The group chooses current topics of interest and their sources. Questions designed to stimulate conversation are emailed to all members. If you wish to receive our announcements and questions, please email Bruce Buzby at brucebuzby@earthlink.net.
Recently published books of interest are selected to stimulate and support discussions; reading the book is not mandatory in order to participate and enjoy the gathering. Recent topics have related to Ethics, Brain Function Research, Evolution, God, Iraq, Islamic Culture, Civil Strife, History, Science and Religion, DNA Research, Women’s Liberation, Military Industrial Threat, China, Nation Building, Economics, Science, Art, and so on.
Below is a listing of both upcoming and recent past book discussions by order of date:
UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS
January 12, 2012: Topic: Brain Discoveries Facilitator: Doris Henderson
Source: Sacks, Oliver Pgs. 288 $15.73 2010 “The Minds Eye” Sacks, a neurologist and practicing physician at Columbia University Medical Center, and author of ten popular books on the quirks of the human mind focuses here on creative people who have learned to compensate for potentially devastating disabilities. From the concert pianist who progressively lost the ability to recognize objects (including musical scores) yet managed to keep performing from memory, to the writer whose stroke disturbed his ability to read but not his ability to write (he used his experience to write a novel about a detective suffering from amnesia), to Sacks himself, who suffers from "face blindness," a condition that renders him unable to recognize people, even relatives and, sometimes, himself. Sacks finds fascination in the strange workings of the human mind. Written with his trademark insight, compassion, and humor, these seven new tales once again make the obscure and arcane absolutely absorbing.
PAST CONVERSATIONS
September 8, 2011: Topic: Political Power and its use Facilitator: Bob Bollinger
Source: “The Future of Power” by Nye, Joseph S.
August 11, 2011: Topic: How the Brain works Facilitator: Bruce Buzby
Source: “The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement” by Brooks,David
July 14, 2011: Topic: Illusions of Perception and Thought Facilitator: Doris Henderson
Source: “The Invisible Gorilla” by Chabris, C & Simons, D.
April 14,2011: Topic: Stories form the Periodic Table Facilitator: Bill McWilliams
Source: “The Disappearing Spoon” by Kean, Sam
May 12,2011: Topic: The process of breaking and rebuilding Facilitator: Cheryl Edelin
Source: “Cutting for Stone” by Verghese, Abraham
June 9, 2011: Topic: Unified theory of state formation Facilitator: Bob Bollinger
Source: “The Origins of Political Order” by Fukuyama Francis.
March 10, 2011: Topic: Rival Religions: Facilitator: Barbara Fast
Source: “God is not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter” by Prothero, Stephen
February 10, 2011: Topic: Women Power: Facilitator: Karen Romanelli
Source: “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Kristof, Nicholas & Wu Dunn, Sheryl
December 9, 2010: Topic: Defective Minds: Facilitator: Bruce Buzby
Source: “Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error” KathrynSchulz
November 11, 2010: Topic: China: Facilitator: Mike Searing
Source: “Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China’s Past and Present.” by PeterHessler
October 14, 2010: Topic: Middle East Politics: Faclitator: Bill McWilliams
Source: The Politics of Happiness: What Government Can Learn From New Research on Well Being by Derek Bok
April 8: Topic: Implications of Internet Technology: Facilitator: Bruce Buzby
Source: You are not a gadget: A Manifesto by Lanier, Jaron,
March 11: Topic: One Man’s Mission: Facilitator: Ben Roberts
Source:Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time by Mortenson, Greg and Relin, David Oliver
February 11: Topic: History of the Americas: Facilitator: Bill McWilliams
Source: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Mann, Charles C. Mann
January 14: Topic American Politics: Facilitator: Roger Bogart
Source: The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. byAndrew Bacevich
December 10: Topic Biography: Facilitator: Doris Henderson
Source: The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Francis Perkins, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance by Kiestin Downey
November 12: Topic: Science Biography: Facilitator: Ross Fenster
Source: The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson
October 8: Topic: Science Biography: Facilitator: Bob Wallace
Source: Darwin’s Sacred Cause: How Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin’s Views on Human Evolution by Adrian Desmond
Sept. 10: Topic: Global Economy what makes it tick?: Facilitator: Bob Bollinger
Source: The World is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economyby David Smick
August 13: Topic: How to be Successful: Facilitator: Bruce Buzby
Source: Outliers, The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
July 9: Topic: The Small guy Matters: Facilitator: Bob Bollinger
Source: An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths by Glenn Reynolds
June 11: Topic: Food: Facilitator: Rev. Suzanne Spencer
Source: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
May 14: Topic: Green Revolution: Facilitator: Brad Greene
Source: Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—and How It Can Renew America by Tom Friedman
April 9: Topic: Learning to read: Facilitator: Roger Bogart
Source: Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf
March 12: Topic: The rise and Fall of empires Bill McWilliams
Source: Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother's by Barbara Oakley,
February 12: Topic: Social History Facilitator: Jan Galloway
Source: A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
January 8: Topic: The Paradox of Race Facilitator: Bruce Buzby
Source: Seeing a Color-Blind Future: The Paradox of Race by Patricia J. Williams,
December 11, 2008 Topic: History of Liberalism Facilitator: to be announced.
Source: The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman,
November 14, 2008 Topic: History of Language Facilitator: Bruce Buzby
Source: The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony.
October 9, 2008 Topic: Battle of Faiths Facilitator: Sue Spencer
Source: I Don’t Believe in Atheists by Chris Hedges
September 11, 2008 Topic: Science of the Brain Facilitator: Bob Bollinger
Source: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
August 14, 2008 Topic:Climate Change through History Facilitator: Bruce Buzby
Source: The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations by Brian Fagan
July 11, 2008 — Topic: Direction of the World. Facilitator: Bob Bollinger.
Source: The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria.
June 12, 2008 — Topic: What should we be looking for in our next President?Facilitator: Ross Fenster
Source: Command of Office: How War, Secrecy, And Deception Transformed the Presidency, from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush by Steven Graubard.
May 8, 2008 — Topic: How Geography influences History. Facilitator: Wade Wallace
Source: The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography From the Revolution to the First World War by Robb Graham.
April 10, 2008 — Topic: Can we forecasting the Future? Facilitator: Bruce Buzby
Source: Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes by Mark J. Penn.
March 13, 2008 — Topic: Iraq and how it came to be. Facilitator: Roger Bogart
Source: A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the price we Pay by D. Andelman.
February 14, 2008 — Topic: Music and the Brain. Facilitator: Barbara Meyers
Source: Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks.
January 10, 2008 — Topic: Evolution of Language. Facilitator: Ross Finster
Source: The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language by Christine A. Kenneally.
