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The French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, who introduced a structuralist and universalist approach to the study of anthropology has died, a month before he would have turned 101.

Levi-Strauss was born in 1908 in Belgium and grew up in France, in a French-Jewish family long involved in the arts. He began field work and teaching in the 1930s, primarily in Brazil. He was a visiting professor at the New School in New York in the 1940s and then returned to Paris, where he received his doctorate.

In 1955, Levi-Strauss published what many see as his most influential work, Tristes Tropiques. Levi-Strauss began the story of his anthropological work in Brazil and elsewhere by declaring: "I hate traveling and explorers." And indeed, many of his critics' largest problems with his structuralist approach to anthropology, which sought universal ideas in so-called primitive societies to show human commonalities, was that Levi-Strauss was not an explorer. He preferred study to fieldwork. Levi-Strauss searched for an underlying universal structure to humanity and believed that humans relied on opposites, such as cold vs. hot, to understand the world.

Tristes Tropiques was one man's look at humanity, his attempts and work to understand it. Much of anthropology has changed since the book was published 55 years ago and Levi-Strauss himself rejected the idea that he was the "father of structuralism". But regardless of labels, his influence on anthropology is undeniable and his works will continue to be read by those still trying to make sense of how people explain the world around them.

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True story:  Hamlet was my first boyfriend. 

It was the summer of 1995. The O.J. Simpson trial was in full swing, as was a war in the Balkans. Much smaller dramas were taking place in my hometown of Marblehead, Massachusetts. I was thirteen and rehearsing for my fifth production with a children's theatrical troupe called the Rebel Shakespeare Company.

This was what we did, my friends and I. While our peers played sports or hung out at the mall developing social skills, we rehearsed and performed Shakespeare plays in an old Revolutionary War fort-turned-park. Our audiences consisted mostly of extremely patient parents steeled for a long afternoon of watching children in velvet capes shout unintelligibly over the roar of overhead airplanes. But we loved it. Those summers were imbued with the kind of magic that can only be created by combining the thrill of performing some of the greatest scenes in the English language with approximately one zillion hormones.

Naturally, it was a recipe for romance.

In our production, Hamlet was played by a young actor who was a big star in the Marblehead children's acting scene. Everybody thought he was going to grow up to be famous, including him. He had floppy red hair, a scattering of freckles, way too much energy, and a not-at-all secret crush on me.

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Sentinel’s Mike Huckabee Hits the Road on a 60-Bookstore Tour through 21 States

On November 3rd, Sentinel will publish former Governor Mike Huckabee's new book, A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories That Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit.

Unlike his previous New York Times bestseller, Do The Right Thing, this one has nothing to do with politics. It's a collection of true stories from his own life, ranging from childhood to the present -- all taking place at Christmas time. Some of these memories will bring a smile, some may bring a tear, but all will help readers reconnect with the things that really matter -- faith, family, love, and hope.

Huckabee is going on another massive national bus tour (his bus is pictured) - 60 bookstore signings in 21 states in 3 weeks. The events will cross-promote the paperback of Do The Right Thing. In addition, he is scheduled to make several national TV, radio, and print appearances, starting with his own talk show ("Huckabee") on Fox News Channel this weekend. In December, after the tour, he will wrap up with mainstream media including “The Daily Show” and “The View.”

For more information, click here.

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The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of November 8th

Penguin Group (USA) has two debuts on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of November 8th: The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam) hits the hardcover fiction list at #2; and Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin (Viking) is #4 on the hardcover nonfiction list. In addition, DK’s Lego Star Wars by Simon Beecroft hits the #1 slot on the children’s picture books list, in its third week.

Here are more New York Times bestseller highlights:

On the hardcover fiction list, The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books/ Putnam) is #5 in its 30th week; A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is #12 in its third week, Rough Country by John Sandford (Putnam) is #15 in its fourth week; and The Professional by Robert B. Parker (Putnam) is #16 in its third week.

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via press release:

Producer Michael Schwarz says the main characters in this film don't move and they don't talk. "As main characters, that makes it tough," he says about producing "The Botany of Desire," featuring Author Michael Pollan and based on his best-selling book.

Airing on Wednesday, October 28, at 8 p.m. EST on PBS, the special takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration of the human relationship with the plant world -- seen from the plants' points of view. Narrated by Frances McDormand, the program shows how four familiar species -- the apple, the tulip, marijuana (Cannabis) and the potato -- evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control.

Schwarz said the whole notion of looking at the world from a plant's point of view was something that nobody had really done before. "It's very provocative and intriguing, and the stories of the plants themselves were so surprising. The most interesting thing about the book is the chance it gives you to get inside Michael's head as he's thinking about these plants, and musing about them, and it is the philosophical nature of the book that's interesting."

The talented cinematographers brought a lot of the look to the film, according to Schwarz. "The interesting thing about cameras is that they can see things that we don't. And one of the things we really tried hard to do was to see the plants in a way you don't ordinarily see them when you look at them in nautre. So we wanted to take them out of their natural environment some, but we also tried to look at them very close up. We used a lot of macro photography in some cases. You saw a lot of that with the marijuana plant, in particular, where you just don't see the resin," Schwarz explains.

