Filled with first-rate scholarship\, never-before-published photos\, delightful anecdoetes\, and memorable quotes\, Michael Shelden's biography of Mark Twain's last years provides a remarkable portrait of the man himself\, and the unforgettable era in American letters that he helped to created. Although Mark Twain has long been one of our most beloved literary figures\, his final years have been largely misunderstood. Writing ceaselessly and always ready with one of his legendary quips\, Twain would risk his fortune\, become the willing victim of a lost-at-sea hoax\, and pick fights with King Leopold of Belgium and Mary Baker Eddy.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100220T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100220T000000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/robin-stone-my-times-black-and-white URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/robin-stone-my-times-black-and-white SUMMARY:Robin Stone - My Times in Black and White DESCRIPTION:After a career of many firsts\, journalist Gerald M. Boyd shattered the color barrier of the white establishment's most exclusive media giant\, the New York Times\, and became its first black managing editor. Boyd's tale provides a rare inside view of power and behind-the-scenes politics at the nation's premier newspaper during one of its tumultous periods. Before the New York Times\, Boyd was at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch\, where he worked his way up from copyboy to White House correspondent. A native of St. Louis\, Boyd attended the University of Missouri under a Post-Dispatch scholarship program and Harvard University as a Nieman Fellow. He died in November 2006 at the age of 56. Robin D. Stone\, who was married to Boyd\, is an independent journalist who has edited for several publications\, including the New York Times\, the Boston Globe\, and Essence Magazine. She is the author of No Secrets\, No Lies\: How Black Families Can Heal from Sexual Abuse\, and she will be speaking about Boyd's book\, My Times in Black and White\, at this event.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100223T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100223T000000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/david-swanson-daybreak-undoing-imperial-presidency-and-forming-more-perfect-union URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/david-swanson-daybreak-undoing-imperial-presidency-and-forming-more-perfect-union SUMMARY:David Swanson - Daybreak\: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union DESCRIPTION:The Don Connors Chapter of Veterans for Peace\, St. Louis and Left Bank Books are pleased to present David Swanson for a discussion and book signing of Daybreak\: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union. A lot more has gone wrong over the last eight years than meets the eye\, and it will take more than a new president to create the kind of change that is necessary. Daybreak is a thorough investigation of how Bush/Cheney altered the way American government works and deteriorated the Constitution and Bill of Rights. It includes clear plans for how we may reclaim democracy\, declare our rights\, and truly set out for a new America. David Swanson is co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org\, creator of ConvictBushCheney.org\, Washington director of Democrats.com\, and a board member of Progressive Democrats for America. He served as press secretary for Dennis Kuckinch's 2004 presidential campaign and has been a leading voice for the prosecution of Bush and Cheney for war crimes.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100224T010000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100224T010000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/matthew-davis-when-things-get-dark URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/matthew-davis-when-things-get-dark SUMMARY:Matthew Davis - When Things Get Dark DESCRIPTION:Vividly capturing Mongolia's timeless elements and natural beauty\, When Things Get Dark is Matthew Davis's deeply honest account of living and working among the people of this large\, underpopulated country. Set within a small\, western Mongolia provincial capital called Tsetserleg\, When Things Get Dark documents the rapid changes this town is experiencing from its traditional existence in the countryside to a more urban\, modern identity. Natural disasters killed millions of animals and forced herders into cities. The Internet arrived. And Mongolians balanced their nomadic roots\, their communist past\, and their democratic\, free-market future. Matthew Davis was born in Chicago and attended the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Tsetserleg\, Mongolia\, and lived for a year in the Mongolian capitoal of Ulaanbaatar.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100302T010000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100302T010000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/pat-macenluty-picara URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/pat-macenluty-picara SUMMARY:Pat MacEnulty - Picara DESCRIPTION:Raised by an opera singer and the family maid in Augusta\, Georgia\, Eli runs away with a draft dodger. When things don't go according to their plans\, she must go live with her disc jockey and anit-war activist father in Webster Groves\, Missouri\, with a new wife and two young sons. Witnessing and sometimes participating in the protests\, drug use\, and musical fervor of the times\, Eli learns about love\, forgiveness\, and survival.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100305T010000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100305T010000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/bellaspark-productions-presents-gregg-braden URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/bellaspark-productions-presents-gregg-braden SUMMARY:BellaSpark Productions presents Gregg Braden DESCRIPTION:n/a END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100307T220000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100308T000000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/janet-kirchheimer-how-spot-one-us URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/janet-kirchheimer-how-spot-one-us SUMMARY:Janet Kirchheimer - How to Spot One of Us DESCRIPTION:Janet Kirchheimer is a poet whose work has appeared in a variety of publications both in the U.S. and abroad. Her moving collection of poems about the Holocaust\, How to Spot One of Us\, is described by author and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel as “poignant and evocative of times of darkness and despair. Their warmth is communicative and necessary.”
