Up and Coming Calendar Events

In Sally Gunning's latest colonial page-turner, seven-year-old Alice Cole travels with her family from 1756 London to the New World, dreaming of a big house in Philadelphia and a new life. Her mother and brothers die on board and are buried at sea; the ship docks in Boston rather than Philadelphia; there her father indentures her for 11 years without a backward glance.  Alice does housework for the family of Simeon Morton of Dedham, in whose house she is treated almost like a second daughter, becoming constant companion to 10-year-old Abigail, or Nabby.  When Nabby marries Emery Verley of Medfield, Alice's indenture is signed over to him, but the Verley household turns out to be an abusive one.  Alice flees and winds up on Satucket, Cape Cod, where Lyddie Berry, heroine of Gunning's The Widow's War, and her companion, the lawyer Eben Freeman, give her shelter and a job.  Alice works hard for them, and they grow fond of her, but when Alice discovers she is pregnant, she embarks on a journey of deceit and lies, one that comes to a bitter end.

Gunning weaves a horrifying, spellbinding story of colonial indentures cruelties and a meditation on the meaning of freedom.

The Sustainable Book Club has chosen John Abram's book "The Company We Keep: Reinventing Small Business for People, Community, and Place" as it's May selection.  Join us at the Edgartown Public Library to discuss the book many have said is a "must-read" for anyone considering employee ownership or striving to creat sustainable companies and communities.  "The Company We Keep" is more than the success story of a revolutionary company.  It sets down a framework for a model of employee ownership and community involvement that has piqued the interest of entrepreneurs around the country.  In the words of Abrams, "This is a book about a different way of doing business in today's world--a way based on workplace democracy, shared ownership, staying small, building community, commitment to a place, and long term thinking.

John Abrams founded the South Mountain Company, a design and building firm, on Martha's Vineyard more than thirty years ago.  Through a commitment to place and community entrepreneurship, he has seen the company grow and prosper, while at the same time experimenting with a revolutionary employee ownership model that has challenged the traditional business rhetoric of unchecked growth.

The Sustainable Book Club is an island-wide book group, reading and discussing books that examine our relationship with nature.  The group is sponsored by the Martha's Vineyard Library Association, Felix Neck Sanctuary, Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, The Island Grown Initiative and The Vineyard Conservation Society.

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In the pre-World War II innocence of small-town America, a dapper off-Islander impresses the locals.  Drawn to the prettiest girl, he is upset when an elderly woman tries to break off their romance.  In a drunken stupor he murders the troublesome woman.  Through an amazing confluence of circumstances, he avoids prosecution.

The reclusive, paranoid teacher of the victim attracts the attention of a distracted district attorney who is eager for a sensational trial to promote himself in an impending election.  The teacher is arrested and charged with the murder.  The looming shadows of war on the international stage capture the people of Martha's Vineyard, and the local murder fades into the murky memoirs of history.

Undeterred, Thomas Dresser draws from countless interviews, testimonies and newspapers to offer a fresh perspective on a grisly unsolved murder on Martha's Vineyard.

When Daniel Robb decided to restore the Herreshoff 12 1/2 that had been in his family for three generations, he had little at his disposal but his skills in carpentry - though not boatbuilding.  But while the Herreshoff is widely admired as a quintessential craft, its real value remained something of a mystery.  Sloop is as much about a way of life as it is about sailing.  Robb's passions for conservation - be it of a thing that can be repaired, or of the environment for which it was intended - and simple living are evident on every page of this inspiring read.

And it's entertaining!  In his consultations with local boat builders, sailors, and craftsmen, Robb draws in a cast of characters who will keep readers entertained whether or not they know a two-by-four from a bowsprit.  Robb's story of restoring a vintage sailboat resonates with greater themes: the importance of place, the value of things well made, and the virtues of simplicity.

****AT THE FARM INSTITUTE, 14 AERO AVE., EDGARTOWN****

From the beginning, Stonyfield Farm stirred it up, turning conventional business practices on their head, and grew to become the world's largest organic-yogurt producer.  What Gary Hirshberg saw early on was that organic isn't just about food.  It's a way of thinking that embraces cyclical, non-linear resource use where waste from one action becomes food for another. The company has enjoyed a compounded annual growth rate of more than 26 percent for 13 straight years, while the yogurt category as a whole has grown at a much slower pace of 6-8 percent.  In this book, Hirshberg shares the secrets that helped his company skyrocket to success, and argues that traditional business practices are ultimately counterproductive and have helped create many of the problems that threaten to make the world uninhabitable.  Hirshberg will explain how Stonyfield's counterintuitive way of doing business demonstrates that companies can be environmentally conscious, and will prove that in doing so, they can make bigger profits than their more conventional counterparts.  This book will appeal both to consumers who want quality and a better world, and companies who want steady profits and growth. 

Gary is the president and CEO of Stonyfield Farm, the recipient of six honorary doctorates and numerous awards for his commitment to environmental causes.

