The Institute for Policy Studies, Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), and Teaching for Change’s Busboys and Poets Bookstore, welcomes Ricardo Cortes to discuss and sign his new book, A Secret History of Coffee, Coca & Cola (Akashic Books), an illustrated history of the intermingling of coffee, Coca-Cola, and cocaine. Cortes will be joined by SanhoTree, Director of IPS’ Drug Policy project and Coletta Youngers, Senior Fellow at Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) on Drug policy in Latin America.

Ricardo Cortés is best known for illustrating the number one New York Times best-selling Go the Fuck to Sleep and the G-rated follow-up Seriously, Just Go to Sleep. Cortés first gained notoriety after his debut It’s Just a Plant: A Children’s Book about Marijuana sparked controversy from The O’Reilly Factor to Capitol Hill. He has illustrated books about electricity, the Jamaican bobsled team, and jury nullification; his work has been featured in Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, The Village Voice, San Francisco Chronicle, and on CNN and FOX News. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.