Book and Author Society

Thanks to all for making the Fall 2019 luncheon a great success! Our authors included:

Deborah Blum (www.deborahblum.com) is the director of the Knight Science Journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of two best-selling books, “The Poisoner’s Handbook” and her newest, “The Poison Squad: One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century.” The latter is the dramatic true story of food safety in the United States and the heroes who fought for change at the end of the 19th century, when food was often dangerous to eat and even lethal. Deborah has also been a columnist for The New York Times and a blogger for Wired.

Bridgett Davis (bridgettdavis.com) is the author of “The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother’s Life in the Detroit Numbers,” an unusual memoir of how low-stakes gambling helped fuel – and fund – racial justice in Detroit. While it tells how her mother ran a successful illegal numbers operation when Bridgett was young, it is also about the African American strivers of Detroit, the evolution of her family, a tale of female empowerment, and a love letter to her mother. Born and raised in Detroit, Bridgett is also the author of two novels, “Into the Go-Slow” and “Shifting Through Neutral.”

Susan Isaacs (www.susanisaacs.com) is the best-selling author of 14 novels, including “Compromising Positions” and “Shining Through.” Her new novel, “Takes One to Know One,” is a twisty mystery thriller featuring a retired FBI agent turned Long Island housewife who taps into her investigative past when she begins to suspect that her neighbor is harboring criminal secrets. Susan is a former editor of Seventeen, a freelance political speechwriter, chairman of the board of Poets & Writers, and a past president of Mystery Writers of America.

James Poniewozik (www.nytimes.com/james-poniewozik) is the chief television critic for the New York Times. His new book is “Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television and the Fracturing of America.” This fascinating, eye-opening book traces the history of TV and mass media from simpler times in the 1980’s to its powerful worldwide presence today. He also tells the almost unbelievable story of how a billionaire merged with the medium to become our 45th president. Originally from Monroe, James attended the University of Michigan. He went on to write about television for Time magazine for sixteen years, and has contributed to publications like Fortune, Salon and Rolling Stone.