Book group gears up for 2010 || OnlineAthens.com

Oconee County Democratic Committee's book club announces the 2010 line up for their book club.
Here are some links for the books if you would rather order them online as opposed to getting them at a discount at Book Galore in Watkinsville:


But the discussions begin at 6 p.m. Jan. 27 at Five Points Deli on Epps Bridge Parkway when the group gathers to discuss Thomas Friedman's best-seller "Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - and How It Can Renew America."
The book describes America's current response to climate change "as that of the proverbial frog in water brought to a boil." Friedman provides ideas about how America can rise to the challenges, just as it launched a manifold attack to the Soviets' early lead in the space race.
During the year, other book choices celebrate the splendors of and threats to the natural world. Aldo Leopold's classic "Sand County Almanac" and Paul Hawken's "The Ecology of Commerce" will inspire readers to look more closely at the wonders of nature in the winter-into-spring months and beyond.
The role of ordinary people to enable change is a theme across several books. The group will read historian Howard Zinn's classic "The People's History" over two months. The book is a history of the courageous men and women who have worked to free slaves, improve the lives of factory workers, and achieve women's suffrage - rallying in myriad ways to address injustices around the nation and world.
Another choice is "There is No Me Without You," an award-winning book by Atlanta writer Melissa Fay Green about a middle-class woman in Ethiopia who provides foster care for some of the 1.5 million children in Ethiopia who have been left orphaned by the catastrophe of the AIDS epidemic.
An international focus pops up in several choices; these include the critically acclaimed "Engaging the Muslim World" by Juan Cole and "The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism" by retired Army colonel and self-described conservative Andrew Bacevich. Publishers Weekly described the latter book this way: "Crisp prose, sweeping historical analysis and searing observations on the roots of American decadence elevate this book from mere scolding to an urgent call for rational thinking and measured action, for citizens to wise up and put their house in order."
The group meets at 6 p.m. the last Wednesday of each month at Five Points Deli. Many attendees order dinner, and others get coffee. The conversation about the book gets under way about 6:15 p.m.
Books Galore in Watkinsville stocks copies of the books and provides a 25 percent discount.
Newcomers from any county and of any political affiliation are welcome. For more information, contact Pat Priest (ppriest@charter.net).
The group's slate of books this year is:
Feb. 24: "A Sand County Almanac" by Aldo Leopold
April 28: "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
May 26 & June 30 (to be read in two parts): "A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present" by Howard Zinn
July 28: "Engaging the Muslim World" by Juan Cole
Oct. 27: "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
November: "There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children" by Melissa Fay Green.


Book group gears up for 2010 || OnlineAthens.com

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