"That’s no moon, it’s a space station!" -- Sci-fi Night at Reiter’s

Wednesday the 20^th here at Reiter’s was an exciting day. The large convention in town, the 2009 Homeland Security Science & Technology Stakeholders Conference, drew a number of science fiction writers as well as scientists to Washington, so for one night Reiter’s decided to expand our science books to include select titles of science fiction from 11 different writers in the genre. Then we invited the 11 different sci-fi authors to come to the store and hold a discussion the night of the 20^th. The gathering was a big hit with lots of lively discussion with the authors, snacks and drinks, and a large crowd of sci-fi fans. We even had a Washington Post reporter in attendance and an article mentioning the event on the front page of the Style section of the Washington Post. The Sci-fi night, as we here at Reiter’s like to call it, was a big hit and is an annual event here, so if you missed it this year or came and enjoyed it remember to stop by next year for more great science fiction and discussion with the authors of your favorite books.




Brendan Nichols

Avast, Landlubbers!!! - Pirates at Reiter's

Law-abiding outlaws. Ferocious constitutionalists. Rational cutthroats. Peter Leeson spun tale after tale of early 18th century pirates at Reiter's Books on Wednesday evening, May 13, 2009. It wasn't the usual story. Peter Leeson is an economist at George Mason University and his book, The Invisible Hook,crisply sorts out the roiling contradictions of early piracy. Pirates, he said, organized their ventures and regulated their crews as profit maximizers, responding rationally to economic incentives. Pirate crews wrote and unanimously adopted constitutions that circumscribed powers of pirate captains, regulated the distribution of pirate booty, and compensated pirates injured on the job - all that more than half a century before the U.S Constitution. Were pirates social progressives? Atrgh! Leeson mines pirate chronicles to show how pirate antics were dryly clear-headed economic actors.



Jim Wood