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100309T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100309T000000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/clifton-taulbert URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/clifton-taulbert SUMMARY:Clifton Taulbert DESCRIPTION:Clifton Taulbert will discuss education and his life\, as well as signing books\, at this special library event. Taulbert and his Building Community Institute are dedicated to ensuring organizational effectiveness at all levels and focusing on the power of community. He is the author of Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored\, his autobiography of life in the segregated South\, and Eight Habits of the Heart\, which shows how to strengthen families\, schools\, and communities through a collection of exercises for reflection and practice.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100310T010000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100310T010000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/stephen-batchelor-confessions-buddhist-atheist URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/stephen-batchelor-confessions-buddhist-atheist SUMMARY:Stephen Batchelor - Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist DESCRIPTION:Written with the same boldness and brilliance that made Buddhism Without Beliefs a classic in its field\, Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist is Stephen Batchelor's account of his journey through Buddhism\, which culminates in a groundbreaking new portrait of the historical Buddha. The more Batchelor read about the Buddha\, the more he came to believe that the way Buddhism was being taught and practiced was at odds with the actual teachings of the Buddha himself. Charting his journey from hippie to monk to lay practitioner\, teacher\, and interpreter of Buddhist thought\, Batchelor reconstructs the historical Buddha's life\, locating him within the social and political context of the world\, showing a man who looked at human life in a radically new way for his time.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100311T010000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100311T010000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/bob-rains-hellen-carpenter-james-naismith-man-who-invented-basketball URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/bob-rains-hellen-carpenter-james-naismith-man-who-invented-basketball SUMMARY:Rob Rains & Hellen Carpenter - James Naismith\: The Man Who Invented Basketball DESCRIPTION:It seems unlikely that James Naismith\, who grew up playing "\;Duck on the Rock"\; in the rural community of Almonte\, Canada\, would invent one of America's most popular sports. But Rob Rains and Hellen Carpenter's fascinating\, in-depth biography\, James Naismith\: The Man Who Invented Basketball\, shows how this young man--who wanted to be a medical doctor\, or if not that\, a minister (in fact\, he was both)--came to create a game that has endured for over a century. Rob Rains is a former National League beat writer for USA Today's Baseball Weekly and for three years covered the St. Louis Cardinals for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. He is the author or co-author of autobiographies or biographies of Tony La Russa\, Ozzie Smith\, Mark McGwire\, Jack Buck\, Red Schoendienst\, and many other sports celebrities. Hellen Carpenter is the granddaughter of James Naismith\, and her more than 300 documents from Naismith's files were instrumental in crafting this biography.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100311T010000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100311T010000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/medart-lecture-series-ali-eteraz-children-dust-memoir-pakistan URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/medart-lecture-series-ali-eteraz-children-dust-memoir-pakistan SUMMARY:Medart Lecture Series\: Ali Eteraz - Children of Dust\: A Memoir of Pakistan DESCRIPTION:From Ali Eteraz's schooling in a "\;madrassa"\; in Pakistan to his teenage years as a Muslim American in the Bible Belt\, and back to Pakistan to find a pious Muslim wife\, this lyrical\, penetrating saga captures the heart of our universal quest for identity. Astonishingly honest\, darkly comic\, and beautifully told\, Children of Dust is an extraordinary adventure that reveals the diversity of Islamic beliefs\, the vastness of the Pakistani diaspora\, and the very human search for home. Ali Eteraz also writes the award-winning blog\, Islamophere. This Medart Lecture Series event is free and open to the public and includes a 6\:30pm reception and 7\:00pm talk.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100312T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100312T000000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/jennifer-brown-hate-list URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/jennifer-brown-hate-list SUMMARY:Jennifer Brown - Hate List DESCRIPTION:Jennifer Brown tackles another hard subject for teens in her novel\, Hate List. After Valerie Leftman's boyfriend\, Nick\, opens fire on their school cafeteria\, Val is shot trying to stop him\, but is implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. Now\, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Jennifer Brown is the two-time winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Humor Award and a humor columnist for The Kansas City Star (winning the Missouri Writer's Guild 2008 Conference Award for Best Newspaper Column).
