At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, September 29, 2010.

During his four years in office, President Jimmy Carter made daily entries in a personal diary, recording his thoughts, feelings, triumphs, and frustrations. He also reflected on the major events of his presidency, from the Camp David Accords and the restoration of diplomatic relations in China to the creation of new departments on the domestic side, including the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. These entries are now contained in his memoir, White House Diary (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010), which provides a remarkably intimate portrait of President Carter's White House experiences.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, September 29, 2010.

Drawing from 300 years of history and an eclectic blend of international culinary traditions, lowcountry cuisine represents a truly unique facet of American regional cooking. Culinary historian Hoppin' John Taylor traces the historical, geographical, and cultural foundations of this delicious cuisine in his cookbook, Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking (Houghton Mifflin, 2000). Recipes include She-Crab Soup, Sweet Watermelon Pickles, and even a historical reprint of a recipe for Carolina Rice Bread.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, September 23, 2010.

Ted Leonsis shares his secrets to happiness in the book, The Business of Happiness (Regnery Press, 2010). Based on research, personal stories, and anecdotes from a wide range of celebrities, Leonsis offers concrete advice on how to become happier at work, at home, and in personal life. Leonsis is a serial entrepreneur, but is perhaps best-known in the D.C. area as the owner of the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards. The book is co-authored by John Buckley.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, September 22, 2010.

In 1824, Europe was in the midst of tremendous upheaval in the wake of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. In this environment, Beethoven premiered his Symphony No. 9 in D Minor. Using this premiere as a starting point, music historian Harvey Sachs' book, The Night: Beethoven and the World in 1824 (Random House, 2010), reviews the literary, artistic and social movements of the time and assesses the impact and legacy of Beethoven's seminal work. Sachs, a 2010-11 fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a teacher at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.

Scientists have long struggled to create a unified theory that explains the universe, its creation, and our own existence in it. In his new book, A Tear at the Edge of Creation: A Radical New Vision for Life in an Imperfect Universe (Free Press, 2010), physicist Marcelo Gleiser suggests that no such theory exists. Instead, he posits that a series of complex, inexplicable imbalances combined to create the universe as we know it. Gleiser is the Appleton Professor of Natural Philosophy and a professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, September 14, 2010.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright discusses her unique combination of statecraft and personal expression in her memoir, Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box (Harper, 2009). From the snake pin she wore in response to Iraqi press coverage to the zebra pin she donned in honor of her meeting with Nelson Mandela, Albright used her jewelry to send a message. The memoir combines stories about her many years of diplomatic service with images of hundreds of the pins in her collection. Many of these pins are currently on view in the Smithsonian Castle as part of the collection Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, August 4, 2010.

Mary Roach takes you on a trip into the science of life in space in her newest book, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (W.W. Norton & Company, 2010). Roach personally experienced some of the many space simulations used by scientists as they prepare to launch astronauts into space. From 17,000 mile an hour crash tests to zero gravity simulations, Roach make a surreal experience very real.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, July 24, 2010.

If you can’t get enough trivia, Stan Newman’s book, 15,003 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia (Random House, 2007) extensively covers the world of little known facts, from the number of hearts an octopus has to films with titles without any upper-case letters. Apply these facts to his book, Trivia Crosswords to Keep You Sharp (Puzzlewright, 2009), which features 50 themed puzzles to challenge even the biggest trivia nut.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, July 24, 2010.

Ken Jennings is the most successful Jeopardy! contestant of all time, with over $3,000,000 in winnings. He celebrates the world of trivia in his books, Brainiac and Ken Jennings’s Trivia Almanac (Random House). He shares the historical roots of trivia competitions, discusses his experiences during his record-breaking Jeopardy! run, and offers up a plethora of fun trivia facts.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, July 21, 2010.

Celebrity chef Michael Psilakis redefined traditional Greek and innovative American cooking with his three acclaimed New York restaurants. He continues to honor Greek cuisine with his book, How to Roast a Lamb (Little, Brown and Company, 2009). In it, Psilakis shares favorite recipes, family photographs, and personal stories about growing up immersed in Greek culture.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, July 21, 2010.

British historian and best-selling author Alison Weir illuminates the lives two of the most influential women in English history: Anne Boleyn and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Weir combines scholarly rigor with a novelist’s flair for storytelling to bring these two absorbing women to life in the biographies, The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn and Eleanor of Aquitaine (Ballantine). She further brings Eleanor to life with a detailed fictional account of the fascinating queen’s life in her latest novel, Captive Queen (Ballantine, 2010).

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, July 17, 2010.

In Renaissance Italy, food was not merely for eating. From still-life paintings to embellished sacred scenes and even edible table decorations imitating actual works of art, Renaissance artists and chefs used food as a feast for the mind and eye, as well as the body. In his book Tastes and Temptations: Food and Art in Renaissance Italy (University of California Press, 2009) John Varriano, professor emeritus of art history at Mount Holyoke College, examines the convergence of food and art.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, July 6, 2010.

