July Not Fiction Book Discussions

In This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust, we learn that more than 600,000 soldiers lost their lives in the American Civil War, and that an equivalent number of today's population would be six million. As we approach the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War, Faust, president of Harvard Universiy and Lincoln Professor of History, helps readers understand that this unprecedented loss of life was the defining characteristic of the war, for individuals and for the nation. Surveying both the practical--how to account for and bury the dead--and the philosophical--how to reconcile abrupt and violent death with with a tradition of dying a Good Death reunited with a loving God, Faust argues that "[d]eath created the modern American union--not just by ensuring national survival, but by shaping enduring national structures and commitments."

Within a month of its publication in January 2008, This Republic of Suffering sold 35,000 copies and reached 7th on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list and 30th on the Amazon.com bestseller list, according to an article in The Boston Globe--remarkable sales for an academic title about a grim historical subject. What could account for readers' interest? It could be that Faust recently had been appointed president of Harvard, the first woman to serve in that position. However, it also could be that the book provides a humanistic view of the American Civil War, not just an account of who won and why, but insight into the universal topic of what Faust calls "the work of death." In her Preface she writes, "It is work to die, to know how to approach and endure life's last moments. Of all living things, only humans consciously anticipate death: the consequent need to choose how to behave in its face--to worry about how to die--distinguishes us from other animals. The need to manage death is the particular lot of humanity." She offers insight into the irony that a war fought over the South's bid to secede from the United States created a stronger, more centralized union. We all, North and South, were united by the sacrifice of that war.

A theme for this year's discussions is Malcolm Gladwell's theory of success outlined in his book Outliers: The Story of Success. In what ways had our young nation practiced "the work of death"? And in what ways was it the right cultural moment for our union to succeed?

We hope you will join our discussion--Tuesday, July 6, at 6:30 p.m. at Main Library; Thursday, July 22, at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library; or here on the blog--of this original work that Newsweek calls "one of those groundbreaking histories in which a crucial piece of the past previously overlooked or misunderstood, suddenly clicks into focus."

June Not Fiction Book Discussions

We invite you to join us for a discussion of Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species by Sean B. Carroll. Carroll, Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Wisconsin, tells the stories of the most dramatic expeditions and important discoveries of the last two centuries of natural history, from the epic journeys of pioneering naturalists like Charles S. Darwin to the microscopic work of scientists in laboratories who investigate molecular genetics.

The publication of Carroll's book marks the anniversaries of several milestones in natural history and evolutionary science: Charles Darwin's 200th birthday, the 150th anniversary of the publication of his On the Origin of Species, the 150th anniversary of a paper presented by Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace to the Linnean Society in London on the theory of natural selection, the 100th anniversary of Charles Walcott's discovery of the remarkable animals of the Burgess Shale, and the 50th anniversary of Mary and Louis Leakey's first ancient hominid find.

In introducing his book, Carroll says, "We will encounter many amazing creatures of the past and present, but the most remarkable creatures in these stories are the men and women. They are, without exception, remarkable people who have experienced and accomplished extraordinary things. . . . The people in these stories followed their dreams--to travel to far-away lands, to see wild and exotic places, to collect beautiful, rare, or strange animals, or to find the remains of extinct beasts or human ancestors. Very few started out with any notion of great achievement or fame. Several lacked formal education or training. Rather, they were driven by a passion to explore nature, and they were willing, sometimes eager, to take great risks to pursue their dreams. Many faced the perils of traveling long distances by sea. Some confronted the extreme climates of deserts, jungles, or the Arctic. Many left behind skeptical and anxious loved ones, and a few endured years of unimaginable loneliness. Their triumphs were much more than survival and the collecting of specimens from around the world. A few pioneers, provoked by a riot of diversity beyond their wildest imaginations, were transformed from collectors into scientists. They posed and pondered the most fundamental questions about Nature. Their answers sparked a revolution that changed, profoundly and forever, our perception of the living world and our place within it." In our discussions, we will consider the qualities and experiences that these remarkable people had or have in common. Was or is their success due, as Malcolm Gladwell suggests in his book Outliers: The Story of Success, to opportunity, to time spent practicing their discipline, and to being born in the right cultural place and time? Is there some other essential quality, such as curiosity or openness to seeing the world in a new way, that underlies their experience?

