Beebe Library is already planning entertaining and informative programs to help you through the winter slog of January and February.

On Thursday January 24, author William Martin will be at the library to talk about his new book, “The Lost Constitution.” Martin, who first came to national attention with “Back Bay,” considers himself a storyteller, from a long line of Irish storytellers, coming to this decision when he was in his teens.

Martin majored in English at Harvard, and after a brief stint in Hollywood, decided to write novels instead of screenplays. He has written eight novels and has three million copies in print.

The idea for writing about the Constitution came to Martin after he visited the Massachusetts Historical Society and saw a copy of the draft of the Constitution for the New England delegates. A storyteller like Martin couldn’t resist the lure of the “what if’s…”

The novel features Peter Fallon, the main character in “Back Bay” and “Harvard Yard” and much of the action takes place in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a location familiar to many of us. Martin describes “The Lost Constitution” as a “contemporary thriller meets the historical novel. A race against time becomes a race through time. And two stories become one.” Check out William Martin’s website at www.williammartinbooks.com for more details about “The Lost Constitution.”

On Wednesday, February 13, the library will host Eve Lyman, who will discuss her photographs of Afghanistan. Ms. Lyman, a local photographer and graphics designer, co-founded a grass roots organization, Afghans for Civil Society and served as US coordinator for two years. She became Executive Director of Boston Mobilization and the Director of the Democracy Center, 45 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge in 2004.

In the summer of 2007, she started “Eye Get It” a graphic arts and communication company that works with non profits, political candidates and artists. Ms. Lyman has an intense conviction that “we are one world” and has brought this conviction to bear in her profession and personal life.

During her time in Afghanistan she photographed children who had never seen pictures of people before, an experience she described as “extraordinary.” Her images of the stark, spare land of Afghanistan, the children and the people are truly remarkable.

The evening of photographs and discussion will be enlightening for all. Check out Ms. Lyman’s website, “The Eye of the Beholder” at theeyeofthebeholder.net for a glimpse of her wonderful photographs.

On Wednesday, February 20, the library will host a discussion of “The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban” by Sarah Chayes. This book discussion will be led by Eve Lyman.

Frustrated by NPR’s disinterest in what Ms. Chayes considered the real story, she gave up journalism in 2001 to become the field director for Afghans for a Civil Society. “The Punishment of Virtue” is Chayes’ account of her personal experiences in Afghanistan as she hurls herself into the culture and ultimately experiences death threats as her work brings her into direct conflict with local authorities. It is an engrossing account of what went wrong in Afghanistan and how there is hope that the damage can be fixed.

This book discussion group will be lively, informative, and thought provoking – don’t miss it!

Categories: Adult Programs, Library News
Tags: author visit, Eve Lyman, lectures, Sarah Chayes, William Martin, winter preview