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100313T140000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100313T220000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/st-louis-camera-club-tom-murphy-photography-seminar URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/st-louis-camera-club-tom-murphy-photography-seminar SUMMARY:St. Louis Camera Club\: Tom Murphy Photography Seminar DESCRIPTION:Tom Murphy's photographs reveal wildlife interacting with each other and with their envitronment in the wildest places on earth. At this seminar\, he will share tips and information about the proper selection and use of camera equipment\, compositional concepts and setting equipment for maximum impact and interest in wildlife photography\, an overview of digital photography (including the do's and don'ts with memory cards and digital camera settings)\, and his own personal in-depth workflow procedures and effective systems to label and track all images. For more information or to register\, visit www.stlcameraclub.com.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100316T010000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100316T010000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/river-styx-duffs-0 URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/river-styx-duffs-0 SUMMARY:River Styx at Duff's DESCRIPTION:River Styx at Duff's presents poetry readings by Shane Seely (author of The Snowbound House) and Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon (author of Black Swan). Admission is $5 at the door. Books will be available for purchase from Left Bank Books staff at Duff's.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100318T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100318T000000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/kevin-henkes-my-garden URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/kevin-henkes-my-garden SUMMARY:Kevin Henkes - My Garden DESCRIPTION:Illustrated with heavenly full-color paintings\, this picture book for young children pays tribute to a child's imagination and independence and features an inquisitive and humorous text\, making My Garden an ideal read-aloud to treasure. Author and illustrator Kevin Henkes was awarded the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon. He is the creator of several picture books and also writes for older children.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100318T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100318T000000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/virginia-deberry-donna-grant-uptown URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/virginia-deberry-donna-grant-uptown SUMMARY:Virginia DeBerry & Donna Grant - Uptown DESCRIPTION:New York Times best-selling co-authors and best friends\, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant\, who collaborated on Gotta Keep on Tryin' and What Doesn't Kill You\, are back with a story as big as New York City itself\, following a wealthy\, prominent family caught in a storm of sexual scandal\, secrets\, betrayal\, and politics. DeBerry and Grant fans will not be disappointed with this look into the high rolling\, no holds barred world of NYC real estate development. Before becoming co-authors\, both women worked as plus size models\, careers that led to the opportunity to launch Maxima\, a fashion and lifestyle magazine for plus size women. When the publication of Maxima ceased\, they began their book writing relationship which turned into the most successful and enduring writing collaboration in African American fiction.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100318T140000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100318T160000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/kmox-andrew-young-politician URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/kmox-andrew-young-politician SUMMARY:KMOX\: Andrew Young - The Politician DESCRIPTION:In The Politician\, Andrew Young\, a close aide and trusted friend to Senator John Edwards\, offers a look at the trajectory which made John Edwards an ideal Democratic candidate for president\, and the hubris which brought him down\, leaving his career\, his marriage\, and his dreams in ashes. This KMOX/Fontbonne University Book Club with Charlie Brennan is a live broadcast on KMOX.
The event is free\, but you must register to attend. Call (314)444.1827 or e-mail cwbrennan@cbs.com to register.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T193303Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100319T000000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100319T000000Z UID:http://www.left-bank.com/event/azar-nafisi-things-ive-been-silent-about URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.left-bank.com/event/azar-nafisi-things-ive-been-silent-about SUMMARY:Azar Nafisi - Things I've Been Silent About DESCRIPTION:n/a END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR