With his new book, 
The Six Facts that Matter: Understanding Inequality in the United States (2022), author Geoffrey Sanzenbacher says readers will be thinking like economists by the last page. Sanzenbacher, an associate professor of the practice in BC’s Economics Department, walks readers through the simple facts behind economic inequality in the United States—from the declining of middle class wages to the stalling of women’s progress towards equality. A Boston College graduate, Sanzenbacher is also a research fellow at BC’s Center for Retirement Research. He conducts research on the role of cognitive decline in late-life finances, the retirement savings decision, and the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution pensions. He talks about his book The Six Facts that Matter in this interview.
Inequality in the U.S.
Totally creative
Boston College graduate Ted (T.M.) Murphy has teamed up with his childhood friend, Mark Penta, to launch Totally Weird Activity Books (West Margin Press), an open-ended book series for kids who can add their own stories and artistic creations. Murphy is the writer and Penta is the illustrator. The first volume in the series is Super Strange Story Starters. Filled with unusual illustrated characters, strange stories, and peculiar places, each of the 22 story prompts includes space for young readers to write down and explore ideas of what happens next. The second volume is Creative Coloring and Far-Out Fun! where kids can color the pages, finish comics, solve mysterious jumbles, and more. A third installment, Unusual Objects in Fantastic Places, is forthcoming this spring. Educators and parents say that these books spark children’s imaginations and build self-esteem as children realize they can create something uniquely their own. Murphy graduated from BC in 1994. He is author of the Belltown Mystery Series and Saving Santa’s Seals. He also taught writing at BC’s Woods College of Advancing Studies for 12 years.
A Journey Below the Mason Dixon
Imani Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, will talk about her bestselling book, South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, at Boston College on March 1 at 7 p.m. in Gasson Hall, room 100. South to America, which won a 2022 National Book Award, is a narrative journey through the American South using a historic, personal, and anecdotal lens. Perry, a Black woman and native Alabaman, returns to the region she has always called home and weaves together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences. A scholar of law, literary, and cultural studies, Perry asserts that to build a more humane future for the United States, concern must be centered below the Mason-Dixon Line. Perry’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, and Harper’s, among other publications. Her lecture is presented by the Lowell Humanities Series and co-sponsored by the African and African Diaspora Program, Law School, and History Department.
Father Ed, spiritual sponsor for AA’s co-founder
Edward Dowling, S.J. (1898-1960), was called “the greatest and most gentle soul to walk this planet” by Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson. Dawn Eden Goldstein, author of a new biography titled Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.’s Spiritual Sponsor (Orbis Books, 2022), will share Fr. Ed’s story at a Boston College lecture on Feb. 28 at noon. Fr. Ed’s guidance transformed Bill’s life and deepened the spirituality of the 12-step movement. But despite his vital role in AA history little is known about him. Goldstein’s biography enlightens readers on how the Jesuit priest came to devote his ministry to helping people, not only alcoholics but also people in troubled marriages and those suffering from nervous disorders. According to Goldstein, he was also a champion of civil rights and other social justice issues. Goldstein is an award-winning author whose other titles include Sunday Will Never Be the Same and The Thrill of the Chaste, among others. Goldstein penned an essay on Father Ed for America magazine. Her talk is sponsored by Boston College Libraries, the Center for Ignatian Spirituality, School of Theology and Ministry Continuing Education, C21 Center, and the Jesuit Institute. To register, visit the event website.
Colm Tóibín’s ‘The Magician’
Irish novelist Colm Tóibín will present “Writing Thomas Mann: Fact into Fiction” at Boston College on February 22 at 7 p.m. in Gasson Hall, room 100. Tóibín’s acclaimed 2021 novel, The Magician, dramatizes the life of Nobel Prize-winning writer Thomas Mann. Tóibín’s other novels include: The Master (winner of the Dublin IMPAC Prize; the Prix du Meilleur Livre; the LA Times Novel of the Year; and shortlisted for the Booker Prize), Brooklyn (winner of the Costa Novel of the Year), and Nora Webster (winner of the Hawthornden Prize), among others. He is also a writer of short stories, nonfiction, and plays. Tóibín’s writing has been translated into more than 30 languages. He is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books and a contributing editor at the London Review of Books. He is currently Mellon Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia and Chancellor of Liverpool University. Tóibín’s lecture is presented by the BC Lowell Humanities Series and is co-sponsored by the BC Irish Studies Program and Fiction Days Series.
