I'll start this week's newsletter with a reminder that this weekend is the Massachusetts tax holiday. We'll be celebrating the tax break with a price break of our own: Harvard Book Store Frequent Buyers will receive 10% off purchases on August 11th and 12th, both in the store and online. Click here for full details.
We spent some time this summer letting you know about the books we're looking forward to in the fall season, and now we have two exciting announcements to share:
- We've just launched the brand-new Harvard Book Store Buzz List, a handpicked collection of forthcoming titles, available for pre-order at 20% off. You can order online, in the store, or over the phone. Note that pre-orders must be pre-paid to receive the discount.
- September events are now being posted, and include ticketed events with Martin Amis, Paul Auster, Gene Robinson, and Junot Diaz. We have a great line-up for the rest of the season too, so stay tuned!
We're also excited to announce a new writing contest for the fall. Whether we're from the area or we're transplants from afar, we all have a soft spot for our New England home. We want to hear what you think about this corner of the world, so we're launching a New England Essay Contest. We'll begin accepting submissions on Monday, August 13, and will continue until Friday, September 21. For full contest details, click here.
Finally, we'd like to wish a very happy birthday (if a bit belated) to Harvard professor emeritus Daniel Aaron. Professor Aaron, who still frequents the Barker Center and Leverett House, was the first person to receive a degree in American Civilization from Harvard. He is the author of a fascinating memoir, The Americanist, and of Writers on the Left, among other works. Last fall he captivated us with his memories of Dwight Macdonald at an event at the store. Professor Aaron turned 100 on August 4th, and the Harvard Gazette had a lovely write-up of the occasion.
'Til Next Week, Rachel
| | New on Our Shelves: The Latest in Fiction, Nonfiction, Scholarly Books & In Store Book Printing
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Inferno
by Dante Alighieri translated by Mary Jo Bang
$35 Graywolf Press, hardcover
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| | Dante, a master of innovation, wrote his poem in the vernacular, rather than in literary Latin. Poet Mary Jo Bang has similarly created an idiomatically rich contemporary version. She's matched Dante's own liberal use of allusion and literary borrowing by incorporating literary and cultural references familiar to contemporary readers: Shakespeare and Dickinson, Freud and South Park, Kierkegaard and Stephen Colbert. In its time, the poem was stunningly new. Bang's version is true to the original: lyrical, politically astute, occasionally self-mocking, and deeply moving. With illustrations by Henrik Drescher.
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The Prophecies:
A Dual-Language Edition with Parallel Text
by Nostradamus translated by Richard Sieburth
$28 Penguin Classics, hardcover
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| | The mysterious quatrains of the sixteenth-century astrologer Nostradamus have long proved captivating for their predictions. Nostradamus has been credited with anticipating the Great Fire of London, the rise of Adolf Hitler, and the September 11th terrorist attacks. Today, as the world grapples with financial meltdowns, global terrorism, and environmental disasters, his prophecies of doom have assumed heightened relevance. This new translation considers his legacy in terms of the poetics of the quatrains, and includes notes mapping the cultural, political, and historical forces that resonate through Nostradamus's epic.
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| | Evil
by Michel Wieviorka
$22.95 Polity, paperback
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In contrast to traditional systems of thought which regarded evil as a supernatural force that explained human misfortune, Michel Wieviorka develops a sociological analysis of evil phenomena. His aim is to explain evil, to reveal its social, political, and cultural sources, and to clarify the processes through which the present-day forms of evil--terrorism, violence, racism, and active hatred--are constituted. A synthesis of the author's detailed studies of these forms of evil, this book offers a fresh approach to the understanding of the darker regions of human behavior.
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| | Printed on Paige Each week, we'll feature a book printed in Harvard Book Store on Paige, our book-making machine. Featured books will range from fresh works from local authors to near-forgotten titles discovered in our extensive print-on-demand database. | |
| | The King's Handbook of Boston, Profusely Illustrated
by Moses King
$11.65 Print on Demand, paperback
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"In making the series of King's Handbooks for all of the larger American cities, it has been the invariable policy to produce for each city a book in which all residents will take pride, and all visitors find pleasure."
This ninth edition, originally published in 1889, begins with an engraving of the new Boston Public Library McKim Building, which was begun in 1888 and completed in 1895.
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| | Bargain Books | Bargain Books are new books at used-book prices. We have a limited number of copies of these titles, so if you see something that you're interested in, come in and check it out soon. To see more of our Bargain Books section, visit our Bargain Books page.
| | Bird Cloud: A Memoir of Place by Annie Proulx $5.99, paperback (originally $16) | Bird Cloud is the name Annie Proulx gave her six hundred acre property in the Wyoming prairies, and her memoir details the process of making a home in that beautiful, wild, and sometimes unforgiving place. In addition to documenting her personal experience making her home, Bird Cloud delves into Proulx's occasionally dark family history.
