Book Discussion at Houston Central Market Feb 19th at 7pm - THE PRICE OF INEQUALITY by Stiglitz - wrap-up

[Alice Aman]

Hi everyone -

We will meet next week on Weds, Feb 19th from 7pm-9pm at Houston
Central Market in the upstairs community room to finish discussing THE
PRICE OF INEQUALITY by Joseph Stiglitz. Kathy will lead the
discussion.

Pages remaining for discussion include Chapter 7-10 but anyone is
free to bring up ideas from the first part of the book as well. So
for those who missed earlier discussions, it's not too late.

For future books, we are switching to a new schedule where we will no
longer be "splitting up" a book for discussions that will span
multiple meetings. We will still meet on the third Wednesday of a
month but just not every month. There will be gaps. See dates below.

Hope to see you next week!

--Alice

p.s. If you buy your books online, consider checking out online
website icons on the http;//www.houstongreatbooks.net website. If you
enter a website portal through any one of these icons, your shopping
experience should be what you are accustomed to but in addition a
small percentage (not costing you) will be contributed to Houston
Great Books.

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Upcoming Discussions
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Feb 19
THE PRICE OF INEQUALITY: HOW TODAY'S DIVIDED SOCIETY ENDANGERS OUR
FUTURE by Joseph Stiglitz [publ 2013]
Pages to discuss: Chapters 7-10 (approx 131 pages) FINISH
Author is an American economist, professor at Columbia University,
winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and
numerous other prestigious positions. Stiglitz is one of the most
frequently cited economists in the world and in 2011 he was named by
Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
From the book jacket: "In The Price of Inequality Stiglitz lays out a
comprehensive agenda to create a more dynamic economy and fairer and
more equal society"
--Kathy leading discussions.

April 16
REIGN OF ERROR: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger
to America's Public Schools by Diane Ravitch [pub 2013] 325 pages
Author is a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education.
Questions addressed: 1--Is American education in crisis? 2--Is
American education failing and declining? 3--What is the evidence for
the reforms now being promoted by the federal government and adopted
in many states? 4--What should we do to improve our schools and the
lives of children?"
--Deborah leading the discussion

July 16
THE REPUBLIC OF SUFFERING: Death and the American Civil War by Drew
Gilpin Faust [pub 2009] 346 pages
Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award finalist. Author is President
of Harvard Univ.
Book documents the social, religious, and psychological coping
mechanisms adopted by Civil War America. More than a book about the
Civil War, it's also a meditation on the meaning of war and the human
need to somehow infuse meaning into an enterprise that often seems so
bleakly wasteful and tragically brutal.
--Anne leading the discussion

Oct 15
WILD SWANS:Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang. [pub 2003] 538 pages
Bestselling classic in thirty languages, with more than ten million
copies sold. The story of three generations in twentieth-century
China, it is an engrossing record of Mao's impact on China, an unusual
window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring
tale of courage.
--Kathy leading the discussion
[election of new titles at this meeting]

Jan 21
THE UNWINDING: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer
[publ 2013] 430 pages
2013 National Book Award Winner
Focuses on the ways that America changed in the years 1978-2012. The
book achieves this mainly by tracing the lives of various individuals
from different backgrounds through the years. Interspersed are capsule
biographies of influential figures of the time such as Colin Powell,
Elizabeth Warren, Jay-Z and Raymond Carver.
--Deborah leading the discussion