CLSC 2017 Book Titles and Author Lectures

Ryan Speedo Green had a tough upbringing in southeastern Virginia: his family lived in a trailer park and later a bullet-riddled house across the street from drug dealers. His father was absent; his mother was volatile and abusive.

A groundbreaking, wondrously informative and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin, I Contain Multitudes presents a “microbe’s-eye view” of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on earth.

In Strangers in Their Own Land, a finalist for the National Book Award, the renowned sociologist Arlie Hochschild embarks on a thought-provoking journey from her liberal hometown of Berkeley, California, deep into Louisiana bayou country…

Acclaimed by critics and beloved by readers of all ages, The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero.

A biting satire about a young man’s isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, Paul Beatty’s The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game. It challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution…

When Doug Raymer falls into an open grave during a funeral service, it is only the first of many farcical and grisly incidents in Richard Russo’s shaggy dog story of revenge and redemption.

A powerful and unflinching account of the enduring impact of nuclear war, told through the stories of those who survived, Susan Southard’s Nagasaki is a gripping narrative of human resilience in the aftermath of one of the most controversial wartime acts in history. 

A Dickensian tale from America’s heartland, The Boys in the Bunkhouse is the harrowing yet uplifting story of the exploitation and abuse of a resilient group of men with intellectual disability, and the heroic efforts of those who helped them to find justice and reclaim their lives.