ALOUD @ Los Angeles Public Library

Green to the Street: The Future of Pershing Square

Is Pershing Square a study in failed urban design? What would it take to bring it back? Could we take lessons from New York City's beloved Bryant Park? Join us for a discussion on the future of what was once one of the most vibrant and elegant public spaces in downtown Los Angeles.

The Eco-Barons: The Dreamers, Schemers, and Millionaires Who Are Saving Our Planet

A Pulitzer Prize-winning author reveals the inspiring and largely untold stories of the country's foremost environmental conservationists, activists, and visionaries.

An Insomniac's Slant on Sleep

Deftly weaving memoir and wide-ranging scientific investigation, a life-long insomniac guides us through the hidden terrain of a devastating and little understood condition.

Fresh Approaches to Branding and Marketing

Resnick, who is one of Working Woman's Top 50 U.S. Women Business Owners began her career at the age of 19, when she founded a full-service advertising agency. She is behind the marketing success of brands such as POM Wonderful, Fiji Water and Teleflora. She and her husband Stewart also own Paramount Farms and Paramount Citrus Companies, making them the largest farmers of tree crops in the U.S.

The Domestic Drama: Novel Form or Formula?

American novelists are preoccupied with the tale of our (mostly dysfunctional) families. Unfortunately, contrary to Tolstoy's famous assertion, a lot of these unhappy families are starting to seem exactly alike. Two acclaimed novelists discuss ways to tell a true, new, enduring story of our most prized institution.

Between Fountainheads

New Yorker veteran Weschler discusses what it has been like, the past several decades, to be serving as Boswell simultaneously to two seemingly diametrically opposite giants of the contemporary art scene, Robert Irwin and David Hockney.

When Markets Collide: Investment Strategies in the Age of Global Economic Change

Global investment guru El-Erian is published widely on international economics and financial topics, has served as Managing Director of Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup in London and has enjoyed a 15-year career at the International Monetary Fund. He previously served as President and CEO of Harvard Management Company and as a member of the faculty of Harvard Business School.

Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran

A longtime Middle East correspondent for Time Magazine-now living in Tehran-- offers a stunning and unforgettable window into the maelstrom of Iranian life and gives voice to the Iranian psyche.

Sailing Home: Using the Wisdom of Homer's Odyssey

Fischer, a poet and well-known Zen teacher, deftly incorporates Buddhist, Judaic, and Christian thought-as well as his own unique understanding of life-into this reinterpretation of Homer's ancient story.

How We Decide

The author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist and creator of the Frontal Cortex blog draws on cutting-edge research and the real-world experience of a wide range of \"deciders\" to arm us with the tools we need to think harder (and smarter) about how we think.

Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life

Why have we evolved positive emotions like gratitude, amusement, awe and compassion? Keltner, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, offers a profound study of how emotion is the key to living the good life.

The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet

The bestselling author and director of the world-famous Hayden Planetarium chronicles America's irrational love affair with Pluto, man's best celestial friend

The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk and Adventure in the Twenty-Five Years After 50

A renowned sociologist challenges the still-prevailing and anachronistic images of aging, tracing the ways in which wisdom, experience, and new learning inspire individual growth and cultural transformation.

The Element: A New View of Human Capacity

The author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative overcame polio to become one of the world's leaders in the development of creativity in business, education and human resources. Hear him hold forth on the potential and capacity of truly \"human\" resources.

Wallace Stegner & the Shaping of Environmental Consciousness in the West

A distinguished panel explores the legacy of one of the West's most influential writers, who fought for protection of the region's delicate environment as well as recognition of a Western regional base and influenced generations of environmental writers.

How to Live: A Search for Wisdom From Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth)

In his newest book, the Thurber-prize winning author interviews elder celebrities (among them Norman Mailer and LSD pioneer Ram Dass), reads deathbed confessions, Lao Tzu, William Burroughs' diaries, and considers the latest medical research on the brain as part of his quest to glean wisdom from the old (and wise) among us.

