Readings

NSWA Events Calendar

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Readings October 2005

Monday * October 3 * 7pm
John Darnton
The Darwin Conspiracy (Knopf)
Reading & Book Signing
University Book Store's University District Store
John Darnton's new thriller speculates on the many mysteries that
surround the life and work of Charles Darwin. And though it does not
definitively prove his uncle was a monkey, it does have some compelling
theories about the simian qualities of one of his maiden aunts.
Sponsored by the Burke Museum of Natural History.

Wednesday * October 5 * 7pm
Steven S. Overman, M.D.
You Don't Look Sick!: Living Well with Invisible Chronic Illness
(Hawthorne Medical Press)
Reading & Book Signing
University Book Store's Bellevue Store
How does a person manage to accept a chronic illness? In this compelling
and poignant book, Dr. Steven Overman and his patient Joy Selak tell her
story of her struggle to learn how to live well in spite of her illness.

Monday * October 10 * 7pm
Ray Kurzweil
Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (Viking)
Reading & Book Signing
Town Hall, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue, Seattle
Inventor and optimistic futurist Ray Kurzweil makes even his most
far-out speculations seem downright plausible. Singularity Is Near
considers the moment when our technology begins advancing so quickly,
and changes in such a profound way, that we begin to merge with our
machines. Part of the Seattle Science Lectures, co-sponsored by
University Book Store, Town Hall Seattle, the Pacific Science Center,
the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the University of Washington.
Admission is $5 at the door.

Tuesday * October 11 * 7:30pm
George Dyson
Lecture: "On Kayaking"
Town Hall, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue, Seattle
Noted inventor and author George Dyson presents an illustrated lecture
on the evolution of sea kayaking, including the 10,000-year perspective
of the Aleuts, the 275-year history of Russian refinements, and the
35-year involvement of Seattle designers, and the author himself. The
humble sea kayak is in fact one of the most complex and beautiful
engineering designs of all the world's objects. Part of the Seattle
Science Lectures Series, co-sponsored by University Book Store, Town
Hall Seattle, the Pacific Science Center, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
and the University of Washington.Downstairs at Town Hall, enter on
Seneca Street. Admission is $5 at the door.

Wednesday * October 12 * 7pm
William Ruddiman
Plows, Plagues, Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of Climate (Princeton
University Press)
Reading & Book Signing
Pacific Science Center, 200 Second Avenue N, Seattle
Was it the industrial revolution that started climate change? Or was it
the discovery of agriculture? William Ruddiman hypothesizes that humans
have been warming up the globe for much longer than conventional wisdom
says: ever since we started planting seeds in rows and practicing the
fine art of animal husbandry. The industrial revolution was just the
thick layer of smoggy, ozone-depleting icing on the cake. Part of the
Seattle Science Lectures Series co-sponsored by University Book Store,
Town Hall Seattle, the Pacific Science Center, the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer and the University of Washington. Tickets are $5 at
the door.

Sunday * October 16 * 2pm
Joy Hakim
The Story of Science Series (Smithsonian Books)
Reading & Book Signing
University Book Store's University District Store
The best-selling author of the ten-volume series on American history, A
History of US, has turned her pen to the history of science. And when
Joy Hakim tells a story, you can bet it will be worth reading. From
Aristotle to Einstein, science becomes an adventure when Joy Hakim is
your narrator.

Monday * October 17 * 7pm
Gerd Ludwig
Wide Angle: National Geographic Greatest Places (National Geographic)
Reading & Book Signing
University District Store
Internationally known National Geographic photographer Gerd Ludwig
shares his breath-taking photographs from around the world. Check out
some of his amazing work at www.gerdludwig.com and join us on the 17th
to hear the details behind the photos.

Monday * October 17 * 7:30pm
Mario Livio
The Equation that Couldn't Be Solved: How Mathematical Genius Discovered
the Language of Symmetry (Simon & Schuster)
Reading & Book Signing
Pacific Science Center, 200 Second Ave, Seattle
What makes a piece of music by Bach pleasing to the ears? What makes
those Rubik's cubes so darn frustrating? One answer: symmetry.
Astrophysicist Mario Livio explains how the science of understanding
symmetry - known as group theory - arose from an equation that defied
the usual means of solution. Part of the Seattle Science Lectures Series
sponsored by University Book Store, Town Hall Seattle, University of
Washington, Pacific Science Center, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Tickets are $5 at the door.

