57th Street Books

"The Tribes of America has long been out of print, but with this reissue a major work of journalism and penetrating view of the American political divides is once again available to the public. Rick Perlstein, who penned the new edition's introduction, will discuss the importance of The Tribes of America ... (more)and how a book written nearly three decades ago provides a pertinent and penetrating examination of American society today."

"Join us for another Adult Storytime as we read from classic tales from the hard-boiled detective and noir genres. We will hold drawings for free books and the classic gumshoe meal - donuts and coffee - will be served. So break out your fedora and stop on by the bookstore."

---from semcoop.booksense.com

"As one of the first biographies of Sen. Obama that combines the facts of his personal history with that of his political and legislative history, Barack Obama: This Improbable Quest is an extremely useful and necessary book during this time of decision. This is an event not to be missed."

"Peter Linebaugh's The Magna Carta Manifesto offers a fascinating view of the ways in which the many protections against tyranny first encapsulated in the Magna Carta have consistently been contested since the Magna Carta's adoption in 1215. Through original historic analysis Linebaugh argues that the ... (more)rights of habeas corpus, trial by jury, due process of law, and the prohibition of torture are commonly abridged whenever the desire for greater power and control over the lives of its citizens corrupts the purpose and path of the state. With numerous parallels to our own world, this is an important work sure to spark conversation and debate."

"As far back as the Magna Carta in 1215, the right of private property was seen as a bulwark of the individual against the arbitrary power of the state. Indeed, common-law tradition holds that "property is the guardian of every other right." And yet, for most of the last seventy years, property
rights ... (more)had few staunch supporters in America.
This latest addition to Oxford's Inalienable Rights series provides a succinct, pointed look at property rights in America--how they came to be, how they have evolved, and why they should once again be a mainstay of the law. Richard A. Epstein, the nation's preeminent authority on the subject,
examines all aspects of private property--from real estate to air rights to intellectual property. He takes the reader from the strongly protective property rights advocated by the framers of the Constitution through to the weak property rights supported by Progressive and liberal politicians of the
twentieth century and finally to our own time, which has seen a renewed appreciation of property rights in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's landmark Kelo v. New London decision in 2005. The author's own powerful defense of property rights threads through the narrative. Using both political
theory and economic analysis, Epstein argues that above all that private property is a sound social institution, and not just an excuse for selfishness and greed. Only a system of private property lets people form and raise families, organize religious and other charitable organizations, and earn a
living through honest labor.
Supreme Neglect offers a compact, incisive look at this hotly contested constitutional right, championing property rights as anessential social institution."

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Mary Roach is the author of Stiff: The Curious LIves of Human Cadavers and Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. Her writing has appeared in such publications as Salon, GQ, Vogue, and the New York Times Magazine. She lives in Oakland, California.

"How the accidents of evolution created our quirky, imperfect minds--and what we can do about it.
Are we "noble in reason"? Perfect, in God's image? Far from it, says New York University psychologist Gary Marcus. In this lucid and revealing book, Marcus argues that the mind is not an elegantly designed ... (more)organ but a "kluge," a clumsy, cobbled-together contraption. He unveils a fundamentally new way of looking at the human mind-- think duct tape, not supercomputer--that sheds light on some of the most mysterious aspects of human nature.
Taking us on a tour of the fundamental areas of human experience--memory, belief, decision-making, language, and happiness--Marcus reveals the myriad ways our minds fall short. He examines why people often vote against their own interests, why money can't buy happiness, why leaders often stick to bad decisions, and why a sentence like "people people left left" ties us into knots even though it's only four words long. He also offers surprisingly effective ways to outwit our inner kluge--for example, always consider alternative explanations, make contingency plans, and beware the vivid, personal anecdote. Throughout, he shows how only evolution--haphazard and undirected--could have produced the minds we humans have, while making a brilliant case for the power and usefulness of imperfection."

