New list of upcoming books for our Houston Nonfiction group - AND change to meetings - will now be every three months

[Alice Aman]

Hi everyone -

Apologies for the schedule delay and last minute changes. I've
changed our format. I would like for us to try covering the entire
book per discussion. Since I didn't want to add to your reading
requirement, thought it would be a good idea to meet every three
months (except for April which will be two months). We will skip the
in-between months not included below.

If you purchase your books online (or anything online), check out the
options on the http://www.houstongreatbooks.net website. If you
purchase using any of these links, you will be earning money for
Houston Great Books. Process will be the same as you have experienced
with other online purchases except a contribution will be made (at no
cost to you) to the Houston Great Books Council to be used for various
worthwhile projects.

--Alice

==UPCOMING SCHEDULE==============

Feb 19
THE PRICE OF INEQUALITY: HOW TODAY'S DIVIDED SOCIETY
ENDANGERS OUR FUTURE by Joseph Stiglitz [publ 2013]
Assignment: 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

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