Pollan, Pink among authors to speak at spring 2013 Maryville Talks Books events
1/11/13
ST. LOUIS – Maryville University’s signature author series Maryville Talks Books brings five acclaimed authors to the St. Louis area this winter and spring, from Pulitzer Prize-winner Elizabeth Strout to popular food and culture writer Michael Pollan. Author David Von Drehle visits campus to talk about his new Abraham Lincoln book, and Daniel H. Pink, who attracted an enthusiastic audience in a previous visit, will discuss his latest book about the art and science of selling. Novelist Lisa Gardner also comes to town to share details about her latest thriller Touch & Go.
Please note that locations vary for these Maryville Talks Books events, with complete details below. Admission to the on-campus events is free and open to the public, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. The off-campus Michael Pollan talk is a ticketed event.
Authors give a lecture, engage in a question-and-answer session and sign books, available for purchase at the events courtesy of Left Bank Books. Maryville Talks Books is co-sponsored by Maryville University, HEC-TV, St. Louis Public Radio 90.7 KWMU and Left Bank Books.
David Von Drehle – Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year
Friday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m.
Maryville University Buder Commons
In Rise to Greatness, acclaimed author David Von Drehle creates both a deeply human portrait of President Abraham Lincoln and a dramatic narrative about 1862, a fateful year in American history. This book traces the many difficult choices Lincoln faced during this year of the Civil War and how the experiences forged him into a singular leader.
Lisa Gardner – Touch & Go
Sunday, Feb. 10, at 4 p.m.
Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd
New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner returns with a heart-thumping thriller about what lurks behind the facade of a family that appears to be perfect. When investigator Tessa Leoni arrives at a crime scene in the Denbes’ home, it appears the family has been abducted, with only a pile of their most personal possessions remaining behind. She must uncover the family’s secrets to try and figure out where they’ve gone. No witnesses, no ransom demands, no motive. Just an entire family, vanished without a trace.
Daniel H. Pink – To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others
Wednesday, March 6, at 7 p.m.
Maryville University Auditorium
Whether it’s employees pitching colleagues on a new idea, entrepreneurs seeking investors, or parents encouraging children to study, people spend their days trying to move others. To Sell Is Human offers a fresh look at the art and science of selling. The result is a perceptive and practical book that offers fresh perspective and ultimately may transform what readers do at work, at school and at home. Daniel H. Pink, who served as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore from 1995 to 1997, is known for his books on the modern work environment.
Elizabeth Strout – The Burgess Boys
Friday, April 12, at 7 p.m.
Maryville University Library
Elizabeth Strout “animates the ordinary with astonishing force” according to The New Yorker her Pulitzer Prize-winning Olive Kitteridge. Tender, tough-minded, loving, and deeply illuminating about the ties that bind us to family and home, The Burgess Boys follows brothers Jim and Bob Burgess, who escaped from their Maine hometown as soon as they possibly could after their father’s death… until Susan–the Burgess sibling who stayed behind–urgently calls them home to help with her troubled teenage son.
Michael Pollan – Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation
Thursday, May 9, at 7 p.m.
This is a ticketed event
http://cooked.brownpapertickets.com/ Ticket admits one person and includes one copy of Cooked. $35.00 ($37.22 w/service fees).
Chaminade College Preparatory School, Skip Viragh Center for the Arts, 425 S. Lindbergh
In Cooked, Michael Pollan explores the enduring power of the four classical elements _fire, water, air, and earth _to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. Apprenticing himself to a succession of culinary masters, Pollan learns how to grill with fire, cook with liquid, bake with bread and ferment everything from cheese to beer. In the course of his journey, he discovers that the cook stands squarely between nature and culture. Both realms are transformed by cooking, and so, in the process, is the cook. Ticket packages are available at brownpapertickets.com.
Pollan is the author of four New York Times bestsellers: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual; In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto; The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World. The Omnivore’s Dilemma was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by both The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Contact Information for the events:
Chris Hollenbeck, Special Events Coordinator, 314-529-6854 (office), chollenbeck@maryville.edu
Media Contact
Janet Edwards, Editorial Content Specialist, Marketing and Community Relations, 314-529-9347 (office), jedwards@maryville.edu, 314-249-7982 (cell).
Note: Maryville Marketing and Community Relations has book jacket illustrations and author headshots. Please contact us at numbers listed above for needed art.