Thinking About Earthquakes: A Panel Discussion

It's been 15 years since the 1994 quake. Is L.A. more prepared for the next one? Are WE? A panel of experts air their views: Mariana Amatullo, director, The L.A. Earthquake: Get Ready project at Art Center College of Design; Michael Dear, Professor of Geography and Urban Planning at USC; Lucy Jones, Caltech and USGS seismologist; Dennis Mileti, Director of the University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center; David Ulin, author, The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction and the Fault Lin...

EMBERS: A Jazz Opera in Poems

A female boxer, a madwoman stuck in Purgatory, and an irreverent angel meet across space and time to explore redemption and forgiveness in this concert reading of a work-in-progress adapted from Wolverton's novel-in-poems. Cherry plays keyboards and conducts a jazz quartet to accompany the actors who will bring to life the poetry and song. Performed by: D'Lo, Marisol de Jesus, O-Lan Jones, Phil Meyer, Cesili Williams and David Ornette Cherry with Organic Roots: Justo Almario, reeds; Ollie El...

Gentrification, Neo-Feudalism, and the Colonists on Your Block: The Real Costs of a Latte

Things I've Been Silent About: A Memoir in Moments

The author of Reading Lolita in Tehran uses her life to transform the way we see the world and to \"remind us of why we read in the first place.\"

The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution

Combining two fascinating and contentious disciplines -- art and evolutionary science -- a philosopher, professor and founder/editor of the popular Arts & Letter Daily, argues that human tastes in art are shaped by Darwinian selection.

Out of Exile: The Abducted and Displaced People of Sudan

Decades of conflicts and persecution have driven millions from their homes in all parts of the northeast African country of Sudan. Many thousands more have been enslaved as human spoils of war. Writers and surprise guests read alongside Sudanese refugees who recount their lives before their displacement, the reasons for their flight, and their hopes of someday returning home.

The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia

Miller, book critic and co-founder of salon.com, fell in love with the Narnia books as a child. In this intellectual adventure story, she returns to Lewis' classic fantasies to see what mysteries Narnia still holds for adult eyes.

Creative Capitalism: A Conversation with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Other Economic Leaders

Meet Michael Kinsley...TIME magazine columnist, and noted journalist who discussed his just-released book, Creative Capitalism at the ALOUD Business Forum in December. Nothing short of a revolution in thinking, Creative Capitalism is a collection of interviews and essays with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and other key financial figures discussing the need to reinvent capitalism to benefit the world's poorest citizens. The book is intended to fuel debate, raise questions and inspire action. Kins...

An Evening of Spoken Word and Cello

Selected readings from Marisela Norte's debut collection of poetry, Peeping Tom Tom Girl, performed by long time friends and collaborators Norte y Gaitan.

Poetry Reading and Panel Discussion Part II

Three distinctive voices in contemporary American poetry read their work and engage in an informal group discussion on their craft.

Poetry Reading and Panel Discussion Part I

Three distinctive voices in contemporary American poetry read their work and engage in an informal group discussion on their craft.

Philanthrocapitalism

After building two Fortune 500 companies from the ground up, Eli Broad is devoting his full time and attention to philanthropy that uses entrepreneurship to advance the public good in education, science and the arts. In his book, Philanthrocapitalism, Matthew Bishop and co-author Michael Green examine how social investors, such as Broad, are using business acumen to reshape the way charitable giving is taking place.

An Evening with Toni Morrison

In 1993, the Nobel committee lauded Toni Morrison \"who, in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality.\" Come celebrate this magnificent author and her new novel, A Mercy.

Alphabet Juice

America's funnyman celebrates the electricity, the juju, the breeding, the sonic and kinetic energies of letters and their combinations, reminding us that "every time you use disinterested to mean uninterested, an angel dies."

