On almost any evening of any week, you can enter Politics and Prose Books on Connecticut Ave. NW, confident that you will be able to hear - at no charge - a noted author discuss their book, and the issues, the life, the passion that went into it.  Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, biography, history, humor and more - this store, one of the great civilizing assets with which our region is adorned, offers them all.

    Talks offer substance, yet are digestible in length - typically a half-hour presentation, then a half-hour of Q&A from the audience, followed by a chance to meet the author personally and have them sign your book.  There is free parking, with trees, in the back and on nearby streets (Please respect the neighbors if you use their curbsides).  Comfortable chairs await you in nooks around the store,  inviting you to settle in for awhile.  The store's own cafe, good restaurants on the same block, and the depth and quality of the store itself, welcome you to a multifaceted evening of knowledge and inspiration.

    Below are just a few selections, Geotrees' picks for the rest of July and August.  There are more.  Visit the P&P home page at http://www.politics-prose.com/, and the store itself at 5015 Connecticut NW, just south of Nebraska.  Phone: (202) 364-1919; 1-800-722-0790.

    So visit, and ENJOY!

The editors

Geotrees.Com

Wednesday, July 15, 7 p.m.

IN THE GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES: AMERICA'S WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

Seth G. Jones
(W.W. Norton, $27.95)
From the Greeks to the Soviets, every world power that has invaded Afghanistan has suffered disastrous defeat.  Mr. Jones, a Rand analyst who has long studied this beleaguered nation, examines the current Taliban resurgence in light of ineffectual American military support.

Monday, July 20, 7 p.m.

LET'S GET FREE: HOW ORDINARY CITIZENS CAN TAKE BACK AMERICAN JUSTICE

Paul Butler
(New Press, $25.95)
Mr. Butler was a federal prosecutor when he was arrested on the street for a crime he did not commit.  His time on the other side of the criminal justice system convinced him that the system is not working.  Now a law professor at George Washington, Butler draws on his experiences for a fresh vision of legal reform.

Wednesday, July 22, 7 p.m.

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue

600 I Street NW, Washington DC

THE WAXMAN REPORT: HOW CONGRESS REALLY WORKS

Congressman Henry Waxman

(Twelve, $24.99)
California Congressman Waxman, who for three decades has served as a watchdog for citizens and consumers, and is now Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives, will talk about how Congress works and how it can work better.

This is a ticketed event.  Tickets are $6, or receive two free tickets with the purchase of the book ($24.99).  Call P&P at 202-364-1919 for ticket and book purchase.

ALSO, AT THE STORE ITSELF - Wednesday, July 22, 7 p.m.

AMERICAN RADICAL: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF I.F. STONE

D.D. Guttenplan

(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $35)
Legendary journalist I.F. Stone led a life at the barricades for close to six decades.  He was widely admired (and reviled) for his tenacious writing and for his beliefs in the betterment of mankind. This book is a history of the 20th-century Left as well as an  admiring biography.

Sunday, July 26, 5 p.m.

EMPIRE OF ILLUSION: THE END OF LITERACY AND THE TRIUMPH OF SPECTACLE

Chris Hedges

(Nation Books, $24.95)
In his new cultural study, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer presents his view of a deeply-divided America.  While a minority of people maintain a high level of literacy, the growing majority ignore print-based media, serious films, and theater and instead escape into spectacle and illusion.

Monday, August 4, 7 p.m.

SHOP CLASS AS SOULCRAFT: AN INQUIRY INTO THE VALUE OF WORK

Matthew B. Crawford

(Penguin Press, $25.95)

In this wise and often funny book, a philosopher/mechanic systematically destroys the pretensions of the high-prestige workplace and makes an irresistible case for working with one's hands. Mr. Crawford left D.C. think-tanks and the Committee on Social Thought to open a motorcycle shop.  In this memoir-cum-manifesto, he suggests that knowledge work is ultimately unfulfilling, and recommends manual trades as a more engaging way to both think and do.

Thursday, August 13, 4 p.m.

HOWARD DEAN'S PRESCRIPTION FOR REAL HEALTHCARE REFORM

Howard Dean

(Chelsea Green, $12.95)
From his unique perspective as a physician, former Vermont Governor, and DNC Chairman, Dean takes on the obstacles to health care reform, counters the hollow arguments and rhetorical charges of a socialist agenda, and looks at rising health care costs and their impact on individuals and small businesses.

Thursday, August 20, 7 p.m.

Alex S. Jones

LOSING THE NEWS: THE FUTURE OF THE NEWS THAT FEEDS DEMOCRACY

(Oxford Univ., $24.95)
Mr. Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning media critic currently at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, argues that the real problem with the media isn't bias but an erosion of fact-based news.  Without the reliable pipeline of accurate reporting, we lack the information that will allow us to be capable watchdogs of government.

Tuesday, August 25, 7 p.m.

THE HEALING OF AMERICA

T.R. Reid

(Penguin Press, $25.95)

Mr. Reid, a longtime correspondent for The Washington Post and an NPR commentator, tours successful health care systems worldwide, revealing possibilities for the U.S.  As the O'Bama Administration pursues health care reform, we can look for models in wealthy, free market, industrialized democracies.

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