The Lincoln Miracle
As the Republican National Convention opened in 1860 in Chicago, New York Senator William Seward was the overwhelming favorite for the presidential nomination, with notables like Salmon Chase and Edward Bates in the running. Few thought Abraham Lincoln stood a chance. Lincoln had not held public office since one term in Congress a decade earlier. The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History (Grove Atlantic, 2023), written by Boston College graduate Edward Achorn, chronicles the tense political drama as it unfolded and tells the behind-the-scenes story of Lincoln’s history-changing nomination to lead the Republican Party. Achorn explores the genius of Lincoln’s quiet strategy, the vicious partisanship tearing apart America, the fierce battles raging over racism and slavery, and booming Chicago as a symbol of the modernization transforming the nation. Achorn is also author of the book, Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, among other titles.
The sweet life of Fr. Walter Smith
It’s not surprising that a memoir by a priest and psychologist who has spent six decades in the Society of Jesus would include numerous tales of significant people and events. The memoir of Boston College graduate Walter J. Smith, S.J., however, comes with an unexpected benefit for readers: It’s also a major cookbook. In addition to his wide-ranging career as a clinician, consultant, professor, department chair, dean, chancellor, trustee, and chief executive officer, Fr. Smith is an accomplished cook who once studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. His book, Faith, Food, & Friendship: Reflections and Recipes from a Jesuit’s Abundant Life, is replete with 175 carefully crafted classic, original, or adapted recipes, all of which—from dal chawa, an Indian dish once recommended to him by Mother Teresa, to the ’21’ burger popularized by the iconic Manhattan speakeasy-turned-restaurant—in some way reflect his experiences preparing and savoring cuisine from around the world. A Boston native, Fr. Smith joined the Boston College Jesuit community in 2020, and currently teaches courses in lifespan pastoral care and counseling at the School of Theology and Ministry. Read more from BC News.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged cookbook, food, Jesuit author, memoir, School of Theology and Ministry
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The beauty of Annie Malone
Entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist Annie Turnbo Malone is the subject of a new biography by Boston College graduate Eve Nadel Catarevas. Wonderful Hair: The Beauty of Annie Malone (Creston Books, 2022), is about how Malone turned her personally developed hair care products into a successful industry, including 32 beauty colleges that taught the unique Poro method. Wonderful Hair, a book for young readers, is illustrated by Felicia Marshall. Catarevas, who earned a bachelor’s degree from BC in 1979, likes to share the achievements of little-known historical figures with young readers. She is also the author of Rena Glickman, Queen of Judo.
When the House Burns
The quest for love and home becomes deadly when Detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger search for the killer of an adulterous real estate agent in When the House Burns (Coffeetown Press, 2023), a new fast-paced mystery from author Priscilla Paton. The murder investigation involves a volatile real estate market, unrest in a homeless encampment, jealousies among would-be lovers, and a case of arson. When the House Burns is not only a gripping “whodunit” but also a social commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on housing. Paton, who earned a Ph.D. from Boston College, is author of the Twin Cities Mystery series. Previous titles are Where Privacy Dies, a finalist for a 2018 Foreword Indies Book Award, and Should Grace Fail, a finalist for a 2020 Foreword Indies Book Award.
A Catholic intellectual amid many religions
Francis X. Clooney, S.J., the Parkman Professor of Divinity and Professor of Comparative Theology at Harvard Divinity School, will present the Candlemas Lecture titled “On the Edge: Reflections on Being a Catholic Intellectual amid Many Religions” at Boston College on February 8 at 7 p.m. in Gasson Hall, room 100. Fr. Clooney, a leading figure in the field of comparative theology, is the author of several books, including Reading the Hindu and Christian Classics: Why and How It Matters; Western Jesuit Scholars in India: Tracing Their Paths, Reassessing Their Goals; and St. Joseph in South India: Poetry, Mission and Theology in Costanzo Gioseffo Beschi’s Tēmpāvani. He is writing an autobiography tentatively titled, Priest and Scholar, Catholic and Hindu: A Love Story. Fr. Clooney, who taught at Boston College from 1984 until 2005, is currently president of the Catholic Theological Society of America.
Posted in Guest Authors, Lowell Humanities Series
Tagged comparative theology, Jesuit author
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