Book Passage and the National Kidney Foundation of Northern California have joined forces to co-sponsor an exciting series of literary luncheons to be held at San Francisco’s Four Seasons Hotel, 757 Market Street. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and hear some of today’s most interesting authors. The price for each event is $85, which includes lunch and an autographed copy of the book. The luncheons benefit the programs and work of the National Kidney Foundation of Northern California. Reservations are a must and may be made by calling 415.927.0960 x 239 or by e-mailing sbarbieri@bookpassage.com.

Karen Hughes Tuesday, April 6, Noon
Former presidential counselor Karen Hughes talks about her book Ten Minutes From Normal. Hughes, who served as communications director during Bush’s six years as governor of Texas, was one of the three people who ran his presidential campaign. The move to Washington was hard on her family, and in a headline-making decision, she chose to place family first, quitting the nation’s capital to return to Austin, where she continues to advise the president from home. Her book looks at her career with Bush and the concerns of balancing work and family.

Cokie Roberts Friday, April 23, Noon
Cokie Roberts, political commentator for ABC News and a news analyst for NPR, discusses her book Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation. Roberts turns her reporting skills toward the shelves of history to find dusty books, and the diaries and correspondence of the revolutionary women who made it possible for the men to do what they did.

Alexander McCall Smith Wednesday, May 5, Noon
Alexander McCall Smith talks about his new book The Full Cupboard of Life, part of his acclaimed
The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Smith, born in Zimbabwe, has taught law at the University of Botswana, and is currently a professor of medical law at Edinburgh University. He is the author of more than fifty books: novels, children’s books, a short story collection, and specialized medical titles, but it is his delightful series featuring Mma Precious Ramotswe, a female detective with her own agency in Botswana, that has endeared him to millions of readers.

Arianna Huffington Thursday, May 20, Noon
Author and political activist Arianna Huffington discusses her hard-hitting new book Fanatics and Fools: How the American People Are Being Hoodwinked by Their Leaders. Drawing on her recent experience on the political frontline in the California recall election, Huffington names names, points fingers, and demands justice. Huffington is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of nine books. She is co-host of the NPR program “Left, Right and Center.”

Book Passage has stores at 51 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera and One Ferry Building,
San Francisco. For more information,
call 415.927.0960 x 239.