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Boswell Book Company

2559 North Downer Avenue at Webster Place

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53211

(414) 332-1181, www.facebook.com/boswellbooks

Our Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 am to 9 pm, Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm

We're closing for a staff meeting on Sunday, October 28. 

Our special hours are 10 am to 4:45 pm.

Boswell Book Company Newsletter               October 19, 2018, day 3487

While our kids programming is always a highlight of our author event schedule, our lineup this fall has been particularly bounteous. We've already hosted or cosponsored such greats as Matt de la Peña, Christian Robinson, Eoin Colfer, Jon Agee, Kendare Blake, Laini Taylor, John Flanagan, and Megan McDonald, but there's more to come.

Tomorrow, October 20, is Historic Downer Avenue's Haunted Halloween. From 1 to 4 pm we'll have chalk artists, pumpkins for sale, accordian music, and a pumpkin carving contest which you can help judge. But the highlight will be at 2 pm when Boswell hosts a presentation from Andy Rash, the Whitefish Bay artist and illustrator whose latest work is Unstinky, a picture book about a stinkbug who just doesn't stink enough. If you liked Archie the Daredevil Penguin, you'll love Bud and his friends P.U. Bottoms and The Fumigator. While you're trick or treating, try to locate Bud and his friends at neighborhood businesses. We've got a free  registration but don't worry, it's requested, no required - everyone is welcome at this event.

Of Andy Rash's new book, Kirkus Reviews wrote: " Get a good whiff of this olfactorily original celebration of individuality." Can't make our event? Oconomowoc's Books & Company will be having a Halloween Unstinky event as well. It's Saturday, October 27 at 10 am. Details here

Watch our upcoming events page (and our next email newsletter) for upcoming picture book events with Laurie Keller and Alan Silberberg on November 5, Barbara Joosse and Renee Graf on November 7, and Rosemary Wells at the Milwaukee Public Library on November 8.
Kurt Chandler Talks to Donald Baumgartner at Boswell on Monday, October 22, 7 pm

Donald Baumgartner built Paper Machinery Corporation into a world class operation that outmaneuvered the major players. When it came time to sell, Baumgartner did something very different from other companies - he sold the company to his employees. Baumgartner saw what happened to the companies that his father sold - they left town - and he wanted something different for PMC.

What a life Baumgartner has had, and it's all in With the Wind at His Back: The Charmed and Charitable Life of Donald Baumgartner! He's been a major donor to the Milwaukee Art Museum's Calatrava building, Florentine Opera, Milwaukee Ballet, and Milwaukee Film Festival, going on now. When we were at the Oriental Theater for our special event with Leif Enger for Virgil Wander (one of our favorite novels of the year, and yes, we have signed copies), we looked up and there was Baumgartner among the posters. 

Baumgartner's life is suitably brought to life by Kurt Chandler, former editor of Milwaukee Magazine and author of several other books. It's an adventure on land and sea (Baumgartner is an avid sailor) and we want you to come along for the ride, on Monday, October 22, 7 pm, at Boswell. 
Franco-Rwandan Rapper and Novelist Gaël Faye at the Hefter Center, Wednesday, October 24, 5 pm

The UWM Department of French, Italian and Comparative Literature, MALLT, and the Institute of World Affairs present an evening of bilingual reading, songs, and conversation with the socially engaged wordsmith Gaël Faye. Faye's craft depicts the fragility of his Bujumbura childhood haven within the violence of growing national and international tenstions, and calls out exclusionary practices and identity politics, then and now, from Burundi and Rwanda to France and beyond.

Gaël Faye's Small Country (Petit pays) has won no less than five French literary prizes, including the Prix Goncourt de lycéens and the Prix Palissy. It was also longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal in the United States. The starred Booklist review exclaimed: "Vividly translated by (Sarah) Ardizzone, this powerful tale, a best-seller overseas, presents a world where there are no easy demarcations of good and evil, sane and insane, or pure and corrupted, as Faye focuses not on offering judgement but rather on capturing the full impact of social and political disintegration." More in World Literature Today.

