Top-Notch Speakers Soon Headed Your Way?

Free Library of Philadelphia Author Events Summer Tickets On Sale Friday! Tickets for summer Author Events go on sale Friday, April 15 at 10 AM. Purchase tickets online or by calling 1-800-595-4849. No tickets or reservations are required for free events.  See you at the Library!   Wayne Pacelle | The Humane Economy: How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers Are Transforming the Lives of Animals   Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 12:00PM; FREE  No tickets or reservations required. For more info: 215-567-4341  Renowned animal-rights advocate Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, has worked for the passage of more than 500 new state laws and helped to pass more than 25 federal statutes to protect animals in the last decade. Leading 11 million members and constituents in confronting animal cruelty, Pacelle has "retooled a venerable organization seen as a mild-mannered protector of dogs and cats into an aggressive interest group flexing muscle in state legislatures and courtrooms" (Los Angeles Times). He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Bond. In The Humane Economy, Pacelle explores the economics of animal exploitation and explains how ordinary consumers have the power to transform the lives of animals.  Viet Thanh Nguyen | The Sympathizer   Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 7:30PM; FREE  No tickets or reservations required. For more info: 215-567-4341  "A frenzied, abrasive, attention-grabbing" (Wall Street Journal) debut novel, Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer is the story of a South Vietnamese army captain who emigrates to Los Angeles in 1975 at the end of the war. Through his secret observations and reports on his fellow military exiles to the Viet Cong, the extreme politics, loyalties, and legacies of the Vietnam War are exposed and dissected. Nguyen is also the author of Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America; has been a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies; and has received residencies and grants from the Luce Foundation, the Warhol Foundation, and the Huntington Library, among many others.  Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf | Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination   Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 7:30PM; buy tickets online>>  Historians Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf are two of the world's leading authorities on America's enigmatic and paradoxical third President. Gordon-Reed is most noted for the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hemingses of Monticello, a history of the African American family whose close blood ties to Jefferson had theretofore been redacted from the pages of history. A professor of law and history at Harvard, her many honors include the National Humanities Medal and a prestigious MacArthur "Genius Award." Onuf was the longtime Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History at the University of Virginia, known for his profound Jeffersonian scholarship. His books include The Mind of Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson's Empire, and a score of works about this man and his era. In Most Blessed of the Patriarchs, Gordon-Reed and Onuf present a revealing character study that definitively clarifies the philosophy of the man from Monticello.  Of Interest Book Launch Party for Dust Up by John McGoran   Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 6:00PM; FREE; RSVP Online>>    Parkway Central Library, Skyline Room Join author Jon McGoran to celebrate the release of his latest book, Dust Up, the sequel to his acclaimed ecological thrillers Drift and Deadout. In addition to a reading, discussion, and book signing, the event will feature live music from Rich Ciocco and Matt Davis. A portion of proceeds from books sold at the event will support sustainable agriculture and education in Haiti, where much of the book takes place.  Free Library Author Events Andy Kahan, Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Director, Author Events Laura Kovacs, Associate Director Jason Freeman, Program Associate phone: 215-567-4341  email: authorevents@freelibrary.org  Join us online for event news, updates, and more! General Information Author Events are held in the Montgomery Auditorium at the Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine Street, unless noted. Events generally consist of a talk by the author and a Q & A period with the audience followed by a book signing. Books are sold on-site. Seating begins 45 minutes prior to event start times. No tickets or reservations are required for Free Author Events.  Live American Sign Language translation of Author Events is provided upon request. Please call the Author Events Office at least two weeks in advance to request this service.