Suggested Titles: February, 2012 - McEntegart Hall's Blog

Suggested 

Titles: 

February, 

2012 

For Library Collection 

Development 

(Arranged alphabetically by 

subject)

1 Suggested Titles List February, 2012 

Contents 

Art ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 

Biology ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 

Business Administration & Accounting ....................................................................................................... 24 

Chemistry / Physics ..................................................................................................................................... 33 

Child Study .................................................................................................................................................. 38 

Community Health & Human Services ........................................................................................................ 48 

Computer Information Systems & Mathematics ........................................................................................ 54 

Criminal Justice ........................................................................................................................................... 60 

Economics ................................................................................................................................................... 62 

Education .................................................................................................................................................... 69 

English ......................................................................................................................................................... 79 

Health Administration ................................................................................................................................. 90 

History ......................................................................................................................................................... 96 

Modern Languages ................................................................................................................................... 116 

Music ......................................................................................................................................................... 119 

Nursing ...................................................................................................................................................... 122 

Organizational Management .................................................................................................................... 128 

Philosophy ................................................................................................................................................. 137 

Psychology ................................................................................................................................................ 140 

Recreation ................................................................................................................................................. 144 

Religious Studies ....................................................................................................................................... 146 

Social Sciences .......................................................................................................................................... 151 

Theater ...................................................................................................................................................... 163


Art 

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Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralFerebee, Ann. A history of design from the 

Victorian era to the present: a survey of the modern style in architecture, interior design, 

industrial design, graphic design, and photography, by Ann Ferebee with Jeff Byles. 2nd 

ed. W.W. Norton, 2011. 208p index; ISBN 9780393732726 pbk, $50.00. Reviewed in 

2011dec CHOICE. 

The aims of writing a survey can be manifold. One may attempt comprehensive historical 

coverage and present a period's often-confusing complexity, but this may result in a 

dauntingly thick tome. Alternatively, one may create a limited but intelligent narrative that 

sketches out the major monuments and designers of an era, providing undergraduates with 

the basic names and dates to pursue on their own. Ferebee and Byles, both historians and 

journalists, have written the latter, a revision of Ferebee's earlier history of modern design 

(1st ed., CH, Sep'71). 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralBloomfield, Linda. Advanced pottery, 

photographs by Henry Bloomfield. Robert Hale. 192p bibl index; ISBN 9780709087724, 

$49.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

A PhD in materials science and years of working as a research scientist might seem like an 

odd background for the author, but Bloomfield has been running her own successful studio 

pottery business (first in California and now in London), publishing ceramic articles, and 

selling her work since 1998. This informative, inspirational book surveys ceramic history, 

materials (clays and glaze ingredients), tools, tableware design, and production techniques 

(emphasis on functional ware), including hand-building, extruding, press molding, slip 

casting, jiggering, jolleying, throwing, glazing, agate ware, incising, faceting, sprigging, 

sgraffito, slip trailing, painting, and the use of wax and paper resists. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralCooksey, Susan. Africa interweave: textile 

diasporas, by Susan Cooksey with Cynthia Becker et al. Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, 

2011. 159p bibl; ISBN 9780983308508 pbk, $29.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Africa Interweave: Textile Diasporas, the accompanying catalogue for a 2011 exhibition of 

the same name at the University of Florida's Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, is a collection 

of 14 essays introduced by Harn curator Cooksey. Written by both seasoned scholars and 

doctoral students, the essays are well supported with images. Rather than focusing 

primarily on technique, many of them explore the complex cultural interactions (economic, 

political, religious, and social) that shape and are shaped by cloth. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralHoffman, Katherine. Alfred Stieglitz: a legacy of 

light. Yale, 2011. 483p bibl index ISBN 0-300-13445-2, $45.00; ISBN 9780300134452, 

$45.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Required This lengthy and broad compendium by Hoffman (St. Anselm College) investigates the 

widely contextualized life of one of the most prestigious seers in the history of American, if 

Recommended not world, photography. Thick with dates, facts, and anecdotes gleaned through extensive, 

scholarly, and sometimes obsessive research, this book extends Hoffman's earlier Stieglitz: 

A Beginning Light (CH, Jul'05, 42-6305), which covered Stieglitz's early life and career. 

Alfred Stieglitz: A Legacy of Light, which addresses his life and work from 1915 to 1946, is 

illustrated with a variety of facsimiles of letters, exhibition announcements, and 

reproductions of the photographer's works and paintings that he showed in his galleries. 

Faculty Member: Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsMayer, Lance. American painters on 

technique: the Colonial period to 1860, by Lance Mayer and Gay Myers. J. Paul Getty 

Museum, 2011. 249p bibl index ISBN 1-60606-077-5, $50.00; ISBN 9781606060773, 


Required One might assume that a book focused on the techniques of American painters from the 

Colonial era to 1860 would be dry and esoteric. But in the case of this fascinating work by


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Mayer and Myers (both experienced conservators at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New 

London, CT), it's just the opposite. The writing is accessible and entertaining, the research 

into relevant primary and secondary sources is outstanding, and even the use of 

nonstandard examples of paintings by major American figures in this era is compelling. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsRuffini, Marco. Art without an author: Vasari's 

Lives and Michelangelo's death. Fordham, 2011. 257p bibl index afp; ISBN 

9780823234554, $80.00; ISBN 9780823234561 pbk, $26.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

With only slight modification, this title reprises the author's 2004 PhD thesis done at 

Berkeley. Much has been written about Vasari, notably Patricia Rubin's Giorgio Vasari 

(1995) and Charles Hope's challenge to the premise of Vasari's unassisted authorship, first 

presented rather crudely in a review of that book in the same year but developed by him 

and others since into a less implausible claim. Ruffini (Northwestern Univ.) covers welltrodden 

territory when he describes Michelangelo's funeral, a subject well introduced by R. 

Wittkower and M. Wittkower in The Divine Michelangelo (1964), which includes Jacopo 

Giunta's Esequie del divino Michelagnolo Buonarroti (1564). Although one might have 

wished for more analysis of changing apprehensions of Vasari's work over the intervening 

centuries, Ruffini does provide a readable, succinct account of current thinking about 

Vasari's place in the transition to an academic culture of art criticism. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralMarkowitz, Yvonne J. Artful adornments: 

jewelry from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. MFA Publications (Museum of Fine Arts, 

Boston), 2011. 204p bibl index afp ISBN 0-87846-768-8, $55.00; ISBN 9780878467686, 


Markowitz (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) builds her exhibition around 125 objects from 

her home institution and supplements these pieces with ornaments of the past six 

millennia, including objects from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to avant-garde artists 

such as Alexander Calder and Harry Bertoia. Avoiding a historical narrative, the author 

approaches her subject through a thematic discussion cleverly integrating jewelry from 

disparate centuries and cultures. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralBarrett, Brian Dudley. Artists on the edge: the 

rise of coastal artists' colonies, 1880-1920: with particular reference to artists' 

communities around the North Sea. Amsterdam University Press, 2011 (c2010). 408p bibl 

index; ISBN 9789089642516 pbk, $59.50; ISBN 9789048512935 e-book, contact publisher 

for price. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Itinerant scholar-curator Barrett recovers the vibrant artistic communities that once thrived 

along the coastal edge of the North Sea at the zenith of its central position in imperial 

world politics. The North Sea artist colonies are less well-known than those established in 

northern France or southwestern Britain. After reviewing the formation of and literature on 

these centers of regional artistic activity, Barrett concentrates on generative factors; the 

changing art economy with particular reference to professional institutions, dealers, and 

collectors; and the parallel emergence of middle-class tourism. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralAvant-garde art in everyday life: earlytwentieth-century 

European modernism, ed. by Matthew S. Witkovsky; essays by Jared 

Ash et al. Art Institute of Chicago, 2011. (Dist. by Yale), 160p bibl index afp; ISBN 

9780300166095, $50.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

During the first decade of the last century, artists at the forefront of their media desired 

that art go beyond the museum and transform daily life--much as the English Arts and 

Crafts movement attempted to do during the late 19th century. While various books have 

been published on avant-garde art in recent years, this book stands out for its coverage of 

design in everyday life.



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Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralWang, ShiPu. Becoming American?: the art and 

identity crisis of Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Hawai'i, 2011. 191p bibl index afp; ISBN 


This book's primary subject is Kuniyoshi's self-identity during WW II. Tagged an enemy alien 

for his name and looks, the artist had much to ponder over his sense of divided self even 

though, having immigrated to the US in 1906 when 13 years old, his Japanese linguistic and 

cultural heritage was presumably negligible, and his social status as a respected New York 

artist in his 50s was well assured. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsFranklin, David. Caravaggio & his followers in 

Rome, by David Franklin and Sebastian Schütze. Yale, 2011. 333p bibl afp ISBN 0-300- 

17072-6, $50.00; ISBN 9780300170726, $50.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Amid the current so-called "Caravaggiomania," with myriad exhibitions and publications on 

the artist, and more to come, one may fairly ask whether one more exhibition and 

publication is needed and whether it makes an original and worthwhile contribution. 

Thankfully Caravaggio & His Followers in Rome does offer something compelling and 

valuable. Edited and partly written by Franklin (Cleveland Museum of Art) and Schütze 

(Univ. of Vienna), this catalogue was produced in conjunction with an exhibition of the 

same name, held at the National Gallery of Canada and the Kimbell Art Museum from 

2011-2012. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralPooke, Grant. Contemporary British art: an 

introduction. Routledge, 2011. 287p bibl index; ISBN 9780415389730, $125.00; ISBN 

9780415389747 pbk, $39.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Pooke (Univ. of Kent, UK) surveys the last 20 years of British art, focusing on four areas: the 

art market, painting, installation and sculpture, and lens-based media. Although the book 

succeeds as a brief introduction to seminal artists, movements (Young British Artists and 

Stuckists, notably), curators, gallerists, institutions, critics, exhibitions, and theorists, it is by 

no means an entirely introductory text. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralContext providers: conditions of meaning in 

media arts, ed. by Margot Lovejoy, Christiane Paul, and Victoria Vesna. Intellect, 2011. 

350p bibl index; ISBN 9781841503080 pbk, $35.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Context Providers assesses the content and context of media art through an examination of 

current technologies and the conditions of meaning. The focus is digital technology as a 

medium in which art is produced, stored, and presented digitally, in contrast to the use of 

technology as a tool. Three sections comprise 14 essays that address social function, 

authorship, and dissemination of art to its audience; networks concerning data 

representation, identity, collectives, and cultural production; and intersections with science 

that engage in active dialogue, collaboration, and the creation of work. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsNethersole, Scott. Devotion by design: Italian 

altarpieces before 1500. National Gallery Company, London, 2011. (Dist. by Yale), 128p 

bibl ISBN 1-85709-525-1, $40.00; ISBN 9781857095258, $40.00. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

Devotion by Design is a well-illustrated text on the National Gallery in London's Italian 

altarpieces made between 1250 and 1500. These altarpieces are traditionally hung in a 

chronological presentation in the museum setting, but this exhibition focuses on a group of 

such works in order to examine their original settings, their original frames, and their 

original groupings prior to being cut apart and placed into modern frames for the museum 

audience. Nethersole (Courtauld Institute of Art, London) discusses the liturgical function of 

these altarpieces and the surrounding objects that would have affected their original



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presentation and use in the church, and addresses the various types of altarpieces and 

their original terminology. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ PhotographySheehan, Tanya. Doctored: the medicine 

of photography in nineteenth-century America. Pennsylvania State, 2011. 202p bibl index 

afp; ISBN 9780271037929, $74.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

During its first 30 years of existence, photography moved from being considered a cuttingedge 

scientific discipline to being considered a sometimes-dubious commercial trade in the 

public mind. Supporters attempted to improve its status during the second half of the 19th 

century by professionalizing the field at a time when many other disciplines were moving in 

a similar direction. Fostered by photographic journals, this action led to the formation of 

national organizations that advocated uniform standards for business, educational, and 

safety practices. The medical profession was undergoing a similar evolution during this 

time. In Doctored, Sheehan (Rutgers) undertakes a close reading of articles found in 

photography and medical journals and finds correspondences between the two disciplines. 

