New Books Network

Today I talked to Sarah L Kaufman about her book The Art of Grace: On Moving Well Through Life (Norton, 2016).

Grace as a word comes from Greek, conveying a sense of giving a favor as a gift or act or kindness. It’s related to Hebrew and Muslim words for compassion, and is something today’s society could use more of notes today’s guest. Instead, we have reality TV that thrives on dis-grace. This book began as the author confesses, with her writing an appreciation of how well Cary Grant moves on screen. In this interview, we also had time to hear from the author on the “devastatingly liquid” forehand of Roger Federer, and his overall grace on and off the court. Is grace charming? So much so that Cary Grant even once deliciously said, “Even I want to be Cary Grant.” Learn why Margaret Thatcher (“Atilla the Hen”) qualifies as graceful, and how we might move past today’s penchant for intolerance.

Sarah L. Kaufman is an author, journalist and educator. For almost 30 years, she was a Pulitzer Prize-Winning dance critic for The Washington Post and happy to be a colleague of Judith Martin (aka Ms. Manners). Nowadays, Sarah teaches courses in Harvard’s Extension School on a variety of topics.

Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of ten books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His latest two books are Blah Blah Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo and Emotionomics 2.0: The Emotional Dynamics Underlying Key Business Goals.

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