To Do: Everything's Free
* Tonight at the National Press Club: Michael Crichton'sNextis about genetics, "where the common good and the bottom line are in constant collision. Crichton again delivers a chilling glimpse of a future THAT IS MUCH CLOSER THAN YOU MAY THINK." If you're like your nutcases safely ensconced in the White House, Alicia Shepard discuses her bookWoodward and Bernstein, and joins in a panel discussion called "What if Watergate Happened Today" (with Mikey Isikoff). Both at 6: 30PM. [ National Press Club ]
*Newsweek's assistant managing editor Evan Thomas discussesSea of Thunder. "In this new slice of naval history he recounts the pivotal World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf fought off the Philippine coast by the American and Japanese navies, the first battle in which kamikaze pilots were used." Free at 7PM. [ P&P ]
* Dale Peterson talks aboutJane Goodallat Olsson's in Dupont. He co-wroteVisions of Calibanwith her, and edited her two books of letters,Africa in My BloodandBeyond Innocence. His latest is about Goodall's accomplishments and "how unlikely it is that anyone else could have duplicated them. Peterson details not only how Jane Goodall revolutionized the study of primates, but how she helped set radically new standards and a new intellectual style in the study of animal behavior." Free at 7PM. [ Olsson's ]
* On TV, 1965's "Charlie Brown Christmas" at 8PM, and at 10PM, BET's " American Gangster " series, "the crimes of infamous Black figures, such as Leroy Nicky Barnes, "Freeway" Ricky Ross, The Chambers Brothers, Fat Cat Nicholas and Stanley "Tookie" Williams, will be put in the context of Black history as we see how their actions both reflected and corrupted the values of their community." [ WP ]