In Time (Picador, 2009), author Eva Hoffman discusses the changing nature of time in the modern world. The book, a collection of four essays, analyzes society’s efforts to control time, rather than to let it pass, and the resulting effect this has on work, mental and physical health, and personal relationships. Hoffman is a visiting professor of literature at MIT.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, July 6, 2010.

Using stories from ancient Japan, architect and author Azby Brown explores the challenges faced in Edo-period Japanese society. Two hundred years ago, the population in Japan was booming, but resources - including land, water, and energy - were scarce. Using policies of restraint and conscious consumption, people were able to realign society with nature, while still leading satisfying lives. Brown illustrates how these strategies can serve as a blueprint for greener living today in his book, Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan (Kodansha International, 2010).

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, June 29, 2010.

Armed with a scholar’s passion, a con man’s smile, and a daredevil’s nerves, Robert Wittman spent twenty years as the creator and leader of the FBI’s elite Art Crime Team, recovering hundreds of priceless antiquities and works of art. He recounts his awe-inspiring undercover operations in his book Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures (Crown, 2010). He details some of his exploits, from elaborate sting operations to heart-pounding escapes while under gunfire.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, June 29, 2010.

As ancient literature and a cornerstone of the Christian faith, the New Testament exerts a powerful religious and cultural impact. In two different books, Luke Timothy Johnson offers a fresh perspective on the religious, historical, anthropological, and literary roots of this profoundly influential collection of writings. The New Testament: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2010) explores the origins and evolution of these texts. Among the Gentiles: Greco-Roman Religion and Christianity (Yale, 2009) investigates the extensive influence of Greco-Roman religious worship on the development of Christianity. Johnson is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Emory University.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, June 24, 2010.

In 1928, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s public reputation rested mainly on his family connections and his distant relationship with Theodore Roosevelt. By the time he died in 1945, Roosevelt was beginning his fourth term in office as president and was revered by much of the world. Historian and National Book Award winner Alan Brinkley recounts Roosevelt’s rise to the presidency, from his privileged childhood to his initial entry to the political arena and the massive changes he affected during his three-plus terms in office.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

White House executive pastry chef Bill Yosses is known as “The Crustmaster” in the Obama household, but his expertise extends beyond pies. In his new book, The Perfect Finish (Norton, 2010), Yosses offers up some of his personal favorite dessert recipes, from brownies and cookies to his signature warm vanilla cake. For novice pastry chefs, Yossef also explains techniques, unfamiliar ingredients, and even offers advice on storage and transportation.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Monday, June 14, 2010.

Jay Feinman takes on the challenge of explaining law to the curious neophyte in his new book, Law 101: Everything You Need to Know About American Law (Oxford University Press, 2010). Readers are introduced to every facet of the American legal system, including constitutional law, personal injury law, criminal law, and law on the Internet. Feinman also delves into recent developments in law, such as the legal response to the war on terror and new information about 2009 Supreme Court cases. Feinman is a distinguished professor of law at Rutgers University.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, June 10, 2010.

Driven by a desire to create a great American pinot noir, Randall Grahm established Boony Doon Estate Vineyard in 1981. The vineyard was one of the first to embrace Rhone varietals, giving Grahm the nickname “The Rhone Ranger”. Since then, Grahm has shifted his focus to dry farming – using Old World techniques to produce truly original wines with terroir, or “a sense of place.” Grahm offers a glimpse into the wine industry and his own place in it in his book Been Doon So Long: A Randall Grahm Vinthology (University of California Press, 2009).

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, June 8, 2010.

Music journalist Tom Moon celebrates the best music across all genres in his book, 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (Workman, 2008). He draws from the musical worlds of classical, jazz, pop, opera, soundtracks and more, while offering listening notes, anecdotes, and suggestions for further listening with each recording entry. The book also offers an index and playlist suggestions for different moods and occasions. Moon has contributed to such publications as Rolling Stone and Esquire, and to National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. He is also a musician.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, June 5, 2010.

Entrepreneurship is not just a business skill; it is a state of mind. The best entrepreneurs look for and see patterns that others miss, and use those insights not for personal reward, but for the advancement of humanity. Larry Robertson explores this entrepreneurial mindset in his book, A Deliberate Pause: Entrepreneurship and its Moment in Human Progress (Morgan James, 2009). Robertson is the founder of Lighthouse Consulting and an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, June 2, 2010.

John Waters profiles his favorite personalities in his new book, Role Models (Farrar, Straus and Giraux, 2010). From the famous (Tennessee Williams) to the infamous (Leslie Van Houten) to the relatively unknown (Baltimore bar owner Esther Martin), Waters takes an irreverent and intimate look at the figures who shaped his avant-garde life and pioneer work. Waters is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and visual artist, best known for his cult films, including Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and Cecil B. DeMented.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, May 22, 2010.