This event will feature musical accompaniment from musician Paul Cebar. It's free and no registration is required. Additional sponsors are Alliance Française de Milwaukee and the French Embassy in the United States. Boswell will be selling Small Country at the talk (with Petit pays being sold by AF), located at UWM's Hefter Center, 3271 N Lake Dr, Wednesday, October 24, 5 pm.
Nathaniel Philbrick is at the American Geographical Society Library at UWM's Golda Meir Library, Wednesday, October 24, 6:30 pm

Thank you for paying attention! Sometimes it feels like we are emailing into the void, so it's almost a welcome relief when we make an error and you all respond. Because we're so excited about the return of Nathaniel Philbrick to Milwaukee and we know you're going to love seeing him at the American Geographical Society Library, we wanted to remind you of the correct day and date for this event. 

In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown is the latest work of history from Nathaniel Philbrick whose previous Valiant Ambition was awarded the National Book Award. His new book returns to the Revolutionary War to offer, per  Publishers Weekly, "an insightful and accessible account of its by-no-means-inevitable success." Here Philbrick focuses on the events that led to the French Navy joining the sea battle and how that turned the tide of battle.

Booklist writes: "All readers interested in the Revolutionary War, and especially fans of naval history, will find Philbrick's fresh account rewarding" and Boswell's Tim McCarthy agrees, noting "The detail in Philbrick's research is excellent, with effective maps and diagrams helping to clarify troop movements, battles, and naval tactics. Even more impressive is the way Philbrick uses a wealth of primary source materials to reveal the personalities of iconic leaders such as Washington, whose presence, dignity, affability, and remarkable focus under pressure made him the beloved Father of Our Country."

The American Geographical Society Library is one of Milwaukee's treasures, located in the UWM Golda Meir Library, 2311 E Hartford Ave. Parking is available on surface lots or in the basement of the UWM Union. Meet us at the map library on Wednesday, October 24, 6:30 pm. Registration requested at philbrickmke.bpt.me.
John A. Adam on Math and Nature, Tuesday, October 23, 4:30 pm, at UWM Student Union

Join UWM Colleges of Letters and Science for the Fall 2018 Dean's Distinguished Lecture in the Natural Sciences with our special guest speaker Dr. John A. Adam. Adam has been Professor of Mathematics at Old Dominion University since 1984. As an undergraduate he was exposed to a concentrated diet of Monty Python's Flying Circus, and he has never fully recovered, even at his advanced age. He is a frequent contributor to Earth Sciences and author of A Mathematical Nature Walk.

His talk "Patterns in Nature: A Treasure Trove for the Curious" will address the many fascinating and beautiful patterns in the natural world around us that we often don't even notice. These include rainbows, ice crystal halos, glories, waves on puddles, lakes and oceans (and in the atmosphere), patterns in flora and fauna, and much more. This picture-laden talk will be an introduction to some familiar (and not so familiar) patterns with brief reference to some of the science and mathematics underlying them.

This event will be held at the UWM Union Wisconsin Room, located on 2200 E Kenwood Ave, on Tuesday, October 23, at 4:30 pm. Parking is available beneath the Union for a nominal charge. More here.
Presenting Boswell Toddler Tees

Several years ago we created a special toddler tee featuring one of the illustrations of renowned local artist and bookseller Aaron Boyd, author of Luigi and the Barefoot Races and Calling the Water Drum. Ever since then, we've had on our checklist to make our basic tee available for little kids too.

Now we've done a special printing of tees in four sizes - T2, T3, T4, and T5/6 in an assortment of colors - apple green, Caribbean blue, cobalt blue, gold, purple, vintage red, and vintage blue (no T5/6 in the last two color options). Note that selection is very limited in each color. Each is $16.95. You can even order online, but you'll have to request size and color (list your top 3 color choices) in the notes field. Or come see them at Boswell. 
Speaking of Boswell gear, here's another installment of toting the Boswell totes. Our new bright red tote will brighten up any day and as it gets closer to the holidays, it will be perfect for carrying holiday gifts, even if you don't have a red coat like Amie does. The totes are $15 and available in classic black, royal blue, eye-popping purple, and Harry W. Schwartz green. Please note color choice in notes field if you order online.
 
As always, thank you for your patronage and apologies for the typos,
 
Daniel Goldin with Aaron, Amie, Anne, Barb, Chris, Conrad, Jane, Jason, Jen, Jenny, Kay, Lynn, Margaret, Olivia, Parker, Peter, Rose, Scott, Thom, and Tim