She looks at the ways that "medical metaphors and models helped shape the social 

identities of urban studio photographers and the cultural identity of portrait photography" 

during this period. The book features 51 pages of back matter for 150 pages of text, and 42 

illustrative "figures" (of which 22 are poorly reproduced photographs). Clearly written, it 

should be of interest to scholars and advanced students pursuing cultural history and 

metaphor studies 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsSalatino, Kevin. Edward Hopper's Maine, by 

Kevin Salatino with Carter Foster et al. Bowdoin College Museum of Art/Delmonico 

Books/Prestel, 2011. 176p ISBN 3791351281, $49.95; ISBN 9783791351285, $49.95. 

Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Hopper's painting in Maine during nine summers between 1914 and 1929 created works 

"distinct" for their "spontaneity," according to this book's foreword. This focus produces 

revelations about the artist in a catalogue for an exhibition at the Bowdoin College 

Museum of Art. It includes excellent reproductions of paintings, with close-up details, 

drawings, and prints. Noteworthy are oil sketches from Josephine Hopper's bequest to the 

Whitney. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralJones, Kellie. Eyeminded: living and writing 

contemporary art, by Kellie Jones with Amiri Baraka et al. Duke, 2011. 515p index; ISBN 

9780822348610, $99.95; ISBN 9780822348733 pbk, $27.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This book is mostly a collection of catalogue essays that art historian Jones (Columbia Univ.) 

wrote between 1998 and 2011 on contemporary artists of the African diaspora. Her 

subjects range from Martin Puryear, Dawoud Bey, Frank Bowling, and Norman Lewis to 

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lorna Simpson, and Tracey Rose. Whether sculptors, painters, 

dancers, or photographers of such movements as the New Black Aesthetic or Black Avant 

Garde, all of these artists have complicated ideas of art making and race via abstraction or 

conceptualism, much as Jones has taken on these very topics as a writer and curator. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralBelting, Hans. Florence and Baghdad: 

Renaissance art and Arab science, tr. by Deborah Lucas Schneider. Belknap, Harvard, 

2011. 303p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780674050044, $39.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

The work of Hans Belting (Academy for Design, Karlsruhe, Germany) defies easy 

categorization. This foremost German scholar consistently offers studies of high intellectual 

rigor that are genuinely original and thought-provoking, with cross-disciplinary 

ramifications. The present work is no exception. It is not a tale of two cities (Florence and 

Baghdad) but of two cultures--European and Arab--discussed through the context of art



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and science. The book ostensibly centers on Renaissance perspective, both its 

mathematical formation and its implications for the ways different cultures look at pictures 

and consequently construct or deduce meaning. It is equally about perception, the gaze, 

and the nature of representation. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ PhotographySpencer, Stephanie. Francis Bedford, 

landscape photography and nineteenth-century British culture: the artist as 

entrepreneur. Ashgate, 2011. 202p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781409408536, $104.95. 

Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

A specialist in 19th-century British photography, Spencer (NC State) has written the first 

monograph on photographer Francis Bedford. She makes two points: (1) Bedford was an 

entrepreneur who had artistic aspirations, and (2) his photographs embodied 

contemporary English ideas and values concerning national identity and religious and 

political issues. The first point is not novel for the field; the second is a most valuable 

contribution, sure to interest readers engaged in various 19th-century studies. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsFranz Xaver Messerschmidt, ed. by Maria 

Pötzl-Malikova and Guilhem Scherf with Antonia Boström et al. Louvre Editions/Neue 

Galerie, 2011 (c2010). 219p bibl; ISBN 9788889854549, $55.00. Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

Messerschmidt, the fascinating 18th-century Austrian sculptor best known for his realistic 

character heads, had his first one-man museum show in the US in 2010 at the Neue 

Galerie. However, he is not an unknown figure. His works long have been displayed in 

Vienna's Belvedere and in other European museums, and he has long been recognized as 

one of the most fascinating 18th-century sculptors. Most scholars first became aware of 

him through the writings of psychoanalyst Ernst Kris and art historian Otto Kurz. Although 

this exhibition catalogue does not include all of Messerschmidt's works, the excellent ones- 

-all beautifully reproduced--suggest his incredible range of expressions, which, in turn, 

possibly may be clues to his own psychological problems. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralGifts of the Sultan: the arts of giving at the 

Islamic courts, ed. by Linda Komaroff with Sheila Blair et al. Los Angeles County Museum 

of Art/Yale, 2011. 335p bibl index ISBN 0-300-17110-2, $65.00; ISBN 9780300171105, 


This is a fine scholarly catalogue--and much more--of 259 objects ranging from the 10th to 

early 20th centuries. Each object is fully described and accompanied by a fine color 

illustration (some fill the full page in this handsome, large-format volume). Some objects 

are well known, but many are presented here for the first time. The volume's theme is gift 

giving and gift receiving in the Islamic world, with objects from many contexts chosen to 

illustrate that phenomenon. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsColbert, Charles. Haunted visions: spiritualism 

and American art. Pennsylvania, 2011. 319p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780812243253, $49.95. 

Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Emerging out of his earlier studies on phrenology and visual culture in the US, Haunted 

Visions, in which Colbert (Portland State Univ.) links the embrace of spiritualism and 

growing enthusiasm for the fine arts, is a logical next step. This volume, like Colbert's 

earlier A Measure of Perfection: Phrenology and the Fine Arts in America (1997), puts 

forward a well-written original thesis that, given its subject, is neither too esoteric nor too 

far-fetched. Instead it is an intellectually engaging analysis that begins by looking beneath 

the surface, so to speak, of a group of antebellum sculptures. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ ArchitectureWolner, Edward W. Henry Ives Cobb's 

Chicago: architecture, institutions, and the making of a modern metropolis. Chicago, 

2011. 384p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780226905617, $45.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE.


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This notable book by Wolner (Ball State) incorporates a narrative of architect/engineer 

Cobb's career within Chicago's larger story during a time of great social, economic, and 

cultural influence. Included are black-and-white illustrations of Cobb's productive output, 

e.g., the Newberry Library, Chicago Athletic Association, and initial structures and plans for 

the University of Chicago. Some buildings--among them the Opera House, World's 

Columbian Exposition structures, and a few private homes--are no longer standing but live 

on in these photographs. Wolner makes requisite comparisons with contemporary 

architects such as Henry Hobhouse Richardson, John Wellborn Root, and Louis Sullivan, but 

asserts that the eclectic Cobb produced more of his era's signature civic edifices than the 

others, particularly in Chicago and its suburbs, but also in Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, 

and New York City. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralCrowley, John E. Imperial landscapes: Britain's 

global visual culture, 1745-1820. Yale, 2011. 282p index; ISBN 9780300170504, $85.00. 


From the mid-18th through early-19th centuries, Britain's emergence as a global power 

stimulated a demand for visual records of the far-flung territories that had come into the 

nation's orbit. Artists revealed this global setting in prints and paintings that reflected the 

era's aesthetic theories. Picturesque and sublime views helped Britons engage with the 

unfamiliar while also setting the tone for subsequent depictions of the global landscape by 

Continental artists. Crowley (emer., history, Dalhousie Univ., Nova Scotia) adroitly surveys 

the work of professional artists like William Hodges and the Daniells (William and Thomas), 

along with an array of military observers and cartographers who chronicled the exotic and 

the interplay of European and non-Western civilizations. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralInuit modern: the Samuel and Esther Sarick 

Collection, ed. by Gerald McMaster with Ingo Hessel et al. Art Gallery of Ontario/Douglas 

& McIntyre, 2011. 272p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781553657781 pbk, $50.00. Reviewed in 


"Eskimo art" often is thought of as a recent invention, the product of governmentsupported 

programs established in the mid-20th century to replace disrupted subsistence 

practices and to satisfy the curiosity of nonindigenous Canadians about "primitive" life in 

the Far North. Contributors to Inuit Modern argue that art is not only part of a long history 

of Inuit adaptation to changing historical circumstances but also a means of perpetuating 

Inuit identity through both its content and the economic and cultural power it came to 

wield. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralInglis, Erik. Jean Fouquet and the invention of 

France: art and nation after the Hundred Years War. Yale/Getty Foundation, 2011. 280p 

bibl index afp ISBN 0-300-13443-6, $75.00; ISBN 9780300134438, $75.00. Reviewed in 

2012jan CHOICE. 

This is the first survey in English in some 60 years of the work of Jean Fouquet, one of the 

greatest artists of 15th-century Europe. Unlike his near contemporaries, Masaccio and Jan 

van Eyck, Fouquet lacked dedicated biographers. His oeuvre, moreover, was sadly depleted 

during the iconoclasm of the French Revolution. Most of his surviving art is found in 

illuminated manuscripts--a less privileged medium than fresco and panel painting. This 

splendid publication by Inglis (Oberlin College) strives to reposition Fouquet among the 

giants of the Northern Renaissance. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ PhotographyMan Ray. Man Ray: portraits: Paris, 

Hollywood, Paris: from the Man Ray Archives of the Centre Pompidou, ed. by Clément 

Chéroux; essays by Quentin Bajac and Clement Chéroux; texts by Man Ray; [tr. by Roger W. 

Benner and Amanda Hopkinson]. Schirmer/Mosel, 2011. 313p bibl index; ISBN 

9783829605403, $78.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE.


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Bajac documents the ultimately unsuccessful efforts to keep Man Ray's studio, negatives, 

and prints largely intact and in one place. The Centre Pompidou now houses about 70 

vintage prints, 5,321 contact prints, and 12,304 negatives; the latter two form this book's 

nucleus. While acknowledging major gaps in the collection, Bajac emphasizes the largely 

ignored contact prints' and negatives' importance in evaluating Man Ray's creative process. 

Chéroux offers a condensed biography, focusing on how the negatives illuminate Man Ray's 

client network, management of his studio, and operations. Man Ray's photographs were 

predominantly portraits, generally made in his Montparnasse studio, and illustrate 

previously undocumented social interactions among diverse Parisian circles. He also 

photographed some sitters, such as Picasso, Braque, and Matisse, "at home." The negatives 

reveal that he did take portrait photos in Hollywood, contrary to his own statement. After 

analyzing Man Ray's portrait techniques, Chéroux concludes that he was a classicist more 

than a modernist. In his own statements, Man Ray acknowledges the influence of 

Veronese, Holbein, and Vermeer. A selection of quotations from Man Ray precede the 

photographs, which are separated first by date and location and then alphabetically. Brief 

biographies of the sitters appear in the captions 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsTang, Xiaobing. Multiple impressions: 

contemporary Chinese woodblock prints, by Xiaobing Tang, [Shang Hui and Anne Farrer]. 