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| | Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer $5.99, paperback (originally $14.95) |
Jonathan Safran Foer's New York Times bestselling novel tells the story of nine-year-old Oskar, whose father was killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. After his father's death, Oskar finds a key hidden in his father's closet and he goes on a journey throughout Manhattan to find the lock into which the keys fits.
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| | Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings on Politics, Economics, and Virtue by Benjamin Franklin $9.99 paperback (originally $34)
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
by Walter Isaacson
$6.99 paperback (originally $18.95)
| Benjamin Franklin was a writer, philosopher, inventor, statesman, and diplomat who changed the face of early America. In Walter Isaacson's biography, learn far more about him than is ever covered in U.S. History class, and then go straight to his personal writings to understand his stance on the values on which he built our country. |
| | Recent Finds Downstairs in the Used Book Department |
Featured used books go fast, so if any titles interest you, stop in to check them out soon. We will hold the book if you are the first caller to reserve it. To reserve a book, call (617) 661-1515 and ask for our Used Department. We're also always looking for books to buy. Learn about selling your used books, including textbooks, here.
| | Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge, Report Two: Mid-Cambridge by Antoinette F. Downing, Elisabeth MacDougall, and Eleanor Pearson Originally published by the Cambridge Historical Commission in 1967 $15 (paperback) in Very Good Condition | This is one of a series of five reports by the Cambridge Historical Commission to detail and catalog the architectural, as well as social and commercial, features of the various neighborhoods of Cambridge. Report Two focuses on Mid-Cambridge, defined as the area north and east of Massachusetts Ave. and west of Prospect St.
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| | Anthology of Ink: Ancient Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection edited by Anita Wong Originally published by Hong Kong University Press in 2004 $55 (paperback) in Very Good Condition | Anthology of Ink features over eighty examples of Chinese painting and calligraphy, dating mainly from the Ming and Qing dynasties. All these masterpieces were from renowned artists whose work epitomized both traditional and new styles of different schools during these periods. Text is in Chinese and English.
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| | Visionaire 29: Woman by various artists Originally published by Visionaire Publishing in 1999 $60 (paperback in mirrored case) in Very Good Condition | Visionaire is a multi-format album of fashion and art produced in exclusive numbered limited editions. Issue 29 explores the multifaceted nature of Woman--as model, Madonna, and muse. Highlights include the eight-part black-and-white series by Inez van Lamsweerde, Vinoodh Matadin, and Brana Wolf featuring supermodels in the nude.
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Author Events
On sale Mon, August 13: Martin Amis (9/7)
On sale Mon, August 27: Paul Auster (9/17) Gene Robinson (9/21) Junot Diaz (9/26)
Subscribe to the Harvard Book Store Google Event Calendar here.
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Fiction Fridays Every Friday through Labor Day
| | All new fiction is 15% off on Fridays this summer, both in the store and online (coupon code FICTIONFRIDAY).
| At Harvard Book Store
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Tax Holiday Sale Sat & Sun, Aug 11 & 12
| | Thanks to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, there's no sales tax on August 11th and 12th this year. We're celebrating with a 10% sale for our Frequent Buyers, both in the store and online. For details, click here.
| At Harvard Book Store
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Theda Skocpol Tues, Sept 4, 7PM
| | Harvard University's Theda Skocpol kicks off our fall event season with a discussion of Obama and America's Political Future.
| At Harvard Book Store
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Alan Wolfe Wed, Sept 5, 7PM
| | Boston College political science professor Alan Wolfe discusses Political Evil: What It Is and How to Combat It.
| At Harvard Book Store
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Yoram Hazony Fri, Sept 7, 3PM
| | Yoram Hazony, founder of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, discusses his new book, The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture.
| At Harvard Book Store
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Martin Amis Fri, Sept 7, 6PM
| | Acclaimed novelist, short story writer, and essayist Martin Amis reads from his newest novel, Lionel Asbo: State of England.
| At the Brattle Theatre
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Nassir Ghaemi Mon, Sept 10, 7PM
| | Tufts University professor of medicine Nassir Ghaemi discusses A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness.
| At Harvard Book Store
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Things to know about our $5 tickets...
$5 tickets are also coupons good for $5 off a purchase at events or at Harvard Book Store. Coupons expire 30 days after the event, and cannot be used for online purchases, event tickets, or gift certificates. Please note that your ticket only guarantees you a seat until 5 minutes before an event begins.
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We appreciate the feedback we get from readers of this e-newsletter.
Please send your comments and suggestions to Rachel at rcass@harvard.com. Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you in the store!
Rachel Cass Marketing Manager rcass@harvard.com
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