September 11, 2002: Books Received
By Alumni
Philosophy & Literature: Truth, Beauty, Goodness, Commitment — Cameron Thompson ’34 *35 and Peter S. Thompson ’70. iUniverse.com $29.95. An interdisciplinary anthology of philosophical ideas designed for high school and college students. Cameron Thompson died in 1989. Peter Thompson teaches at Roger Williams University in Providence.
The Way Things Are: The Changing Perspective of Human Existence — John F. Brain [John F. Brinster ’43]. Xlibris $24.99. Using the term “neurocultural evolution” to describe the mechanisms of learning and memory as the principal force in human progress, the author suggests that long-term mind changes will result in greater reality, fading religion, more peaceful coexistence, and a globalized society without borders. Brinster lives in Skillman, New Jersey.
History of U.S. Television: A Personal Reminiscence — Lawrence H. Rogers II ’43. 1stbooks.com $16.95 paper/$5.95 e-book. A detailed account of the television industry from its inception in the late 1940s until the author retired in 1976 as president of Taft Broadcasting Company. Rogers lives in Cincinnati.
The Beauty Contest and Other Stories — Robert Steiner ’47. iUniverse $12.95. This collection of short stories deals with science fiction, fantasy, social problems, and philosophy. Steiner lives in Ellicott City, Maryland.
Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion — Charles Rosen ’48 *51. Yale $29.95. A practical guide for listeners and performers, this book places the composer’s sonatas in context and details the role of the piano in his life and work. Includes a CD of the author performing extracts from several of the sonatas. Rosen is a pianist and scholar living in New York.
The Best of Fort Wayne, Volume II — George R. Mather ’52. G. Bradley $40. More than 200 archival photographs in this book document the city’s history from the end of WWI through the 1970s. Mather lives in Fort Wayne.
Occasional Glory: A History of the Philadelphia Phillies — David M. Jordan ’56. McFarland $29.95. A history of the baseball club from its inception in 1883 through the 2000 season. Jordan lives in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.
Joseph Henry Lumpkin: Georgia’s First Chief Justice – Paul DeForest Hicks ’58. Georgia $39.95. The first biography of this antebellum Southern judge and evangelical Presbyterian reformer. Hicks lives in Rye, New York.
The Paradox of American Power: Why the World’s Only Superpower Can’t Go It Alone — Joseph S. Nye Jr. ’58. Oxford $26. The author argues that in the new century the U.S. will rely less on traditional measures of power and more on what he calls “soft power” that derives from the appeal of American culture, values, and institutions. Nye is dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
Lessons from Afghanistan — David Fleishhacker ’59. DfLessons@aol.com $13.95. The author’s memoirs of his experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer and English teacher in Afghanistan in 1962. Fleishhacker lives in San Francisco.
Against Slavery: An Abolitionist Reader — edited by Mason Lowance ’60. Penguin Putnam $13.95. This original anthology of primary documents from the 18th- and 19th-century antislavery movements includes speeches, lectures, and essays. Lowance is a professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
The Flame Charts — Paul Oppenheimer ’61. Spuyten Duyvil $10. This is Oppenheimer’s third collection of poems. He teaches at the City College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
The Nile Basin: National Determinants of Collective Action – John Waterbury ’61. Yale $35. Using theories of collective action and international relations, the author confronts issues ranging from food security and famine prevention to political stability. Waterbury is president of the American University of Beirut.
Traveling the Pennsylvania Railroad: Photographs of William H. Rau – edited by John C. Van Horne ’72. Pennsylvania $49.95. In the 1890s Rau produced a series of images that explored the relationship between the Pennsylvania Railroad and the natural and industrial landscapes through which it passed. This book reproduces almost 100 of these photographs and includes essays that place Rau and his work in the context of the history of American advertising and landscape photography. Van Horne is librarian of the Library Company of Philadelphia.
When Every Moment Counts: What You Need to Know about Bioterrorism from the Senate’s Only Doctor — Bill Frist ’74. Rowman & Littlefield $14.95. Written in a question-and-answer format, this book discusses biological agents, chemical weapons, and the vulnerabilities of food and water supplies. Frist is a U.S. senator from Tennessee.
Before Taliban: Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad — David B. Edwards ’75. California $17.95. Traces the lives of three recent Afghan leaders – Nur Muhammad Taraki, Samiulla Safi, and Qazi Amin Waquad – to explain how the promise of the 1960s crumbled into the present tragedy. Edwards is a professor of anthropology at Williams.