University of Michigan Museum of Art, 2011. 142p bibl ISBN 1930561148 pbk, $24.95; 

ISBN 9781930561144 pbk, $24.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Recent publications on contemporary art in China have given short shrift to woodblock 

prints, which have a long and important history; this exhibition catalogue fills the gap. Tang 

(Univ. of Michigan) first traces the woodcut print's evolution from the 1930s to today, 

emphasizing its relationship to Chinese cultural traditions, including the constantly 

changing ones of the 21st century. Two brief essays follow. In "Current Printmaking in the 

Twenty-First Century," Hui (Fine Arts Magazine, Beijing) identifies global awareness of 

contemporary Chinese woodcut artists; Ferrer (Sotheby's, London) focuses on one gigantic 

print--Xu Bing's Mustard Seed Garden Landscape Scroll (333 inches long). She analyzes this 

print, based on images in the famous 17th-century Mustard Seed Garden Manual of 

Painting, especially for the technique used by the artist. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsNew perspectives on Brücke Expressionism: 

bridging history, ed. by Christian Weikop. Ashgate, 2011. 317p bibl index afp ISBN 1-4094- 

1203-2, $124.95; ISBN 9781409412038, $124.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

This work offers informative essays by an international team of scholars of the early-20thcentury 

German artistic movement. Growing out of a scholarly conference organized in 

2005 by Christian Weikop at the University of Sussex, UK, this volume features topical 

examinations by several senior German Expressionist scholars and as many such essays by 

newer, mostly European voices on this important contribution to central European 

modernism. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsPreimesberger, Rudolf. Paragons and 

paragone: Van Eyck, Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and Bernini. Getty Research 

Institute, 2011. 144p bibl index; ISBN 9780892369645, $40.00. Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

In this collection of five essays on works by Van Eyck, Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, 

and Bernini, Preimesberger (emer., Freie Univ., Berlin) explores how the notion of 

comparison and rivalry--the paragone, which is amply discussed in Italian Renaissance and 

baroque art theory--can be found in the art object itself. Such theoretical debates, 

traditionally centered on the superiority of one medium or discipline over another, are 

enriched by Preimesberger's case studies. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsPerfectly American: the Art-Union & its artists, 

by Amanda Lett et al. Gilcrease Museum, 2011. (Dist. by Oklahoma), 128p; ISBN


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The essays in this small, carefully written, handsomely illustrated volume present a concise, 

perceptive introduction to the history of the American Art-Union and to its development, 

significance in American cultural history, and impact on 19th-century American art, along 

with the factors that led to its demise. With antecedents in the Apollo Association, and 

following the development of similar organizations in Europe, the Art-Union aimed to 

promote national unity through a unifying national art, to develop an audience and market 

for American artists' work, and to introduce the emerging middle class to the fine arts. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ PhotographyFraser, Karen M. Photography and Japan. 

Reaktion Books, 2011. 170p bibl index ISBN 1861897979 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 


This informative overview of the history of photography in Japan by Fraser (Santa Clara 

Univ.) avoids the pitfall of attempting to discover and define a national Japanese 

photographic style. Instead it examines the topic along thematic lines as defined by 

significant cultural, political, and social concerns: photography's role in identity 

construction (both national, especially during the Meiji restoration and after WW II, and 

individual), images of war (primarily WW II and its aftermath, though with some discussion 

of earlier conflicts, such as the Sino-Japanese War), and the city (with a focus on 

reconstruction after the 1923 earthquake, post-WW II reconstruction, and modern life in 

the city). 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsBrettell, Richard R. Pissarro's people. Prestel, 

2011. 319p bibl index; ISBN 9783791351186, $65.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Pissarro was unique among the Impressionist landscape painters in his fascination with the 

human figure. This exhibition catalogue is about the people that inhabit his pictures, who 

they are, and what being in their society meant for the artist. The result is an amply 

illustrated biography with commentary about his family, friends, and living arrangements. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsPrints and the pursuit of knowledge in early 

modern Europe, ed. by Susan Dackerman; essays by Susan Dackerman et al. Harvard Art 

Museums/Yale, 2011. 440p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780300171075 pbk, $60.00. Reviewed in 

2012feb CHOICE. 

During the Renaissance, the printmaker's role was essential to the communication, 

portrayal, and dissemination of knowledge. Excellently researched, this volume assembles 

printed material and instruments to demonstrate how this role was vitally integrated into 

investigations of all areas related to human endeavor: anatomy, plants, animals, the Earth, 

the heavens, and manufacturing. Rarely self-sufficient, these prints depend upon an 

accompanying text for full comprehension, either as captions within the print or as 

additional text. Highly technical instruments for navigation and measurement depended on 

the printmaker to present their designs. By focusing on the contribution of northern 

European prints, contributors bridge the distance between the traditional fields of art and 

the history of science; consequently, this volume becomes an important resource for both. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsRembrandt and the face of Jesus, ed. by Lloyd 

DeWitt with Seymour Slive et al. Philadelphia Museum of Art/Yale, 2011. 255p bibl index; 

ISBN 9780300169577, $65.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This volume encompasses the full range of narrative in Rembrandt's paintings, drawings, 

and etchings that include the figure of Jesus Christ. Collectively, the contributing authors 

offer an engaging scholarly text that concerns how Rembrandt's varied pictorial means 

rendered the texts of the gospel, with its stories of the communication of faith and the 

physical reactions to divine messages. At the same time, this volume highlights current



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issues in Rembrandt scholarship, including the comparison of drawings of the same subject 

by Rembrandt himself and his workshop, studies of heads for expressive purposes, and 

exotic costume and paraphernalia of the Orient. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralBlum, Dilys E. Roberto Capucci: art into fashion. 

Philadelphia Museum of Art/Yale, 2011. 202p bibl; ISBN 9780300169584, $50.00. 


Roberto Capucci was Johnny-on-the-spot when the "Italian School" of haute couture 

emerged and took root in Italy. Under impresario Giovanni Battista Giorgini, a series of 

Italian fashion shows was organized in the early 1950s. Capucci (1930- ) was sidelined 

during the 1951-52 show owing to his youth but was invited to present his clothes during a 

private show at Giorgini's home--"and sold everything." He never looked back. His highly 

structural clothes (he had begun his schooling wanting to be an "architect or set designer") 

were flattering, imaginative, and a real threat to the primacy of French high fashion. This 

heavily and beautifully illustrated book by Blum (Philadelphia Museum of Art) is a 

necessary addition to any fashion or history of fashion collection 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralScreen/space: the projected image in 

contemporary art, ed. by Tamara Trodd. Manchester University Press, 2011. 214p index; 

ISBN 9780719084621, $95.00; ISBN 9780719084638 pbk, $32.95. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

This collection of essays originates from a 2007 conference held at the University of 

Edinburgh and, in that regard, is not able to deliver a single new theory of screen/space; 

rather, it addresses lacunae in modernist critical frameworks. In part 1, "Histories," Noam 

Elcott and Kate Mondloch focus on László Moholy-Nagy and Michael Snow, respectively, 

and Maxa Zoller addresses the presence of festivals and absence of museums in film 

histories. Part 2, "Screen," considers neglected audience responses: Joanna Lowry 

examines examples that cast the spectator in a diagnostic role; Maria Walsh treats 

absorption; and Amelia Jones focuses on female desire. Part 3, "Space," addresses 

absences in structural considerations. Here, Andrew Uroskie's focus is site-specificity. Todd 

explores the architectural work of post-1990s female artists (as opposed to the earlier 

masculine sculptural model). And Christine Ross examines AR (augmented reality), which 

moves the discussion from image to effects (psychological and social). Although all essays 

have a common thread (the museum), the collection has significant gaps of its own, which 

are, at least, readily admitted by Trodd in the introduction--the context of performance art 

and artists of non-Western heritage are largely absent. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralBrinker, Helmut. Secrets of the sacred: 

empowering Buddhist images in clear, in code, and in cache. Spencer Museum of 

Art/Washington, 2011. 214p bibl index afp ISBN 0-295-99089-9, $50.00; ISBN 

9780295990897, $50.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Brinker (emer., Univ. of Zurich, Switzerland) offers a well-illustrated introduction to some 

notable sites, sculptures, and practices in East Asian Buddhism. He focuses on fascinating 

Chinese Buddhist finds including celebrated "fingerbone relics" of the Buddha (Famen Si); 

the origin and later reception of a late tenth-century Chinese sculpture brought to Japan 

(Seiryōji's Udayana Śākyamuni); two East Asian Buddhist image-types (King Udayana and 

Aśoka); the practice of inserting diverse relics into sculptures in Japan and China; and 

esoteric Buddhism in China and Japan--largely as understood in Japan. Although the sites 

and sculptures have been covered previously, the author masterfully incorporates the 

results of recent studies, many originally written in Japanese and Chinese. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralCorn, Wanda M. Seeing Gertrude Stein: five 

stories, by Wanda M. Corn and Tirza True Latimer. Contemporary Jewish 

Museum/National Portrait Gallery/California, 2011. 403p bibl index afp; ISBN 

9780520270022, $45.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE.


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Corn (emer., Stanford Univ.) and Latimer (California College of the Arts) provide five 

perspectives on the life of Gertrude Stein. Scholars of art history know Stein as an 

extremely important patron of avant-garde master artists including Cézanne, Matisse, and 

Picasso; the latter's portrait of Stein, undertaken when the artist was practically unknown, 

infamously took 80 sittings and marks the beginning of cubism. Scholars of literature 

appreciate Stein's writings, which were the textual equivalent of the modernist paintings 

she promoted: form largely replaced content. Gender studies scholars and those in the 

GLBTQ community find in the relationship between Stein and Alice B. Toklas a template for 

domestic partnership and collaborative activism. This richly illustrated book, created to 

accompany an exhibition of the same name, presents these and other aspects of Gertrude 

Stein's life, work, and legacy in five chapters (stories). The first two focus on her biography 

and relationship with Toklas, including their development of a signature fashion statement. 

The third not only examines Stein's friendships but also reveals collaborations with artists. 

Chapters on Stein's celebrity and legacy (demonstrated with a wide variety of 

contemporary artwork) round out the volume 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralShaping the body politic: art and political 

formation in early America, ed. by Maurie D. McInnis and Louis P. Nelson. Virginia, 2011. 

313p index afp; ISBN 9780813931029, $45.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This edited collection of eight excellent essays from the 2006 Thomas Jefferson Foundation 

Distinguished Lecture Series presents recent work on the role of the arts as they revealed 

and formed the American "body politic" from the 1760s to the 1820s. The essays--fresh and 

readable, speculative but well-grounded in research--continue the turn away from 

American exceptionalism toward a broader, Atlantic community view of the lives and works 

of artists and toward interest in the "body" as a subject for inquiry in the humanities. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ PhotographyPerich, Shannon Thomas. The changing 

face of portrait photography: from daguerreotype to digital. Smithsonian Books, 2011. 

159p index; ISBN 9781588342744, $35.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Drawing from the rich, vast photographic collection of the Smithsonian Institution's 

National Museum of American History, associate curator Perich surveys the history of 

portrait photography, and in so doing also offers a broader history of photography. 

Beginning with the daguerreotype and ending with current innovations in digital imaging, 

the author details the way in which developments in technology served the needs of nine 

portrait photographers and one photographic portrait studio. In each of ten chapters, 

Perich provides a concise description of how both well-known and lesser-known 

photographers exploited innovations in technology to fulfill their aesthetic needs and the 

demands of their audience 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsNagel, Alexander. The controversy of 

Renaissance art. Chicago, 2011. 358p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780226567723, $60.00. 


Nagel (NYU) works here to recast people's idea of the Renaissance. He offers up a period 

grappling with a myriad of issues--a new religiosity and an uneasy intersection of Old 

Testament, antique, Byzantine, and early Christian thought, combined with a rising tension 

between secular and religious imagery. The study moves in roughly chronological order to 

analyze ways in which the main genres of Renaissance art in the late-15th and early-16th 

century reveal a "reframing, inversion, displacement, recombination, deflation." The author 

reworks earlier studies and puts forward new material in a smoothly running engine that 

takes readers from the polemics of Savonarola and its effect on Florentine art of the 1490s 

to the Corpus Christi altarpiece of Vicenza Cathedral of the 1530s.