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Berkley Author Julie Hyzy Wins Two Awards at the 2009 Boucheron

Berkley Prime Crime author Julie Hyzy has won two awards for her book, State of the Onion: A White House Chef Mystery: the Anthony Award and the Barry Award in the Best Paperback Original category. Both awards were presented this past weekend in Indianapolis at Bouchercon, the largest annual meeting in the world for mystery lovers.

The Barry Awards are named for one of the most beloved ambassadors of mystery fiction, Barry Garner, and are voted on the readers of Mystery News and Deadly Pleasures. The Anthony Awards are named for Anthony Boucher, one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America, and are among the most prestigious awards in the world of mystery writers.

Julie Hyzy’s new White House Chef Mystery, Eggsecutive Orders will be out in January 2010 and features the White House Easter Egg Roll.
 

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Patricia Cornwell Launches the Seventeenth Novel in her Internationally Bestselling Kay Scarpetta Series 

Patricia Cornwell, the world’s #1 bestselling crime writer, launched the seventeenth novel in her bestselling Kay Scarpetta series this week, The Scarpetta Factor. Cornwell was interviewed on ABC Radio’s “Imus in the Morning” on the morning of publication, which was simulcast on the FOX Business network; click here to watch a clip of the interview. She was interviewed on almost 40 different programs across the country during her national television and radio satellite tours. Yesterday, Cornwell taped an interview for CNN.com’s "Book Report", which reaches millions of viewers online, and was interviewed live on WOR-AM’s “Joan Hamburg Show.. Parade magazine interviewed Cornwell for last Sunday’s issue, and her Q&A for “Pop Matters 20 Questions” went up this week on Popmatters.com and was syndicated nationwide on the McClatchy Newswire.
 

George Putnam, Grandson of Putnam Founder and Husband of Amelia Earhart, Featured in a New Movie

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Penguin Young Readers Group Dominates the New York Times Bestseller Lists

Penguin Young Readers Group dominates this week’s New York Times bestseller list, landing an impressive ten titles on the lists. The Young Readers Group occupies five slots on the children’s picture books list alone: Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice by Judy Schachner (Dutton) is #4 in its fifth week; Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth (Dial) is #6 in its 38th week; and Otis, written and illustrated by Loren Long (Philomel) is #7 in its fourth week; The Runaway Mummy by Michael Rex (Putnam) is #8 in its second week; and Strega Nona’s Harvest, written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola (Putnam) is #9 in its fifth week. In addition, DK’s Lego Star Wars holds the #2 position for a second consecutive week.

On the children's chapter books list, Fire by Kristin Cashore (Dial) is #4 in its second week; and Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus (Dutton) is #7 in its second week. On the children's paperback books list, Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Puffin) is #3 in its 39th week; and Impossible by Nancy Werlin (Speak) is #9 in its fourth week. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (Razorbill) rounds out the total, appearing at #8 in its fourteenth week on the children’s series list.
 

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Actor Mario Lopez Garners Major Media for New Celebra Picture Book, Mud Tacos!

Actor and “Extra” Host Mario Lopez has written his first children’s book with his sister Marissa Lopez Wong titled Mud Tacos!, which was published this week by Celebra children's books, simultaneously in English and Spanish. Mud Tacos! is a loving tale about their family and the nurturing bond between a brother and sister. The story follows Mario and Marissa and their cousins Chico and Rosie playing in their nana’s backyard and using their imagination to have fun.

Mario Lopez was on "Live with Regis and Kelly" yesterday morning and also did a cooking segment on “The Today Show” where he made tacos. Mario has been talking about his book all week on “Extra” and will also be featured on “Ellen” and the “Wendy Williams Show.” People, OK!, amNewYork, Hartford Courant, San Diego Tribune, WNBC, and News12 Long Island, among many others, will all feature Mud Tacos! and Mario Lopez.
 

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Penguin’s Ann Lauterbach Is Named Finalist for 2009 National Book Awards

The 2009 National Book Awards finalists were announced this week and Penguin's Ann Lauterbach is among those selected in the Poetry category for Or to Begin Again. The winner in each of four categories – Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry and People's Literature – will be announced at the 60th National Book Awards Benefit Dinner and Ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Wednesday, November 18th. Each winner will receive $10,000 and a bronze statue, and each finalist will receive a bronze medal and $1,000.

The Foundation will also announce the winner of its Best of the National Book Awards Fiction Poll where Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow (Penguin) was one of the six finalists.

In addition, as reported last week, Ceridwen Dovey, author of Blood Kin (Viking/Penguin), has been selected by 2008 National Book Award Fiction Finalist Rachel Kushner for the National Book Foundation’s fourth annual “5 Under 35” Honor, which recognizes and celebrates the next generation of fiction writers, as determined by past National Book Award winners and finalists.

To view the complete list of 2009 finalists, click here.

And, to vote for the best National Book Award Fiction winner, click here.