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BOOKSHELF

ISScapades: The Crippling of America’s Space Program by Donald A. Beattie ’51. This insider’s history of the International Space Station describes the program’s struggle to survive in an environment of political and managerial conflicts (Apogee Books, $23.95).

Spiced: Recipes from Le Pré Verre by Philippe Delacourcelle, translated and with a preface by Adele King and Bruce King ’54. The French chef is famous for his dishes’ freshness, originality and ease of preparation. More than 100 of his recipes are adapted in this translation for American measurements and markets (University of Nebraska Press, $29.95).

Hudson Valley Voyage: Through the Seasons, Through the Years photographs by Ted Spiegel ’54, text by Reed Sparling

Hudson Valley Voyage: Through the Seasons, Through the Years photographs by Ted Spiegel ’54, text by Reed Sparling. Rich color photographs of the region accompany first-person accounts and historical documents (Involvement Media, $36.95).

What, Exactly, Is the Answer? An Educator Examines the World of Fact and the World of Faith by Donald R. Thomas ’54. The author examines these two approaches to life: living based on science and facts or theology and faith. He argues that this is ultimately not an “either/or” question, but rather one of “both/and” (Vantage Press, $8.95).

Broken Justice by Kenneth C. Edelin ’61. The author’s true story of being indicted for manslaughter by a secret Grand Jury; the victim was the aborted fetus of a 17-year-old on whom he performed the abortion. Edelin describes the conflicts he endured during this mid-1970s trial as a young black man against a zealous pro-life prosecutor and an all-white, male, predominantly Catholic jury (PondView Press, $17.95).

The Way Into Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) by Elliot N. Dorff ’65. A comprehensive introduction to the Jewish beliefs and laws that are the basis of the Jewish commitment to improve the world (Jewish Lights Publishing, $24.99).

Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster ’69

Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster ’69. In this novel, an old man awakens to find himself locked in a room being recorded by a camera and with no memory of who he is or how he got there (Henry Holt & Co., $22).

Uncouth Nation: Why Europe Dislikes America by Andrei S. Markovits ’69. A history of European anti-American sentiment, dating to 1776. (Princeton University Press, $24.95).

Bankable Business Plans by Edward G. Rogoff ’72. An entrepreneur’s guide to creating and developing a successful company (Rowhouse Publishing, $24.95).

Good News, Bad News: Evangelization, Conversion, and the Crisis of Faith by Fr. C. John McCloskey III ’75 and Russell Shaw. The authors, well-known Catholic evangelists, use first-hand accounts of conversions, personal testimony and theology to encourage evangelization (Ignatius Press, $12.95).

Forgetting Lot’s Wife: On Destructive Spectatorship by Martin Harries ’87

Forgetting Lot’s Wife: On Destructive Spectatorship by Martin Harries ’87. The author examines the modern fear that the sight of a historical catastrophe might destroy the viewer, as it did in the Biblical story of Lot’s wife (Fordham University Press, $24).

The Messy Self edited by Jennifer Rosner ’88. An anthology of essays and poems by writers such as Diane Ackerman, Arthur Danto and Wendy Wasserstein, designed to challenge the idea of the self as a coherent, harmonious entity (Paradigm, $21.95).

Snowbound photographs by Lisa M. Robinson ’90 and text by Mark Strand, professor of English and comparative literature. For five winters, the artist captured images of landscape and everyday objects covered in snow. She uses the many states of water — ice, snow, fog, liquid — as metaphors for life and transience (Kehrer Verlag, $60).

Songs of Innocence by Richard Aleas ’91. In this crime novel — written by Charles Ardai ’91 under a pseudonym — investigator John Blake probes the apparent suicide of a beautiful student with a double life (Hard Case, $6.99).

Political Indoctrination in the U.S. Army from World War II to the Vietnam War by Christopher S. DeRosa ’91. The author explores the program of U.S. soldiers’ formal political indoctrination (to generate patriotism and contempt for the enemy), how its techniques evolved through time and how this mode of training interacts with American political culture and individualist thinking (University of Nebraska Press, $49.95).

Framing Iberia: Māqāmat and Frametale Narratives in Medieval Spain by David A. Wacks ’91. The author looks closely at medieval Iberian culture, with particular attention to classic Castilian “frametales” such as El Conde Lucanor and El Libro de buen amor (Brill Academic Publishers, $134).

Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys: True Tales of Love, Lust, and Friendship Between Straight Women and Gay Men edited by Melissa de la Cruz ’93 and Tom Dolby. A collection of essays about the real-life relationships of straight women and gay men (Dutton Adult, $24.95).

Hotel: An American History by A.K. Sandoval-Strausz ’94

Hotel: An American History by A.K. Sandoval-Strausz ’94. The author recounts the exciting development of the hotel in America — a place where all people, from politicians and celebrities to tourists to prostitutes, rubbed elbows (Yale University Press, $37.50).

The Hip Hop Reader by Tim Strode and Tim Wood ’96. An anthology of essays directed toward composition students about the origins, composition, politics of identity, and racial and gender issues of hip-hop and rap music (Longman, $20).

One Day the Soldiers Came: Voices of Children in War by Charles London ’02

One Day the Soldiers Came: Voices of Children in War by Charles London ’02. The author, once a research associate for Refugees International, traveled the world to gather the stories of children who have lived through war (HarperPerennial, $13.95).

Unnatural Wonders: Essays from the Gap Between Art and Life by Arthur C. Danto, Johnsonian Professor Emeritus of Philosophy. The author reflects upon the conceptual evolution of art and argues that the definitive works of our time are those that bridge the gap between art and life (Columbia University Press, $22.50).

Contested Democracy: Freedom, Race, and Power in American History edited by Manisha Sinha and Penny Von Eschen. A collection of essays, including one by Eric Foner ’63, Dewitt Clinton Professor of History, that probes challenges to American democracy and freedoms through conflicts shaped by race, slavery, gender, citizenship, political economy, immigration, law and the idea of a nation-state (Columbia University Press, $34.50).

Democracy Past and Future by Pierre Rosanvallon, edited by Samuel Moyn, professor of history. The first English-language collection of this leading European political thinker’s essays on the history, development, contemporary difficulties and future prospects of democratic life (Columbia University Press, $24.50).

Democracy and Legal Change by Melissa Schwartzberg, associate professor of political science. In this volume, the author argues that the ability to change existing laws is a fundamental democratic activity (Cambridge University Press, $80).

Carmen Jo Ponce ’08

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