Bookshelf

A Philatelic Economic and Business History of the United States by Joseph Giacalone ’60. The story of U.S. economic development as told through its postage stamps dating back to 1847; more than 200 stamp images are included (LeanPub, $15).

My Affair with Art House Cinema by Phillip Lopate ’64. A collection of essays and reviews from the last 25 years, inspired by Lopate’s passion for art house classics such as David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris (Columbia University Press, $26).

Find Me by Bruce F. Kawin ’67. The first book of fiction from Kawin, professor emeritus of English at the University of Colorado Boulder, features eight tales that range in length from two pages to a novella (PB&J Books $16).

The 12-Hour Film Expert: Everything You Need to Know About Movies by Dr. James Charney ’68 and Noah Charney. The Charneys, father and son, tell readers how films are made and how to watch them in a more thoughtful way (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, $34).

Peasant Politics of the Twenty-First Century: Transnational Social Movements and Agrarian Change by Marc Edelman ’75. Edelman details the movements that are remaking rural society and the world’s food and agriculture systems (Cornell University Press, $36.95).

A Surgeon’s Memoir: 40 Years at the County by Dr. Stewart Lazow ’75. The author’s journey to becoming a professor, oral and maxillofacial surgery residency program director and director of service at Brooklyn’s Kings County Hospital Center (Koehler Books $25.95).

Rented Grave: An Inspector Lok Novel by Charles Philipp Martin ’76. Martin’s latest crime story takes place in Hong Kong’s teeming Yau Ma Tei district, where a body is found in a gangster’s limousine (Level Best Books, $16.95).

Rabbis of the Garden State by Daniel Meltz ’78. In Meltz’s debut novel, a portrayal of suburban Jewish life in the 1960s, 11-year-old Andy’s mother develops a bizarre obsession with their local rabbi (Rattling Good Yarns Press, Kindle edition, $9.99).

The Council of Wise Women by Mark Binder ’84. Written under the pen name Izzy Abrahmson, Binder’s latest in the Village Life series is a playful story about a secret society of women in the folkloric Jewish community of Chelm (Light Publications, $29.99).

One Last Word: A Novel by Suzanne Park ’97. In this contemporary romantic comedy, mistaken-identity calamity ensues after a tech entrepreneur creates an app that sends messages to your loved ones after your death (Avon, $18.99).

The Trials of Madame Restell: Nineteenth-Century America’s Most Infamous Female Physician and the Campaign to Make Abortion a Crime by Nicholas L. Syrett ’97. A biography of Restell, a 19th-century New Yorker whose name became a national synonym for abortion (The New Press, $29.99).

Hunger for Righteousness: A Lenten Journey Towards Intimacy with God and Loving Our Neighbor by Phoebe Farag Mikhail ’00. Stories of modern and ancient Christian heroes to help readers prepare for and participate in the spiritual practices of Lent (Paraclete Press, $18.99).

Blood on the Brain by Esinam Bediako ’05. After a head injury, a young woman struggles to navigate her Ghanaian-American identity, her relationships, and a muddled landscape of memory, history and delusion (Red Hen Press, $18.95).

Critique of Halakhic Reason: Divine Commandments and Social Normativity by Yonatan Y. Brafman ’07. Brafman assesses modern Jewish thinking and uncovers diverse reasoning behind the commandments given within Jewish law and philosophy (Oxford University Press, $88.36).

The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Hacks the World by Atossa Araxia Abrahamian ’08. A new map of the world drawn with money: Abrahamian reports on the thousands of extraterritorial zones that benefit the wealthiest individuals and corporations (Riverhead Books, $30).

Ordering the Human: The Global Spread of Racial Science co-edited by Natalie Shibley ’12. This collection of essays investigates the influence of racial concepts in scientific knowledge production across regions and eras (Columbia University Press, $35).

— Jill C. Shomer