Award-winning writer Laura Kenyon, a BC alumna, has published the second book in her Desperately Ever After series, which takes a whimsical look at the most beloved fairy tale princesses several years after true love’s kiss. Set in a fictional realm based on New York City, the books sprinkle fiction with elements of fantasy and encourage readers to rethink everything they know about happy endings. Read an excerpt from Damsels in Distress.
Best-selling author Matt Taibbi will give a presentation based on his book The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap (Spiegel & Grau, 2014) on Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. in Gasson Hall, room 100. In his book, Taibbi shines a spotlight on two trends in America: the growing wealth inequality and mass incarceration. He writes about a justice system he feels devours the lives of the poor, turns a blind eye to the destructive crimes of the wealthy, and implicates us all. Taibbi is also the author of Griftopia and Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics and Religion, among other titles. Sponsor: Lowell Humanities Series
There will be a book launch event on Oct. 2 at St. Anthony Shrine and Ministry Center in Boston for The Franciscan Heart of Thomas Merton (Ave Maria Press, 2014) by Boston College doctoral student Daniel P. Horan, OFM. In his new book, Fr. Dan, a Franciscan friar, shows how Trappist monk Thomas Merton’s life was shaped by his love for St. Francis and for the Franciscan spiritual and intellectual tradition. Fr. Dan will give a public lecture beginning at 5:30 p.m., followed by a book signing. Fr. Dan is also a columnist for America magazine, and the author of the several books, including Dating God and The Last Words of Jesus.
Author William A. Galston, an expert on domestic policy, political campaigns, will give the Jack Miller Center Constitution Day Initiative Lecture on “Constitutional Surprises: What James Madison Got Wrong” on Sept. 30 at 4:30 p.m. in McGuinn Auditorium. Galston holds the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program, where he serves as a senior fellow. A former policy advisor to President Clinton and presidential candidates, Galston’s current research focuses on designing a new social contract and the implications of political polarization. He is the author of eight books and more than 100 articles in the fields of political theory, public policy, and American politics, including Liberal Pluralism and Public Matters: Politics, Policy, and Religion in the 21st Century. He also writes a weekly column for the Wall Street Journal. Sponsor: Political Science Department.
Rev. Kevin F. O’Brien, S.J., vice president of mission and ministry at Georgetown University, will talk about how the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola offer some very practical advice about how to make decisions about one’s life. Fr. O’Brien is the author of The Ignatian Adventure: Experiencing the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius in Daily Life. His lecture will take Sept. 25 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. in Devlin Hall, room 008. Sponsor: Center for Ignatian Spirituality.
Father James Martin, SJ, bestselling author and editor-at-large of America magazine, will deliver a lecture on Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m. in Robsham Theater. His lecture will be based on his latest book, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, which combines stories from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the most up-to-date biblical study, and profound spiritual insights to help answer the question that Jesus first posed to his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” Seating will be first-come, first-served, with doors opening at 6:00 p.m. Co-sponsors: the School of Theology and Ministry and the Church in the 21st Century Center.
Boston College Associate Professor of Theology Rev. Kenneth Himes, O.F.M., will present “Poverty: What did Jesus Preach? What does the Church Teach?” on Sept. 23 at 5:30 p.m. in Gasson Hall, room 100. His lecture will explore how compassion for the poor reflects an acceptance of our own humanity and that of others, and is ultimately a key element of the journey to know Christ. Fr. Himes is a Franciscan priest and guest editor of the fall 2014 issues of C21 Resources, which is devoted to the issue of poverty. Fr. Himes is also author of Christianity and the Political Order: Conflict, Cooptation, and Cooperation and Responses to 101 Questions on Catholic Social Teaching, among other titles. Sponsors: The Church in the 21st Century Center, the School of Theology and Ministry, and the Theology Department.
In her newest book, To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party (Basic Books, 2014), Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson traces the paradoxical evolution of the Republican Party—founded to give the poor equal opportunity, but too often aligned with the country’s elites. Richardson shows that with each passing decade, the schism within the Republican Party has grown wider, pulling the GOP ever further from its founding principles. Kirkus Reviews calls To Make Men Free, “a hard-hitting study that will surely resonate with ongoing attempts to regenerate the GOP.” Richardson recently published an op-ed on the topic in the New York Times.
BC alumna Yang Huang’s novel Living Treasures (Harvard Square Editions, 2014) is set in China, Huang’s native country. Huang tells the story of Gu Bao, a law student who befriends a panda and a woman hiding from China’s one-child policy enforcers. According to Midwest Book Review, Living Treasures is “nothing short of spectacular; especially for readers who want a story steeped in Chinese culture, tradition, and politics but cemented by a powerful young woman who emerges as a savior to others.” 
John Fabian Witt, whose award-winning book Lincoln’s Code: The Laws of War in American History was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, will present “Two Humanitarianisms” in honor of Constitution Day on Sept. 17 at 3:30 p.m. at the Boston College Law School. Witt is the Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law at Yale Law School. His other notable books are Patriots and Cosmopolitans: Hidden Histories of American Law and The Accidental Republic: Crippled Workingmen, Destitute Widows, and the Remaking of American Law. In 2010 he was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. Sponsors: The Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy and the BC Legal History Roundtable.
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