Need weekend plans? Don't forget about the Library's free and discount admission passes to Boston-area museums! The newest additions, now available for borrowing, are passes for the Massachusetts Audubon Wildlife Sanctuaries and the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. For the complete list of museums, or to reserve a pass, click here. Pick-up is at the Information Desk on the first floor of the Main Library. The Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries purchase most of these passes for us-- thanks, Friends!
This year, 271 works of fiction were submitted to the National Book Foundation to be considered for the National Book Award. The five finalists for this award were announced October 15. Look for the winner to be announced November 19 at the NBA annual ceremony and dinner.
Here are the finalists for fiction for 2008:
The Lazarus Prject by Aleksandar Hemon A first full-length work by the MacArthur Award-winning author of the story collections The Question of Bruno and Nowhere Man finds the murder of Jewish immigrant Lazarus Averbuch triggering ethnic and political tensions in early twentieth-century Chicago, an event that is investigated a century later by a young writer from Eastern Europe. Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner Coming of age in mid-1950s Cuba where the local sugar and nickel production are controlled by American interests, Everly Lederer and KC Stites observe the indulgences and betrayals of the adult world and are swept up by the political underground and the revolt led by Fidel and Raul Castro. Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen A richly textured reworking of the author's classic trilogy--Killing Mister Watson, Lost Man's River, and Bone by Bone--chronicles the legacy of E. J. Watson, a notorious desperado gunned down by his neighbors along the lawless nineteenth-century frontier of the Florida Everglades. Home by Marilynne Robinson Returning to Gilead to care for her dying father, Glory Boughton, the daughter of John Ames's closest friend, is joined by her long-absent brother, with whom she bonds throughout his struggles with alcoholism, unemployment, and their father's traditionalist values. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for her previous novel, Gilead. The End by Salvatore Scibona Six attendees at an Ohio carnival in 1953 find their lives irrevocably changed by a devastating crime, in a tale that centers on a man whose years of unrelenting labor, paternal devotion, and steadfast faith are shattered by the news that his son has died in a Korean POW camp. A first novel.
October brought more movies based on books. Whether you have seen the movies or are hoping to, pick up the book. The stories are even more captivating in print.
A British journalist offers a hilarious account of the five years he spent looking for love in all the wrong places and steadily working his way down the New York food chain, from glossy magazine editor to crash-test dummy for interactive sex toys.
Roger Ferris is one of the CIA\'s soldiers in the war on terrorism. He has come out of Iraq with a shattered leg and an intense mission -- to penetrate the network of a master terrorist known only as \'Suleiman\'. Ferris\'s plan for getting inside Suleiman\'s tent is inspired by a masterpiece of British intelligence during World War II : he literally prepares a body of lies, the corpse of an imaginary CIA officer who appears to have accomplished the impossible by recruiting an agent within the enemy's ranks.
The City of Emberby Jeanne DuPrau. The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she’s sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever! Bill Murray lovers and dystopian novel fans will love this. Although it is written as a children's book, the story will keep an adult's attention.
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. A motherless Lily leaves her home in 1964 South Carolina with her caretaker, Rosaleen, who was beaten and jailed by town racists. This is the story of their journey as Lily seeks to fill the longing for the love she missed from her mother. Secret Life of Bees is a remarkable story about mothers and daughters and the women in our lives who become our true mothers.
French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio won the 2008 Novel Prize in literature a few weeks ago. The Swedish Academy called Le Clézio an “author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization.” Wow. Well, not all of J.M. Le Clézio’s books have been translated into English, but we do have a few at the Wellesley Free Library. The Prospector is one of his more recent titles. Clicking on that bibliographic record in our catalog can lead you to his other works.
For a list of Nobel Laureates in Literature, go to:
Don't look for a lot of Americans on this list. The last time an American won was in 1993 -- Toni Morrison.
Horace Engdahl, the permanent secretary of the Nobel prize jury, told the Associated Press:
"There is powerful literature in all big cultures, but you can't get away from the fact that Europe still is the centre of the literary world ... not the United States. The US is too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature ...That ignorance is restraining." Ouch.
