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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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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 .

http://www.harvard.com

Rachel Louise Snyder: No Visible Bruises

Mon, May 13, 2019

In No Visible Bruises, journalist Rachel Louise Snyder gives context for what we don't know we're seeing. She frames this urgent and immersive account of the scale of domestic violence in our country around key stories that explode the common myths-that if things were bad enough, victims would just leave; that a violent person cannot become nonviolent; that shelter is an adequate response; and most insidiously that violence inside the home is a private matter, sealed from the public sphere and disconnected from other forms of violence. Through the stories of victims, perpetrators, law enforcement, and reform movements from across the country, Snyder explores the real roots of private violence, its far-reaching consequences for society, and what it will take to truly address it. Image: Book Cover

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The Feminism Movement for the Americas

Fri, Mar 29, 2019

UCLA Professor of History Katherine Marino chronicles the dawn of the global movement for women's rights in the first decades of the twentieth century. The founding mothers of this movement were not based primarily in the United States, however, or in Europe. Instead, Katherine M. Marino introduces readers to a cast of remarkable Latin American and Caribbean women whose deep friendships and intense rivalries forged global feminism out of an era of imperialism, racism, and fascism.

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John Waters: Mr. Know-It-All

Mon, May 20, 2019

John Waters, the man with the pencil-thin mustache, the auteur of the transgressive movie classics Pink Flamingos, Polyester, the original Hairspray, Cry-Baby, and A Dirty Shame. He comes to Cambridge now as Mr. Know-It-All. In a friendly chat with local author Alysia Abbott ([Fairyland](http://www.alysiaabbott.com/fairyland) ) he shares his wisdom about the strange ways of Hollywood; how to dress "disaster at the drycleaners"; how to tell someone you love them without emotional risk; and yes, how to cheat death itself. Image: Book cover

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The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution

Tue, May 7, 2019

The history of the Arab Spring, told from the eyes of Peter Hessler, who lived in Egypt during the years following the initial uprising. In the midst of the revolution, Hessler often traveled to digs at Amarna and Abydos, where locals live beside the tombs of kings and courtiers, a landscape that they call simply al-Madfuna: "the Buried. Hessler recountsh is efforts to learn the Arabic language, relating it back to his work in learning Chinese. They also befriended Peter's translator, a gay man struggling to find happiness in Egypt's homophobic culture.

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Bill McKibben: Falter

Wed, Apr 17, 2019

Bill McKibben discusses his book _Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?_ Thirty years after McKibben released his groundbreaking book _The End of Nature,_ the first book to alert us to global warming, he returns to evaluate the danger today: even as climate change shrinks the space where our civilization can exist, new technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics threaten to bleach away the variety of human experience. _Falter_ tells the story of these converging trends and of the ideological fervor that keeps us from bringing them under control. And then, drawing on his experience in building [350.org](http://https://350.org/) , the first truly global citizens movement to combat climate change, McKibben offers ways out of the trap. He warns us we're at a bleak moment in human history—and we must confront that bleakness or watch civilization falter. Image: book cover

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Democratic Discord in Schools: Cases and Commentaries in Educational Ethics

Fri, Apr 26, 2019

There is no easy answer to the question of how to teach children about democracy. How can teachers remain nonpartisan as they explain how the system works? "Democratic Discord in Schools" features eight cases of complex dilemmas drawn from real events designed to help educators practice the type of collaborative problem solving and civil discourse needed to meet these challenges of democratic education. Meira Levinson and Jacob Fray draw upon research methods developed in the[ Justice in Schools project](https://www.justiceinschools.org/) (https://www.justiceinschools.org/) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) to provide the tools needed by educators to practice the deliberative skills they need in order to find reasonable solutions to common ethical dilemmas in politically fraught times. Image: Book Cover

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This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution

Wed, Mar 13, 2019

In _This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution_, David Sloan Wilson writes a series of engaging stories—from the breeding of hens, to the timing of cataract surgeries, to the organization of an automobile plant. Through these stories he shows how an evolutionary worldview provides a practical toolkit for understanding not only genetic evolution, but also the fast-paced changes impacting our world and ourselves. What emerges is an incredibly empowering argument: if we can become wise managers of evolutionary processes, we can solve the problems of our age at all scales—from the efficacy of our groups, to our wellbeing as individuals, to our stewardship of the planet earth. Image: book cover

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Marlon James: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Thu, Feb 7, 2019

Author Marlon James, winner of the 2015 Man Booker Prize for his novel _A Brief History of Seven Killings,_ meets fans at the Harvard Book Store for a discussion of his new novel, _Black Leopard, Red Wolf,_ the first book in a highly anticipated fantasy trilogy. Critic [Lori Feathers gives praise and context](https://bookmarks.reviews/marlon-james-in-context/ "In Context website") to James's latest work: "...while _Black Leopard’s_ story takes place within various imagined African kingdoms, its myths, rituals and Patios-infused speech are that of the author’s native Jamaica. Many of Jamaica’s slaves came from Ghana, and they brought stories of the old ways and traditions of their Ashanti ancestors, notably the practice of sorcery (obeah) and witchcraft (myal), and the custom of female succession of tribal leaders. James uses this heritage to tremendous effect."

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Kim McLarin: Womanish

Wed, Feb 6, 2019

Author Kim McLarin explores identity in the modern day in her latest work _Womanish_. Born in 1964 and growing up as the first generation post the Civil Rights Movement, McLarin's collection of essays explores topics ranging from Divorce to the Obamas as she defines in rolls that make her American. McLarin's wit and power over her words brings her essays to life as she shares with the reader her life in the "Brown vs. Board" generation of Generation X. In thirteen essays, McLarin forms of a crossroad of her many identities in society as a black middle-aged woman. Image: [book cover](http://www.harvard.com/event/kim_mclarin/ "Book Cover")

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Lawrence Lessig: America, Compromised

Fri, Feb 1, 2019

In _America, Compromised_ Lawrence Lessig captures a snapshot of contemporary America and forms an argument on how the institutions of the American government have come to be the way they are. Throughout the book, Lessig shows that the modern problems plaguing corrupt political institutions cannot simply be blamed upon the "bad people" of society. Rather, Lessig argues that it is compromise that has brought down the American system. Image: [book cover](http://www.harvard.com/event/lawrence_lessig2/ "Book Cover")

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