Love & Strife: The Life of Saul Bellow–A Reading by Biographer Zachary Leader

Zachary Leader will read from the newly published second and final volume of his biography of Saul Bellow, widely regarded as one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and three National Book Awards for Fiction, Bellow taught at Boston University between 1993 and 2003. Sven Birkerts, editor of Agni, will introduce Leader. A reception and book-signing will follow. (Further information about Leader’s new book appears here: https://goo.gl/LZYkVp.)

Acclaimed Author JEFFERSON MORLEY on “The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton”

Boston University hosts JEFFERSON MORLEY, author of The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton. 

JEFFERSON MORLEY is a journalist and editor who has worked in Washington journalism for over thirty years, fifteen of which were spent as an editor and reporter at The Washington Post. The author of Our Man in Mexico, a biography of the CIA’s Mexico City station chief Winston Scott, Morley has written about intelligence, military, and political subjects for Salon, The Atlantic, and The Intercept, among other publications. He is the editor of the blog JFK Facts.

About The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton:

“The Ghost is the compulsively readable, often bizarre true-life story of American spymaster James Jesus Angleton. Capturing the extent of Angleton’s eccentricity, duplicity and alcohol-fueled paranoia would have challenged the writing skills of a Le Carre or Ludlum, and Jeff Morley has done it with flair.”  – Philip Shenon, author of A Cruel and Shocking Act

“Americans are finally coming to know the Cold War spymasters and other hidden figures who lived their lives in secrecy while shaping our national destiny. The Ghost reveals a fascinating chapter of this hidden history. It is a chilling look at the global power that is wielded in Washington by people who are never known–until a book comes out to spill their secrets.” – Stephen Kinzer, author of The Brothers

Mr. Morley will sign copies of his book following the talk. Books will be available for purchase.

HENRY LOUIS GATES Jr. at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store welcomes HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.—the founding Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, author or co-author of twenty-one books, and Emmy Award-winning creator fifteen documentary films—for a discussion of The Portable Nineteenth-Century African American Women Writers, a landmark collection documenting the social, political, and artistic lives of African American women throughout nineteenth century. Professor Gates will be in conversation with EVELYN BROOKS HIGGINBOTHAM, the Victor S. Thomas Professor of History and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University.

This event is not ticketed

The Portable Nineteenth-Century African American Women Writers will be on sale at the event for 20% off.

This event is co-sponsored by the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University.

Biographer MARK SCHNEIDER on Gerry Studs: America’s First Openly Gay Congressman

Porter Square Books welcomes biographer MARK ROBERT SCHNEIDER with his biography of the first openly gay congressman Gerry Studds, who served the Massachusetts South Shore, Cape Cod, and New Bedford congressional district from 1973 to 1997.

On the floor of Congress, Studds confessed to having behaved inappropriately and then courageously declared that he was a gay man— becoming the country’s first openly gay member of Congress.  Defying all expectations, Studds won reelection in a bruising campaign.  For the rest of his career, he remained loyal to his constituents’ concerns while also championing AIDS research and care, leading the effort in Congress to allow gays and lesbians to serve in the military, and opposing the Defense of Marriage Act.  Once a deeply conflicted man, he ultimately found a balance between his public service and his private life, which included a happy, legally recognized marriage.

This event is not ticketed.

Listen: How Pete Seeger Got America Singing by LEDA SCHUBERT

Porter Square Books welcomes children’s books author LEDA SCHUBERT with her literary tribute to Pete Seeger, American folk singer and social activist who spoke/sang to support international disarmament, civil rights, counterculture, and environmental causes.

In this gorgeously written and illustrated tribute to legendary musician and activist Pete Seeger, author LEDA SCHUBERT highlights major musical events in Mr. Seeger’s life as well important moments of his fight against social injustice. From singing sold-out concerts to courageously standing against the McCarthy-era finger-pointing, Pete Seeger’s life is celebrated in this bold book for young readers with gorgeous illustrations by Raul Colon.

This event is not ticketed.

 

JAMES MCGRATH MORRIS on Hemingway and Dos Passos During WW1

Harvard Book Store and Mass Humanities are joined by bestselling biographer JAMES MCGRATH MORRIS—author of the National Book Prize–winning Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, The First Lady of the Black Press and Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power—for a discussion of his latest book, The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and a Friendship Made and Lost in War.

After meeting for the first time on the front lines of World War I, two aspiring writers forge an intense twenty-year friendship and write some of America’s greatest novels, giving voice to a “lost generation” shaken by war.

Eager to find his way in life and words, John Dos Passos first witnessed the horror of trench warfare in France as a volunteer ambulance driver retrieving the dead and seriously wounded from the front line. Later in the war, he briefly met another young writer, Ernest Hemingway, who was just arriving for his service in the ambulance corps.

This event is co-sponsored by Mass Humanities

This book will be for sale at the event for 20% off.  There will also be a signing after the event.

No tickets required for attendance.