Award-winning investigative reporter Philip M. Dine takes us on a riveting journey through America's cities and back roads, its factories and union halls, to answer those questions. From the health care crisis to massive job flight overseas, from rampant home foreclosures to illegal immigration, he clearly shows how virtually every major economic, political, and social trend impacting our way of life is tied to the state of America's unions.

"The American Resting Place" is a sweeping history of America as seen through its gravestones, graveyards, and burial practices, stunningly illustrated with eighty black-and-white photographs.
Cemeteries and burial grounds, as illuminated by acclaimed cultural historian Marilyn Yalom, are unique windows onto our religious, ethnic, and deeply human history as Americans. This dedicated mother-son team visited hundreds of cemeteries while developing "The American Resting Place," following a coast-to-coast and north-to-south trajectory that mirrors the vast historic pattern of American immigration.

Yalom delivers incisive, often poignant accounts of how gravestone epigraphs reveal changing ideas about death and personal identity; who is buried next to whom and why; when and why cemeteries are moved; and how class and gender play out in stone. Rich particulars include:
- the story of one seventeenth-century Bostonian who amassed a thousand pairs of gloves in his funeral-going lifetime
- burial rites and unique funerary symbols in today's Indian cultures
- a Czech community brought uncannily to life in the crematorium of Chicago's National Bohemian Cemetery

From fascinating past to startling future--DVDs embedded in tombstones, green burials, and "the new aesthetic of death"--"The American Resting Place" is the definitive history of the American cemetery.

MARILYN YALOM is the author of the critically acclaimed "Birth of the Chess Queen," "A History of the Wife," and "A History of the Breast." She lives in Palo Alto, California, with her husband, Irvin.

Written in Irv Yalom's inimitable story-telling style, "Staring at the Sun" is a profoundly encouraging approach to the universal issue of mortality. In this magisterial opus, capping a lifetime of work and personal experience, Dr. Yalom helps us recognize that the fear of death is at the heart of much of our anxiety. Such recognition is often catalyzed by an "awakening experience"--a dream, or loss (the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job or home), illness, trauma, or aging.

Once we confront our own mortality, Dr. Yalom writes, we are inspired to rearrange our priorities, communicate more deeply with those we love, appreciate more keenly the beauty of life, and increase our willingness to take the risks necessary for personal fulfillment.

From the acclaimed "New York Times" bestselling author of "Love's Executioner," The "Gift of Therapy," and "When Nietzsche Wept" comes an inspiring book that confronts the most demanding challenge we all face: overcoming the terror of death.

Filled with touching personal stories of people who are grappling with the terror of death--including the author--"Staring at the Sun" offers specific methods to cope with terror and is ultimately life affirming. Most important, Dr. Yalom encourages us to strive for more direct engagement with others. Compassionate connection, combined with the wisdom of the great thinkers who have wrestled with mortality, enables us to overcome the terror of death and lead happier, more meaningful lives. 

Join us at the bookstore to hear from Marilyn and Irvin Yalom about their respective books.

 

SUSAN FOLTZ: "Thirty Dirty Sailors"

The true story of a Martha's Vineyard girl in the 1800's who lived for three years aboard her father's whaling ship and kept a journal that survives today.  Dillon Bustin wrote the music and lyrics for this children's book and the beautiful illustrations are original watercolors by Susan Foltz.  Susan will be joining us today out on Main Street, to sign copies of her bestselling book.  It's a story every child will love - imagining themselves up in the masts, on the decks as the thirty really grimy sailors bring in the whales, and below deck with their family in a strange but wonderful "home."

SHIRLEY CRAIG: "Delish!"

J.W. Jackson was the fictional Martha's Vineyard resident who solved murder cases in the annual series of books written by the late Philip R. Craig.  Craig fans knew they'd find three recipes in the back of each new adventure.  Finally, Phil and his wife, Islander Shirley Prada Craig, decided to put together a cookbook full of Vineyard-based ideas that could be prepared anywhere, for picnics, breakfasts, lunches or evening meals.  Plus, they're easy cooking: "Beware of any recipe over four inches long!" said J.W. - and, within limits, he stuck to that. 

THOMAS DRESSER: "Mystery on the Vineyard: Politics, Passion and Scandal on East Chop"

An impending world war overshadowed it.  Intervening decades buried it.  The political ambitions of the district attorney clouded an investigation from the start.  Undeterred, Thomas Dresser draws from countless interviews, testimonies and newspapers to offer a fresh perspective on a grisly unsolved murder on Martha's Vineyard.

PETER SIMON: "The Vineyard Calendar 2009" 

 Peter Simon, a nationally acclaimed photographer, has lived on Martha's Vineyard since 1973.  He has been a contributing photographer for the Vineyard Gazette since 1970, and the Martha's Vineyard Times since 1984.  In 1980, he published "On the Vineyard," and in 1990, "On the Vineyard II."  In 2000, Peter published the long awaited sequel, "On the Vineyard III."  During 2001, Little Brown published the definitive collection of Peter's life work entitled, "I and Eye."  His latest "The Reggae Scrapbook" was published in November 2007.  Peter will be at the Street Fair signing copies of his 21st Vineyard Calendar, as well as a selection of his books.

