About us
We are a serious but fun group of bibliophiles and read everything from current events and public policy to history, science, and literature and the occasional play, graphic novel, or collection of poems.
Our membership includes individuals of all ages and from a variety of careers and cultural backgrounds. Everyone is welcome to join and we do not promote a particular political or social position and welcome all points of view.
We've got two rules: please read the book before attending a meeting. And please don't RSVP to attend and then no-show.
We do not accept requests from authors to read their books. We will never ask for money beyond the $3 event fee. If you receive offers purporting to come from the club they are part of an online scam.
Upcoming events
2
- $3.00
B&B Meeting: The Anarchy: The East India Company -- William Dalyrmple
2500 Q St NW, Washington, DC, USEveryone, please join us on Monday, September 14 at 7 p.m. to discuss The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire by William Dalyrmple. | 427pp.
In August 1765, the East India Company defeated the young Mughal emperor and set up, in his place, a government run by English traders who collected taxes through means of a private army.
The creation of this new government marked the moment that the East India Company ceased to be a conventional company and became something much more unusual: an international corporation transformed into an aggressive colonial power. Over the course of the next 47 years, the company's reach grew until almost all of India south of Delhi was effectively ruled from a boardroom in the city of London.
The Anarchy tells one of history's most remarkable stories: how the Mughal Empire-which dominated world trade and manufacturing and possessed almost unlimited resources-fell apart and was replaced by a multinational corporation based thousands of miles overseas, and answerable to shareholders, most of whom had never even seen India and no idea about the country whose wealth was providing their dividends. Using previously untapped sources, Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before and provides a portrait of the devastating results from the abuse of corporate power.
A long list of other books we are considering reading is available here.
Our meetings have a $3 fee, purely to offset the cost of Meetup. This can be paid via Venmo, Paypal, or in cash.
We do not accept requests from authors to read their books. We will never ask for money beyond the above fee. If you receive offers purporting to come from the club they are part of an online scam.
7 attendees - $3.00
B&B Meeting: Bismarck: A Life -- Jonathan Steinberg
2500 Q St NW, Washington, DC, USEveryone, please join us on Monday, October 5 at 7 p.m. to discuss Bismarck: A Life by Jonathan Steinberg. | 481pp.
This riveting, New York Times bestselling biography illuminates the life of Otto von Bismarck, the statesman who unified Germany but who also embodied everything brutal and ruthless about Prussian culture. Jonathan Steinberg draws heavily on contemporary writings, allowing Bismarck's friends and foes to tell the story. What rises from these pages is a complex giant of a man: a hypochondriac with the constitution of an ox, a brutal tyrant who could easily shed tears, a convert to an extreme form of evangelical Protestantism who secularized schools and introduced civil divorce. Bismarck may have been in sheer ability the most intelligent man to direct a great state in modern times. His brilliance and insight dazzled his contemporaries. But all agreed there was also something demonic, diabolical, overwhelming, beyond human attributes, in Bismarck's personality. He was a kind of malign genius who, behind the various postures, concealed an ice-cold contempt for his fellow human beings and a drive to control and rule them. As one contemporary noted: "the Bismarck regime was a constant orgy of scorn and abuse of mankind, collectively and individually." In this comprehensive and expansive biography--a brilliant study in power--Jonathan Steinberg brings Bismarck to life, revealing the stark contrast between the "Iron Chancellor's" unmatched political skills and his profoundly flawed human character.
A long list of other books we are considering reading is available here.
Our meetings have a $3 fee, purely to offset the cost of Meetup. This can be paid via Venmo, Paypal, or in cash.
We do not accept requests from authors to read their books. We will never ask for money beyond the above fee. If you receive offers purporting to come from the club they are part of an online scam.
3 attendees
Past events
152
