NEW AND FEATURED TITLES

Please visit our WEBSTORE to have any of these titles shipped directly to your home or office. Your purchases will support Busboys and Poets Books, not a corporate or chain bookseller.

The latest in our Staff Selections series, where we ask employees of Busboys and Poets to review what they are currently reading.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Reviewed by Don Allen, Manager, Busboys and Poets Books

Set in the very near future, Little Brother goes to technological places that Orwell's Big Brother could not. Students that have read 1984 will love the references to Orwell's original and will appreciate the upgrade. After a major terrorist attack in San Francisco, 17-year-old hacker extraordinaire, w1n5t0n (pronounced "Winston") is arrested by a Department of Homeland Security that has gone on a civil rights-crushing campaign to fight "terrorists." In no time our clever protagonist realizes that the DHS is the real enemy of the American people, although these same American people roll over and endure the loss of rights so that they can feel safer. Sound familiar? Shortly after the government crackdown, a group of high school kids figure out how to circumvent the surveillance techniques of authorities and launch a movement to jam the system (and not trust anybody over 25, Woohoo!). This is a young adult novel, so there are some nifty little history lessons about the Free Speech Movement, Emma Goldman and others along the way. Just watch what happens to the teacher that dares to teach the kids about past mass citizen movements. Throw in a little teenage insecurity about friendships and the opposite sex and the clueless-ness of adults and you have a book that teenagers should love. Rebellious adults will also have a hard time putting this book down, even if it is geared toward the more technologically savvy younger generation.

A People's History of the World by Chris Harman

Reviewed by Eagan Heath, Truman Scholar, Teaching For Change Intern (2008)

Chris Harman’s A People’s History of the World can be rightly described as audacious, in concept if not in execution. This work is not a text that comprehensively walks the reader through so enormous a topic as the title suggests. Perhaps the first thing a potential reader of the book should know is that Harman is interested in the history of class struggle specifically (and not necessarily the history of “the world”) from a fairly orthodox Marxist perspective. The author is not a historian, but rather a leading member of the Socialist Workers Party in Britain and the editor of International Socialism. As one learns from the overtly-written conclusion (or by simply gathering from the book’s unceasing theme of class), Harman is interested in world history insofar as it informs the origins of today’s global capitalism. Nothing approaching a comprehensive history of the world is achieved, nor could it be in 620 pages (without counting endnotes).

What Harman does achieve is something resembling an elaborated and updated Communist Manifesto. The author reminds us of the human toll—in war, suffering, and labor—that history’s most powerful elites required to erect their monuments and sustain their empires. Moreover, A People’s History of the World provides a broad-brush account of the changing conditions of exploitation that have propped up the dominant classes ever since the decline of the egalitarian existence of hunter-gatherer societies.

Due to the focus on the origins of industrial capitalism, Harman’s book is heavy on the Europe, light on the rest. There are a few notable but brief sections on Asia, one on the origins of Islam, and a paltry four pages dedicated to “The African Civilizations,” which deal almost entirely with Europe’s domination thereof.

While academics would never accept the sweeping generalizations that Harman sometimes makes (or his reliance on a few main sources for each section), the lay reader may find the abundance of seemingly academic details frustrating. This is especially true when the author lists innovations or thinkers from a given period without explaining them. One also gets the sense, at least in the chapters that cover pre-industrialization, that Harman is going out of his way to show that Europe was not always dominant, whether in innovation or power. The adjective “backward” is frequently employed to such an end. His disdain for what have become the dominant features of the West is nowhere more apparent than in his chapter on Christianity.

Despite overstepping the bounds of what is reasonable to cover in one single-volume tome, A People’s History of the World offers useful insight into the origins of modernity. The introduction features a worthy reminder that violence and oppression as we know them are not in fact part of human nature, but functions of the various hierarchical and labor-specialized social structures that emerged relatively recently in human history.

About Our Bookstores

Busboys and Poets Bookstores are operated by the non-profit organization, Teaching for Change. Teaching for Change's mission is to provide teachers and parents with the tools to transform schools into centers of justice where students learn to read, write and change the world.

Established in 1989, Teaching for Change's programs include:

Publications
A catalog that provides 65,000 educators nationally with unique access to a carefully reviewed collection of titles.
Our own widely acclaimed publications, Beyond Heroes and Holidays, Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching, and the Caribbean Connections series.
A progressive bookstore (see description below) located in the Busboys and Poets restaurant and performance space, and books are available at the Culture Shop. Both are in Washington, DC.

Parent Power
A DC area family/schools project, Tellin' Stories, which has developed a unique approach to building grassroots multiracial parent power in schools.

Professional Development
The national Early Childhood Equity Initiative, which promotes anti-bias education through professional development and resources.
Workshops and courses on the Teaching for Change publications, including a focused effort with Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching in Mississippi.

Awards
Teaching for Change has won organizational awards from the DC Humanities Council, the National Multicultural Institute, and the National Association for Multicultural Education.

