This event has passed
Before the Flood with Ramzy Baroud
Past event
Featured Book
Before the Flood
A profound exploration of Palestinian history and resilience through the personal stories of the author’s family—the al-Badrasawis. Beginning with intimate details of village life in Beit Daras prior to the Nakba, Ramzy Baroud vividly portrays the rich cultural heritage, deeply rooted traditions, and daily struggles faced by ordinary people whose lives were radically disrupted by the violent upheavals and ongoing conflicts driven by British colonialism and Zionist aggression.
This book will be available for purchase at the event.
About This Event
We're thrilled to welcome Palestinian author, Palestine Chronicle editor, Ramzy Baroud to Pilsen Community Books on May 3rd.
His latest book, Before the Flood is a social, political, and historical context of the current Israeli-Palestinian War told through the stories of the author’s family and village. A profound exploration of Palestinian history and resilience through personal stories of his family-the al-Badrasawis, Baroud begins with intimate details of village life in Beit Daras prior to the Nakba, He vividly portrays the rich cultural heritage, deeply rooted traditions, and daily struggles faced by ordinary people whose lives were radically disrupted by the violent upheavals and ongoing conflicts driven by British colonialism and Zionist aggression. Baroud weaves together past and present, illuminating how historical forces shaped the collective consciousness and steadfast resilience of the Palestinian people. His storytelling reveals not only the harsh realities of occupation, displacement, and loss but also the extraordinary courage, faith, and solidarity that underpin a powerful and enduring spirit of resistance, encapsulated in what the author refers to as the Palestinian “longue durée.”
Featured Author
Ramzy Baroud
Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a Palestinian author, historian, and academic whose work focuses on Palestinian history, liberation, and people’s history. He is the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle, which he has led since 1999, and has spent decades developing an alternative historical narrative centered on lived Palestinian experience rather than elite political frameworks.
About the Venue
Pilsen Community Books
Pilsen Community Books is a worker owned and operated independent bookstore that specializes in new and used literary fiction, radical history and politics, and literature in translation. The staff's goal is to unite their bookselling experience with their belief that labor is entitled to all it produces.
Visit store pageMore at Pilsen Community Books
Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age: The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made
Join us on Friday, October 23 at 7pm for a conversation with Austin McCoy and Charles Hughes as they talk about his book, Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age: The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made. Austin McCoy is an assistant professor of history at West Virginia University. He specializes in African American History, labor history, social movements, and hip hop culture. He is the author of Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age: The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made. His writings about politics and culture have appeared in The Washington Post , CNN, and The Baffler.
Signature Event: Running Tour of Brown in the Windy City
Run or bike with author Dr. Lilia Fernández inspired her book, Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago. About the event: Join Read & Run Chicago, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and Dr. Lilia Fernández at Pilsen Community Books ((1531 W 18th) on Sunday, October 25 at 10:00 AM for a 4-mile running tour or biking tour (s/o BFF Bikes!) of Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago as part of our Fall 2026 Signature Events Season, “Chicago Between the Lines.” After the route, enjoy snacks, social time, and book sales at Pilsen Community Books. A portion of tickets sales will be donated to ICIRR.