Peter Salovey President | Yale University
Peter Salovey President | Yale University
Each semester, the Yale Library Book Talk series features lectures by and conversations with expert authors who have newly released books of fiction or nonfiction.
The 2024–25 fall/winter season showcases a nonfiction lineup: librarian spies during World War II; a biography of Henri Christophe, the only king of Haiti; the history of the Bible, from the 2nd century to the 21st; translations of surahs from the Qu’ran; and the history of Yale’s own beloved Handsome Dan, from 1890 to today.
The series will launch on Sept. 23 with “On Freedom,” the latest book by Timothy Snyder, Yale University’s professor of History and Global Affairs.
All events are free and open to the public and will be held on Wednesday afternoons at 4 p.m. in the lecture hall at Sterling Memorial Library. After the presentations, authors will be available for conversation at an informal closing reception. Here is the lineup:
Sept. 23
“On Freedom”
Timothy Snyder—Yale University’s Richard C. Levin Professor of History and prize-winning author of “On Tyranny” and others—will present his newest book about American political philosophy, “On Freedom.” Professor Snyder will be in conversation with James Levinsohn, inaugural dean and Charles W. Goodyear Professor at Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs.
Oct. 9
Reading the Bible, Reading the Qu’ran: A Conversation
Bruce Gordon, Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale Divinity School, is author of “The Bible: A Global History.” Shawkat Toorawa—Professor of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations and Professor of Comparative Literature—is editor and translator of “The Devotional Qur’an: Beloved Surahs and Verses.” Both authors’ books are new releases.
Nov. 13
“Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became Unlikely Spies During WWII”
Yale alumna Elyse Graham, ’15 Ph.D., professor of English language and literature at Stony Brook University in New York specializing in media studies and history of books, reveals in her most recent book how literature professors, librarians, and historians enlisted in the Office of Strategic Services—the precursor to CIA—and shaped World War II events.
Feb. 5
“The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall Henry Christophe”
Marlene Daut, Professor French African Diaspora Studies at Yale has written a biography turn-of-the-19th-century figure Henry Christophe—a once enslaved West African who became leader Haitian revolution against France traitor fellow revolutionaries only monarch Kingdom Haiti. The author will converse with Grégory Pierrot associate professor English University Connecticut–Stamford where he teaches American African American literature.
April 9
“Handsome Dan: A History”
Jay Gitlin senior lecturer History presents his new book tracing long history Yale’s mascots succession Old English Bulldogs moniker beginning Harper circa current holder title Gitlin co-author son Basie ’10 another treasured institution Mory’s Brief published
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—Deborah Cannarella
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