Actor Louis Gossett, Jr. rose to fame with his Emmy-winning role in the television mini-series Roots and Oscar-winning performance in An Officer and a Gentleman. Now he tells the story of his fifty years in the entertainment world—from his early success on the New York stage appearing with Ruby Dee and Sidney Poitier in Raisin in the Sun, through his long Hollywood career working alongside countless stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Dennis Quaid. In An Actor and a Gentleman (Wiley, 2010), he writes frankly of his struggle to get leading roles and fair pay as a black man in Hollywood, the problems with drugs and alcohol that took years to overcome, and of his current work to eradicate racism and violence and give our children a better future.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, May 20, 2010.

B. Janet Hibbs challenges us to go beyond communication styles, gender, and age to gaps to strengthen our relationships through fairness. Her book, Try to See It My Way: Being Fair in Love and Marriage (Avery/Penguin, 2009), offers couples practical guidance on how to apply the principles of fairness in relationships, resulting in healthier and happier interactions. Hibbs is a relational ethics expert, a family psychologist, and has served as a clinical supervisor and on the faculty at Drexel University.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, May 20, 2010.

Take an unforgettable journey of smoke and fire through the world’s barbecue tradition with Steve Raichlen. In Planet Barbeque! (Workman, 2010), Raichlen compiled 275 of the tastiest recipes from 53 countries. From Colombia to Cambodia, Australia to Turkey, and everywhere in between, Raichlen shares the methods of the world’s most inspiring grill masters, who raise grilling to an art. He also suggests inventive methods of grilling for the adventurous chef, using shovels, cloth, and even pine needles. Raichlen hosts two PBS TV series, and is an award-winning grill expert, historian, and best-selling author.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Monday, May 17, 2010.

In 1930, writer Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband, Harold Nicolson, purchased Sissinghurst Castle and 400 acres of surrounding property. They transformed the land into what is now the world-famous, lushly beautiful Sissinghurst Gardens. Eighty years later, the Nicolsons’ grandson, Adam Nicolson, is working to expand the gardens to include a mixed organic farm, raising livestock and produce for use at the National Trust Sissinghurst restaurant. In Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History (Viking, 2010), Nicolson recounts the humorous efforts and challenges involved in transforming the gardens for enjoyment in the 21st century and beyond.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, May 13, 2010.

More than 20 years after writing the best-selling novel Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow has followed up with a long-awaited sequel. Featuring main character Rusty Sabich, now the chief judge of an appellate court, Innocent (Grand Central, 2010) finds Rusty in a riveting psychological match with his old nemesis, Tommy Molto, following the mysterious death of Rusty’s wife. In addition to writing several best-selling and award-winning novels, Turow is a practicing attorney.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, May 12, 2010.

One of America’s most esteemed historians, Gordon S. Wood, offers a fascinating glimpse of the early American Republic, from 1789 and the beginning of the national government to the end of the War of 1812. In his new book, Empire of Liberty (Oxford University Press, 2009), Wood examines this pivotal era and the resulting anxiety, confusion, crisis and unbridled growth as America evolved as a nation. Wood is Alva O. Way University Professor Emeritus at Brown University. He is also the author of several books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Radicalism of the American Revolution.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, May 6, 2010.

Former first lady Laura Bush discusses her personal journey from dusty Midland, Texas to the White House and the world stage in her memoir, Laura Bush: Spoken from the Heart (Scribner, 2010). She looks back on her childhood in the rugged, oil boom-and-bust culture of Midland, the nearly ten years she spent as an inner-city school teacher and librarian, and of course, her marriage to George W. Bush. Mrs. Bush also reflects on her time as first lady in the radically different world climate following the events of September 11th, a time that included visits to 77 countries on behalf of the United States, including three visits to war-torn Afghanistan and five to Africa.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, May 6, 2010.

Anthropologist Wade Davis is a leading advocate for the world’s indigenous cultures. In The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World (Anansi, 2009), he takes us on a fascinating tour through a handful of indigenous cultures and worldviews. From Polynesian navigational arts to the philosophy of the Australian Aboriginal peoples, Davis reveals the thoughts, dreams, myths, and ideas created by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness, while reminding us of the encroaching dangers posed by unchecked globalization. Davis is an ethnographer, writer, photographer, filmmaker, and Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, May 1, 2010.

Susan Wise Bauer’s latest book, The Well-Educated Mind (W.W. Norton & Company, 2003), serves as a roadmap for adults seeking self-education in the classical tradition. Bauer describes the five major literary genres, their historical development, and the scholarly debates associated with each. She then provides a representative list of works for each genre, along with tips on improving reading skills, which ultimately assist the reader in making vital connections between ancient traditions and contemporary writing.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, April 29, 2010.