---from http://semcoop.booksense.com

"In Murder of a Medici Princess, Caroline Murphy illuminates the brilliant life and tragic death of Isabella de Medici, one of the brightest stars in the dazzling world of Renaissance Italy, the daughter of Duke Cosimo I, ruler of Florence and Tuscany.
Murphy is a superb storyteller, and her fast-paced ... (more)narrative captures the intrigue, the scandal, the romantic affairs, and the violence that were commonplace in the Florentine court. She brings to life an extraordinary woman, fluent in five languages, a free-spirited patron of the arts, a
daredevil, a practical joker, and a passionate lover. Isabella, in fact, conducted numerous affairs, including a ten-year relationship with the cousin of her violent and possessive husband. Her permissive lifestyle, however, came to an end upon the death of her father, who was succeeded by her
disapproving older brother Francesco. Considering Isabella's ways to be licentious and a disgrace upon the family, he permitted her increasingly enraged husband to murder her in a remote Medici villa. To tell this dramatic story, Murphy draws on a vast trove of newly discovered and unpublished
documents, ranging from Isabella's own letters, to the loose-tongued dispatches of ambassadors to Florence, to contemporary descriptions of the opulent parties and balls, salons and hunts in which Isabella and her associates participated. Murphy resurrects the exciting atmosphere of Renaissance
Florence, weaving Isabella's beloved city into her story, evoking the intellectual and artistic community that thrived during her time. Palaces and gardens in the city become places of creativity and intrigue, sites of seduction, and grounds for betrayal.
Here thenis a narrative of compelling and epic proportions, magnificent and alluring, decadent and ultimately tragic."

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Rick Spaulding, co-author of Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Infinitude of the Private Man, will discuss this new biography of an American icon.

Through revealing portraits of selected local artists and slice-of-life vignettes drawn from the city's pubs and lounges, Chicago Blues encapsulates the sound and spirit of the blues as it is lived today. As a committed participant in the Chicago blues scene for more than a quarter century, David Whiteis ... (more)draws on years of his observations and extensive interviews to paint a full picture of the Chicago blues world, both on and off the stage. In addition to portraits of blues artists he has personally known and worked with, Whiteis takes readers on a tour of venues like East of Ryan and the Starlight Lounge, home to artists such as Jumpin' Willie Cobbs, Willie D., and Harmonica Khan. He tells the stories behind the lives of past pioneers including Junior Wells, pianist Sunnyland Slim, and harpist Big Walter Horton, whose music reflects the universal concerns with love, loss, and yearning that continue to keep the blues so vital for so many.

Featuring articles by educator-activists, this collection explores the largely forgotten history of attempts by African Americans to use education as a tool of collective liberation. Together these articles explore the variety of forms those attempts have taken, from the shadow of slavery to the contradictions ... (more)of hip-hop.

"Debates over hate speech, pornography, and other sorts of controversial speech raise issues that go to the core of the First Amendment. Supporters of regulation argue that these forms of expression cause serious injury to individuals and groups, assaulting their dignity as human beings and citizens. ... (more)Civil libertarians respond that our commitment to free speech is measured by our willingness to protect it, even when it causes harm or offends our deepest values.
In this important book, Steven J. Heyman presents a theory of the First Amendment that seeks to overcome the conflict between free speech and human dignity. This liberal humanist theory recognizes a strong right to freedom of expression while also providing protection against the most serious forms of assaultive speech. Heyman then uses the theory to illuminate a wide range of contemporary disputes, from flag burning and antiabortion demonstrations to pornography and hate speech."

---from http://semcoop.booksense.com

The beauty and complexity of religious beliefs as they are lived out around the world, from a superb scholar and storyteller.
Contemporary arguments over religion tend toward the abstract: Does God exist--or not? How much credence can be given to an Iron Age text? But during the thirty years that Sarah ... (more)LeVine carried out research on family life in Africa, Latin America, and Asia she came to see that religious faith is shaped by cultural complexity and constraint, not by abstractions.

"A 'New York Times' journalist discovers a discarded old diary--a find that introduces her to an extraordinary woman and a glamorous, forgotten time. Evocative and entrancing, "The Red Leather Diary" recreates the romance and glitter of 1930s New York. Photos throughout."

---from http://semcoop.booksense.com

Rescued from a Dumpster on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a discarded diary brings to life the glamorous, forgotten world of an extraordinary young woman.
For more than half a century, the red leather diary lay silent, languishing inside a steamer trunk, its worn cover crumbling into little flakes. ... (more)When a cleaning sweep of a New York City apartment building brings this lost treasure to light, both the diary and its owner are given a second life.

Recovered by Lily Koppel, a young writer working at the "New York Times," the journal paints a vivid picture of 1930s New York--horseback riding in Central Park, summer excursions to the Catskills, and an obsession with a famous avant-garde actress. From 1929 to 1934, not a single day's entry is skipped.

A beautifully-produced book that celebrates the Freedom Riders, featuring rare-seen mug shots alongside stunning contemporary portraits.In the spring and summer of 1961, several hundred Americans--blacks and whites, men and women--converged on Jackson, Mississippi, to challenge state segregation laws. ... (more)The Freedom Riders, as they came to be known, were determined to open up the South to civil rights: it was illegal for bus and train stations to discriminate, but most did and were not interested in change. Over 300 people were arrested and convicted of the charge "breach of the peace."

