian Seung discusses his book *Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are*. Seung is at the forefront of a revolution in neuroscience. He believes that our identity lies not in our genes, but in the connections between our brain cells' and our own particular wiring. Seung and a dedicated group of researchers are leading the effort to map these connections, neuron by neuron, synapse by synapse -- a development previously unobtainable due to the incredible computing power needed. The result would be a map of the brain's activity referred to as the ""connectome"", analogous to the genome. Seung and his colleagues hope to reveal a more complete understanding of the brain's workings, uncovering the basis of personality, identity, intelligence, memory, and perhaps disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.

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Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child

Tue, Sep 11, 2012

Award-winning author Bob Spitz discusses his new biography, "Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child," presented by Harvard Book Store. This definitive account of Julia Child's life includes extensive research from Julia's diaries and letters, as well as anecdotes from Spitz's friendship with her. Here, Spitz relates poignant and amusing stories about the host of The French Chef, such as her struggle to find direction early in life, her dedication to perfecting technique, her no-frills entertaining style, and how she lived to savor gourmet cuisine, up through her very last days. Recorded 9/11/12. More lectures at http://forum-network.org

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Dennis Thompson - The Spirit of Compromise: Why Governing Demands It and Campaigning Undermines It

Tue, May 15, 2012

If politics is the art of the possible, then compromise is the artistry of democracy. Unless one partisan ideology holds sway over all branches of government, compromise is necessary to govern for the benefit of all citizens. A rejection of compromise biases politics in favor of the status quo, even when the rejection risks crisis. Why then is compromise so difficult in American politics today? In _The Spirit of Compromise_, eminent political thinkers Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson connect the rejection of compromise to the domination of campaigning over governing 'the permanent campaign' in American democracy today. They show that campaigning for political office calls for a mindset that blocks compromise, standing tenaciously on principle to mobilize voters and mistrusting opponents in order to defeat them. Good government calls for an opposite cluster of attitudes and arguments 'the compromising mindset' that inclines politicians to adjust their principles and to respect their opponents. It is a mindset that helps politicians appreciate and take advantage of opportunities for desirable compromise. Calling for greater cooperation in contemporary politics, _The Spirit of Compromise_ will interest all who care about whether their government leaders can work together. Photo: [By HHSgov [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/HHS_Secretary_Kathleen_Sebelius_shakes_hands_with_former_HHS_Secretary_Tommy_Thompson%2C_as_White_House_Health_Reform_Director_Nancy_Ann_DeParle%2C_former_Senate_Majority_Leader_Tom_Daschle%2C_and_Dr._Mark_McClellan_look_on.jpg "")

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Natalie Hopkinson - Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City

Fri, Sep 28, 2012

Contributing editor to TheRoot.com Natalie Hopkinson discusses her new book, "Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City." Presented by Harvard Book Store and the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute. Go-go is the conga drum--inflected black popular music that emerged in Washington, D.C., during the 1970s. The guitarist Chuck Brown, the "Godfather of Go-Go," created the music by mixing sounds borrowed from church and the blues with the funk and flavor that he picked up playing for a local Latino band. Born in the inner city, amid the charred ruins of the 1968 race riots, go-go generated a distinct culture and an economy of independent, almost exclusively black-owned businesses that sold tickets to shows and recordings of live go-gos. Here, Hopkinson discusses her social history of black Washington, D.C. told through its go-go music and culture.

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Junot Diaz: This is How You Lose Her

Wed, Sep 26, 2012

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz reads from his new collection of stories, "This Is How You Lose Her, " presented by Harvard Book Store and Boston Review. Additionally, Diaz takes audience questions and discusses race relations in Boston, his writing process and inspiration for his characters, pursuing art as a career, and more. Includes some strong language, NSFW.

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Steven Johnson - Future Perfect: The Case For Progress In A Networked Age

Fri, Sep 28, 2012

Steven Johnson discusses his new book,"Future Perfect: The Case For Progress In A Networked Age," presented by Harvard Book Store. The author of "Where Good Ideas Come From," and "Everything Bad Is Good For You," Johnson argues here that a new model of political change is on the rise, transforming everything from local governments to classrooms, from protest movements to health care. Johnson paints a compelling portrait of this new class of organization, which he calls a "peer network" -- interconnected webs of individuals that accomplish tasks and solve problems, sometimes over long periods of time. While they may interact with businesses, organizations, or governments, they are a distinct type of social structure that doesn't neatly fit with liberal or conservative economic and governmental models.

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Daniel Kantstroom - Aftermath: Deportation Law and the New American Diaspora

Fri, Sep 21, 2012

Daniel Kantstroom discusses his latest book, "Aftermath: Deportation Law and the New American Diaspora," presented by Harvard Book Store and Amnesty International. Since 1996, when new deportation laws went into effect, the U.S. has deported millions of noncitizens back to their countries of origin. While the rights of immigrants as well as the appropriate pathway to legal status are the subject of much debate, little attention had been paid to what happens to deportees once they leave. Kantstroom argues that the U.S. has fostered a new diaspora of deportees, many of whom are alone and isolated, with strong ties to their former communities in the U.S. Introduction by Joshua Rubenstein of Amnesty International.

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Gary Shteyngart: Little Failure, A Memoir

Thu, Jan 23, 2014

"Harvard Book Store and the Harvard Advocate are pleased to welcome back the bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story, Gary Shteyngart, for a reading and discussion of his memoir, Little Failure. After three acclaimed novels, Gary Shteyngart turns to memoir in a candid, witty, deeply poignant account of his life so far. Shteyngart shares his American immigrant experience, moving back and forth through time and memory with self-deprecating humor, moving insights, and literary bravado. The result is a resonant story of family and belonging that feels epic and intimate and distinctly his own. Provocative, hilarious, and inventive, Little Failure reveals a deeper vein of emotion in Gary Shteyngart's prose. It is a memoir of an immigrant family coming to America, as told by a lifelong misfit who forged from his imagination an essential literary voice and, against all odds, a place in the world."

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Isabel Allende: Ripper

Tue, Jan 28, 2014

"Harvard Book Store is pleased to welcome New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende for a reading of her novel, Ripper. Learn more about the fast-paced mystery involving a brilliant teenage sleuth who must unmask a serial killer in San Francisco. Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of many bestselling novels, including, Ines of My Soul, Zorro, Portrait in Sepia, and Daughter of Fortune. She has also written a collection of stories; three memoirs, The Sum of Our Days, My Invented Country, and Paula; and a trilogy of young adult novels. Her books have been translated into more than 27 languages and have become bestsellers across four continents. In 2004 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

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