Historian Arthur Herman depicts the fateful contrasts and surprising similarities between two great leaders of the post-colonial era. In Gandhi and Churchill (Random House, 2009), Herman analyzes Gandhi and Churchill’s era, their careers and ideologies, and the roles each played in shaping India as an independent nation. Herman is a New York Times best-selling author.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Friday, April 23, 2010.

In 1993, Greg Mortenson climbed Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second-highest mountain in the Karakoram region. On his journey he encountered children writing in the dirt with sticks, and he promised to help them build a school. Seventeen years later, Mortenson has founded the Central Asia Institute, established more than 130 schools in rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and written a New York Times bestselling book, Three Cups of Tea, about his experiences. In his latest book, Stones Into Schools (Viking, 2009), Mortenson picks up where his last book left off, focusing on his efforts to establish schools for girls in Afghanistan. He also shares his broader vision to promote peace through education and literacy. Mortenson will receive the ninth annual Benjamin Franklin Creativity Award in honor of his humanitarian efforts.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, April 22, 2010.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author E.O. Wilson’s first work of fiction, Anthill (W.W. Norton & Co., 2010), is an epic story that’s part thriller and part parable. It features a modern-day Huck Finn character in Alabama whose improbable love for ants ends up transforming his life and the lives of those around him. Wilson is Pellegrino University Research Professor emeritus and honorary curator in entomology at Harvard University.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, April 17, 2010.

Cooking teacher, culinary journalist, and cookbook author Monica Bhide provides a personal look at modern Indian cooking in her latest cookbook, Modern Spice - Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen (Simon & Schuster, 2009). Bhide departs from the standard Indian recipes, and instead focuses on traditional Indian spices and flavors, with reinterpreted recipes to make them more accessible to the international kitchen.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, April 15, 2010.

In The Swan Thieves (Little Brown and Company, 2010), Elizabeth Kostova’s latest historical novel, the protagonist descends from a life of artistic creativity into one of obsession and violence. Moving back and forth in time from a tragedy during the time of the French Impressionists to the present day, the story traces the main character’s attempt to destroy a canvas hanging in the National Gallery of Art. The book also takes a revealing look at the relationship between creativity and madness.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, April 13, 2010.

Physicist, cosmologist, and astrobiologist Paul Davies is one of a handful of people who would be the first to know if we made contact with aliens. But he says our approach to the search has been all wrong. In his new book, Eerie Silence (Harcourt, 2010), redefines the search, challenging existing ideas of what form an alien intelligence might take, how it might try to communicate with us, and how we should respond if it does.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Monday, April 12, 2010.

In her new book, For You, Mom. Finally, (Penguin, 2010), Ruth Reichl traces a life filled with good food and inspiring chefs on her journey from restaurant critic and food editor for the New York Times to the top ranks of the culinary world. Combining food history with family history, Reichl takes a clear-eyed look at her own determination to pursue a career in the food industry, as well as the sacrifices her mother made to make sure her daughter’s life would be open to choices. Reichl is the editor of the comprehensive Gourmet Today Cookbook and the last editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, April 6, 2010.

Matt and Ted Lee, gurus of the Southern gastronomic tradition, have combined the old with the new in their cookbook, The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern: Knock-Out Dishes with Down-Home Flavor (Clarkson Potter, 2009). They drew from the slow-cooked, deep-fried recipes of their childhood and updated them for contemporary kitchens and palates, focusing on crisp produce and lighter cooking methods while respecting venerable folkways. The Lees Bros. are contributing editors for Travel + Leisure and wine columnists for Martha Stewart Living.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, March 31, 2010.

Mithradates led a colorful life, to say the least. He claimed ancestry from Alexander the Great and Darius of Persia; he seized Greece and modern-day Turkey, and massacred 80,000 Roman citizens in an attempt to challenge Rome’s power; and he mastered poisons, allowing him to foil assassination attempts and eliminate rivals. Adrienne Mayor brings this ruthless and visionary rebel-king to life in her book, The Poison King: The Life and Times of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy (Princeton University Press, 2009). Mayor is an author and a visiting scholar in classic and history of science at Stanford University.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

John L. Esposito is one of America's leading authorities on Islam. Now, in The Future of Islam (Oxford University Press, 2010), Esposito paints a brilliant portrait of Islam today--and tomorrow. He draws on a lifetime of thought and research to sweep away the negative stereotypes and provide an accurate, richly nuanced, and revelatory account of the fastest growing religion in the world. Esposito is a professor of religion and international affairs, Georgetown University, and founding director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