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Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralAmbrose, Gavin. The fundamentals of creative 

design, by Gavin Ambrose and Paul Harris. 2nd ed. AVA Academia, 2011. (Dist. by Ingram 

Publishing Services), 184p bibl index afp ISBN 2940411611 pbk, $38.50; ISBN 

9782940411610 pbk, $38.50. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

AVA Academia Publishers, based in Switzerland, specializes in textbooks for the applied 

visual arts. This small volume is one in a series of 20 books in the AVA "Fundamentals" 

series. This second edition (1st ed., 2003) includes new examples of the principles 

(including their historical origins) of print and digital design. Color-coded chapters provide 

an imaginative layout. The book includes examples of design projects that illustrate specific 

concepts and terminology. Contact information for design firms, given at the end of the 

book, is a good source of current information for students. Each chapter concludes with 

two student exercises. A "Working with Ethics" section at the end of the book provides a 

case study that encourages readers to consider ethical issues in the work of graphic design. 

This up-to-date textbook is reasonably priced and would be a good reference for graphic 

design students. Schools with programs in graphic design would do well to consider the 

entire series. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralRussell, Alex. The fundamentals of printed 

textile design. AVA Academia, 2011. 207p bibl afp ISBN 2940411476 pbk, $38.50; ISBN 


This general introduction for students interested in the printed textile design industry 

focuses on skills necessary for today's print designer with special emphasis on the 

importance of understanding context, considering outside influences, and communicating 

ideas. Russell (Manchester Metropolitan Univ., UK) emphasizes the design brief, with its 

component parts of research, development, color (colorways and coordinates), final design 

repeat, the design's use, and manufacturing technology. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralChemeche, George. The horse rider in African 

art. Antique Collectors' Club, 2011. 381p ISBN 1-85149-634-3, $90.00; ISBN 


The equestrian was a popular subject, with global significance, used to display judicial, 

military, empirical, and divine power. Chemeche (artist, author, and curator) offers the first 

catalogue devoted to the subject in African art. This volume is outsized and lavishly 

illustrated, befitting the art objects and the prestigious collectors and institutions 

represented. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ PhotographySmith, Joel. The life and death of 

buildings: on photography and time. Princeton University Art Museum, 2011. (Dist. by 

Yale), 103p ISBN 0300174357 pbk, $40.00; ISBN 9780300174359 pbk, $40.00. Reviewed in 


The Life and Death of Buildings is a meditation on the relationship of architectural 

photography and time, published in conjunction with an exhibition mounted at the 

Princeton University Art Museum in the summer and fall of 2011. Ranging widely, 

geographically, from the 1850s to the present and featuring the work of many of 

photographic history's leading practitioners, Smith's often uncanny selections illustrate the 

intersecting manifestations of time captured by the photographic process--a moment in 

building construction, buildings in decay, photographs manipulated to erase a building 

alteration, the effect of longer and shorter exposure time, and memory and time, brilliantly 

enhanced by Smith's juxtaposition of images. In a volume infused with historical insight and 

leavening biographical anecdote, Princeton curator Smith invests these photographs with a 

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Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralLerner, Jesse. The Maya of modernism: art, 

architecture, and film. New Mexico, 2011. 214p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780826349811, 


Lerner (Claremont Colleges), a filmmaker and media studies professor, examines ways in 

which the ancient Maya culture has been mined for images and ideas by contemporary 

artists, architects, and filmmakers within the context of modernism and visual culture. The 

initial chapter explores how early images of the Maya world established stereotypes of the 

Maya used by a variety of image makers with various agendas. The following three 

chapters focus on the use of artistic productions to assimilate the Maya into modern 

culture, to disconnect them from their own past, or to reflect the attempts of the Maya to 

live in the modern world on their own terms. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralEpstein, Marc Michael. The medieval 

Haggadah: art, narrative, and religious imagination. Yale, 2011. 324p bibl index afp ISBN 

0-300-15666-9, $65.00; ISBN 9780300156669, $65.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

This is an outstanding study of the medieval Haggadah, the book used at the special 

Passover meal known as the Seder on the first two nights of the holiday. Epstein (religion, 

Vassar) has made a close and learned study of four major medieval works. One comes from 

Mainz, Germany, circa 1300. Known as the Birds' Head Haggadah because of some of its 

distinctive images, it is the oldest surviving illuminated Haggadah. The other three are from 

Spain and reflect the specific influences of that context, not the least of which are medieval 

Christian types of book illumination. The three Sephardic Haggadoth studied are the Golden 

Haggadah, circa 1320-1330, and two versions of what is known as the Rylands Haggadah. 

What is so impressive about Epstein's volume is that while it is fully informed about the 

broader medieval Christian context in which these volumes were produced, along with the 

technical and material elements that contributed to them, its author is Jewishly literate 

enough to understand that medieval Jews owned their artistic culture in depth and at the 

core. In sum, this is a work all academic libraries should purchase. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralLorente, J. Pedro. The museums of 

contemporary art: notion and development. Ashgate, 2011. 318p bibl index afp; ISBN 

9781409405863, $124.95; ISBN 9781409405870 e-book, contact publisher for price. 


Stimulated by "a boom in museums and centres of modern or contemporary art," 

museologist and art historian Lorente (Univ. of Sargossa, Spain) unpacks the dense history 

of art museums, concentrating on when, where, how, who, and why. Lorente divides his 

analysis into two parts, one focusing on the 18th and early-19th century's Museum of 

Living Artists in Paris, and the other on the 20th century's Museum of Modern Art in New 

York. He first deals with the complexities of the labels "modern" versus "contemporary," 

and describes the significance of this terminology as it applies to art institutions. Included is 

a discussion of the personalities who played major roles in the development of art 

institutions, from the royalty of earlier centuries to the very rich businesspersons of more 

recent times. The intrigue that dominated MoMA's growth is particularly interesting. This 

volume uses text boxes for facts of related interest that interrupt the essay's literary flow, 

and footnotes for more traditional citations. Thirty-two half-page black pencil drawings 

help show the significance of architecture in this history. The addition of a 16-page 

multilingual bibliography makes this volume a fine current reference 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsThe Renaissance portrait: from Donatello to 

Bellini, ed. by Keith Christiansen and Stefan Weppelmann; essays by Patricia Rubin et al. 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. (Dist. by Yale), 420p bibl index; ISBN 9780300175912, 

$65.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE.


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Fifteenth-century Italy witnessed a remarkable interest in portraits, which quickly 

developed into one of the most potent and popular forms of art. This substantial catalogue 

of an exhibition held at the Bode-Museum (Berlin) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art 

(New York) achieves great breadth and depth in placing early Renaissance Italian portraits 

within their social and aesthetic contexts. Breadth is realized through the inclusion of 

portraits in different media and in a range of subjects, originating in the major art centers 

of Florence, Venice, and various princely courts such as Milan and Mantua. Five essays by 

leading scholars such as Patricia Rubin and Peter Humfrey provide useful introductions to 

general topics on Renaissance portraiture, often fruitfully turning to primary sources to 

better establish how portraits were regarded and used in this period. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsThe Steins collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the 

Parisian avant-garde, ed. by Janet Bishop, Cécile Debray, and Rebecca Rabinow. San 

Francisco Museum of Modern Art/Yale, 2011. 492p bibl index; ISBN 9780300169416, 

$75.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Gertrude Stein, along with her brothers Leo and Michael, and Michael's wife Sarah, 

promoted avant-garde artists and their art in the early 20th century. Modernism was 

marketed at the Steins' Saturday evening salons through the display of art and the 

introduction of artists to collectors, critics, art historians, and fellow artists. This exhibition 

catalogue is handsome, definitive, and rich with material. Eleven essays are divided into 

three sections, each addressing a Stein and his/her companion. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralBest, Susan. Visualizing feeling: affect and the 

feminine avant-garde. I.B. Tauris, 2011. 196p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781848858510, 


Visualizing Feeling provides an immensely compelling reappraisal of the affective 

dimension of 1960s-70s art. Best (Univ. of New South Wales, Australia) investigates the 

anti-aesthetic tradition, its achievements, and the contributions of women artists to its 

development. She demonstrates how four artists--Eva Hesse, Lygia Clark, Ana Mendieta, 

and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha--have been positioned art historically. She then repositions 

their work in relation to expressive elements, materials, methods, and process, as well as 

aesthetic engagement and the work of numerous theorists (Foucault, Merleau-Ponty, 

Derrida, Barthes, and others). 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsWatercolour, ed. by Alison Smith with Thomas 

Ardill et al. Tate Publishing, 2011. (Dist. by Abrams), 207p bibl index afp; ISBN 


This catalogue of a 2011 Tate Britain exhibition comprises 146 British watercolors, each 

illustrated in color. They range from an illuminated manuscript of ca. 1200 to abstract 

works of the early 21st century. Following an excellent introduction by editor Smith are a 

series of illustrated essays by various authors in catalogue sections titled "Intimate 

Knowledge," "The Natural World," "Travel and Topography," "The Exhibition Watercolour" 

(mainly large in size), "Watercolour and War," "Inner Vision," "Watercolour Today," and 

"Abstraction and Improvisation." Most of these are self-explanatory, except for "Intimate 

Knowledge," which consists of illuminated manuscripts, 17th-century landscapes by Van 

Dyck and Hollar, maps and plans, costume design, and miniatures. Besides the authoritative 

texts, another outstanding feature is the high quality of the great variety of illustrations. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ PhotographyElkins, James. What photography is. 

Routledge, 2011. 222p; ISBN 9780415995689, $125.00; ISBN 9780415995696 pbk, $34.95; 

ISBN 9780203886489 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Distinguished art historian Elkins (Art Institute of Chicago) offers an engaging and 

admittedly perverse account of photography, based on Roland Barthes's widely read


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Camera Lucida (CH, Jan'82). Like its predecessor, Elkins's What Photography Is is an 

idiosyncratic phenomenology grounded in late-20th-century concerns around visuality and 

opticality. Elkins departs from Barthes's central subject matter, people, and tugs at the 

time/space continuum as configured through edgier, less familiar realms of photographic 

depiction--the historical landscape, the microscopic, and the instantaneous. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ GeneralBartra, Eli. Women in Mexican folk art: on 

promises, betrayals, monsters and celebrities, [tr.] by Christopher Follett and Richard 

Thomson. University of Wales Press, 2011. 184p bibl index; ISBN 9780708323472, $85.00; 


Women's studies professor Bartra (Univ. Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco, Mexico 

City) writes provocatively and compellingly about the role of women artists in society. Her 

case studies are women artists in (mostly) central Mexican communities, with specific foci 

on women who create ex-votos, Judases, fantastic art (alebrijes and ocumichos), Friditas 

(based on Frida Kahlo's art pieces), serapes, rag doll Zapatistas, and miracle embroideries 

(a textile variant of ex-votos). Bartra's attempt to understand folk art in the context of art 

history suffers from her not incorporating even basic folk art scholarship, leading her to 

make some false conclusions and assertions. But her documentation of Mexican women 

artists, a group generally ignored in art history scholarship, is important and necessary. 

Humanities \ Art & Architecture \ Fine ArtsMcCausland, Shane. Zhao Mengfu: calligraphy 

and painting for Khubilai's China. Hong Kong University Press, 2011. 431p bibl index ISBN 

988802857X, $55.00; ISBN 9789888028573, $55.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

McCausland (Univ. of London) here deeply and thoroughly penetrates the art and times of 

Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), the Yuan Dynasty artist and "renaissance figure." Zhao was a 

painter/calligrapher, scholar, author, and official in Khubilai Khan's court and after the 

Mongol leader's death. After a brief overview that also touches on the significance of 

Zhao's works through the centuries, four chapters and an epilogue immerse the reader in 

the world of Zhao.


