Our Authors Weigh In:

Eboo Patel (Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America, out August 8) on the shootings at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin:

The shooting in Oak Creek reminds us that the forces of prejudice are loud. They sling bigoted slurs and occasionally bring 9mm guns to places of worship. But we are not a country of Wade Michael Pages.

We are a country whose first president, George Washington, told a Jewish community leader that “The Government of the United States…gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”

We are a country where Jane Addams welcomed Jewish and Catholic immigrants streaming in from Eastern Europe in the 19th century as citizens, not as strangers.

We are a country where a young black preacher, Martin Luther King, Jr., learned nonviolence not only from Jesus Christ, but also from an Indian Hindu named Gandhi and from a Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hanh.

And we must be a country where a new generation of leaders rises up to write the next chapter in the glorious story of American pluralism, or else we will forfeit the territory to those who would shoot at our neighbors while they worship.

Eboo Patel and Hana Suckstorff at Sojourners

Mark Hyman (The Most Expensive Game in Town: The Rising Cost of Youth Sports and the Toll on Today’s Families) answering the question: Are Olympic Parents Supportive or Overbearing?

Exuberant parents aren’t the problem in youth sports. Overzealous, overly ambitious parents are. Undoubtedly, they are part of the U.S. delegation too. As parents, we make a horrible mistake when we confuse our ambitions with what kids truly want and need from sports. 

The New York Times  “Room for Debate”

Notable Mentions:

The Land Grabbers: The New Fight over Who Owns the Earth by Fred Pearce

Washington Post review: “In The Land Grabbers, Pearce has produced a powerful piece of journalism that illuminates how the drive for expanded food production is transforming the planet. Anyone who cares where her next meal is coming from should read it.” (Amen!)

A Twist of Faith: An American Christian's Quest to Help Orphans in Africa by John Donnelly

Review at Humanosphere, a blog attached to Seattle’s KPLU: “A rousing good read and cautionary tale of one man’s mission to help AIDS orphans in Africa — and how good intentions can pave the road to hell…”

The Cure for Everything: Untangling Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness, and Happiness by Tim Caulfield

Reviews at the New York Times ("though he may write with the cheerful self-deprecation of the slacker dude, he thinks with an academic’s rigor and precision and knows the health maintenance territory inside out"), Health Affairs ("he also discovered that finding the cure for anything is maddeningly elusive"), and Science-Based Medicine ("You’re never left wondering what the science says, but it’s distilled with his own particular perspective").

Coming Soon:

The $60,000 Dog: My Life With Animals by Lauren Slater (November)

Kirkus Reviews in print (Aug 15) and online (now): “Slater continually surprises with connections she makes. Beautifully written, and not just for animal lovers.”

Rare Birds: The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man Who Brought It Back from Extinction by Elizabeth Gehrman (October)

Publishers Weekly review July 23

Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious by Chris Stedman (November)

“Chris Stedman’s remarkable work has spanned from advocating for LGBTQ rights among Evangelical Christians to, in his current role at Harvard, founding the first-ever atheist-led interfaith initiative -- and he's only twenty-five. Part memoir and part blueprint, Faitheist not only recounts his personal journey (which would be a riveting story on its own), but also shows -- sensitively and humorously -- how Humanists can live out our values with both empathy and honesty. This book represents the growing secular movement at its very best.” —Greg M. Epstein, Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University, author of Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe

“If Chris Stedman had become a pastor, he’d have a big, big church. Instead, he’s a humanist hero, a compelling writer whose efforts to build bridges between non-believers and the faithful will leave a lasting mark. Faitheist should be required reading in Sunday schools and Richard Dawkins’s house alike.” —Kevin Roose, author of The Unlikely Disciple

Author Events:

Kate Bornstein (A Queer and Pleasant Danger)

August 9, 12:30pm Seattle: Amazon.com Meet the Author/Glamazonians Q&A and interview for Omnivoracious blog

August 11, 7pm  Seattle, Elliott Bay Book Co.

August 13, 7:30pm Portland, Powell's Books

August 14, 7:30pm San Francisco, Books Inc. in the Castro

August 15, 7pm Oakland, Diesel Books

August 16, 7:30pm Santa Cruz, Bookshop Santa Cruz

Mary Oliver (award-winning author of numerous books of poetry, including twelve available from Beacon Press.)

October 15, 2012 New York, NY: 92nd Street Y

Wednesday & Thursday, October 24 & 25, 2012 Boston, MA: Boston Museum of Fine Arts 

Sunday, October 28, 2012  Bethesda, MD:  The Strathmore PAC.  Evening Joint Reading with Mary Oliver & Billy Collins

Monday, November 12, 2012 Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University