Location: Putnam Valley, NY 10579, United States

Join us for an Author Talk with Robert H. Steele, author of The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town
(Levellers Press, Amherst, MA). 
 
The Book – The Curse is a novel set against the explosion of casino gambling that hit Connecticut during the 1990s, when two Indian tribes built the world’s two biggest casinos in the southeastern corner of the state.  The story begins with the Pequot War in 1637, then jumps 350 years as a Connecticut family becomes embroiled in a struggle to block a third casino that threatens the family’s town and ancestral home.
 
WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio’s John Dankosky calls the novel “fascinating” and Connecticut author Martin Shapiro has described it as “compelling and timely…an epic story of history, money and politics that will make you wonder where America is headed.”
 
Timeliness – The book comes at a time when Connecticut’s two mega-casinos face the prospect of heavy new competition from New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, the state’s casino revenue is declining, and there is growing political pressure to legalize Internet gambling.
 
Author – Bob Steele is a former Congressman and candidate for governor of Connecticut.  He represented eastern Connecticut in Congress prior to the arrival of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, and subsequently lived on the edge of the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation, giving him a front-row seat to the events that led to the casinos and a first-hand view of their impact.  He is currently vice chairman of an international retail marketing agency, and has been a director of numerous companies, including  CME Group and the American Stock Exchange.
Please register.
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Join us for a talk with Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.
A former child soldier from Sierra Leone, Ishmael Beah moved to the United States in 1998 and graduated from Oberlin College in 1994. He is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Division Advisory Committee and has spoken before the United Nations and the Council on Foreign Relations. He lives in New York City. Copies of his memoir A Long WayGone will be available for sale and signing thanks to Books on the Common.
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Alan Gelb (Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps, Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps, Second Edition)

Alan Gelb is a college essay coach and professional writer whose clients include colleges and universities across the country. He is the author of The Complete Student, A Survival Guide for Students, and Most Likely to Succeed, among others. Visit www.conqueringthecollegeessay.com. (added from Random House)… (more)

Alton Barron, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and is currently the President of the New York Society for Surgery of the Hand. He has been the surgeon for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and Metropolitan Opera for more than a decade. Dr. Barron is a consultant for CBS and has appeared on the CBS Early Show. He has also written for The New York Times, was listed in The New York Times Magazine as one of the 2009 Super Docs, and has published extensively in multiple peer-reviewed journals. (added from Simon & Schuster)… (more)