You can join the conversation Tuesday, June 1, at 6:30 p.m. at Main Library, Thursday, June 17, at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library, or here on the blog.

Read about some species' remarkable adaptive changes in Carroll's monthly feature Remarkable Creatures for the New York Times Science Times.

May Not Fiction Book Discussions

Journalist and recreational runner Christopher McDougall's epic adventure Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen began with a simple question: "Why does my foot hurt?" Finding the answer led him through the dangerous terrain of Mexico's Copper Canyon in search of the running secrets of the reclusive Tarahumara Indians, into the competitive and quirky world of ultrarunning, to consultations with sports medicine experts and high-tech science labs at Harvard, and ultimately to the race of his life. With humor, enthusiasm, and humility, McDougall argues that we are all born to run. In an interview with his publisher, McDougall says, "I think ultrarunning is America's hope for the future. Honestly. The ultrarunners have got a hold of some powerful wisdom. You can see it at the starting line of any ultra race. I showed up at the Leadville Trail 100 expecting to see a bunch of hollow-eyed Skeletors, and instead it was, 'Whoah! Get a load of the hotties!' Ultra runners tend to be amazingly healthy, youthful and - believe it or not - good looking. I couldn't figure out why, until one runner explained tht throughout history, the four basic ingredients for optimal health have been clean air, good food, fresh water, and low stress. And that, to a T, describes the daily life of an ultrarunner. They're out in the woods for hours at a time, breathing pine-scented breezes, eating small bursts of digestible food, downing water by the gallons, and feeling their stress melt away with the miles. But here's the real key to that kingdom: you have to relax and enjoy the run" (http://www.randomhouse.com/) A reviewer for Booklist calls Born to Run "slyly important." What could this story about a sports event for outliers of the running world have to say to the average reader?

To catch up with Christopher McDougall and Caballo Blanco, read their interviews on the Outside blog: http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2010/02/born-to-run-christopher-mcdougall-interview.html and http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2010/03/born-to-run-caballo-blanco-interview.html.

To learn more about a new nonprofit, Norawas de Raramuri, or Friends of the Tarahumara, that works to support local and international foot races that will celebrate and encourage the Raramuri running culture and benefit Raramuri communities, visit http://www.norawas.org/.

April Not Fiction Book Discussions

One of the most inspiring books we have read for our Not Fiction Book Discussions is Mountains Beyond Mountains by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder, the story of Dr. Paul Farmer and his quest to provide free, dignified health care for people in Haiti and beyond with his nonprofit organization Partners In Health. In his new book, Strength in What Remains, Kidder tells the story of a young man who worked for Farmer at Partners In Health, a hero for our times. Deogratias, a medical student from Burundi, survived civil war and genocide in Burundi and Rwanda and fled to America, where he found himself homeless, plagued by nightmares of the violence he had witnessed, and with no English. The story of how he met strangers who would help him find his way to medical school and of how, with great hope and forgiveness, he established a medical clinic in Burundi, "transcends the moment and becomes as powerful and compelling as those journeys of myth" (Jonathan Harr). Kidder writes, "When Deo first told me about his beginnings in New York, I had a simple thought: 'I would not have survived.'" What were the ingredients in Deo's almost mythical ability not just to survive but to transcend? Providence? Character? Experience? The coincidence of meeting the right people at the right time? And what can we learn from this great story of our times?

We invite you to join our discussions: Tuesday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Main Library; Thursday, April 22 at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library; or here on the blog.

To learn more about Partners in Health, Paul Farmer's nonprofit, visit http://www.pih.org/.

