St. Louis Public Library

ST. LOUIS PUBLIC LIBRARY'S FEBRUARY AUTHORS TACKLE A WIDE-ARRAY OF CURRENT AND HISTORICAL TOPICS PLUS BLACK HISTORY MONTH KEYNOTE SPEAKER

 

St. Louis, MO... The St. Louis Public Library is proud to present authors who tackle a wide-array of current and historical topics during its February Authors @ Your Library:  J. Rixey Ruffin, Melanie Benjamin, Susan McBride, Charles Wheelan, and Carol Daniel.  In addition, law professor and author Anita Hill gives the Library's Black History Month Keynote Address. The events are FREE and open to the public.

 

·  J. Rixey Ruffin discusses and signs his new book, A Paradise of Reason: William Bentley and Enlightenment Christianity in the Early Republic.  The event takes place at the Buder Branch, 4401 Hampton Ave.,on February 2 at 10 a.m.

 

William Bentley, a pastor in Salem, Massachusetts, from 1783 to his death in 1819, had come to unique conclusions about how best to maintain a traditional understanding of Christianity in a world ever-changing by the forces of the Enlightenment. While he preached a liberal Christianity, his was also a rational one. It offered new and radical claims about the power of God and the attributes of Jesus.

 

A Paradise of Reason is also a study of the intellectual and tangible effects of rational religion in mercantile Salem and a social and political history of Salem in the early republic. It unravels the social and political consequences of Bentley's ideas.

 

Ruffin is an attorney in St. Louis and a former professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

 

Books available for purchase courtesy of the author.

 

·  Melanie Benjamin discusses and signs her new book, The Aviator's Wife. The event takes place at the Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., on February 7 at 7 p.m.

 

Benjamin pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America's most extraordinary couples: Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.  Drawing on the rich history of the 20^thcentury—from the late 1920s to the mid-1960s—and featuring cameos from such notable characters as Joseph Kennedy and Amelia Earhart, this work is a vividly imagined novel of a complicated marriage—revealing both its dizzying highs and its devastating lows. With power and grace, Benjamin provides new insight into what made this remarkable relationship endure.

 

Benjamin lives in Illinois, where she is at work on her next novel.

 

Books available for purchase courtesy of Left Bank Books.

 

·  Susan McBride discusses and signs her new book, The Truth About Love and Lightning. The event takes place in the Central Library Auditorium, 1301 Olive Street,on February 13 at 7 p.m.

This is a moving and emotional story of family, forgiveness, love, and magic. Pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's child, Abby Brink returns home to the family farm on the day of a tornado, only to discover a mysterious man who has been struck by lightning. Could this man be the father that she's wished would reappear in her life for years? As always, McBride weaves a tapestry of words and balances wry humor with a deeply touching narrative.

McBride is the author of several novels and a short memoir called In the Pink: How I Met the Perfect (Younger) Man, Survived Breast Cancer, and Found True Happiness After 40. She was named "Survivor of the Year" by the St. Louis chapter of Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in 2012 and was dubbed one of St. Louis' "Most Dynamic" in 2012 by the Ladue News.

Books available for purchase courtesy of  Subterranean Books.

 

·  Educator and author Anita Hill delivers the Library's Black History Month Keynote Address.  The event takes place in the Central Library Auditorium, 1301 Olive Street, on February 17 at 2 p.m.

 

A book signing follows. The event is FREE. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis.

 

FRIENDS Members—call 314-539-0359 for limited reserved seating.

 

Anita Hill hails from rural Oklahoma. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1980 and began her law career in Washington, D.C.  She worked as an advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and the Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In 1989, Hill became the first African American to be tenured at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

 

In 1991, Hill found herself in the public spotlight when she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation hearing for then U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Judge Clarence Thomas. After the hearing, she began speaking to audiences throughout the United States and around the world about social and political problems.

 

Professor Hill has spent nearly 25 years teaching law to both undergraduate and graduate students. She has authored numerous articles on commercial law, bankruptcy, civil rights, and women's leadership. Her goal is to encourage creative, equitable, and positive resolution of race, gender, and class issues.

 

In 1995, Anita Hill wrote her autobiography, Speaking Truth to Power.  In 2011, she penned another book, Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race and Finding Home.  She also has written commentary for Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Ms. Magazine.  Hill regularly appears on national television programs including Good Morning America, Meet the Press, The Today Show, and The Tavis Smiley Show.

 

Books available for purchase courtesy of Amber Books.

 

·  Charles Wheelan discusses and signs his new book, Naked Statistics. The event takes place in the Central Library Auditorium, 1301 Olive Street,on February 21 at 2 p.m.

 

Once considered tedious, the field of statistics is rapidly transforming into a discipline that Hal Varian at Google has actually called "sexy"—and with good reason. From batting averages and political polls to game shows and medical research, the real-world application of statistics is growing by leaps and bounds.

 

Wheelan strips away the arcane and technical details to get at the underlying intuition that is key to understanding the power of statistical concepts. How can we catch schools that cheat on standardized tests? How does Netflix know which movies you'll like? What is causing the rising incidence of autism? Statistics can be used to tackle these and other questions that are relevant and important today. With his trademark wit, accessibility, and sheer fun, Wheelan brings another essential discipline to life with that one-in-a-million statistics book that you'll read for pleasure.

 

Wheelan is the internationally best-selling author of Naked Economics and Naked Statistics. He teaches at Dartmouth College and lives in Hanover, New Hampshire, with his family.

 

Books available for purchase courtesy of Subterranean Books.

 

·  Carol A. Daniel discusses and signs her new book, All I Ever Wanted: Relationships, Marriage, Family.  The event takes place in the Central Library Auditorium, 1301 Olive Street, on February 27 at 7 p.m.

 

First and foremost a mother and wife, Daniel and her husband, Patrick, are celebrating 18 years of marriage. She is also co-host of Great Day St. Louis, the award-winning lifestyle television show. The twenty-seven-year veteran broadcaster brings a wealth of experience to both KMOV-TV and KMOX radio. She has worked as a campaign organizer, a recruiter for the U.S. Census Bureau, and a substitute teacher.

Daniel has been honored for her work by the National Newspaper Association, St. Louis Association of Black Journalists, The Missouri Broadcasters Association, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and the Monsanto YWCA. She was named to the YWCA Women's Leader Class of 2005. She has also received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission's Distinguished Local Media award.

Deeply involved in her community, Daniel volunteers her time and efforts to numerous organizations. She is a board member of the United Way of Greater St. Louis and Southeast Missouri State University Minority Affairs Council.

Books available for purchase courtesy of Left Bank Books.

 

 

For more information, call 314-206-6779.

 

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