Graham Schweig’s translation of the Bhagavad Gita (HarperOne, 2007) from the Sanskrit into a rich, but accessible text grants readers new insight into the most important sacred text of Hinduism. The text, written between 500 and 50 B.C. as a dialog between a prince and a charioteer, uses the prince’s moral and ethical conflicts to highlight what is most important in life. It also serves as a guide for how mortals can achieve inner peace. Schweig is an associate professor of religion at Christopher Newport University.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

Although Jane Austen’s books have been reinvented by fans for decades, Seth Grahame-Smith was the first to create a “monster mash-up” using Austen’s text. His New York Times best-selling first novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Quirk Books, 2009), uses 85% of Austen’s original text fused with zombie mayhem, Ninjas, and a combat-trained Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, who must battle otherworldly forces while they slowly fall in love.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

Continuing with the trend of combining Jane Austen text with supernatural elements, Ben H. Winters expands the original story of Sense and Sensibility to include an array of savage sea creatures. In addition to Austen’s meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rogues, the Dashwood sisters must overcome tentacled monsters as they pursue their paths to true love. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (Quirk Books, 2009) is a New York Times best-selling novel.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

Regina Jeffers is a bestselling author and re-inventor of Jane Austen text. Two of her earlier novels, Darcy’s Temptation and Darcy’s Passions (Ulysses Press, 2009), reinterpreted Austen’s Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy’s point of view, depicting his growing love for Elizabeth, his transformation into Elizabeth’s true love, and the early years of their marriage. With her latest novel, Vampire Darcy’s Desire (Ulysses Press, 2009), Jeffers rewrites Mr. Darcy as a vampire, torn between his love for Elizabeth and his desire to end the evil workings of master vampire George Wickham.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, February 27, 2010.

Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace served as the administrative and ceremonial center of the far-flung Ottoman Empire for 400 years. The Palace housed the government, state treasury, mint, and highest educational institutions, as well as serving as the private home of the sultans and their families. From the lavish gardens to the hidden harems to the executioners’ yard, leading Turkish tour guide Serif Yenen provides a peek at this sumptuous bygone world in his books, Quick Guide Istanbul and Quick Guide Topkapi Palace (Serif Yenen, 2009).

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, February 25, 2010.

Egyptian history, folkloric styles, and religious beliefs converged to create one of the world’s most multi-faceted cuisines. Combining elements of Middle Eastern and North African cooking, Egypt is a region rich in distinctive culinary traditions. Culinary historian Amy Riolo showcases the delicious fare of the region in Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture (Hippocrene Books, 2009). The book includes more than 150 recipes, plus restaurant advice and a “Where to Buy” guide for the adventurous diner or cook.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, February 24, 2010.

In The Science of Liberty: Democracy, Reason, and the Laws of Nature (HarperCollins, 2010), Timothy Ferris> investigates the co-development of scientific and political revolutions. He posits that the scientific revolution, in addition to rescuing billions from poverty, fear, hunger, and disease, also allowed the values of Enlightenment to thrive politically. In a symbiotic, but often overlooked relationship, the rise of liberalism permitted scientific thought to flourish to an even greater extent. Ferris is an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, February 23, 2010.

Historian and University of West Georgia professor emeritus John Ferling is a leading expert on America’s early struggles to emerge as a nation. In addition to examining the major battles and events surrounding the Revolutionary War, Ferling illuminates the lives of some of the most famous early Americans. The First of Men: A Life of George Washington and John Adams: A Life (both published by Oxford University Press) explore the lives of George Washington and John Adams. From their character flaws to their greatest achievements to their lasting legacies, Ferling shines a spotlight on these great Americans.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, February 23, 2010.

Mayan literature is among the oldest in the world, spanning from the third century C.E. to the present day. Author and scholar Dennis Tedlock draws on his decades of living and working among the Maya to present a survey of Mayan texts in his latest book, 2000 Years of Mayan Literature (University of California Press, 2010). From the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions to the emergence of Mayan writing using the Roman alphabet, Tedlock brings the intellectual world of the Maya to life. Tedlock is a distinguished professor of English and research professor of anthropology at SUNY, Buffalo.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

New York Times writer Bruce Weber provides an inside look at the private world of baseball umpires. Weber attended one of only two official umpire training schools in the country. He also delved into the history of baseball, spent three years traveling to stadiums all over the country, and interviewed dozens of players, coaches, and former umpires. Weber’s book, As They See ‘Em (Scribner, 2009), combines his years of research with hilarious anecdotes to show an umpires-eye view of the game.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

Inspired by the eye-opening events of 9/11, the Asian tsunami of 2004, and Hurricane Katrina, more people are waking up to the value of service. Many have discovered that vacation volunteering offers unique opportunities to incorporate service into already hectic lives, while allowing travelers to explore destinations with new eyes. In his book 500 Places Where You Can Make a Difference (Wiley, 2009), Andrew Mersmann shares the range of service-oriented vacations available in stunning locations around the world.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, February 16, 2010.