Susan Glaspell in Context: American Theater, Culture, and Politics, 1915—48 — J. Ellen Gainor *88. Michigan $52.50. Explores the playwright’s dramatic work within its context: the worlds of Greenwich Village and Provincetown bohemia, of the American frontier, and of American modernism. Gainor is a professor of theater, women’s studies, and American studies at Cornell.
Greed and Injustice in Classical Athens — Ryan K. Balot *93. Princeton $39.50. Integrating ancient philosophy, poetry, and history, and drawing on modern political thought, the author demonstrates that the Athenian discourse on greed was an essential component of Greek social development and political history. Balot is an assistant professor of classics at Washington University in St. Louis.
Curso de Análisis Matemático II [A Course in Intermediate Analysis] and Análisis Matemático II: Problemas y Soluciones [Problems in Intermediate Analysis] — Luis M. Navas Vicente *93. Librería Cervantes $30, $20. These two textbooks, written in Spanish, cover the main topics of differential, integral, and tensorial calculus. The first volume is devoted to theory and the second to the solution of problems. The author is a professor of mathematics at the University of Salamanca in Spain.
By Faculty
China’s Economic Transformation – Gregory C. Chow. Blackwell $64.95 cloth/$29.95 paper. Combining historical-institutional and theoretical-quantitative approaches, Chow analyzes the factors that have contributed to China’s economic success. Chow is the Class of 1913 Professor of Political Economy, emeritus.
Failed Crusade: America and the Tragedy of Post-Communist Russia — Stephen F. Cohen. Norton $14.95. This critique of U.S. foreign policy has been updated for the paperback edition to expand the author’s analysis through the middle of 2001. Cohen is a professor of politics, emeritus.
Constitutional Self-Government — Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83. Harvard $45. Focusing on the Constitution’s seemingly undemocratic features, the author defends a strong role for courts in democratic deliberation. Eisgruber is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Public Affairs.
The Challenge of Global Capitalism: The World Economy in the 21st Century – Robert Gilpin. Princeton $19.95. The author examines the political circumstances that have enabled global markets to develop and function and suggests ways to strengthen the global economy. Gilpin is the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of International Affairs, emeritus.
Bring Out Your Dead: The Past as Revelation — Anthony Grafton. Harvard $39.95. This collection of essays presents a series of Renaissance humanists who labored to recover ancient texts. Grafton is the Henry Putnam University Professor of History.
Special Interest Politics — Gene M. Grossman and Elhanan Helpman. MIT $40. This book discusses the mechanisms by which special interest groups affect policy in modern democracies and develops theoretical tools for studying the interactions among voters, interest groups, and politicians. Grossman is the Jacob Viner Professor of International Affairs.
Preparation for a Revolution: The Young Turks, 1902—1908 — M. Sükrü Hanioglu. Oxford $72. The first book on the Young Turk Revolution to draw on the extensive memoirs and papers of the Young Turks as well as the extensive diplomatic archives around the world. Hanioglu is a professor of Near Eastern studies.
Walking with Thoreau: A Literary Guide to the Mountains of New England — commentary by William Howarth. Beacon $16. Presents Thoreau’s writings about nine mountain journeys, along with Howarth’s commentary retracing the trails and interpreting the stories Thoreau created. Howarth is a professor of English.
Some Wine for Remembrance — Edmund Keeley ’48. White Pine $15. This novel is set in Nazi-occupied Greece during WWII. Keeley is the the Charles Barnwell Straut Class of 1923 Professor of English, emeritus, and professor, emeritus, of creative writing.
Music of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew Poems — Bernard Lewis. Princeton $19.95. Includes 129 poems, most of which make their English-language debut in this volume, that span the seventh to the early 18th century. Lewis is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies, emeritus.
Moral and Political Education — edited by Stephen Macedo *87 and Yael Tamir. NYU $55. The contributors offer philosophical, political, and legal reflections on the practical questions of how education should be changed to meet the needs of the 21st century. Macedo is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics at the University Center for Human Values.
Democracy in Suburbia — J. Eric Oliver. Princeton $47.50 cloth/$17.95 paper. Argues that suburbanization has negated the benefits of “small-town” government and deprived metropolitan areas of valuable civic capacity. Oliver is an assistant professor of politics and public affairs.
Vectors: Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays — James Richardson ’71. Ausable $24 cloth/$14 paper. This is Richardson’s sixth book of poetry. He is a professor of English and creative writing.
