The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move
(Bloomsbury, 2020)

Please join us on Thursday, September 24, at 5 p.m., for a 2020 Virtual History Book Festival “Spirited Discussion” with Sonia Shah, author of The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move (Bloomsbury, 2020). Shah will be interviewed by Laurie S. Fulton. This event is free but registration is required.

About the book
The idea that certain peoples and species belong in certain places can be tracked from the 18th century studies of Carl Linnaeus, to the eugenics movement of the 20th century, through the anti-immigration policies of today. Experts have historically considered any type of migration as necessarily calamitous, upsetting the “natural order.” But in the broad calculus of our biological history, the benefits of movement have outweighed the terror. The continuation of life on a changing planet depends on migration.  

About the author
Sonia Shah is a science journalist and author of Pandemic: Tracking Contagions from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond. Her TED talk, “Three Reasons We Still Haven’t Gotten Rid of Malaria,” has been viewed by more than one million people.

Laurie S. Fulton will interview Shah. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Denmark from July 2009 to February 2013 and is co-chair of the Ambassadors Circle of the National Democratic Institute, a nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide.  

How to attend the online event
The event will be shared using Zoom—an easy, reliable platform for video and audio conferencing. Here are basic written instructions for using Zoom and a brief video tutorial.

All registered attendees will receive a follow-up email from “LibCal” with Zoom log-in information. If you don’t receive this email after registering, please check your SPAM folder. If you still can’t locate the email, please contact info@historybookfestival.org.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes. Each copy purchased comes with a signed archival bookplate.

About the Festival
2020 Virtual History Book Festival: Bring History Home is sponsored by Delaware Humanities and The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group.

The HBF “Spirited Discussion” is one of the types of programming offered this year at 2020 Virtual History Book Festival: Bring History Home. We are extremely grateful for the virtual venue and assistance in event promotion provided by the Lewes Public Library, in conjunction with the Delaware Division of Libraries and Sussex County Libraries.