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Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralBuilding brains: an introduction to neural 

development, by David Price et al. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. 331p bibl index; ISBN 


This extensively illustrated textbook is a welcome introduction to the complex topic of 

developmental neuroscience. The goals of Price and colleagues (all, Univ. of Edinburgh, UK) 

in writing Building Brains were to present key findings on developmental mechanisms in a 

rigorous but accessible and enthusiastic manner through the ample use of colorful, detailed 

figures and images and clearly written text. The book is organized into 12 chapters covering 

neural development subtopics such as models and methods, anatomy, induction, 

neuroectoderm patterning, neurogenesis, migration, morphology, axon guidance, map 

formation, synaptogenesis, programmed cell death, and experience-dependent 

development. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralClimate change biology, by Jonathan A. Newman 

et al. CABI, 2011. 289p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781845937485, $145.00; ISBN 


Newman (Univ. of Guelph, Canada) and academic colleagues provide a clearly written 

introduction to climate change biology. The book begins with a brief but useful review of 

methods for measuring past and present climate change, predicting future change, and 

assessing impacts of climate change on biological systems. A summary of current 

knowledge of the effects of climate change at different levels of organization (i.e., from 

individuals to ecosystems) and on applications such as agriculture and forest production 

follows. The concluding section discusses the complexity and limitations of climate change 

research. For each topic, the authors briefly and clearly explain the ecological concepts, and 

then summarize the important research findings using a few specific examples. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralLevine, George. Darwin the writer. Oxford, 

2011. 244p bibl index afp ISBN 0-19-960843-1, $35.00; ISBN 9780199608430, $35.00. 


Levine (emer., Victorian literature, Rutgers) suggests that Charles Darwin's Origin of Species 

is the most important work in 19th-century English literature. Returning to this theme 

repeatedly, Levine maintains Darwin's writing ability, as much as the power of his ideas, 

was responsible for the success of his theory. Darwin did not particularly enjoy writing, as is 

illustrated by a passage in a letter Darwin wrote to his associate Charles Lyell, indicating he 

would be much happier as a naturalist if he could just observe and not write. Nevertheless, 

Darwin could write effectively, and Levine explains that Darwin's Journal of Researches was 

more a work by a "nature writer" than by an exponent of a new theory. It should be noted, 

however, that Darwin wrote Journal of Researches--filled with the observations he made 

during the voyage of HMS Beagle--years before he published his evolutionary theory. 

Perhaps the most intriguing chapter is devoted to Darwin's epic journey on the Beagle, 

which taught him how to make observations and pay attention to the variety of life and 

matter. This well-written work offers little scientific discussion, but is well suited to 

students and scholars in interdisciplinary fields 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ BotanyGale, George. Dying on the vine: how Phylloxera 

transformed wine. California, 2011. 323p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780520265486, $39.95. 


This is a fascinating read for anyone interested in grapevines and/or the philosophy of 

science, and it is must reading for scientists striving to solve fundamental and practical 

problems of vineyard grapevines. Gale (philosophy, Univ. of Missouri, Kansas City; Theory 

of Science, CH, Jul'79) tells the story of Phylloxera on several levels and in the process offers



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several lessons related to invasive species management, the emergence of "big science," 

and the sociology of science. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ ZoologyNikiforuk, Andrew. Empire of the beetle: how 

human folly and a tiny bug are killing North America's great forests. Greystone Books, 

2011. 230p bibl index ISBN 1553655109 pbk, $17.95; ISBN 9781553655107 pbk, $17.95. 


Noted Canadian journalist Nikiforuk (Tar Sands, 2008) examines the causes and results of a 

series of bark beetle outbreaks starting in the late 1980s, which destroyed more than 30 

billion pine and spruce trees in states ranging from Alaska in the north to New Mexico in 

the south. Sometimes called the "Katrina of the West," these infestations received very 

little publicity but caused the loss of millions of dollars worth of lumber and resulted in 

flooding, erosion, property damage, loss of wildlife and valuable sport fishing, and more. 

The author discusses the activities of several bark beetles (family Scolytidae), including 

species of Dendroctonus and Ips. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralDenny, Mark. Engineering animals: how life 

works, by Mark Denny and Alan McFadzean. Belknap, Harvard, 2011. 385p bibl index afp; 

ISBN 9780674048546, $35.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

This wonderful book is a joy to read and will be of interest to both engineers and biologists. 

Denny, a former aerospace engineer and prolific author (Their Arrows Will Darken the Sun, 

CH, Sep'11, 49-0228; Froth!, CH, Feb'10, 47-3116; etc.), and McFadzean, an independent 

consultant, have built upon their training in both engineering and physics to produce a 

superbly written work; the explanations of engineering principles at the heart of animal 

design are entertaining, intuitive, insightful, and concise. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralEpigenetics: linking genotype and phenotype in 

development and evolution, ed. by Benedikt Hallgrímsson and Brian K. Hall. California, 

2011. 459p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780520267091, $85.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

The term "epigenetics" was coined in the 1940s to capture the developing understanding 

that forces beyond the genome were acting in a deterministic way on phenotypic 

development. Now, 70 years later, Hallgrímsson (Univ. of Calgary, Canada) and Hall (emer., 

Dalhousie Univ., Canada) have assembled the works of leading authorities and researchers 

to provide a review of the impact that epigenetic research has had on the field of biology. 

The reader will quickly appreciate the diversity of these impacts. This diversity exists not 

only in the mechanisms of epigenetic phenomena but also in the biological systems 

through which the emergent properties of these mechanisms act. The text is not meant to 

be an all-inclusive treatment of the field of epigenetics, but an exploration of the variety of 

ways that epigenetic phenomena have changed scientific understanding of developmental 

and evolutionary biology. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralShapiro, James A. Evolution: a view from the 

21st century. FT Press 2011. 253p bibl index afp ISBN 0-13-278093-3, $34.99; ISBN 


In this seminal book, Shapiro (Univ. of Chicago) seeks to expand traditional views of the 

powerful engines of evolution--in particular, those parts of the process that involve the 

genomes of organisms. In Shapiro's opinion, modern evolutionary theory still relies too 

much on deterministic viewpoints of life and not enough on the inherent malleability in 

organisms' genomes as they are influenced by, and respond to, their environment. In this 

view of evolution, which includes current research on genetic transfer between organisms, 

Shapiro makes a case for the genome as a "read-write" information system that is not 

nearly as static as has been traditionally assumed. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralLyons, Sherrie. Evolution. Routledge, 2011. 

198p bibl index; ISBN 9780415592253, $90.00; ISBN 9780415592260 pbk, $19.95; ISBN


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9780203808061 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Since the recent 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's monumental, far-reaching On the 

Origin of Species (1859), many writings have expanded on evolution and related subjects. 

Some of these are clarifications of Darwin's work, others synthesize his writings into more 

modern frameworks, and still others focus primarily on human evolution and future 

evolutionary forces. Lyons (SUNY Empire State College) has written a concise, wellpresented 

primer on the evolution of the original theory of evolution. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralField notes on science and nature, ed. by 

Michael R. Canfield. Harvard, 2011. 297p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780674057579, $27.95. 


Field notes are the recorded observations of a scientist or naturalist and typically include 

both textual notes and sketches. This volume includes discussions of traditional paper-andink 

methods of maintaining field notes as well as more modern digital developments, along 

with the strengths and weaknesses of each. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralSeidl, Amy. Finding higher ground: adaptation 

in the age of warming. Beacon Press, 2011. 199p afp; ISBN 9780807085981, $24.95. 


Nearly all scientists recognize that humanity must do something about human-caused 

global warming, but the failure of society to act on this recognition makes it clear that 

some climate change, probably substantial, cannot be avoided. The world will have to 

adapt to it. In this small, personable, warmly readable, conversational book, ecologist Seidl 

tells practical, compelling stories of such adaptations, ranging from evolutionary changes in 

plants and animals that are altering their seasonal behavior, to farmers diversifying and 

adapting their crops to take advantage of the changing climate. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ ZoologyDeSombre, Elizabeth R. Fish, by Elizabeth R. 

DeSombre and J. Samuel Barkin. Polity, 2011. 192p bibl index; ISBN 9780745650203 pbk, 


Any person interested in the history of commercial fisheries and their effects on marine 

stocks will be interested in Fish. DeSombre (environmental studies and political science, 

Wellesley College) and Barkin (political science, Univ. of Florida) discuss how technology 

has changed commercial fisheries and how the technology has led to increased ecosystem 

damages. The brief book begins with a look at the development and organization of the 

industry and then discusses regulatory and legal challenges. A separate chapter focuses on 

aquaculture. The book concludes with a discussion on sustainable fisheries and ways all 

individuals can work to reduce the negative impacts on marine stocks. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ BotanyForest health: an integrated perspective, ed. by 

John D. Castello and Stephen A. Teale. Cambridge, 2011. 392p bibl index; ISBN 


This book is primarily focused on defining, quantifying, and evaluating the fairly nebulous 

but often-used term "forest health." Approaching the topic from various disciplinary 

perspectives (forestry, forest ecology, statistical modeling, silviculture, forest 

management), Castello and Teale (both, SUNY College of Environmental Science and 

Forestry) have compiled a thorough collection of chapters broken into three main sections. 

The first section provides an introduction to the topic, the mathematical models underlying 

the assessment of forest dynamics, and several case studies from boreal, temperate, and 

tropical forests. The middle section covers ecological topics pertaining to forest health, e.g., 

biotic agents of tree stress, alien invasive species, edaphic factors and soil bacteria, and



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abiotic factors, including global environmental change. The final portion addresses the role 

that humans play in mediating forest health, touching upon harvesting, biodiversity and 

conservation, and forest systems monitoring. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ ZoologyAudubon, John James. John James Audubon's 

journal of 1826: the voyage to The birds of America, ed. and introd. by Daniel Patterson 

with Patricio J. Serrano. Nebraska, 2011. 474p index afp ISBN 0-8032-2531-8, $50.00; ISBN 

9780803225312, $50.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

After failing to publish his landmark work, The Birds of America, in the US, John James 

Audubon sailed to England in 1826 to seek publication abroad. Here, Patterson (English, 

Central Michigan Univ.), author or editor of several books on American nature writers (e.g., 

Early American Nature Writers, CH, Jul'08, 45-5904), uses a light hand in editing Audubon's 

1826 journal, which chronicles the naturalist's struggles and ultimate successes that year. 

Previous to the publication of the title under review, Alice Ford's The 1826 Journal of John 

James Audubon (1967) was the most authoritative work available. Unfortunately, as 

Patterson demonstrates in his introduction, Ford granted herself generous editorial license, 

which led to significant differences between her edition and the actual manuscript. 

Patterson strives to be faithful to the original manuscript, preserving Audubon's original 

writing and style except where it would lead to misunderstanding. This fidelity allows 

Audubon's own voice to finally emerge and provides a fascinating look at his interests, 

drives, and opinions 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralMunn, Colin. Marine microbiology: ecology and 

applications. 2nd ed. Garland Science, 2011. 364p bibl index afp ISBN 0815365179 pbk, 

$85.00; ISBN 9780815365174 pbk, $85.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Public awareness of large-scale ecological processes has grown dramatically over the past 

decade, with most of the focus directed on the effects of global climate change. At the 

same time, advances in microbial and molecular techniques have led to an understanding 

of how the smallest living things on our planet are critical mediators of these global 

phenomena. Munn (Univ. of Plymouth, UK) presents an integrated approach to the 

understanding of marine microbes in this second edition of his textbook (1st ed., 2004), 

including new discoveries related to the role that microbes play in nutrient cycling and in 

mediating ecological change on a global scale. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralBaker, Simon. Microbiology, by Simon Baker, 

Caroline Griffiths, and Jane Nicklin. 4th ed. Garland Science, 2011. 352p bibl index; ISBN 

9780415607704 pbk, $40.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

As indicated by the authors, this new edition (3rd ed., 2007), part of the "BIOS Instant 

Notes" series, provides a concise summary of most major topics in microbiology, ranging 

from the 19th-century history of the subject to metabolism as well as industrial 

applications of microbes. In addition to bacteria, subjects include viruses, prions, and even 

some eukaryotic organisms. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralCarlson, Elof Axel. Mutation: the history of an 

idea from Darwin to genomics. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2011. 163p bibl index afp 

ISBN 1-936113-30-9, $55.00; ISBN 9781936113309, $55.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Carlson (emer., Stony Brook Univ.) presents the concept of mutation as it has evolved 

through decades of research. From Darwin's "fluctuating variations" to modern 

understanding of molecular genetics, the book takes readers through one theory after 

another to see how various scientists asked key questions in heredity and evolution. The 

book proves that current understanding of gene mutation did not develop overnight.