I have enjoyed 15 years as a Reference Librarian at the Wellesley Free Library – about half of that time as the Department Supervisor. I have learned so much from staff, library users, committees and conferences. I have been able to work in lovely surroundings with unbelievable resources – both print and digital. If it weren’t for the fact that there are so many other interests to pursue with limited time and energy for doing everything, I would stay forever. But, I think, it is time to move on. Thank you and good night. Mary E. Durda
Sometimes I don't understand why more people aren't more excited about databases. As fun as it is to browse the web via Google, there are lots of times when a database is the better choice. When I talk about databases here, I mean those put out by reputable publishers, available through subscription. Of course there are free databases available on the web as well (Wikipedia and about.com are good examples), but nice, big, useful ones are not easy to find. Take RefUSA for example. It's a compilation of the country's yellow pages and gives a lot more than the telephone directories. Or Health Reference Center, which gives you access to hundreds of medical journals and health magazines. Or the Boston Globe, with (free) access to all articles since 1980. So, do I have to pay for these, you ask? Not if you have a library card, I answer! Find a link to the Library's databases from the WellesleyFreeLibrary.org website (click on Reference Services) or the Minuteman Library Network website (mln.lib.ma.us). More on databases tomorrow... Rob
Bill Ott's Review of "The Numbers Game" starts off with a joke
There are four guys in a bar when Bill Gates walks in. The four recognize the new arrival and start whooping, exchanging high fives and ordering another round. “Why the fuss?” Bill asks. One of the four answers enthusiastically, “Don’t you realize what you’ve just done to our average income?”... Find out if you have more than the average number of feet and read the rest of the review at http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3116821
A Walk to Beautiful-A look at the lives of three Ethiopian women, rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities, who leave home in search of seeking treatment for obstetric fistula. The program follows them walking for hours on their journey to transportation to a special hospital in Addis Ababa where they find solace for the first time in years, and stays with them as their lives begin to change. The Cats of Mirikitani -Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani survived the trauma of WWII internment camps, Hiroshima, and homelessness by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens his life on the New York City streets and a local filmmaker brings him to her home, the two embark on a journey to confront Jimmy's painful past. An intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the healing power of community and art.
King Corn : You Are What You Eat- Fueled by curiosity and a dash of naiveté, college buddies Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis return to their ancestral home of Greene, Iowa, to find out how the modest corn kernel conquered America. With the help of real farmers, powerful fertilizer, government aid, and genetically modified seeds, the friends manage to grow one acre of corn. Along the way, they unlock the hidden truths about America's modern food system Surfwise -A look at the life of legendary Malibu surfer Dorian 'Doc' Paskowitz, a successful doctor who dropped out of normal society in the '60s and raised nine kids in a motor home, where he home-schooled them about life, love, sex and surfing. Up the Yangtze- In China, it is simply known as "The River." But the Yangtze--and all of the life that surrounds it--is undergoing a truly astonishing transformation wrought by the largest hydroelectric project in history, the Three Gorges Dam. Canadian documentary filmmaker Yung Chang returns to the gorgeous, now-disappearing landscape of his grandfather's youth to trace the surreal life of a "farewell cruise" that traverses the gargantuan waterway.
Singularly moving and cinematically breathtaking, Up the Yangtze gives a human dimension to the wrenching changes facing not only an increasingly globalized China, but the world at large.
Nadia Boulanger - Mademoiselle- Nadia Boulanger (1887-1997), universally called 'Mademoiselle' by her students, was easily the best-known teacher of composition in the last century. The list of her students from America includes, among many others, Aaron Copland, Walter Piston, Roy Harris and Leonard Bernstein. This documentary is the first film ever made by Bruno Monsaingeon, a former musician who has gone on to become a leading classical music documentarian. It was shot in the 1960s and early 1970s in grainy black & white and only average sound, when Boulanger was in her late 80s and still fearsomely in command of her abilities. This film remains one of the most important documents concerning this fabled teacher. She is seen at one of her fabled 'Wednesdays', a composition lesson held weekly in her apartment for almost six decades and attended by anyone who would come. In this particular session she talks illuminatingly with students about a small portion of Schumann's 'Davidsbündertanze.' The incredibly talented prodigy, the Bulgarian pianist-composer Emile Naumoff, demonstrates at the piano; he looks to be no older than perhaps ten or twelve. Boulanger's comments are terse, penetrating and forceful.
