Books this week are all about devastation: There are a few about our economy and health care system, oh and one that is a chilling testament to the impossibly tragic early onslaught of ennui that befalls New York City private school kids every year. Plus, it is also the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a terrible American disaster. MORE »

* Documentary film The War Tapes screens at the Black Cat. “Called up for service in Iraq, several members of the National Guard were given digital video cameras. This astonishing film, edited from their footage, provides an unimaginably vivid perspective on an extremely complex and troubled conflict.” $5 at 9PM. [Black Cat]
* Norman Mailer discusses his Hitler novel with Alan Cheuse at Wesley United Methodist Church. It’s going to be good because Mailer’s mind is deteriorating quickly: “Norman Mailer returns with a new novel, a fictional chronicle of Hitler’s boyhood, told by a devil sent by Satan to nurture the nascent evil in the future dictator and mass murderer. Much of the novel is focused on Hitler’s father Alois, a minor provincial customs official, who, according to this account, spawned his son from an act of incest.” You need tickets, they are $12 and the “conversation” begins at 7PM. [P&P]
* Hear some pre-WW2 blues and folk songs with the Old Crow Medicine Show at the Recher Theatre. $25 at 8PM. [Recher Theatre]