Wednesday * October 19 * 7pm
Mary Roach
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife (W. W. Norton & Co.)
Reading & Book Signing
University District Store
Mary Roach, the best-selling author of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human
Cadavers, continues to ask the question, "What happens when we die?"
This time, she concentrates her relentless curiosity and sharp wit on
the spiritual side of things to try to find out if there really is life
after death.

Wednesday * October 19 * 7:30pm
Simon Winchester
A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California
Earthquake of 1906 (HarperCollins)
Reading & Book Signing
Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, Seattle
Bestselling writer Winchester (Krakatoa, The Professor and the Madman)
has done it again; he has woven together history and science in a
beautifully crafted account. This time he describes the disastrous
earthquake that rocked San Francisco and the effect it had on the people
who lived there. The event forever changed the American view of the
"stable ground" we walk on. Part of the Seattle Arts & Lectures Series.
Tickets are available by calling (206) 621-2230 or at www.lectures.org.

Wednesday * October 19 * 7:30pm
Karsten Heuer
"Being Caribou: An Epic Journey"
Talk
UW Kane Hall 220
Karsten Heuer is a wildlife biologist, park warden, and author. In April
2003, he and his wife, filmmaker Leanne Allison embarked on a five-month
research expedition to migrate more than 1,500 miles with a herd of
120,000 Porcupine Caribou. In a call for caribou protection and habitat
preservation, Karsten makes a multimedia public presentation that brings
the plight of the caribou and their threatened habitat to life in vivid
images and stories. Sponsored by the University of Washington's Program
on the Environment, The Mountaineers and the University Book Store. No
tickets are required.

Monday, October 24, 7pm
Science on Tap
Ravenna 3rd Place Books
6504 20th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115
(206)-525-2347
Greg Bear
Science Fiction Author
"The Darwin Code: Intelligent Design without God"

Tuesday * October 25 * 7pm
Walter Reid
"Prospects for Human Wellbeing"
Talk
Town Hall, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue, Seattle
The 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is the largest assessment of
the health of the natural world ever undertaken. Dr. Walter Reid, a
zoologist and expert in biodiversity, directed this ground-breaking
report which highlights the global importance of natural systems and
human influences on them. This event is free and open to the public. No
tickets required.

Wednesday * October 26 * 7:30pm
Jim & Jamie Dutcher
"Living with Wolves"
Talk
UW Kane Hall 220
Jim and Jamie Dutcher produced the Discovery Channel's most successful
wildlife documentary, Wolves at Our Door, for which they won two Emmy
Awards. Over two million wolves have been exterminated by humans due to
misconceptions about the wolf being a destructive, random predator. The
Dutchers make multimedia public presentations to educate people about
wolves, to change attitudes and shatter the misconceptions and myths of
them as enemies of humans. Sponsored by the University of Washington's
Program on the Environment, The Mountaineers and the University Book
Store. No tickets are required.

Thursday * October 27 * 7:30pm
Dava Sobel
The Planets (Viking)
Reading & Book Signing
Town Hall, 1119 8th Avenue, Seattle
Dava Sobel is the author of the best-selling Longitude and the
award-winning Galileo's Daughter. Her new book, The Planets, is an
exploration of the planet's origins and oddities through the lens of
popular culture - from astrology, mythology, and science fiction to art,
music, poetry, biography, and history. Part of the Seattle Science
Lecture Series, co-sponsored by University Book Store, Town Hall
Seattle, the Pacific Science Center, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and
the University of Washington. Tickets are $16 in advance ($13 for Town
Hall members), and $18 at the door ($15 for members).

Friday * October 28 * 7pm
Arlene Blum
Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life (Scribner)
Reading & Book Signing
University District Store
To "break trail" is to lead others across difficult terrain, creating a
new path. Arlene Blum has always been a trailblazer in her life as a
scientist and as a climber. Breaking Trail is her second memoir of a
life at its peaks and in its valleys.

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