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Science & Technology \ Biology \ ZoologyStirling, Ian. Polar bears: the natural history of a 

threatened species. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2011. 330p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Research scientist Stirling (Canadian Wildlife Service; Univ. of Alberta), one of the world's 

leading authorities on polar bears, has produced this definitive new study. The beautifully 

designed book will attract a wide range of readers, including specialists. Stirling discusses 

polar bear origins and their life cycle, behavior, conservation, current status, and future 

prospects. Polar bears are, of course, dependent upon available prey species, particularly 

seals, but also walruses, narwhals, and beluga whales. Based upon his four decades of 

fieldwork in Arctic regions, Stirling confirms in detail that the world population of these 

bears has been declining and their prey are threatened, largely owing to earlier annual 

melting of snow drifts and underlying Arctic sea ice. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ BotanyWillmer, Pat. Pollination and floral ecology. 

Princeton, 2011. 778p bibl indexes afp ISBN 0-691-12861-8, $95.00; ISBN 9780691128610, 


The study of pollination ecology bridges multiple fields of biology, including anatomy, 

biochemistry, ecology, and evolution. This topic is also of general interest because of farreaching 

pollination effects on biodiversity conservation and agricultural production. In this 

accessibly written reference, Willmer (zoology, Univ. of St. Andrews, UK) provides a 

thorough, up-to-date review of floral biology and pollination. The first two sections of the 

book cover the structure and function of flowers, especially in relation to pollination. A 

third section discusses pollination syndromes, including a thoughtful discussion and review 

of the debate over a syndrome-based approach to pollination biology. A final section delves 

into pollination and floral ecology, concluding with a chapter titled "The Global Pollination 

Crisis," which discusses the current state of knowledge on this issue. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralWheater, C. Philip. Practical field ecology: a 

project guide, by C. Philip Wheater, James R. Bell, and Penny A. Cook. Wiley-Blackwell, 

2011. 362p bibl index; ISBN 9780470694282, $139.95; ISBN 9780470694299 pbk, $79.95; 

ISBN 9780470975060 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Although "field ecology" carries a last-century connotation, the "field" remains the main 

source of inspiration as well as the laboratory for testing ecological theories. The first 

chapter of this book covers selecting, designing, and implementing a field project. Novel 

components include legal aspects, and health and safety issues. Here, the British 

orientation of UK-based authors Wheater (Manchester Metropolitan Univ.), Bell 

(Rothamsted Research), and Cook (Liverpool John Moores Univ.) is a limitation. Chapter 2 

discusses site selection, surveying, and measuring physical variables. The third chapter 

addresses sampling static organisms (mainly plants). The largest chapter (4) provides brief 

descriptions of methods for sampling mobile organisms including direct and indirect 

observations, capture, marking, or counting techniques. It is very basic for the organisms 

(birds, fish) that this reviewer studies. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ ZoologyStolzenburg, William. Rat island: predators in 

paradise and the world's greatest wildlife rescue. 1st U.S. ed. Bloomsbury, 2011. 279p 

bibl index; ISBN 9781608191031, $26.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Rat Island is the story of the efforts of conservationists to rid a number of islands of 

invasive and destructive animals, using wholesale eradication measures. Islands, crucial 

battlegrounds in the fight for the preservation of biodiversity, contain 20 percent of bird, 

mammal, and reptile species, and account for 63 percent of extinctions since 

recordkeeping began. Primarily, the destruction is due to rats, guilty of enormous slaughter 

of indigenous wildlife. These rodents have traveled on ships for centuries; when finding the 

local island fare to their liking, they have been directly responsible for the extinction of 103



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species, according to one count. Other invaders--including cats, foxes, weasels, and pigshave 

been just as deadly, all introduced by humans, all over the globe. Journalist/writer 

Stolzenburg focuses on the efforts to eliminate rat populations on islands around New 

Zealand and in the Aleutians, where the largest eradications have taken place. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralDarnell, James. RNA: life's indispensable 

molecule. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2011. 416p bibl index afp ISBN 1-936113-19-8, 

$39.00; ISBN 9781936113194, $39.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Darnell (Rockefeller Univ.; member, National Academy of Sciences) has been at the 

forefront of molecular biology throughout his illustrious career. He leaves no stone 

unturned in this comprehensive but clear text, covering the myriad roles of RNA in gene 

expression and mechanisms of control of RNA processing. He also delves into various forms 

of evidence, including the microfossil record, to support a central role for RNA at life's 

genesis. The real value of this work, aside from its extraordinarily readable style, is that it 

covers the history of RNA biology from the early pioneers to the present. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralNowak, Martin A. SuperCooperators: altruism, 

evolution, and why we need each other to succeed, by Martin A. Nowak with Roger 

Highfield. Free Press, 2011. 330p bibl index; ISBN 9781439100189, $27.00; ISBN 

9781439110171 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

When grandma says be good to others, when religions ask people to forgive, or when 

elders advise the young to work with rather than against one another, it all sounds oldfashioned 

and contrary to the competitive spirit. But recently, psychology and empirical 

science have suggested that compassion, caring, and cooperation are not just old-time 

wisdom but have a sound scientific/evolutionary basis. Of the books written with this 

refrain, SuperCooperators is one of the most original in insights and penetrating in 

reflections. It highlights the need for altruism and cooperation and shows how that need is 

built into the framework of the physical world, even at molecular and cellular levels 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ ZoologyKnight, Andrew. The costs and benefits of 

animal experiments. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 254p bibl index; ISBN 9780230243927, 

$85.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Animal ethics is an emerging multidisciplinary field of study. This work is the latest volume 

in "The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series," which considers controversial issues from 

sociological, ethical, scientific, legal, religious, educational, and political perspectives. 

Knight (Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, UK), an Australian bioethicist, considers the ethical 

nature and scientific validity of animal use in education and biomedical research. Although 

he offers interesting discussion of alternatives to animal use in both teaching and research 

settings, he provides little justification that the predictive value of such alternatives--many 

of which require continued development and validation--will be any better than that of 

animal models currently in use. In some instances, such as recommendations for human 

stem cell testing, one ethically charged issue is merely exchanged for another. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralThe Essential naturalist: timeless readings in 

natural history, ed. by Michael H. Graham, Joan Parker, and Paul K. Dayton. Chicago, 2011. 

534p bibl afp; ISBN 9780226305691, $125.00; ISBN 9780226305707 pbk, $39.00. Reviewed 

in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Many of today's life sciences emerged from what have been called natural history writings. 

Here, many essays demonstrate significant insight into a particular group of animals or 

plants and focus on their occurrence, behavior, or specific aspects of their life history. This 

collection of almost 50 studies provides an often-intriguing view of how the authors 

examined and learned about parts of the fauna/flora of specific parts of the world. The 

authors include many of the most famous naturalists who laid the groundwork for later 

scientific investigations, e.g., Charles Darwin, Ernst Mayr, William Beebe, and Henry Bates.



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Most papers are from the 18th, 19th, and mid-20th centuries. Each of the book's sections, 

"Inspiration," "Exploration," "Initiation," "Intuition," and "Unification," is introduced by a 

modern-day biologist who places the individual papers in a historic framework. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralSmith, Cameron M. The fact of evolution. 

Prometheus Books, 2011. 346p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781616144418 pbk, $18.00; ISBN 


Evolution is about change, and change characterizes people's knowledge about how it 

works. New research, particularly in genomics, constantly hones this understanding. Thus, 

books such as The Fact of Evolution are important because they provide snapshots of very 

current scientific knowledge. Further, because there is still so much skepticism and even 

hostility toward evolution, there is an ongoing need for books written for nonscientists that 

can dispel some of its mystery and complexity. Smith (Portland State Univ.) tackles this 

challenge with genuine enthusiasm and a lively, readable style. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ BotanyThe New American landscape: leading voices on 

the future of sustainable gardening, ed. by Thomas Christopher. Timber, 2011. 255p bibl 

index ISBN 1-60469-186-7, $34.95; ISBN 9781604691863, $34.95. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

It may sound strange, but after reading this book, this reviewer felt that it seemed overdue. 

Written by a host of well-respected horticulturists, it addresses important and current 

topics of not only American horticulture but topics related to the environment and 

agriculture in general; untangling them is impossible, after all. The authors are an 

interesting blend of academics, prominent landscape horticulturists, nursery workers, and 

designers. They lead readers through a diverse discussion of how sustainability can enter 

and improve gardens. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralThe Theory of ecology, ed. by Samuel M. 

Scheiner and Michael R. Willig. Chicago, 2011. 404p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780226736853, 


This collection of papers is the fruit of a workshop held at the University of Connecticut, 

with authors commenting on one another's ideas. The book's introduction by Scheiner 

(National Science Foundation) and Willig (Univ. of Connecticut) provides a logical structure 

for ecological theory, explaining that a unified theory should be supported by constituent 

theories and models. The editors also explain how the sophisticated discipline of 

philosophy of science provides guidance for developing an understanding of the 

philosophical foundations of ecology. The volume is divided into 13 chapters by 21 authors 

who tackle theoretical aspects of foraging, niche, population dynamics, enemy-victim 

interactions, metacommunity, succession, island biogeography, ecosystem ecology, global 

change, and gradient theory. 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralHarper, David R. Viruses: biology, applications, 

and control. Garland Science, 2011. 324p index afp; ISBN 9780815341505 pbk, $95.00. 


Viruses, by Harper (AmpliPhi Biosciences), is a concise treatment of the molecular aspects 

of viruses that infect animals, with special emphasis on human pathogens. Topics 

addressed include virus structure, aspects of viral replication cycles, virus-host interactions, 

defense and control strategies, and methods for detecting and culturing viruses. A unique 

and important part of the text is a discussion of the beneficial uses of viruses. The 

illustrations are clear, simple, and effective. The "Key Concepts" section is successful in 

emphasizing the take-home messages for each chapter. Two appendixes contain examples 

of replication strategies employed by various types of viruses and a catalog of antiviral 

compounds. The writing is understandable, straightforward, and engaging, and should be



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accessible to students beginning to explore the discipline. A limitation is a lack of direct 

references to or examples from the primary literature. Use of the book as the primary text 

for an entry-level virology course would require substantial augmentation from other 

sources. Overall, a readable work best suited as an aid to students beginning to read 

primary virological literature 

Science & Technology \ Biology \ GeneralWork meets life: exploring the integrative study 

of work in living systems, ed. by Robert Levin et al. MIT, 2011. 249p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Levin (director, Center for the Integrative Study of Work, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder) and 

coeditors have compiled contributions from researchers with expertise in disciplines such 

as psychology, neurobiology, engineering, and business to provide several very different 

perspectives on the concept of work and the ways it is accomplished. All 

contributors/editors are affiliated in some way with the University of Colorado (Boulder) or 

the University of Cambridge (UK). Discussions in the book's nine chapters range from work 

at the biochemical level to work in ecosystem construction by living things.