To learn more about Village Health Works, Deogratias' nonprofit, which has served more than 28,000 patients since opening its doors in December 2007, visit http://www.villagehealthworks.org/.

Time change for Main Library Not Fiction Book Discussions

Charleston County Public Library will cut its operating hours to compensate for budget shortfalls caused by the continuing economic downturn. The Library’s Board of Trustees unanimously decided to close the five Regional Libraries on Sundays and close the Main Library one hour earlier at 8 p.m., beginning April 1st. The Main Library currently stays open until 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays. By closing one hour earlier, at 8 p.m. on those days, it makes the closing time at Main coincide with the current 8 p.m. closing already in effect at the five Regionals and three large branch libraries. Main is open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and will remain open from 2-5 p.m. on Sundays. (For more information about the library's reduced hours, please click here.)

Consequently, the Not Fiction Book Discussion meetings at Main Library will be rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. beginning with the April 6 meeting.

March Not Fiction Book Discussions

Drawing on over three decades of acquaintance and intimate conversation with the Dalai Lama, Pico Iyer, in his book The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, creates a multifaceted portrait of the man, both his public life as a politician and global icon, and his private life as a philosopher and monk. Moving beyond simple biography to a history of Tibet, a consideration of the current global culture, and a memoir of his own relationship with the Dalai Lama, Iyer says, "one of the main things I have attempted in this book is to bring the Dalai Lama out of Tibet and Buddhism and into the larger community of ideas and thinkers, to show how much and how often his interests chime with those of other traditions and explorers." In our discussions, we will consider what elements have combined to make this Dalai Lama so relevant politically and culturally, the first in a long line of men who have filled this position to leave Tibet and take up a role on the world stage: Was it the coincidence of being appointed Dalai Lama just as the People's Republic of China invaded Tibet in 1950-51, forcing him to flee and set up a government in exile? Long hours of travel, conversation with world leaders, public appearances, and following current events? Or could it be his willingness to embrace "the open road," Iyer's metaphor for "the natural home of someone who is visibly pressing along a path, to talk to anyone he meets along the way and to see how foreigners, specialists, fellow travelers can instruct him"? And is this willingness to embrace and learn from the unknown a quality shared by other people who have experienced success?

We hope you will join our conversation, either Tuesday, March 2 at 7:00 p.m. at Main Library, Thursday, March 18 at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library, or here on the blog.

February Not Fiction Book Discussions

In Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, Steve Martin, a true original and icon in the world of comedy, says of his years as a stand-up comedian, "I was seeking comic originality, and fame fell on me as a by-product. The course was more plodding than heroic: I did not strive valiantly against doubters but took incremental steps studded with a few intuitive leaps. I was not naturally talented--I didn't sing, dance, or act--though working around that minor detail made me inventive. I was not self-destructive, though I almost destroyed myself. In the end, I turned away from stand-up with a tired swivel of my head and never looked back, until now. A few years ago, I began researching and recalling the details of this crucial part of my professional life--which inevitably touches upon my personal life--and was reminded why I did stand-up and why I walked away." The quiet humor, surprising honesty, and economy of this passage are characteristic of what Martin calls his "biography" of himself during those early years. We learn that the "wild and crazy guy" was a carefully constructed persona, the result of both intellectual inquiry into the nature of comedy and skills honed through hours of study and practice. However, Martin also managed to be in the right places at the right times in his early career. We learn that Martin is actually a complicated guy. So what are the secrets of his success? Innate talent, in spite of what he claims? Simple hard work? The good fortune to be born into a culture that was developing a taste for the kind of comedy he offered? A few lucky breaks?

We hope you will join our conversation--Tuesday, February 2 at 7 p.m. at Main Library, Thursday, February 18 at 11 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library, or here on the blog--about what Jerry Seinfeld says is "One of the best books about comedy and being a comedian ever written" (GQ).

To learn more about Steve Martin's books, films, and Grammy nomination for his album of banjo tunes titled The Crow visit http://www.stevemartin.com/.