In order to understand the arts, we must understand evolutionary science. So says Denis Duton in his groundbreaking new book, The Art Instinct (Bloomsbury Press, 2008). As he observes, people are universally driven to create beautiful things. Duton explores this human quirk from a Darwinian standpoint, examining the evolutionary traits that drive humans to paint, compose, and write. Duton, a professor of the philosophy of art at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, is also the founder and editor of the popular website Arts & Letters Daily

At The Smithsonian Associates on Friday, February 5, and Saturday, February 6, 2010.

Perfume experts Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez illuminate the art of fragrance in their book, Perfumes: The A-Z Guide (Penguin, 2009). From the heavenly to the odious, Turin and Sanchez describe and rank more than 1200 fragrances. They also discuss olfactory science, the history of perfume, general types of fragrances, and offer advice to consumers on how to choose a perfume. Turin is a biophysicist at MIT, chief technology officer for a fragrance molecule design company, and author of numerous articles on scent and science. Sanchez is a longtime perfume critic and writer.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

From the stone heads of Easter Island to the ecological wonders of the Galapagos Islands, some of the world’s most unique geographic and cultural treasures are also the most endangered. Editor and travel writer Holly Hughes describes these vanishing landscapes in 500 Places to See Before They Disappear (Wiley, 2008). Hughes explains the history of each destination, identifies the problems that threaten its existence, and offers practical tips for socially responsible travelers, including how to get there, where to stay, and who benefits from your tourist dollars.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, February 2, 2010.

Curtis Roosevelt offers an unparalleled glimpse into the lives of his grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. As a child, Curtis Roosevelt lived in the White House for 12 years, along with his grandparents, sister, and mother. During that time, he and his sister became two of the most famous children in the country. They were also firsthand observers of history, from the Great Depression to World War II. In his book, Too Close to the Sun: Growing Up in the Shadow of My Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor (PublicAffairs, 2008), Roosevelt reflects on his memories from that time, and discusses the joys and challenges of growing up in the public eye.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, January 28, 2010.

Neuroscientist R. Douglas Fields is the chief of the Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. He is also a leading researcher on glial cells, which integrate communication networks in the brain and control electrical activity. In his book, The Other Brain (Simon and Schuster), Fields explores recent and revolutionary research on glial cells and their links to health - including cancer, schizophrenia and depression, paralysis, and brain repair following injury and stroke.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Monday, January 25, 2010.

The ancient site of Abydos offers a tantalizing glimpse into ancient Egyptian history. Among the many incredible finds at the site include the graves of the earliest Egyptian kings, a cult center for the god Osiris, a fleet of the world’s earliest surviving boats, and the first signs of writing in Egypt. In his book Abydos: Egypt’s First Pharaohs and the Cult of Osiris (Thames & Hudson, 2009), David O’Connor offers new insights into this 4,000-year-old site, and discusses the origins of kingship in Egypt and the formation of the early state organization. O’Connor is a professor of Ancient Egyptian Art at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, January 20, 2010.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explains the recent financial crisis, analyzes the ineffective US response, and outlines a way forward in his latest book, Freefall: American, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy (W.W. Norton, 2010). He focuses on the ideas he has championed his entire career: restoring the balance between markets and government, addressing the inequalities of the global financial system, and demanding more good ideas (and less ideology) from economists.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, January 14, 2010.

Renowned historical fiction writer Tracy Chevalier is known for creating captivating characters and atmospheres, seamlessly combining actual figures and events with imagined details. Her new book, Remarkable Creatures (Dutton, 2010), is based on the life of Mary Anning, a 19th-century fossil hunter who made some of the greatest geological discoveries of her time. The novel also explores class and social prejudice, and provides a revealing portrait of the intricate and resilient nature of female friendship.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, December 2, 2009.

Lidia Bastianich extends “Lidia’s Italy” to all Americans through her restaurants, recipes, cookbooks, and TV series.  Through her delectable dishes, tales of Italian friends and family, and cooking tips, Lidia takes us on a tour of Italy’s lesser-known regions and the little-known treasures of popular destinations in her latest book, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy (Knopf, 2009).

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, December 2, 2009.

Historian Lars Brownworth reveals the legacy of Byzantium and its capitol, Constantinople, in his first book, Lost to the West (Crown, 2009). The Byzantine story is fraught with palace intrigue, glittering wealth, heroic leaders, and villainous scoundrels. For more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization. From subsidized health care to primary education for both sexes, Constantinople bequeathed a towering legacy.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Monday, November 23, 2009.