Interweaved with the 'Wednesday' material are interview clips with Monsaingeon -- expanded in his later book 'Mademoiselle: Conversations with Nadia Boulanger' -- and, added in the late 1970s, Monsaingeon interview footage with Leonard Bernstein (in French) and the noted conductor/composer Igor Markevitch. An extra is a complete performance by the ORTF Philharmonic, with Markevitch on the podium, of Mozart's Symphony No. 38, 'Prague'.
There is an extensive booklet note by Monsaingeon in which he details how the documentary came about and how he revised it some years later. (For reasons of rights, he had to drop its opening segment in which he showed a scene from the Ali McGraw/Ryan O'Neal film, 'Love Story', where McGraw's character says that she is 'going to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger' without offering an explanation as to who Boulanger was, evidence that Boulanger's name was well enough known that a mass audience didn't more than mention of her name.) There is also a reprint of a touching letter from Bernstein to Monsaingeon recounting his last visit with Mademoiselle just before her death.
The focus of this documentary is musical entirely. There is no attempt to convey biographical details about Boulanger, in keeping with Mademoiselle's wishes. This makes this relatively short documentary all the more densely packed with relevant examples of her style and philosophy of teaching.
Man on Wire - A look at the high-wire walk made by Philippe Petit in 1974 between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City, and how it is still considered one of history's most artistic crimes.
"The only thing new in this world is the history that you don't know"
-Harry S. Truman
Between the economic crisis and the Iraq war you may feel as though we are going through the darkest, toughest time in history. History books help give us strength. They teach us how people overcame tough or bleak times. History books are also about human emotion, fear, pity, courage, loneliness, greed, affection and are a part of any good story. The following are the most popular history books so far this year.
Scott McClellan was one of a few Bush loyalists from Texas who became part of his inner circle of trusted advisers, and remained so during one of the most challenging and contentious periods of recent history. Drawn to Bush by his commitment to compassionate conservatism and strong bipartisan leadership, McClellan served the president for more than seven years, and witnessed day-to-day exactly how the presidency veered off course. In this refreshingly clear-eyed book, written with no agenda other than to record his experiences and insights for the benefit of history, McClellan provides unique perspective on what happened and why it happened the way it did, including the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina, Washington's bitter partisanship, and two hotly contested presidential campaigns. He gives readers a candid look into who George W. Bush is and what he believes, and into the personalities, strengths, and liabilities of his top aides. Finally, McClellan looks to the future, exploring the lessons this presidency offers the American people as we prepare to elect a new leader.
They were legalized pirates empowered by the Continental Congress to raid and plunder, at their own considerable risk, as much enemy trade as they could successfully haul back to America’s shores; they played a central role in American’s struggle for independence and later turned their seafaring talents to the slave trade; embodying the conflict between enterprise and morality central to the American psyche. InPatriot Pirates, Robert H. Patton, grandson of the battlefield genius of World War II, writes that during America’s Revolutionary War, what began in 1775 as a New England fad--converting civilian vessels to fast-sailing warships, and defying the Royal Navy’s overwhelming firepower to snatch its merchant shipping--became a massive seaborne insurgency that ravaged the British economy and helped to win America’s independence. More than two thousand privately owned warships were commissioned by Congress to prey on enemy transports, seize them by force, and sell the cargoes for prize money to be divided among the privateer’s officers, crewmen, and owners. Patton writes how privateering engaged all levels of Revolutionary life, from the dockyards to the assembly halls; how it gave rise to an often cutthroat network of agents who sold captured goods and sparked wild speculation in purchased shares in privateer ventures, enabling sailors to make more money in a month than they might otherwise earn in a year. As one naval historian has observed, “The great battles of the American Revolution were fought on land, but independence was won at sea.” Benjamin Franklin, then serving at his diplomatic post in Paris, secretly encouraged the sale of captured goods in France, a calculated violation of neutrality agreements between France and Britain, in the hopes that the two countries would come to blows and help take the pressure off American fighters. Patton writes about those whose aggressive speculation in privateering promoted the war effort: Robert Morris--a financier of the Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress who helped to fund George Washington’s army, later tried (and acquitted) for corruption when his deals with foreign merchants and privateers came to light, and emerged from the war as one of America’s wealthiest men . . . William Bingham… John R. Livingston--scion of a well-connected New York family who made no apologies for exploiting the war for profit, calling it “a means of making my fortune.” He worried that peace would break out too soon. (“If it takes place without a proper warning,” said Livingston, “it may ruin us.”) Vast fortunes made through privateering survive to this day, among them those of the Peabodys, Cabots, and Lowell's of Massachusetts, and the Derbys and Browns of Rhode Island. A revelation of America’s War of Independence, a sweeping tale of maritime rebel-entrepreneurs bent on personal profit as well as national freedom.
