Aloud @ Los Angeles Public Library

Sandel--whose Justice course is one of the most popular and influential at Harvard-- hallenges us to think our way through the hard moral challenges we confront as citizens. Co-presented by the Council of the Library Foundation and City National Bank

No toilet paper! No plastic containers! No new clothes! No eating out! Beavan discusses-and screens film clips about-- his family's yearlong experiment to live a zero waste lifestyle in New York City.

In his first book, Le writes stunningly inventive stories that take us from the slums of Columbia to the streets of Tehran; from a tiny fishing village in Australia to a foundering vessel in the South China Sea.

In re-imagining the lives and loves of history's great poets, Baker creates a seductive meditation on poetry and artistic expression.

In her long-awaited new novel, set after the events of September 2001, Moore brings us up against the heart of racism, the shock of war, and the carelessness perpetrated against others in the name of love.

Can the social connectedness that arises in the aftermath of a disaster-whether natural or manmade-lead us to a new vision of society?

Why, when many of the problems of the twenty-first century require scientific solutions, are Americans paying less and less attention to scientists? How might we reverse this alarming trend and integrate science into our national discourse--before it's too late?

How do notions of social responsibility and sustainability, in terms of design, impact the response to the growing density of Los Angeles and beyond? Presented in conjunction with the exhibition \"Richard Neutra, Architect: Sketches and Drawings in the Getty Gallery\"

An evening of stories and songs by Rubén Martinez, with Joe Garcia and featuring John Schayer and Ruben Gonzalez High end art colonies materialize on dusty plains. Mexican migrant corridors transect Native lands. Writer Martinez, accompanied by his longtime musical partner, explores some of the oldest American symbols and the newest motley cast of characters to confront them.

Urban and rural collide in this wry, inspiring memoir of a woman who turned a vacant lot in downtown Oakland into a thriving farm.

What alternative avenues for urbanism can be developed as existing models have been undermined by the current economic crisis? How will issues of planning, infrastructure, and the public realm shape architecture and design in the coming generation? Presented in conjunction with the exhibition \"Richard Neutra, Architect: Sketches and Drawings in the Getty Gallery\"

An award-winning journalist chronicles the life of her great-great grandfather, a brilliant gold-rush era entrepreneur and financier, who rose from store clerk to the upper echelons of society, founded L.A.'s first bank, resurrected the financially troubled Los Angeles Times, and helped establish U.S.C.

Abandonment, life, death (and, oddly, Cleveland) are explored in the hilarious second installment of Jim Krusoe's trilogy of novels about resurrection.

\"Crimes litter the floor of California's great Central Valley like fallen plums . . . Old ties of blood, friendship, and memory are harshly tested . . . but hope takes root in the valley's generous yet unforgiving soil.\" (D.J. Waldie)

Tabloid crimes, the Roaring 20's, and the onset of the Depression form the backdrop of Rayner's captivating tale of how the City of Angels lost its soul.

A New Yorker reporter's definitive account of how decisions made behind closed doors in Washington spiraled out around the world, often with unintended consequences.

Ansary, native of Afghanistan and astute cultural interpreter, tells the rich story of world history as the Islamic world sees it, from the time of Mohammed to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and beyond.

One of the world's best-known cognitive scientists explains why understanding language is critical in politics and why Reason is not as reasonable as we thought.

Photographer/author Harry Brant Chandler and historian Kevin Starr explore the fascinating lives of inspirational Southern Californians, the subjects of Chandler's unique portraits.

A peerless interpreter of American life recounts his own long strange trip from rural Minnesota to the ivy-covered walls of Princeton-- a fascinating examination of the perils of an education that prizes the accumulation of points over the enrichment of the mind.