Advanced Praise for BEHIND THE DESK AT THE MAIN
"This wonderful book appeals to the heart as well as to the mind, challenging the dark times we live in. It shows how libraries as democratic spaces offer us an alternative way of perceiving the world, relating to the world, and changing the world."
—Azar Nafisi, author of Read Dangerously and Reading Lolita in Tehran
“Drawing well-shaded portraits of library regulars and detailing the flow of money in local politics, Lazard delivers an ode to public service that brims with communal feeling. Heartfelt, insightful, and justifiably righteous, it’s a balm for book lovers.”
—Publishers Weekly
Reviews for
“WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW…”
“In clear, calm, resolute prose, Lazard recounts the onslaught of urgent issues overpowering her Bay Area childhood […] Her yearning to know, learn, understand and become remains powerful and creative, often against spectacular odds. […] What You Don’t Know will inspire for its grace, zest and courage.” Joan Frank, San Francisco Chronicle
"Lazard refers to her narrative as 'my recovery mission to retrieve a time in my life that marked me more deeply than any other,' and she succeeds handily, thanks to rigorous scene-building and memorable characterizations of her family. This is a powerful account."Publishers Weekly
"A coming-of-age memoir takes readers to the Bay Area of the late 1960s and ’70s. [...] Lazard’s story may exemplify a cultural awakening experienced by many of her Black peers, but it is also intensely individual, shaped as much by her own family circumstances as by the world around her. [...] Compelling and memorable."Kirkus Reviews
"The book focuses on [Lazard's] childhood and adolescence, as she shuttled from school to school, searching for her place in the world. It was a time of momentous change for Black people, and Lazard chronicles those upheavals and realizations with a clear, unsentimental view. A beautifully written memoir, full of heart and soul."Anara Guard, Chicago Review of Books
Praise for
“The Public Library: a photographic essay”/ by Robert Dawson
This book was eighteen years in the making. That is how long it took Dawson to photograph hundreds of public libraries all over the United States…to capture the overwhelming variety of our nation’s public libraries, from the high tech to the one room library, …from the architectural beauty to the renovated strip mall.
Surrounding all these photos are brief essays by writers and librarians discussing the relevance of public libraries…Particularly poignant and humorous are the essays by Barbara Kingsolver, “How Mr. Dewey Decimal Saved My Life”, and one by Dorothy Lazard, “Practicing Seva”.
A beautiful visual tribute to a great American institution.
—Bob Sibert, Bound to Stay Bound Bookstore