The Allied landings on the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944, have
assumed legendary status in the annals of World War II. But in overly
romanticizing D-day, Olivier Wieviorka argues, we have lost sight of
the full picture. Normandy offers a balanced, complete account that
reveals the successes and weaknesses of the titanic enterprise. In
addition to describing the landings with precision and drama,
Wieviorka covers the planning and diplomatic background, Allied
relationships, German defensive preparations, morale of the armies,
economics and logistics, political and military leaders, and civiliansrsquo;
and soldiersrsquo; experience of the fighting. Surprisingly, the
landing itself was not the slaughter the general staff expected. The
greater battle for Normandy-waged on farmland whose infamous
hedgerows, the bocage, created formidable obstacles-took a severe
toll not only in lives lost, but on the survivors who experienced this
grueling ordeal. D-day, Wieviorka notes, was a striking
accomplishment, but it was war, violent and cruel. Errors, desertions,
rivalries, psychological trauma, self-serving motives, thefts, and rapes
were all part of the story. Rather than diminishing the Allied
achievement, this candid book underscores the price of victory and
acknowledges the British, American, and Canadian soldiers who
dashed onto the Normandy beaches not as demigods, but as young men.
1434 :;"the year a magnificent Chinese fleet sailed to Italy and ignited the Renaissance " The New York Times bestselling author of 1421 offers another stunning
reappraisal of history, presenting compelling new evidence that traces
the roots of the European Renaissance to Chinese exploration in the
fifteenth century The brilliance of the Renaissance laid the foundation
of the modern world. Textbooks tell us that it came about as a result
of a rediscovery of the ideas and ideals of classical Greece and Rome.
But now bestselling historian Gavin Menzies makes the startling
argument that in the year 1434, China-then the world's most
technologically advanced civilization-provided the spark that set the
European Renaissance ablaze. From that date onward, Europeans
embraced Chinese intellectual ideas, discoveries, and inventions, all
of which form the basis of western civilization today. Florence and
Venice of the early fifteenth century were hubs of world trade,
attracting traders from across the globe. Based on years of research,
this marvelous history argues that a Chinese fleet-official ambassadors
of the emperor-arrived in Tuscany in 1434, where they were received
by Pope Eugenius IV in Florence. The delegation presented the
influential pope with a wealth of Chinese learning from a diverse range
of fields: art, geography (including world maps that were passed on to
Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan), astronomy,
mathematics, printing, architecture, steel manufacturing,
military weaponry, and more. This vast treasure trove of knowledge
spread across Europe, igniting the legendary inventiveness of the
Renaissance, including the work of such geniuses as da Vinci,
Copernicus, Galileo, and more. In 1434, Gavin Menzies combines
this long-overdue historical reexamination with the excitement of
an Investigative adventure. He brings the reader aboard the
remarkable Chinese fleet as it sails from China to Cairo and
Florence, and then back across the world. Erudite and brilliantly
reasoned, 1434 will change the way we see ourselves, our
history, and our world.
