Thursday, September 29, 2005

An evening with Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Rhodes

NOTE: This event is sold-out.

It's been awhile since we've had a dinner meeting, so we thought we'd offer a special treat to ease us into the fall. Pulitzer-prize winning author Richard Rhodes will give an insider's talk about his 25 years of science writing. He'll reflect on how he came to write about science and what he loves and has learned about how to do it. He's tackled such diverse topics as the atomic bomb, violence, Audubon, and his own childhood, yet he would say there is a common thread that runs through his work. You'll have to come to the dinner to find out what human theme connects his work together.

Richard Rhodes is the author of 20 books, including The Making of the Atomic Bomb, which won a Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction, a National Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award; Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, which was shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize in History; an investigation of the roots of private violence, Why They Kill; a personal memoir, A Hole in the World; a biography, John James Audubon; and four novels. He has received numerous fellowships for research and writing, including grants from the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He has been a visiting scholar at Harvard and MIT and a host and correspondent for documentaries on public television's Frontline and American Experience series. An affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, he is currently researching a third volume of nuclear history, Endgame, which will examine the international politics of nuclear weapons across the past two decades. His essay "Living With the Bomb" appears in the August 2005 issue of National Geographic Magazine. He lectures frequently to audiences in the United States and abroad.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Attendance is limited to 50, so send in your check IMMEDIATELY.

WHERE: The Basque Cultural Center, 599 Railroad Ave., South San Francisco (650-583-8091). The center's web site is at www.basqueculturalcenter.com, and a map to the restaurant is at www.basqueculturalcenter.com/directions.htm.

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 29, 2005

COST: $23 per person; $15 for students

MENU: The Basque Cultural Center serves French-accented fare, and offers us a choice of three entrees:

• Salmon with Champagne Sauce, accompanied by vegetables and rice
• Confit de Canard (Duck) with scalloped potatoes and vegetables
• Vegetarian Pasta

All are served with soup, salad, bread and butter, plus ice cream and coffee for dessert.

SCHEDULE:

6 pm to 7 pm Happy Hour (no host bar)
7 pm to 8 pm Dinner
8 pm to 9 pm Speaker

Please make out a check to NCSWA and mail it to:

Robert Sanders
1512 Holly St.
Berkeley, CA 94703

IN ADDITION TO SENDING A CHECK, PLEASE INDICATE YOUR ENTREE OF CHOICE. We must tell the restaurant the total for each dish by Wednesday, Sept. 21.

Carpooling: For those interested in carpooling to the dinner, Karen Street again will play transportation matchmaker, matching up those of you wanting a ride with those who are driving. Contact her at karen_street@sbcglobal.net. She will mail out information as she receives it. Many thanks to all those who have offered rides in the past, enabling people to attend.