Spring 2012
Bookshelf
Surprise Was My Teacher: Memories and Confessions of a Television Producer/Director Who Came of Age During Television’s Adolescence by Merrill Brockway ’48. The host of the PBS series Dance in America reflects on his time working with artists from Ruby Dee to George Balanchine (Sunstone Press, $19.95).
Fitting Form to Function: A Primer on the Organization of Academic Institutions by Rudolph Weingartner ’50. Weingartner explores the complicated structures of institutions of higher education and offers 27 maxims for how they can be best organized (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, $44.95).
The Modern World-System IV: Centrist Liberalism Triumphant, 1789–1914 by Immanuel Wallerstein ’51. The author takes a fresh look at global history in this volume of his Modern World-System series, tracing the evolution of contemporary political ideologies from the 18th to the 20th centuries (University of California Press, $26.95).
Lives and Letters by Robert Gottlieb ’52. Gottlieb, a former editor of The New Yorker and at Simon & Schuster and Knopf, profiles leading minds — from Charles Dickens and John Steinbeck to Tallulah Bankhead and Mae West — from a broad array of creative disciplines (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30).
Brooklyn-ese Proverbs & Cartoons by Lawrence Harte ’53. Harte, who dubs himself a “21st-century Ben Franklin,” doles out snippets of the borough’s trademark wisdom alongside comical illustrations (White Poppy Press, $15.95).
Making Sense of People: Decoding
the Mysteries of Personality by
Dr. Samuel Barondes ’54. A psychiatrist and neuroscientist, Barondes
lays out a list of simple tools for forming functional, satisfying
relationships (FT Press, $25.99).
The Limits of Ferocity: Sexual Aggression and Modern Literary Rebellion by Daniel Fuchs ’55. Fuchs examines issues of sexuality, violence and the rejection of societal norms in the works of D.H. Lawrence, Georges Bataille, Henry Miller and Norman Mailer (Duke University Press, $26.95).
101 Ideas & Insights for Triathletes & Duathletes by Steven Jonas ’58. The author, a preventive medicine professor and avid triathlete, offers advice on subjects from equipment to nutrition and training (Coaches Choice, $19.95).
Cancer Dreams by Dr. Paul Winick ’59. Winick, a pediatrician, tells the story of his wife’s and his patients’ battles with cancer to deliver the message that the disease is not an ending but a new beginning (AuthorHouse, $24.59).
Urban Tomographies by Martin Krieger ’64. Krieger takes a closer look at Los Angeles’ infrastructure and communities through tomography, examining everyday sights and sounds to draw broader conclusions about the city (University of Pennsylvania Press, $49.95).
Until the Blue Kingdom Comes by James Rosenberg ’66. A recently retired rabbi, Rosenberg reflects on subjects from mangos to the Lone Ranger in this short collection of his poetry (Xlibris, $19.99).
Cecil Andrus: Idaho’s Greatest Governor by Chris Carlson ’68. Through a series of anecdotes, Carlson, Andrus’ longtime press secretary, outlines Andrus’ rise to governorship and lasting impact on politics in Idaho (Caxton Press, $17.95).
Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Dominion by Eric Van Lustbader ’68. Rogue secret agent Jason Bourne needs the help of longtime friend General Boris Karpov as he tries to hunt down an elusive group of terrorists plotting to destroy America’s natural resources (Grand Central Publishing, $27.99).
Seven Days in Rio by Francis Levy ’69. In Levy’s absurdist novel, Kenny Cantor, a C.P.A. and “sex tourist” vacationing in Rio de Janeiro, searches for the “perfect” relationship: one where he pays a woman for sex (Two Dollar Radio, $16).
A Vulcan’s Tale: How the Bush Administration
Mismanaged the Reconstruction of Afghanistan by Dov S. Zakheim ’70. A former Department of
Defense coordinator for Afghan civilian reconstruction, Zakheim takes the Bush
administration to task for mismanaging Afghanistan’s post-war reconstruction
(The Brookings Institution Press, $32.95).
Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics by Steven Ross ’71. Ross dispels the notion that the movie industry has been exclusively a bastion of liberalism, describing how movie stars from both sides of the aisle have influenced American politics (Oxford University Press, $29.95).
Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary’s Life by Joshua Rubenstein ’71. Rubenstein depicts Trotsky as an “all-too human” political figure in this account of the Russian revolutionary’s fall from power, exile and assassination (Yale University Press, $25).