The Great Derangement :;"a terrifying true story of war, politics, and religion at the twilight of the American Empire" Rolling Stone’sMatt Taibbi set out to describe the nature of George Bush’s
America in the post-9/11 era and ended up vomiting demons in an
evangelical church in Texas, riding the streets of Baghdad in an American
convoy to nowhere, searching for phantom fighter jets in Congress, and
falling into the rabbit hole of the 9/11 Truth Movement. Matt discovered
in his travels across the country that the resilient blue state/red state
narrative of American politics had become irrelevant. A large and growing
chunk of the American population was so turned off—or radicalized—by
electoral chicanery, a spineless news media, and the increasingly blatant
lies from our leaders (“they hate us for our freedom”) that they abandoned
the political mainstream altogether. They joined what he calls The Great
Derangement. Taibbi tells the story of this new American madness by inserting himself into four defining American subcultures:The Military,
where he finds himself mired in the grotesque black comedy of the American
occupation of Iraq;The System, where he follows the money-slicked path
of legislation in Congress;The Resistance, where he doubles as chief public
antagonist and undercover member of the passionately bonkers 9/11 Truth
Movement; andThe Church, where he infiltrates a politically influential
apocalyptic mega-ministry in Texas and enters the lives of its desperate
congregants. Together these four interwoven adventures paint a portrait
of a nation dangerously out of touch with reality and desperately searching
for answers in all the wrong places. Funny, smart, and a little bit
heartbreaking,The Great Derangementis an audaciously reported, sobering,
and illuminating portrait of America at the end of the Bush era.
Barbarians to Angels :;"the Dark Ages reconsidered " A surprising look at the least-appreciated yet profoundly important period
of European history: the so-called Dark Ages.The barbarians who destroyed
the glory that was Rome demolished civilization along with it, and for the
next four centuries the peasants and artisans of Europe barely held on.
Random violence, mass migration, disease, and starvation were the only
way of life. This is the picture of the Dark Ages that most historians promote.
But archaeology tells a different story. Peter S. Wells, one of the world’s
leading archaeologists, surveys the archaeological record to demonstrate
that the Dark Ages were not dark at all. The kingdoms of Christendom that
emerged starting in the ninth century sprang from a robust, previously
little-known, European culture, albeit one that left behind few written texts.
This recently recognized culture achieved heights in artistry, technology,
craft production, commerce, and learning. Future assessments of the
period between Rome and Charlemagne will need to incorporate this fresh
new picture.
In 1521, Suleiman the Magnificent, Muslim ruler of the Ottoman Empire
at the height of its power, dispatched an invasion fleet to the Christian
island of Rhodes. This would prove to be the opening shot in an epic
struggle between rival empires and faiths for control of the Mediterranean and the center of the world. InEmpires of the Sea,acclaimed historian
Roger Crowley has written his most mesmerizing work to date–a
thrilling account of this brutal decades-long battle between Christendom
and Islam for the soul of Europe, a fast-paced tale of spiraling intensity
that ranges from Istanbul to the Gates of Gibraltar and features a cast
of extraordinary characters: Barbarossa, “The King of Evil,” the pirate
who terrified Europe; the risk-taking Emperor Charles V; the Knights
of St. John, the last crusading order after the passing of the Templars;
the messianic Pope Pius V; and the brilliant Christian admiral Don Juan
of Austria. This struggle’s brutal climax came between 1565 and 1571,
seven years that witnessed a fight to the finish decided in a series of
bloody set pieces: the epic siege of Malta, in which a tiny band of
Christian defenders defied the might of the Ottoman army; the savage
battle for Cyprus; and the apocalyptic last-ditch defense of southern
Europe at Lepanto–one of the single most shocking days in world history.
At the close of this cataclysmic naval encounter, the carnage was so
great that the victors could barely sail away “because of the countless
corpses floating in the sea.” Lepanto fixed the frontiers of the Mediterranean
world that we know today. Roger Crowley conjures up a wild cast of
pirates, crusaders, and religious warriors struggling for supremacy and
survival in a tale of slavery and galley warfare, desperate bravery and utter
brutality, technology and Inca gold.Empires of the Seais page-turning
narrative history at its best–a story of extraordinary color and incident,
rich in detail, full of surprises, and backed by a wealth of eyewitness
accounts. It provides a crucial context for our own clash of civilizations.