Throughout his illustrious writing career, Orhan Pamuk has been an influential voice for the richness and complexity of life in his native Turkey. His novels, from Snow to My Name is Red, have received widespread international acclaim, culminating with the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. Pamuk’s new novel, The Museum of Innocence (Knopf, 2009), traces the life of a lovelorn collector through the streets of Istanbul, from the opulent parties of Istanbul’s Westernized bourgeoisie to the impoverished backstreets of the city’s seediest neighborhoods.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, November 21, 2009.

Nancy Harmon Jenkins is a food writer, journalist, and historian with a passion for Mediterranean cuisine. In addition to writing for such publications as The New York Times and Food & Wine Magazine, Jenkins has written several of her own books on the great culinary traditions of the Mediterranean region. These books include The Essential Mediterranean, Cucina del Sole, and The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook (William Morrow Cookbooks). In her writing, she advocates for the “slow food” approach, which allows cooks to savor the creation of simple dishes that are also hearty, healthy, and flavorful.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Monday, November 16, 2009.

David Wroblewski’s first and best-selling-novel The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (Ecco/ HarperCollins Publishers, 2008) is a tale of the power of communication, man’s relationship with dogs, changing family dynamics and a terrible mystery. Drawing on his own Wisconsin childhood and his family’s experience raising dogs, he weaves a story of complexity and heartbreaking loss that echoes the ancient tragedy of Hamlet. 

At The Smithsonian Associates on Monday, November 16, 2009.

Architectural photographer Mike Torrey turns his artistic eye to Machu Picchu in his book Stone Offerings – Machu Picchu’s Terraces of Enlightenment (Lightpoint Press, 2009). With over 100 photographs, Torrey’s book captures the majestic views and haunting stone formations of this sacred place. The book includes an introduction in both English and Spanish by Marie Arana, a writer at large for the Washington Post and a native of the Peruvian coast.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, November 12, 2009.

Veteran journalist and political analyst Gwen Ifill is the managing editor for Washington Week and a senior correspondent for The Newshour with Jim Lehrer. Her recent research on African American politicians, including President Barach Obama and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, resulted in The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, which offers timely and insightful analysis of the influence of black politicians at a pivotal time in history.

At The Smithsonian Associates Thursday, November 12, 2009.

Jeff Corwin is a biologist, conservationist, Emmy-winning producer, and TV host on Animal Planet and the Travel Channel. He hosts Food Network’s Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin, and produced the MSNBC documentary based on his book, 100 Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth's Most Endangered Species (Rodale, 2009).

In100 Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth's Most Endangered Species, Corwin provides a riveting first-hand look at remarkable and extremely rare wild animals – species with only 100 individuals remaining in the wild, from the Bornean orangutan to the Sumatran rhino, and the Iberian lynx.  Along the way, he shares animal adventures and battles waged in defense of earth’s most threatened creatures.

At The Smithsonian Associate on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.

Author Pablo Navas Sanz de Santamaria celebrates the art of 19th century American painter Frederic Church. Among his extensive world-wide expeditions, Church spent time traveling through Ecuador and Colombia, painting their spectacular natural beauty. Santamaria’s book, The Journey of Frederic Edwin Church through Colombia and Ecuador April-October 1853 (Villegas Editores, 2008), reveals new facets of Church’s life, including diary entries that offer fresh and fascinating look at the natural life of Colombia and Ecuador.

At The Smithsonian Associates Monday, November 2, 2009.

Historian and economist, Niall Ferguson, is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University and William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at Jesus College, Oxford University, and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.  He is a prolific writer, best-selling author, and frequent contributor to television, radio, and print on both sides of the Atlantic.  Among his many publications, The World’s Banker: The History of the House of Rothschild (Penguin, 1998) won the Wadsworth Prize for Business History.  His most recent publication, and the basis for the self-titled companion PBS series, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World (Penguin, 2008; paperback 2009), traces the origins and development of finance – over 4,000 years – and reveals that the story of money is at the very core of all history.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, October 29, 2009.

Audrey Niffenegger debuted on The New York Times bestsellers’ list with her first novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife, a novel that artfully combined elements of science fiction and romance. With her latest novel, Her Fearful Symmetry (Scribner, 2009), Niffenegger tells the captivating story of twin sisters who move to an apartment near London’s Highgate Cemetery and are increasingly drawn into the complex and mysterious lives of their neighbors. The novel explores the nature of identity, love, sisterhood, and the tenacity of life – even after death.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, October 28, 2009.

Military historian Edward Bonekemper analyzes the performances of the pre-Grant Union generals in the first three years of the Civil War. Their actions resulted in a series of abysmal losses for the Union Army, and also served to bolster the image of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. In his two most recent books, Grant and Lee: Victorious American and Vanquished Virginian (Greenwood/Praeger, 2007) and McClellan and Failure (McFarland, 2007) Bonekemper reveals the reasons for the Union’s persistent failures and their eventual success under General Grant.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, October 17, 2009.

