News Release

The Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins University Press announce the launch of the Neighborhood Author Series, a program of free public lectures featuring Baltimore-based writers of books published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. Speakers will include doctors, journalists, historians and photographers. After each talk, the authors will take questions from the audience and sign copies of their books, which will be available for purchase.

Lectures will take place at 7:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month in the Peabody Room at the Episcopal Diocesan Center on the corner of North Charles Street and University Parkway. Parking is available.

Wednesday, Dec. 11
Find out when and why the Lexington Market moved indoors, when the last Locust Point Ferry crossed the harbor, how much Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin made to play the Club Charles, which jazz luminaries attended "Chick" Webb's funeral, who the city's best caterer was, and where past mayors like to shoot craps. Baltimore's neighborhood historian Gilbert Sandler discusses what life in Charm City was like when it was Small Town Baltimore.

Wednesday, Jan. 8
Are you an on-again off-again dieter? Did you enjoy yourself too much during the holidays? No longer able to fit into your clothes? Do you need to drop a few pounds? If you are tired of the continuous struggle to keep off that excess weight, learn about Losing Weight for Good with Lawrence J. Cheskin, founder and director of the nationally renowned Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center.

Wednesday, Feb. 12
We all know someone who is moody. But when does moodiness indicate a more serous medical condition? Johns Hopkins psychiatrist Francis Mark Mondimore will discuss how to recognize depression and bipolar disorder in your loved ones (or yourself); the different types of depression; the causes, symptoms, and treatment options; and how to find a good treatment team, deal with health insurance, and cope with emergency hospitalizations. Mondimore is the author of Depression: The Mood Disease; Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families; and Adolescent Depression: A Guide for Parents.

Wednesday, March 12
In Journeys to the Heart of Baltimore, veteran journalist Michael Olesker writes about Baltimore's melting pot in all its rollicking, sentimental, good-natured and chaotic essence. The stories he tells come from neighborhood street corners and front stoops, playgrounds and school rooms, churches and synagogues and families gathered late at night around kitchen tables. Olesker calls his book a "love letter across the generations."

Wednesday, April 9
In Answering Their Country's Call, Michael Rogers presents the World War II stories of 31 Marylanders, told in their own words, each shedding new light on the large role played by a small state in the great struggle against tyranny. From harrowing accounts of combat to the vital duties carried out just behind the front lines, Rogers bring us veterans' personal views of the war that reveal the mundane, unusual, and sometimes bizarre details of life during wartime.

Wednesday, May 14
The 36-Hour Day has remained the "bible" for families who are giving care to people with dementia.. The book, by Nancy L. Mace and Peter V. Rabins, has offered comfort and support to millions of people in North America and, in translations and adapted editions, throughout the rest of the world. Rabins will discuss updated terminology and statistics, changes in laws on driving, hospice care, assisted living facilities and financing care, the latest findings on eating and nutrition, and new medical research in areas such as drugs, genetics, and diagnostic tests.