Bookstores
Busboys and Poets Books, operated by Teaching for Change, are Washington, DC and Shirlington's best source for books and films that encourage children and adults to question, challenge and re====think the world beyond the headlines. We carefully select every title to ensure access to:

• * High quality progressive politics, poetry and literature
  * Anti-bias children's books
  * Young adult literature with real-world themes
  * Multicultural titles for pre-K-12 teachers and parents
  * Independent publishers
  * People's history...African American, Latino, Asian-American, Arab-American, Native American, workers, international, women, and more!

Q. What criteria do you use to determine which books you will carry?

We use a combination of criteria to determine what titles we will carry. They must be:

* in-line with the mission of Teaching for Change, the organization that runs the bookstore. Teaching for Change is a non-profit organization that promotes social justice, starting in the classroom.
* high quality; that is the writing and the research/scholarship must be good.
* have sales potential. As a small non-profit organization, we cannot afford to stock titles that do not sell.

Q. Why is my book not in your store?

It could be that:

* We do not know about it: We get most of our titles from a group of trusted independent publishers and their distributors. The sales reps and catalogs from these sources keep us up to date with the new titles. If your book is self-published or from a large, corporate publisher, there would not have been a rep or catalog to introduce us to the book.
* It did not meet our criteria (see above.)

Q. What do I need to do to get my book carried by Busboys and Poets Books?

Have your publisher send a review copy of your book to this address: Busboys and Poets Books Attn: Bookbuyer 2021 14th St. NW Washington DC 20009 Please note that the review process may take 4 to 6 weeks. If we decide that the book is a good fit with our mission, we would prefer to buy the book directly from a book distributor or wholesaler. Include the distribution information along with the book. We will accept review copies of books directly from the author, but we rarely buy books directly from authors, preferring instead to use vendors in the publishing industry. Also note that review copies will not be returned.

Q. How do I set up a book signing and/or reading?

Busboys and Poets regularly hosts authors for readings and signings in both the Langston Room and in Busboys and Poets books. Depending on subject matter, availability, prospects for sales and distribution of the title, we may invite an author to speak about and sign their books as a service to the community. Additionally, many authors have rented space here to host their own events, such as book release parties or private readings. Unlike most other events at Busboys and Poets, author events are decided on in collaboration with the management staff of Busboys and Poets Books, which is operated by Teaching for Change. If you are interested in scheduling a book-related event, please provide a copy of your book for the bookstore staff's review (unless you know it is already in stock in the bookstore). All titles should be sent to: Don Allen, Manager, Busboys and Poets Books, 2021 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009. Please allow a couple of weeks for review and note that review copies will not be returned. Also see: Planning an event on the Events page of this website.

Q. What factors determine whether or not we will host a book event?

First, we determine if it is a book that we would carry in the bookstore. We look primarily for titles that promote peace and social justice in classrooms, communities, and the world. In education and children's we look for anti-racist, anti-biased titles with an emphasis on multicultural viewpoints. For sections on Activism, Peace, and Environment, we look for titles by authors with strategies to create a just and sustainable world. In Politics and Literature we look for titles that are progressive and based on people's histories and perspectives. Books that represent information that is readily available through the corporate-dominated, mainstream media are not likely to be carried because Busboys and Poets Books strives to provide materials that go beyond the headlines.

Next, we try to determine if the topic of the book will draw an audience and fill the Langston Room. More often than not, the author's name recognition is not enough (notable exception: Howard Zinn). In most instances, we will ask that authors and publishers provide a publicity plan before we schedule an event. We strongly suggest that book event proposals include one or more sponsoring organizations. The sponsoring organization must be willing to promote (actively) the event on their website and through their newsletter/listserv. In exchange we will add the organization to all of our outreach - email blasts, press releases, in-store displays, and websites. Other important elements in the publicity plan include book reviews in major media and on-air appearances on radio/TV.

Q. How do I schedule a reading for my book of poetry?

Busboys and Poets hosts several poetry readings every month. The host of each event often chooses a featured poet for each poetry reading. Our Poet-in-Residence, Derrick Weston Brown, co-ordinates the readings along with the Busboys and Poets poetry council. To be considered for a featured reading, please send a copy of your book to Busboys and Poets Books, Attn: Derrick Weston Brown, 2021 14th St. NW, WDC 20009. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for review. Note that review copies will not be returned.

Q. When are the Poetry Readings?

Open Mic - Every Tuesday, 9 PM, List opens at 8 (early arrival recommended). Rotating Hosts, National and local featured poets, $4 The 9 on the Ninth. - Ninth day of every month at 9 PM. Open mic list opens at 8 PM. National and local featured poets. Hosted by Derrick Weston Brown, poet-in-residence. Sunday Kind of Love. - Third Sunday of every month at 4 PM. Open mic list opens at 3 PM. National and local featured poets. Hosted by Sarah Browning of DC Poets Against the War.

Impromptu poetry readings are often added to the schedule at the last moment. Please keep an eye on our events page or sign up for our email list.