Description:

Irwin Weil, Professor Emeritus in Slavic Languages and Literatures, will present an account of his newly published memoir, "From the Cincinnati Reds to the Moscow Reds" at the Evanston Public Library on Wednesday, October 14th at 7 PM. Editor Tony Brown, Associate Professor of Russian at Brigham Young University, will also be present.

The book includes highlights of Professor Weil’s 50 years of teaching at Northwestern University—and 55 years of teaching and research in the USSR/post-Soviet Russia (1960-2015). It features a number of well-known literary and public figures.

The first part of the title refers to the fact that Weil’s Father was once the owner of the Cincinnati Reds Baseball team. After growing up in a home often focused on baseball, Weil later spent many years in the USSR and the subsequent post-Soviet Russia. He knows the people and the language well, and has many friends and colleagues in Russia.

Northwestern students and colleagues learned a lot from his experiences, and some of the most interesting ones are expressed in the book. For example, Weil was the interpreter and guide for Dmitry Shostakovich when he came to Northwestern to accept an honorary degree.

The book is available through Amazon.com, and will be available for signing at the event.