"Step into the perfumed parlors of the Everleigh Club, the most famous brothel in American history-and the catalyst for a culture war that rocked the nation. Operating in Chicago's notorious Levee district at the dawn of the last century, the Club's proprietors, two aristocratic sisters named Minna and ... (more)Ada Everleigh, welcomed moguls and actors, senators and athletes, foreign dignitaries and literary icons, into their stately double mansion, where thirty stunning Everleigh "butterflies" awaited their arrival. Courtesans named Doll, Suzy Poon Tang, and Brick Top devoured raw meat to the delight of Prince Henry of Prussia and recited poetry for Theodore Dreiser. Whereas lesser madams pocketed most of a harlot's earnings and kept a "whipper" on staff to mete out discipline, the Everleighs made sure their girls dined on gourmet food, were examined by an honest physician, and even tutored in the literature of Balzac.
Not everyone appreciated the sisters' attempts to elevate the industry. Rival Levee madams hatched numerous schemes to ruin the Everleighs, including an attempt to frame them for the death of department store heir Marshall Field, Jr. But the sisters' most daunting foes were the Progressive Era reformers, who sent the entire country into a frenzy with lurid tales of "white slavery"----the allegedly rampant practice of kidnapping young girls and forcing them into brothels. This furor shaped America's sexual culture and had repercussions all the way to the White House, including the formation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
With a cast of characters that includes Jack Johnson, John Barrymore, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., William Howard Taft, "Hinky Dink" Kenna, and AlCapone, Sin in the Second City is Karen Abbott's colorful, nuanced portrait of the iconic Everleigh sisters, their world-famous Club, and the perennial clash between our nation's hedonistic impulses and Puritanical roots. Culminating in a dramatic last stand between brothel keepers and crusading reformers, "Sin in the Second City" offers a vivid snapshot of America's journey from Victorian-era propriety to twentieth-century modernity.
Visit www.sininthesecondcity.com to learn more"

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""Drawing Words and Writing Pictures" is a course on comic creation - for college classes or for independent study - that centers on storytelling and concludes with making a finished comic. With chapters on lettering, story structure, and panel layout, the fifteen lessons offered - each complete with ... (more)homework, extra credit activities and supplementary reading suggestions - provide a solid introduction for people interested in making their own comics. Additional resources, lessons, and after-class help are available on the accompanying website, www.dw-wp.com."

---from http://semcoop.booksense.com

"57th Street Books is proud to host Hyde Park's own, Blue Balliett, on Tuesday, July 22nd at 7:00pm. Balliett will discuss and sign her new book, The Calder Game, at her favorite bookstore. All ages are welcome to attend and participate in playing the Calder Game. Refreshments will be provided. ... (more)"

"Domnica Radulescu was born in Romania and came to the United States in 1983. She is a professor of Romance languages and literature and of women’s studies at Washington and Lee University. She has written and edited books and scholarly articles on European literature and theater, and is the founding ... (more)director of the National Symposium of Theater in Academe. She lives in Lexington, Virginia, with her two sons."

From the author of "Pretty Little Dirty" comes a gritty, unflinching story about the clash of race and culture in the intersecting lives of five families who call the same New Orleans street home.

Told with urgency and sharp political insight, "Nixonland" recaptures America's turbulent 1960s and early 1970s and reveals how Richard Nixon rose from the political grave to seize and hold the presidency.

Perlstein's epic account begins in the blood and fire of the 1965 Watts riots, nine months after ... (more)Lyndon Johnson's historic landslide victory over Barry Goldwater appeared to herald a permanent liberal consensus in the United States. Yet the next year, scores of liberals were tossed out of Congress, America was more divided than ever, and a disgraced politician was on his way to a shocking comeback: Richard Nixon.

Between 1965 and 1972, America experienced no less than a second civil war. Out of its ashes, the political world we know now was born. It was the era not only of Nixon, Johnson, Spiro Agnew, Hubert H. Humphrey, George McGovern, Richard J. Daley, and George Wallace but Abbie Hoffman, Ronald Reagan, Angela Davis, Ted Kennedy, Charles Manson, John Lindsay, and Jane Fonda. There are tantalizing glimpses of Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Jesse Jackson, John Kerry, and even of two ambitious young men named Karl Rove and William Clinton -- and a not so ambitious young man named George W. Bush.

The stars are right for the return of the H.P. Lovecraft Memorial Ice Cream Social! Hear tales of unspeakable horror, see (and possibly win) forbidden tomes and strange artefacts, and partake of frozen confections colder than the howling void! We are also pleased to welcome Lovecraft scholar and Hyde ... (more)Park resident Kenneth Hite who will be speaking about his book, Tour de Lovecraft: The Tales.