ALOUD Science Series: On Seeing and Being - Seeing the Divine

How, in this age of scientific rationalism, can we begin to understand religious visions and mystical experiences--now being reported by a growing number of people on the nightly news, across the internet, and by word-of-mouth? Dr. Lisa Bitel and Dr. Michael A. Arbib discuss visions from the Middle Ages to today, especially the tensions between cultural, spiritual, and neurological explanations for extraordinary sights, and consider new ways to understand these mysterious phenomena.Made possi...

Building Experiences

Considered one of the top 100 influential people in Southern California (Los Angels Times), Tim Leiweke is a visionary leader at the forefront of change in downtown Los Angeles, creating a dining and entertainment district with Staples Center and LA Live. The collection of companies owned or operated by AEG are considered to be one of the world's leading presenters of sports and entertainment programming.

Writing the World

Discussing Hebrew, Polish, and Irish writers, four of the world's best known poets examine how local politics, national realities, and cultural traditions affect great literary traditions.

Is Reality Overrated?

Two fiction writers discuss what's real, what's not, and whether or not it really matters.

Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief

A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian (Battle Cry of Freedom) offers a revelatory portrait of leadership during the greatest crisis our nation has ever endured.

Home: A Novel

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author returns to the locale of her novel Gilead in a moving and healing book about love, death, faith, families, and the passing of the generations.

The China Lover

In his enthralling new novel, Buruma- an expert on modern Asia-uses the life of the starlet Yoshiko Yamaguchi as a lens through which to understand the contradictions and complexities of modern Japanese history.

The Zookeeper's Wife

The true story of the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, who, with extraordinary courage, compassion, and calm under pressure, managed to save hundreds of people from Nazi hands.

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: 28,000 Miles in Search of the Railway Bazaar

The writer who virtually invented the modern travel narrative returns-30 years later-to the changed landscape of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, India, China, Japan, and Siberia.

Unintended Consequences: How the Iraq War Hurt America and Helped Its Enemies

A leading authority on Iraq-and architect of the partition plan endorsed by both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates and many members of Congress-reports on the real consequences of the U.S. invasion.

The Photographer and His City

The photographer whose photographs serve as visual records for this city's dramatic evolution discusses his life and creative process. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Julius Shulman's Los Angeles, at the Central Library's Getty Gallery October 6, 2007-January 20, 2008

Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries

A call to arms to every voter to remember what it means to live in a free democracy, and a reminder that it's possible for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things-to get inspired and make a difference on their own.

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family

A historian and legal scholar tells the compelling saga of the Hemings family, whose close blood ties to our third president have been systemically expunged from American history until very recently.

Forgotten Histories: Two Novelists in Conversation

Two Los Angeles-based novelists explore the rise and fall of human lives in their brilliant fictions.

Left in Dark Times: A Stand Against the New Barbarism

One of the world's leading intellectuals revisits his political roots, scrutinizes the totalitarianisms of the past, as well as those on the horizon, and argues powerfully for a new political and moral vision for our times.

Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency

A Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter parts the curtains of secrecy to show how and why Dick Cheney operated and reflects on the legacy Cheney and the Bush administration as a whole will leave as they exit office.

Truth on the Ground in a Time of War: A Conversation Between Foreign Correspondents

Two pre-eminent war correspondents offer a visceral understanding of America's overseas involvement-from the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan to the heat of the battle in Iraq, from Marine battalions in Ramadi to ordinary Iraqis whose voices have remained eerily silent.

Crime: A Novel

Detective Inspector Ray Lennox of the Edinburgh P.D., on leave for mental, finds himself in the underbelly of American party culture. A macabre and unorthodox thriller by the author of Trainspotting.

The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British

A reporter in the New York Times London bureau offers a hilarious and incisive look at her adopted home. \"Lyall will now be hailed as one of England's supreme analysts, preparatory to her being executed on Tower Green.\" (Clive James)

Violence

A philosopher and cultural critic-whose thought challenges traditional trajectories- takes on the signal issue of violence and inverts our pre-conceived and popular notions about its causes.