Thanks again for the book launch!

Thanks again to everyone who came out a week ago to show their support for my newly released book, The Secret Peace. We were at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum Bookstore, with over 80 people in attendance! So great to see you all and get to share the joy of the book with you.

I put together a little video of the best photos and videos of the event. Take a look (you might be in it.)



Thanks! Jesse

The Secret Peace: Book Launch Party today

Stop by this evening and celebrate the release of my first book, The Secret Peace! Contrary to the picture above, there won't be fireworks, but there will be wine and snacks, and I'll be selling and signing copies of the book. Have fun mingling and show your support for the result of four hard years of research and writing! (Purchasing a book is optional, but encouraged. If you already have one, bring it and I'll sign it!)

Friday, April 23, 2010 - 7:00-9:00 pm
New York City Tenement Museum Bookstore
108 Orchard Street, Lower East Side, NYC

The Tenement Museum demonstrates a perfect example of the main thesis of the book - that the world is getting better and world history is advancing toward peace. One hundred years ago, so many people in this city lived in squalor unimaginable to us today. The Secret Peace reminds us to be thankful for what we have and to appreciate how far we've come - and then to work harder to spread peace and prosperity to the areas of the world still in need of help.

Feel free to just come by. Guests are welcome, too!

Hope to see you there!
Jesse

Thanks to Classics Book Store!

My wife Rachel and I traveled down to NJ on Friday so I could do a book signing at Classics Book Store, on scenic Warren Street in Trenton. It was a beautiful day and we set up a table outside.

I sold a bunch of books, we got to chat with some passersby as well as some of our friends who stopped by, and perhaps coolest of all, Rachel handed out almost 300 Secret Peace bookmarks to people. (Turns out everyone walking by was super friendly and polite, and most of them took bookmarks. I guess they don't get as many people handing out things on the street there, like us jaded New Yorkers.)

I want to thank everyone who came by, everyone who bought a book, and especially the kind folks at Classics Books!

Eric, from Classics Books

Breaking news: Earth not sucked into black hole

From The Week, April 9, 2010:

"World doesn't end: After months of delay, the Large Hadron Collider finally revved into action this week, smashing subatomic particles together at close to the speed of light in a simulation of the Big Bang. The LHC, the world's largest particle accelerator, is a 17-mile-long underground ring that cost $10 billion to build. ... Rolf-Dieter Heuer, head of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which operates the collider, says it will usher in, 'a new period of discovery in the history of mankind.' A few alarmists ... had theorized that the collider could produce a black hole that would swallow Earth and kill all 6.8 billion inhabitants. So far, that has not happened."


There's at least one post-apocalyptic fear debunked. Expect a similar blog post from me on December 22, 2012.

Saved by the Bell: The Secret Peace years

I had the honor two days ago of being invited to speak at Princeton Day School to high school seniors about my book, careers and general life tidbits. They are in a class that is meant to get them thinking big-picture about their goals in life, including making a personal credo. So, they invite guest speakers in to talk about their own paths.

I focused on the message of The Secret Peace, which in a way is my own credo. I also talked about the process of publishing a book, and where creative industries are in general, since they're changing so much. Overall, I emphasized being flexible and how the careers they'll see in the future will be even more malleable and less linear than today's. After all, I'm now a Product Manager with Meetup - a job that didn't remotely exist when I was in high school.

I got to speak to about 100 kids, answered some good questions, and spoke with some really eager, dedicated students afterward as well. I want to thank Mrs. Walker (also my own teacher waaay back when) for hosting me - it was a blast!

Which New York City would you like to live in?

1863 New York:


1970 New York:


2010 New York:


Yes, I know the top photo is actually a movie. It's just there for fun. The real point is to contrast the two videos. (The second one, which I took, is actually from Summer 2009.) In 1970, Times Square was a porn den and Washington Square Park was a drug haven. Today there are kids playing in the renovated park spaces of both.

I was in line at the Chipotle on St. Marks behind two guys lamenting the loss of the "old New York" - a common refrain. They could not believe there was a Chipotle on St. Mark's Place.* These are the same type of people upset that there is a Disney Store in Times Square. Me, I'll take consumerism over crime (and grime) any day. You can have too many Disney Stores, or you can have a much higher chance of an early death. Tough choice.


* Of course, they still chose to eat at Chipotle, and not the thousands of independent restaurants still thriving in the city (and on St. Mark's Place.)

The Secret Peace is finally here!

For anyone who hasn't heard, after all my Facebooking and Twittering, the book is here! Buy it from Amazon today! Seriously, go do it right now. I'll wait.

What's the book about? Well, what if world peace was right around the corner? There's no doubt that countless crises consume the world. But The Secret Peace reveals thousands of pieces of evidence showing how history's true trend is one of advancing health, increasing nonviolence, receding poverty, and expanding equal rights. This isn't an excuse to pat ourselves on the back, however, but a powerful call to action to step up our efforts to spread peace worldwide.

I also want to say thanks for your support!

I'm so grateful for all the support I've received during the last four years of researching and writing The Secret Peace. (Take a look, you might be in the acknowledgments!) If you know me well and want to continue your support, please forward this email along to your friends and acquaintances. Post it to Facebook. Tweet it. Buy multiple copies of the book, so you can read it more than once. And of course it also makes a great gift.

Thanks again, I hope you enjoy it!
- Jesse

PS. Stay tuned for info about the release party!