NOTICE FOR JUNE 2024 MEETING
We will meet at 5:30 PM at It's Greek To Me on Tuesday, June 18th, 2024. We will be out on the patio. PLEASE NOTE THE NEW TIME!
If you plan to come to this meeting, please click on the event in our event calendar and register.
On the 18th, we will discuss Grace: President Obama and 10 Days in the Battle for America by Cody Keenan.
Grace is a NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER.
“At a time when the meaning of America is up for grabs, Cody Keenan’s new book chronicles ten days that tested us and ultimately showed us at our best. It’s a captivating story about what’s worth fighting for, an antidote to cynicism that will make you believe again.”—President Barack Obama, via Twitter
From Barack Obama’s chief speechwriter Cody Keenan, a spellbinding account of the ten most dramatic days of the presidency, when a hate-fueled massacre and looming Supreme Court decisions put the character of our country on the line, and a president’s words could bring the nation together or tear it apart.
A white supremacist shooting and an astonishing act of forgiveness. A national reckoning with race and the Confederate flag. The fate of marriage equality and the Affordable Care Act. Grace is the propulsive story of ten days in June 2015, when Obama and his chief speechwriter Cody Keenan composed a series of high-stakes speeches to meet a succession of stunning developments.
Through behind-the-scenes moments—from Obama’s suggestion that Keenan pour a drink, listen to some Miles Davis, and “find the silences,” to the president’s late-night writing sessions in the First Family’s residence—Keenan takes us inside the craft of speechwriting at the highest level for the most demanding of bosses, the relentlessly poetic and perfectionist Barack Obama. Grace also delivers a fascinating portrait of White House insiders like Ben Rhodes, Valerie Jarrett, Jen Psaki, and the speechwriting team responsible for pulling it all off during a furious, historic stretch of the Obama presidency—including a gifted fact-checker who took Keenan’s rhetoric to task before taking his hand in marriage. Grace is the most intimate writing that exists on the rhetorical tightrope our first Black president had to walk, culminating with an unforgettable high point: Obama stunning everybody by taking a deep breath and leading the country in a chorus of “Amazing Grace.”
Looking Ahead to Our Summer Read for Our September Meeting
Over the summer (July and August) we will read Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to Present by Fareed Zakaria. We plan to meet on Tuesday, September 17th.
As Always
Remember: this is your book club, and we want to read what you want to read and discuss. All members get an opportunity to recommend and vote on the books that are selected for our monthly reads. Please be on the lookout for books to recommend for our October meeting. Please forward your recommendations for our October read to Elliot at 4esiegel@gmail.com.
We hope to see you on June 18th at 5:30 PM at It's Greek To Me to discuss "Grace".
Don't forget to register for the event.
Thanks,
Elliot & Bob, Book Club Co-chairs
