The Chicago Public Library’s monthly Authors @ the Library series presents dynamic book discussions from gripping historical moments, athletes and their roles in the civil rights movement to cookbook dinnertime favorites for families to enjoy.

All these events will take place at the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, lower level, at the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St unless otherwise noted.

Authors @ the Library events in January

TALK FOOTBALL: RICH COHEN & SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN

Monday, Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Join Rich Cohen, author of Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football and Samuel G. Freedman, author of Breaking the Line: The Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Sport and Changed the Course of Civil Rights for a dynamic conversation about football.

JAMES L. SWANSON

Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m.

James L. Swanson joins us to discuss his recent book titled End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy, a gripping, minute-by-minute account of the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Presented by the Society of Midland Authors.

LET’S EAT: DOUG SOHN, PAULA HANEY & KAT BARRY

Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m.

Join us for a veritable feast of culinary entrepreneurs as we present Doug Sohn of Hot Doug’s and author of Hot Doug’s: The Book; Paula Haney of Hoosier Mama Pie Co. and author of The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie: Recipes, Techniques, and Wisdom from the Hoosier Mama Pie Company; and Kat Barry of the Chicago Diner and author of The New Chicago Diner Cookbook: Meat-Free Recipes from America’s Veggie Diner in conversation with Peter Sagal of NPR’s All Things Considered.

ISHMAEL BEAH

Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m.

Ishmael Beah joins us to discuss his new book Radiance of Tomorrow: A Novel. Beah is the author of the New York Times bestseller A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.

LAWRENCE VALE

Thursday, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m.

Chicago native and professor of Urban Design and Planning at MIT, Lawrence Vale joins us to speak about his book, Purging the Poorest: Public Housing and the Design Politics of Twice-Cleared Communities, a comparative look at the public housing experiences of Chicago and Atlanta.

Bucktown-Wicker Park Branch, 1701 N. Milwaukee Ave., (312) 744-6022

JOSEPH GUSTAITIS

Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.

Join author Joseph Gustaitis as he discusses his new book Chicago’s Greatest Year, 1893: The White City and the Birth of a Modern Metropolis. Gustaitis rectifies Chicago’s overlooked history, revealing the city as a modern metropolis that rivaled the world’s greatest.