Neon Panic: A Novel of Suspense by Charles Philipp Martin ’76. When a woman’s
body
appears in Hong Kong Harbor, inspector Herman Lok thinks it is just a
young fisherwoman. His investigation, though, turns up secrets that could put
his life at risk (Vantage Point, $14.95).
Stories for Peace by Mark Binder ’84. In this book for children and adults, Binder offers solutions to conflict and bullying, with illustrative stories ranging from “The Bully and the Shrimp” to “The Two Monks and the Gross Slimy Monster” (Light Publications, $14.95).
Backward Ran Sentences: The Best of Wolcott Gibbs from The New Yorker, edited by Thomas Vinciguerra ’85. The editor gathers a generous selection of the work of Gibbs, a member of the Algonquin Round Table and The New Yorker’s notoriously sardonic theatre critic (Bloomsbury USA, $22).
The Ghosts of Watt O’Hugh by Steven Drachman ’87. Watt O’Hugh III returns to his home city of New York as the star of a Wild West show and ends up facing murder charges and Chinese mysteries in Drachman’s fantasy adventure novel (Chickadee Prince Books, $14).
The Politics of Equality: An Introduction by Jason Myers ’89. Myers explores the socialist, communist, and social democratic ideals and values that shape modern-day political debates in this introduction to egalitarian political philosophy (Zed Books, $26.95).
Patient Citizens, Immigrant Mothers: Mexican Women, Public Prenatal Care, and the Birth-Weight Paradox by Alyshia Gálvez ’95. From an urban public hospital to the Mexican state of Oaxaca, Gálvez examines the “Latina health paradox” — that Mexican immigrant women in the United States have less complicated pregnancies and better birth outcomes than more privileged socioeconomic groups (Rutgers University Press, $24.95).
The Obamas by Jodi Kantor ’96. Kantor, a veteran New York Times journalist, paints an intimate portrait of the personal and political struggles of Michelle and Barack Obama ’83 during his first three years in office (Little, Brown and Company, $29.99).
Last Man in Tower: A Novel by Aravind Adiga ’97. When real estate developer
Dharmen Shah offers to pay off the residents of a crumbling Mumbai apartment
complex, a retired schoolteacher refuses to leave even though his neighbors
stop at nothing to get their paychecks in this, Adiga’s second novel (Knopf,
$26.95).
Where Justice Dwells: A Hands-On Guide to Doing Social Justice in Your Jewish Community by Jill Jacobs ’97. Jacobs’ guide offers advice on how Jewish people can act on their ideas of social justice to protect society’s poorest, weakest and most vulnerable (Jewish Lights Publishing, $24.99).
Children of Paranoia by Trevor Shane ’98. In this dystopian action novel, Joseph, a professional assassin in a secret war, is forced to run from the killers he’s fought beside his entire life in order to protect the girl he loves (Dutton Adult, $25.95).
The Imperial Messenger: Thomas Friedman at Work by Bélen Fernández ’03. In the tradition of Puritan polemical writing, Fernández criticizes the oeuvre of the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist and author (Verso Books, $16.95).
Savage Nobles in the Land of Enchantment by Everett Patterson ’06. In this graphic novel, Tonya, Theo, Greg and Kafir — members of garage band The Savage Nobles — find themselves stranded in New Mexico after witnessing a government conspiracy (self-published, $15).
After Tobacco: What Would Happen If Americans Stopped Smoking? edited by Peter Bearman, the Jonathan R. Cole Professor of Sociology; Kathryn Neckerman; and Leslie Wright. This collection of essays delves into the effects that reduced tobacco consumption in the United States would have on pressing social issues and on the tobacco industry (Columbia University Press, $35).
From Financial Crisis to Global
Recovery by Padma Desai, the Gladys
and Roland Harriman Professor of Comparative Economic Systems and director of
the Center for Transition Economies. Desai traces the roots of America’s recent
recession, assesses whether the economy is truly on the upswing and compares
the current economic situation with the Great Depression (Columbia University
Press, $27.50).
Elective Affinities: Musical Essays on the History of Aesthetic Theory by Lydia Goehr, professor of philosophy. Drawing on Johann Goethe’s novel of the same name, Goehr examines “elective affinities” — the strong relationships that form under changing conditions — in philosophy and music (Columbia University Press, $24.50).
Benjamin W. Gittelson ’15