Mario Livio is a senior astrophysicist and head of the Office of Public Outreach at the Space Telescope Science Institute. In addition, he is the author of several popular science books, including Is God a Mathematician? (Simon & Schuster, 2009), which explores the historical debate surrounding mathematics and the universe: is math a human invention, or a cosmic – possible divine – order that we simply discovered?

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, October 17, 2009.

Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor in the department of religious studies at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. He also is the best-selling author of several books on the Bible and the early years of Christianity. With his latest book, Jesus Interrupted (HarperOne, 2009), he looks at some of the enormous historical and interpretive problems and the diverging voices of the New Testament, which often make it difficult to hear the voice of the historical Jesus himself.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, October 14, 2009.

Leonard Todd explores the life of Dave, a South Carolina slave who daringly expressed his forbidden literacy and his thoughts by adding words and rhymes to the clay pots he made. Those pots now sell for six-figure sums and appear in the collections of museums nationwide, including the Smithsonian. In Carolina Clay (Norton & Co., 2008), Todd uses the pottery, as well as local lore, archaeological data, and the papers of his ancestors – who owned Dave at one point – to tell the tale of this talented and unusual man.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, October 14, 2009.

Alton Brown is the writer, director, and host of the Food Network hit show Good Eats, which won a 2007 Peabody Award. In honor of the 10th anniversary of his show, Brown presents Good Eats: The Early Years (STC Publishing, 2009). From “Pork Fiction” (on baby back ribs) to “Citizen Cane” (on caramel sauce), every hilarious episode is represented. The book includes behind-the-scenes photos taken on the Good Eats set, recipes, explanations of techniques, lots of food-science information, and more food puns, food jokes, and food trivia than you can shake a wooden spoon at.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

Richard Milner is an associate in anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, contributing editor of Natural History magazine, and a fellow of the Linnean Society of London. His book, Darwin’s Universe: Evolution from A to Z (University of California Press, 2009), features Darwin’s original discoveries and hundreds of never-before-seen illustrations from the history of science.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, October 1, 2009.

Georgetown University linguistics professor Deborah Tannen became a best-selling author with books that study and explain human interaction through conversation. Now she turns her witty and wise eye to sisters with You Were Always Mom’s Favorite (Random House, 2009) as she shares insights, anecdotes, and practical solutions to help us understand the special gifts and strains of sister relationships.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

In her latest book, acclaimed writer and novelist Francine Prose explores the legacy of Anne Frank. Although Anne Frank’s diary is famous world-wide, few readers know that it is a deliberate work of art. During her last few months in hiding, Anne Frank furiously revised and edited her work, hoping to publish it after the war. In Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife (Harper, 2009), Prose explores the diary’s creation and its unique afterlife as one of the world’s most read – and controversial – books.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Monday, September 21, 2009.

Joyce Carol Oates has produced some of the most enduring fiction of our time, including We Were the Mulvaneys, Blonde, The Gravedigger’s Daughter, and her National Book Award-winning novel, them. In a continued exploration of both the violence and tenderness of life in rural America, Oates’s latest work, Little Bird of Heaven (Ecco/HarperCollins Publishers, 2009), revolves around the murder of a young woman, and the far reaching impact of her death on her son and those around him.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Saturday, September 19, 2009.

Mitchell G. Reddish is the O.L. Walker Professor of Christian Studies and chairs the Department of Religious Studies at Stetson University. He is also the co-author of several books that link the latest in biblical research to recent archaeological findings. Two of his latest works, Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey (Oxford, 2003) and Lost Treasures: Understanding the Bible through Archaeological Artifacts in World Museums (Eerdmans, 2008), literally retrace the steps of the Apostle Paul.  In addition to revealing countless new insights into the biblical text, the books also serve as travel guides for fascinating historical and archaeological sites.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Thursday, September 17, 2009.

Scholar Melanie Mitchell seeks to explain how large-scale complex, organized, and adaptive behavior emerges from simple interactions among myriad individuals. It might sound like an impossible task, but the growing field of complexity science strives to discover the general principles and laws that apply to broad range of biological, social, and technological phenomena. In her book, Complexity: A Guided Tour (Oxford University Press, 2009), Mitchell makes this field accessible to the average person while explaining the relationship between complexity and evolution, artificial intelligence, genetics, information processing, and many other fields.

At The Smithsonian Associates on Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

Kathy Reichs has become a dominant talent in the field of mystery writing with her blend of chilling forensic descriptions and riveting suspense. Her twelfth novel, 206 Bones (Scribner, 2009), opens with America’s favorite forensic anthropologist, Tempe Brennan, regaining consciousness in a small, dark, cold space and discovering that her hands and feet are bound. She must reconstruct the events surrounding three recent murders and the accusation that she mishandled an autopsy to determine where she is and who wants her dead.