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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborRigby, Rhymer. 28 business 

thinkers who changed the world: the management gurus and mavericks who changed the 

way we think about business. Kogan Page, 2011. 228p bibl index; ISBN 9780749462390 

pbk, $22.50; ISBN 9780749462406 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 


Through a series of short essays (none more then ten pages), British journalist Rigby 

profiles an eclectic group of 28 individuals he considers to be among the most influential 

contemporary business leaders. Rather than rehashing traditional biographical exposés, 

Rigby's vignettes provide a unique intimacy on the careers of the profiled persons. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborJackson, Brad. A very short, 

fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership, by Brad Jackson 

and Ken Parry. 2nd ed. SAGE Publications, 2011. 194p bibl index; ISBN 9781849207386, 

$79.95; ISBN 9781849207393 pbk, $22.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

This turbo-primer on leadership boils down to the very essence of what readers should 

know about leadership. The authors, both Australian academics, put leadership studies in 

context in the first chapter, "Introduction: Why You Should Study Leadership." Subsequent 

chapters present various perspectives (e.g., leader, follower, cultural or critical centered) 

on leadership. The authors cover major scholars and works in leadership (e.g., those by 

Richard Gardner, Barbara Kellerman) and summarize key issues, e.g., the emerging field of 

followership. Part of SAGE's "Very Short, Fairly Interesting" series (e.g., A Very Short, Fairly 

Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about International Business, by George Cairns and 

Martyna Sliwa, CH, Apr'09, 46-4537), this book will appeal to the harried reader wanting a 

concise, readable survey of leadership. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborHarford, Tim. Adapt: why 

success always starts with failure. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. 309p index afp ISBN 0- 

374-10096-9, $27.00; ISBN 9780374100964, $27.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Harford, the eminently readable "Undercover Economist" for The Financial Times and 

author of The Logic of Life (2008) and The Undercover Economist (CH, Oct'06, 44-1044), 

explains how taking a cue from evolutionary science can help solve daunting and complex 

modern problems. The sometimes uncomfortable thesis at the center of the book is that 

enabling bottom-up trial-and-error processes (akin to mutation and selection in biology) is 

often a more successful strategy for solving complex problems than relying on top-down 

grand plans or expert judgment. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborDaly, John A. Advocacy: 

championing ideas & influencing others. Yale, 2011. 387p index afp; ISBN 



When reviewing a book, this reviewer reads the book cover comments, which usually offer 

a glowing description of the work. The comments in this instance are highly accurate, 

describing this unique work on advocacy as "clearly written" and "vividly illustrated." These 

two comments set the tone of this review. Daly, a distinguished communications expert, 

has produced an exceptional study, which is comprehensive and well documented. And 

above all else, he maintains a sense of the practical. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborSheehan, Brian. Basics 

marketing: business and management skills. AVA Academic, 2011. 167p bibl index ISBN 

2940411514 pbk, $34.50; ISBN 9782940411511 pbk, $34.50. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Individuals wanting to learn more about marketing management will find this well-written 

handbook of value. Sheehan (Syracuse Univ.) extends the discussion about marketing


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management beyond the basic strategies often found in introductory books to consider 

issues managers may face in today's business world. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborMenkes, Justin. Better 

under pressure: how great leaders bring out the best in themselves and others. Harvard 

Business Review Press, 2011. 191p index afp; ISBN 9781422138700, $29.95. Reviewed in 


Menkes examines executive decision-making behavior from a psychological point of view 

and in doing so uses emotional intelligence as a foundational framework. More specifically, 

given the challenges and complexity that today's CEOs face, Menkes proposes a threedimensional, 

six-factor model based on his executive interviews and extensive research. 

Executives who perform well under significant pressure demonstrate realistic optimism and 

subservience to purpose, and they find order in chaos. In doing so, they maximize their 

potential and tap subordinates' need for accomplishment. Menkes characterizes realistic 

optimism as having an acute awareness of actual circumstances and a sense of agency. 

Subservience to purpose means putting the firm's mission ahead of personal needs and 

demonstrating affect tolerance, i.e., effectively managing emotions. Finding order in chaos 

means maintaining clarity of thought and being driven to solve the puzzle, i.e., being 

motivated to continuously learn and listen. Brief self-assessments that enhance the 

reader's understanding and numerous examples from Menkes's professional practice make 

this a worthwhile, practical read. While the book focuses on executive behavior, 

undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professionals holding any leadership 

position, will find they can apply the author's principles. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborHaig, Matt. Brand failures: 

the truth about the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time. [2nd ed.]. Kogan Page, 

2011. 242p bibl index; ISBN 9780749462994 pbk, $19.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This title has been reviewed jointly with "Brand Success: How the World's Top Brands 

Thrive and Survive," by Matt Haig. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborHaig, Matt. Brand success: 

how the world's top 100 brands thrive and survive. [2nd ed.]. Kogan Page, 2011. 296p 

bibl index; ISBN 9780749462871 pbk, $19.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

These two books offer a penetrating look into what makes the world's top brands flourish 

and what makes others miss the mark and crash. Each book is teeming with examples that 

are presented in very readable language. Perhaps the most valuable parts of the books are 

the "secrets of success" (for how and why top brands thrive) and the "lessons to be 

learned" (for what contributed to mistakes and failed brands). These pearls of wisdom are 

presented at the conclusion of each brand's history. Especially illuminating are the author's 

"seven deadly sins of branding" and the myths that are associated with failed brands. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborCracking the code: 

leveraging consumer psychology to drive profitability, ed. by Steven S. Posavac. M.E. 

Sharpe, 2012. 331p bibl indexes afp; ISBN 9780765629647, $99.95; ISBN 9780765629654 

pbk, $44.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Posavac (Vanderbilt Univ.) aims to help close the gap between marketing research and its 

practical application to the field. He claims that current research is deeply focused on 

science and adheres to the strict guidelines for publication, and much less so to the 

applicability of the content. As a result, much current marketing research has very limited 

practical relevance. Posavac addresses this issue by providing constructive advice regarding 

how to conduct such research in order to make it more pragmatic. He assembles a broad 

collection of works by various authors in an attempt to bridge the gap between theory and 

practice. These pieces cover diverse areas, including advertising research, branding, and 

consumer psychology, yielding results that can be applied instantly to contribute to a 

positive bottom line.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborKassing, Jeffrey. Dissent in 

organizations. Polity, 2011. 226p bibl index; ISBN 9780745651392, $64.95; ISBN 


In this clear, comprehensive look at dissent in organizations, Kassing (communication, 

Arizona State Univ.) takes care to dispel the myths about dissent and to include current 

examples from various workplaces, including manufacturing, health care, and the service 

sector. Instead of focusing on each context separately, the author explores dissent 

thematically for its potential benefit to organizations; the various ways dissent surfaces; its 

common triggers; the impact on the dissenter; and strategies to manage organizational 

dissent. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborEffectual entrepreneurship, 

by Stuart Read et al. Routledge, 2011. 228p bibl index; ISBN 9780415586436, $155.00; 

ISBN 9780415586443 pbk, $63.95; ISBN 9780203836903 e-book, contact publisher for 

price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

The authors of this excellent volume contend there is a science to entrepreneurship, and 

they adopt an expansive definition of the "common logic" of entrepreneurship. This 

"common logic" includes the following principles: start with your means; set affordable 

loss; leverage contingencies; form partnerships; and create opportunities. The text is 

nonlinear, in that it can be read sequentially or by three identified (and color-coded) 

tracks): "Practically speaking," stories that illustrate the breadth and depth of the 

entrepreneurial world; "Research roots," academic research on entrepreneurship; and 

"Roadmap," a series of actionable items at the close of each chapter. The graphics, 

organization, and multiple pathways through the text are designed for the digital native 

who might become restless with a traditional text 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborGlobalization and selfregulation: 

the crucial role that corporate codes of conduct play in global business, ed. by 

S. Prakash Sethi. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 298p bibl index; ISBN 9780230611559, $65.00. 


In highly competitive business environments, individual firms may feel forced to adopt 

vigorous, even aggressive, actions to survive and to prosper. Unfortunately, that can lead to 

behavior that is harmful to employees, to the environment, or to the social ambient. In 

extreme situations, that could well lead to legal regulation. One approach that may help to 

achieve an acceptable balance between aggressive and ethical behavior is voluntary selfregulation. 

This approach is thoroughly explored by editor Sethi (Baruch College) and seven 

other contributors. Emphasis is placed on global business 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborKalleberg, Arne L. Good 

jobs, bad jobs: the rise of polarized and precarious employment systems in the United 

States, 1970s and 2000s. Russell Sage Foundation, 2011. 292p bibl index afp; ISBN 


As the great recession grinds on, policy makers debate strategies for job creation. This 

timely study provides a lucid analysis of the issue and offers meaningful policy 

recommendations. Kalleberg (Univ. of North Carolina) begins by distinguishing "good jobs" 

from "bad jobs." Good jobs pay relatively well, offer opportunity for wage increases, 

include fringe benefits, give workers some autonomy and control, and guarantee a 

measure of security. Beginning in the 1970s, changes in institutional structures polarized 

labor markets and sharpened differences in job quality. The driving forces were globalized 

commerce, declining government regulation and protection, ideological preferences for 

individual action, and increasing union weakness. Consequently, says Kalleberg, "The 

balance of power shifted heavily away from workers and toward employers." Using this 

framework, Kalleberg examines the components of good jobs and documents the changes 

affecting American workers.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborRumelt, Richard P. Good 

strategy, bad strategy: the difference and why it matters. Crown, 2011. 322p index; ISBN 

9780307886231, $28.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This interesting, thoughtful, cutting-edge book by an outstanding researcher, professor 

(UCLA), and consultant is a major contribution to the strategy literature. Rumelt integrates 

all theories on strategy; explains what good and bad strategy is; why good strategy is the 

exception, not the rule; why there is so much bad strategy; the causes of bad strategy; and 

why most organizations do not have a strategy. The book clearly explains how to develop 

and implement a successful strategy, including the importance of transformational 

leadership; good thinking; determination; focusing on priorities and achievable objectives 

at the right time; coordination and teamwork in analyzing and developing policies; and 

specific actions. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborHandlin, Amy H. 

Government grief: how to help your small business survive mindless regulation, political 

corruption, and red tape. Praeger, 2011. 201p index afp; ISBN 9780313392597, $34.95; 


Handlin (New Jersey General Assembly representative; marketing professor, Monmouth 

Univ.) draws on her 20 years of political experience in this unique, insightful, and practical 

guide on dealing with the oversight, bureaucracy, and red tape that often characterize 

state and local governments. The book's eight succinct, easy-to-read chapters are divided 

into two parts: "What You Need to Know" and "What You Need to Do." Handlin provides 

constructive, step-by-step strategies that are sensitive to both businesses and 

governmental representatives. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborNothhaft, Henry R. Great 

again: revitalizing America's entrepreneurial leadership, by Henry R. Nothhaft with David 

Kline. Harvard Business Review Press, 2011. 193p index afp; ISBN 9781422158579, $26.95. 


Nothhaft (CEO, Tessera Technologies Inc.) provides an important work for entrepreneurs, 

innovators, and policy makers. He articulates well-researched arguments for improving job 

creation and revitalizing the American entrepreneurial spirit. By offering a practical 

approach to solving the formidable problem of encouraging startup job creation, Nothhaft 

shows a path toward America's economic resurgence. The book is timely, with 

contemporary examples, yet the advice given is timeless. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborKing, Eden. How women 

can make it work: the science of success, by Eden King and Jennifer Knight. Praeger, 2011. 

327p index afp; ISBN 9780313393099, $54.95; ISBN 9780313393105 e-book, contact 

publisher for price. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

King and Knight, organizational psychologists, aim to help young women (ages 20s-30s) 

succeed in organizations. Even today, many years after equal opportunity legislation, 

women do not reach the same organizational levels as men with comparable backgrounds 

and skills. Stereotypes still appear to influence many decisions. The authors describe 

problems women often encounter in the workplace and offer insights and numerous 

strategies for addressing them. They reference academic literature, reports in the popular 

press, and their own experiences, bringing them together in a commonsense, practical 

approach. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborPine, B. Joseph, II. Infinite 

possibility: creating customer value on the digital frontier, by B. Joseph Pine II and Kim C. 

