Boston Book Festival

Francis Collins has a distinguished career by any standard. He was the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute and, more recently, was head of the National Institutes of Health. He is a man of science and a man of faith. In his new book, The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust, he proposes a philosophical and scientific framework to address the plague of distrust, cynicism, partisanship, and racism that our country is experiencing. He makes a case for four core sources of judgment and clear thinking: truth, science, faith, and trust. He believes these values can work together and not in conflict and that with courage and humility, we can embrace what we all have in common and rebuild a fractured society. Join us for a probing and enlightening discussion led by Boston Public Library President, David Leonard. Sponsored by the Boston Public Library.

What are the repercussions of our most powerful relationships, and how do faith, desire and devotion formed from these relationships shape our personal histories? Award-winning author Susan Minot’s provocative new novel Don’t Be a Stranger traces a woman’s relationship with a man twenty years her junior, exploring themes of intimacy and obsession, integrity and art, in a story praised by Booklist as “ravishing, haunting, and insightful.” The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali maps the story of two best friends - their initial loyalty, inevitable betrayal, and costly redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran. A national bestseller, Kamali’s latest is described as “a powerful portrait of friendship, feminism, and political activism” (People). In Jamie Quatro’s new novel Two-Step Devil, two societal outsiders form an unlikely but tender friendship that shapes a young woman’s future and solidifies a self-proclaimed prophet’s faith. Praised by Booklist as “a spectacular masterpiece,” Two-Step Devil explores the intricacies that steer the course of human lives. Quatro, Kamali and Minot will be joined in conversation by Tim Ehrenberg, creator of Tim Talks Books, President of the Nantucket Book Foundation, and co-host of the literary podcast Books, Beach, & Beyond.

Black resistance, black politics, and the work of democracy will be the focus of this conversation between four distinguished scholars.  Wellesley professor and co-host of the podcast This Day in Esoteric History, Kellie Carter Jackson highlights the breadth of Black responses to white oppression, particularly those pioneered by Black women, in We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance.  Art and cultural historian Sarah Lewis, author of The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America, explores the myth of whiteness and the many ways that American culture has taught people not to see, in order to preserve the lies that support racism and to maintain the country’s racial hierarchies. The multi-talented Thulani Davis, in The Emancipation Circuit, offers a deep look at how the four million newly freed slaves created community networks and political organizations to defend freedom and show how these circuits of freedom were the bedrock of the first mass political movement for equal citizenship in the United States. Princeton University professor and frequent MSNBC contributor Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. in his book We are The Leaders We Have Been Looking For argues that Black Americans must step out from under the shadows of past giants to be the heroes that our democracy urgently requires. Noelle Trent, President and CEO of the Museum of African American History, will moderate. This session is sponsored by the Museum of African American History and the Stone Foundation.

The two sweeping, magisterial narratives featured in this session demonstrate how human history is defined by technological innovation, and not always in a good way. Technological progress has brought enormous advances in lifespan and freedom, but the cost has been significant. Daron Acemoglu, co-author of Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity, asserts that over the past 1,000 years, technological developments tended to enrich and empower small elites. This rings true in our time when a small group of technology entrepreneurs amass astonishing wealth and power but the real income of ordinary people remains stagnant. In The Burning Earth: A History, MacArthur “genius” grantee Sunil Amrith uses an environmental lens for a paradigm-shifting examination of how industrialization, colonization, and war have degraded and reshaped the planet. This fascinating conversion about the history of technology will be led by Arun Rath, host of All Things Considered on GBH.