The right to remain silent, guaranteed by the famed Fifth Amendment case, Miranda v. Arizona, is perhaps one of the most easily recognized and oft-quoted constitutional rights in American culture. Yet despite its ubiquity, there is widespread misunderstanding about the right and the
protections promised under the Fifth Amendment.

In "Is There a Right to Remain Silent?" renowned legal scholar and bestselling author Alan Dershowitz reveals precisely why our Fifth Amendment rights matter and how they are being reshaped, limited, and in some cases revoked in the wake of 9/11. As security concerns have heightened, law enforcement has increasingly turned its attention from punishing to preventing crime. Dershowitz argues that recent Supreme Court decisions have opened the door to coercive interrogations--even when they amount to torture--if they are undertaken to prevent a crime, especially a terrorist attack, and so long as the fruits of such interrogations are not introduced into evidence at the criminal trial of the coerced person. In effect, the court has given a green light to all preventive interrogation methods.

By deftly tracing the evolution of the Fifth Amendment from its inception in the Bill of Rights to the present day, where national security is the nation's first priority, Dershowitz puts forward a bold reinterpretation of the Fifth Amendment for the post-9/11 world. As the world we live in changes from a "deterrent state" to the heightened vigilance of today's "preventative state," our construction, he argues, must also change. We must develop a jurisprudence that will contain both substantive and procedural rules for all actions taken by government officials in order to prevent harmful conduct-including terrorism.

Timely, provocative, and incisively written, "Is There a Right to Remain Silent?" presents an absorbing look at one of our most essential constitutional rights at one of the most critical moments in recent American history.

Alan M. Dershowitz is currently the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at the Harvard Law School. He appears frequently in the mainstream media as a commentator and analyst on a variety of issues, including national security, torture, civil liberties, and the Middle East peace process. He is the author of "Rights From Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights," "America on Trial: Inside the Legal Battles That Transformed Our Nation," "Shouting Fire," and "Preemption."

****     JOIN US AT THE CHILMARK LIBRARY AT 5:30 PM      **** 

Elaine Pace will be at the bookstore tonight to discuss her new book "Island Home: Why People Come to Martha's Vineyard and Why They Stay."  A heartfelt journey of discovery - the author unravels the mystery of the kinds of people who move to an island and plan to spend the rest of their lives there.  Interviewed are fishermen, artists, musicians, farmers, conservationists, ministers, and many others - all "wash-ashores" - those who were not born on the Vineyard but who washed ashore for one reason or another.  What are those reasons?  Read this book and find out.

"Elaine Pace is honest and insightful - "Island Home" is a delightful read."   -Judith A. Fisher, MD, Martha's Vineyard Hospital

"A warm and telling portrait of a vital but often-overlooked part of the Vineyard community."  -Dan Waters, Poet Laureate of West Tisbury

"Informative and fun to read - this book highlights interesting folks our special Vineyard culture invites to live here."  -Ann Howes, Master Painter and Artist

The acclaimed author of "Chang and Eng" returns with a literary showstopper, a beautifully realized novel that at its heart is the story of a woman who will risk everything to feel something; a doctor whose diagnosis brings her entire life into question; and a man who suddenly realizes that being a good husband and a good father can no longer comfortably coexist.

 Josh Goldin was savoring a Friday afternoon break in the coffee room, harmlessly flirting with coworkers while anticipating the weekend at home where his wife, Dori, waited with their eight-month-old son, Zack. And then Josh's secretary rushed in, using words like "intensive care, lost consciousness, blood," . . .

That morning, Dori had walked into the emergency room with her son in severe distress. Enter Dr. Darlene Stokes: an African-American physician and single mother whose life is dedicated both to her own son and navigating the tricky maze of modern-day medicine. But something about Dori stirred the doctor's suspicions. Darlene had heard of the sensational diagnosis of Munchausen by Proxy, where a mother intentionally harms her baby, but had never come upon a case of it before. It was rarely diagnosed and extraordinarily controversial. Could it possibly have happened here?

As their four lives intersect with dramatic consequences, Darlene, Dori, and Josh are pushed to their breaking points as they confront the nightmare that has become their new reality. Darin Strauss's extraordinary novel is set in a world turned upside down, where doctors try to save babies from their parents, police use the law to tear families apart, and the people you know the best end up surprising you the most.

CYNTHIA RIGGS: "Double Murder on Martha's Vineyard"

THOMAS DRESSER: "Mystery on the Vineyard"

RANDALL PEFFER: "Old School Bones"

SUSAN WHITING AND BARBARA PESCH: "Vineyard Birds II"

PHYLLIS MERAS AND BETSY CORSIGLIA: "Martha's Vineyard: Quiet Pleasures"