Support Mass Libraries Proceeds from the sale of these brand new license plates go the state Library Grant Fund. The license plate will cost $40 ($28 goes to libraries). If you buy the plate before Nov. 30, you will be entered into a drawing to win a permanent place in literary history. Massachusetts authors Lois Lowry and Gregory Maguire will consult with you about using your name (or another) in a future book. For details, follow this link to the Central Massachusetts Regional Library System web site: http://www.cmrls.org/plates.htm
Aravind Adiga won the Man Booker Prize on Tuesday. Never heard of the guy? Well, join the club. He’s a journalist and a first time novelist. His book, The White Tiger, explores India’s development as a modern economic power from the point of view of the chauffeur of a wealthy family. Learn more at: http://www.aravindadiga.com.
Want to know who's going to win the election come November? What do the polls say? A great source for this information is the website: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com.
538 is of course the number of electors in the Electoral College.
Last month, FiveThirtyEight was selected as a "Notable Narrative" by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. The Nieman Foundation says, "In his posts, former economic analyst and baseball-stats wunderkind Nate Silver explains the presidential race, using the dramatic tension inherent in the run-up to Election Day to drive his narrative. Come November 5, we will have a winner and a loser, but in the meantime, Silver spins his story from the myriad polls that confound us lesser mortals."
Yohannes Gebregeorgis is among ten finalists for CNN Hero of the Year. Mr. Gebregeorgis was instrumental in establishing libraries and literacy programs in his native Ethiopia. The competition is stiff in this group of local activists fighting AIDS, building homes, providing job training and disaster relief around the world. http://www.cnn.com/heroes
Take advantage of Wellesley Free Library's classic books on Playaway and cut your 'must read' list in half in no time! Our newest media format, Playaways are the size of a deck of cards and come neatly packaged to fit in your pocket. A set of earphones and a AAA battery are all that you need for high quality audio. Listen to such favorites as Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, E.M. Forster's Room with a View, James Joyce's The Dubliners, F. Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and many more. If you prefer listening to books on CD in your car or home without the use of earphones, sample one of our thousands of titles in all genres including fiction, biography, mystery, self help, travel, wellness, the arts, history, religion, and great literature.
Need weekend plans? Don't forget about the Library's free and discount admission passes to Boston-area museums! 
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau.
ni survived the trauma of WWII internment camps, Hiroshima, and homelessness by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens his life on the New York City streets and a local filmmaker brings him to her home, the two embark on a journey to confront Jimmy's painful past. An intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the healing power of community and art.
King Corn : You Are What You Eat-
A look at the life of legendary Malibu surfer Dorian 'Doc' Paskowitz, a successful doctor who dropped out of normal society in the '60s and raised nine kids in a motor home, where he home-schooled them about life, love, sex and surfing.
s "The River." But the Yangtze--and all of the life that surrounds it--is undergoing a truly astonishing transformation wrought by the largest hydroelectric project in history, the Three Gorges Dam. Canadian documentary filmmaker Yung Chang returns to the gorgeous, now-disappearing landscape of his grandfather's youth to trace the surreal life of a "farewell cruise" that traverses the gargantuan waterway.
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1997), universally called 'Mademoiselle' by her students, was easily the best-known teacher of composition in the last century. The list of her students from America includes, among many others, Aaron Copland, Walter Piston, Roy Harris and Leonard Bernstein. This documentary is the first film ever made by Bruno Monsaingeon, a former musician who has gone on to become a leading classical music documentarian. It was shot in the 1960s and early 1970s in grainy black & white and only average sound, when Boulanger was in her late 80s and still fearsomely in command of her abilities. This film remains one of the most important documents concerning this fabled teacher. She is seen at one of her fabled 'Wednesdays', a composition lesson held weekly in her apartment for almost six decades and attended by anyone who would come. In this particular session she talks illuminatingly with students about a small portion of Schumann's 'Davidsbündertanze.' The incredibly talented prodigy, the Bulgarian pianist-composer Emile Naumoff, demonstrates at the piano; he looks to be no older than perhaps ten or twelve. Boulanger's comments are terse, penetrating and forceful.
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