From the ancient Greek symposia to Gertrude Stein's famous Paris gatherings, salons have always been the incubators of provocative -- at times even dangerous -- ideas: the frontiers of cultural change. People who might elsewhere have been socially ostracised were included in salons, welcomed for their wit, intelligence, charm, and insight. And passionate conversation often led to passionate action. In 1991 Utne Reader launched a salon renaissance all over North America when it featured a cover story on salons. The response to the article was staggering, leading Utne to organise a National Salon Association that quickly drew over 20,000 members. Conceived and written by the folks at Utne, Salons is the quintessential authority on the subject, demonstrating that joining or starting your own salon is just a living room away. Salons offers a fascinating history of the salon and supplies all the tools readers need to join or start a group of their own. Classic salon-keepers like Julie deLespinasse, Mabel Dodge, and Gertrude Stein offer models for modern salons. Variations on the salon theme are explored, from studious book clubs and book circles to creativity salons, and finally online saloning. Chapters are grouped under such categories as choosing a salon site, finding salon members, and selecting discussion topics. A closing chapter looks at salons as bedrocks for activism and institutions for keeping social consciousness alive for the long-haul.