Korn. Berrett-Koehler, 2011. 268p index afp; ISBN 9781605095639, $26.95. Reviewed in 


In this insightful book, management practitioners Pine (The Experience Economy, updated 

ed., 2011; CH, Dec'99, 37-2254) and Korn create a conceptual framework to help technical


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managers and product planners analyze opportunities for creating compelling customer 

experiences in the virtual world and for "using digital technology to create unique customer 

value." For managers who need to integrate new customer experiences into business 

models, the search for memorable disruptive innovations is unceasing. Within their threedimensional 

framework (time, space, and matter), the authors present eight types of 

opportunities to explain how to make and remake real and virtual customer product 

experiences beyond gaming. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborPerlin, Ross. Intern nation: 

how to earn nothing and learn little in the brave new economy. Verso, 2011. 258p bibl 

index; ISBN 9781844676866, $22.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Data from numerous interviews and scholarly, online, and popular press sources coalesce 

in this unique, critical examination of internships, mainly in the US. Internships grew 

approximately 35 percent from 1992 to 2008. Perlin, a journalist and former intern, claims 

that most unpaid/below-minimum-wage internships are unethical and illegal, and that 

desirable internships remain inaccessible without financial support. He contends 

internships lack clear language and definition in US labor law and consequently escape 

scrutiny, regulatory guidelines, and enforcement, negatively affecting work conditions in 

society at large. Perlin calls for resistance and reform, citing examples from the US, Canada, 

and abroad, and he recommends that US legislators adopt "The Intern Bill of Rights" (which 

appears in Appendix A) for protection and legitimization of interns/internships. Appendix B 

documents US laws/guidelines governing internships, and relevant UK and Canadian laws. 

Written in a nontechnical, expository, narrative style, this provocative book is reminiscent 

of Daniel Pink's Free Agent Nation (2002). It extends the literature and debate about 

contingent/contract/freelance workers as well as higher education, apprenticeships, 

vocational education, and school-to-work transition. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborLennick, Doug. Moral 

intelligence 2.0: enhancing business performance and leadership success in turbulent 

times, by Doug Lennick and Fred Kiel with Kathy Jordan. Prentice Hall, 2011. 296p index 

afp ISBN 0-13-249828-6, $25.99; ISBN 9780132498289, $25.99. Outstanding Title! 


This volume provides a necessary foundation in moral intelligence needed in today's 

business world. Media report numerous stories of business leaders and businesses failing 

because of a lack of moral intelligence. These failures have drastically altered community 

and consumer perceptions of business and leadership in general, and they cause problems 

for everyone involved, including an organization's employees. Readers of this book will gain 

an understanding of how their own personal success and that of an organization depend on 

four principles: integrity, responsibility, compassion, and forgiveness. The book is divided 

into three sections: "Moral Intelligence," "Developing Moral Skills," and "Moral 

Leadership." 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborLewis, Laurie K. 

Organizational change: creating change through strategic communication. Wiley- 

Blackwell, 2011. 299p bibl index (Foundations in communication theory, 2); ISBN 


The "stakeholder communication model of change" developed here posits that change 

proceeds through "activity tracks" of managing meaning ("What is going on?"); managing 

networks (monitoring participation in shaping relationships among stakeholders); and 

managing practice (actual activities to bring about change). Claiming that previous 

approaches to implementing change focus too heavily on implementation, Lewis posits that 

change cannot work until stakeholders recognize the factors that can facilitate change, 

agree that change is necessary, and convince decision makers to commit the necessary 

resources. The model, therefore, uses stakeholder analysis to determine appropriate



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communication strategies for achieving change. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborRoss, Howard J. 

Reinventing diversity: transforming organizational community to strengthen people, 

purpose, and performance. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 289p bibl index afp; ISBN 



Ross, a corporate consultant, discusses problems with diversity programs and offers advice 

on how to improve their success. Personal stories, quotes from senior managers, research 

studies, statistics, lists, and interviews dominate the book. Diversity programs often fail 

because employee attendance is mandatory and the success of such programs is ill defined. 

Diversity is viewed as a human resource issue to many employees. Ross advises that 

diversity programs should develop a sense of organizational inclusion in terms of decision 

making, responsibility, and leadership. The author's model requires a conscious shift 

affecting strategic planning, stakeholder development, organizational systems, and 

accountability. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborSage brief guide to 

corporate social responsibility. SAGE Publications, 2012. 274p afp ISBN 1412997224 pbk, 


This brief guide is an excellent summary reference work for practitioners, scholars, and 

students, and for courses with major corporate social responsibility (CSR) components. It 

can serve as a comprehensive background introduction to the topic as well. The book 

consists of a series of essays by several business scholars who explain key concepts in the 

area of social responsibility. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborSivulka, Juliann. Soap, sex, 

and cigarettes: a cultural history of American advertising. 2nd ed. Wadsworth Cengage 

Learning, 2012. 430p bibl index; ISBN 9781133311133 $76.95 pbk. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

Sivulka incorporates the many changes that have occurred in advertising since the first 

edition (1998) of this text, including how new media have altered advertising's creativity 

and production. Chapters are organized chronologically. The volume begins with a chapter 

on the printing press and its impact in the new world. Subsequent chapters address 

advertising practices from 1492 to 1880, 1880 to 1900, 1900 to WW I, the 1920s, the Great 

Depression and WW II, and the postwar years, 1945-60. The last four chapters focus on the 

modern period, examining the creative revolution in advertising, from 1960 to 1990, and 

the impact of technological changes on advertising and consumers since 1990, including 

more recent digital trends such as mobile devices and interactive media. Each chapter is 

filled with interesting examples of advertisements as well as information about individuals 

who played a major role in the development of advertising. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborBlakeman, Robyn. Strategic 

uses of alternative media: just the essentials. M.E. Sharpe, 2011. 261p bibl index afp; 

ISBN 9780765625557, $79.95; ISBN 9780765625564 pbk, $39.95. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

Blakeman (Univ. of Tennessee) discusses at length various traditional and alternative media 

used by advertisers and their advertising agencies. In addition, she provides information 

that will help readers make better decisions regarding which media should be used for 

advertising. Easy to read and understand, the book is divided into two parts, 

"Understanding Alternative Choices" and "Media Use: How Media Speaks to and Reaches 

the Target Differently." Blakeman's discussion of these topics is sound and thorough.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborRyan, Damian. The best 

digital marketing campaigns in the world: mastering the art of customer engagement, by 

Damian Ryan and Calvin Jones. Kogan Page, 2011. 210p index; ISBN 9780749460624 pbk, 

$29.95; ISBN 9780749460631 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

This book performs the invaluable service of featuring in one place 25 of the most 

successful international digital marketing campaigns. Among these top campaigns are 

Dockers' "pants dance," the Pizza Hut iPhone application, Star Trek, World Malaria Day on 

Twitter, and Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign (the 15 swing states). With the 

explosion of social media, Internet applications, and digital marketing, this collection 

provides a snapshot of best practices and the proverbial "state of the art." To assure "even 

playing field" comparisons, the authors (digital marketing specialists and authors of 

Understanding Digital Marketing, 2009) present each of the 25 case studies in a uniform 

template that facilitates side-by-side comparison of key factors: the challenge, campaign 

budget, target audience, action, and results. This breezy, well-organized, easy-to-read 

volume is the best summary of the development and application of social media to the 

marketing arena 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborSaad, Gad. The consuming 

instinct: what juicy burgers, Ferraris, pornography, and gift giving reveal about human 

nature. Prometheus Books, 2011. 374p index afp; ISBN 9781616144296, $25.00; ISBN 

9781616144296 e-book, $11.99. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Saad (business, Concordia Univ., Canada) approaches consumer behavior from a joint 

psychological and biological perspective in this book. He proposes that humans are 

genetically wired for consumption. Thus, he asserts that biological and evolutionary forces 

are equally important to the more traditional cultural approach toward understanding 

consumer behavior. Using evolutionary psychology as his grounding, he links four key 

Darwinian drives--survival, reproduction, kin selection, and reciprocity--to human 

consumption acts. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborEsty, Daniel C. The green to 

gold business playbook: how to implement sustainability practices for bottom-line results 

in every business function, by Daniel C. Esty and P. J. Simmons. Wiley, 2011. 440p index; 

ISBN 9780470590751, $27.95; ISBN 9781118010884 e-book, $27.95. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

Rather then dwelling on the case for sustainability, as most current books seem to do, 

these authors, in this sequel to their bestselling book Green to Gold, (CH, Feb'07, 44-3366), 

present a unique, practical strategy for adding organizational value and contributing 

positively to global welfare. The book's 23 well-written chapters are divided into six parts 

that describe how to build an eco-strategy, assess environmental risks, incorporate the 

strategy into all business functions, implement an action plan, and evaluate and report 

success. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborThe Nature of leadership, 

ed. by David V. Day and John Antonakis. 2nd ed. SAGE Publications, 2011. 597p bibl 

indexes afp; ISBN 9781412980203 pbk, $69.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Editors Day and Antonakis, both academicians, have teamed up to write the second edition 

of this valuable work. Their extensive literature review, designed to determine the most 

significant areas of leadership research, results in the organization of the volume into three 

major themes (parts 2-4), with contributions from more than 20 experts. The volume 

begins with an introductory chapter that defines leadership, provides an overview of the 

history of leadership research, highlights biological and evolutionary perspectives, 

delineates emerging issues, and summarizes the book's organization. Part 2, "Leadership: 

Science, Nature, and Nurture," includes four chapters addressing topics such as leadership



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research methods, leadership development, and neuroscience perspectives. Chapters in 

Part 3, "The Major Schools of Leadership," highlight differences among leadership, 

contingency/situational theory, transformation/charismatic leadership theory, 

followership, and shared leadership. Part 4, "Leadership and Special Domains," focuses on 

issues of culture, gender, identity, and ethics. The final chapter, by leadership guru Warren 

Bennis, addresses contemporary issues and future research. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborMetz, Adam. The social 

customer: how brands can use social CRM to acquire, monetize, and retain fans, friends, 

and followers. McGraw-Hill, 2012. 279p index; ISBN 9780071759182, $25.00; ISBN 


Social media and the ensuing social customer have had a profound effect on today's 

marketing. Metz, a social media consultant, provides an in-depth understanding of today's 

"social customer" and does so in an entertaining way. He presents guidelines for building 

loyal customers and provides a wealth of anecdotes and brief case studies that bring to life 

the power and reach of sound customer relationship management (CRM). Among the most 

compelling thoughts are the ten commandments of social CRM, one of which is to respect 

one's customers by determining their needs and wants and then delivering value and 

satisfaction. Metz notes that top management buy-in is crucial, however, and that the 

social CRM mission should be shared by all people in the organization. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborUnderemployment: 

psychological, economic, and social challenges, ed. by Douglas C. Maynard and Daniel C. 

Feldman. Springer, 2011. 317p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781441994127, $129.00. 

Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

As this volume reveals, underutilized skills, too little pay, and too few work hours take their 

toll on financial, social, and emotional well-being. Editors Maynard (SUNY, New Paltz) and 

Feldman (Univ. of Georgia) have compiled a set of multidisciplinary articles on the topic of 

underemployment, authored by international scholars. Chapters in part 1 discuss economic 

and behavioral science approaches to studying underemployment. Problems in measuring 

underemployment are clearly shown in the International Labour Organization 

measurement conventions. Human capital and relative deprivation are some of the 

behavioral theories covered. Part 2 investigates underemployment in various groups: 

young workers, older workers, women, immigrants, blacks, Hispanics, and contingent 

workers. These chapters also address continuing barriers to full employment, such as 

stereotyping. Part 3 focuses on the adverse effects of underemployment on physical and 

emotional health, family, work performance, and career development. For example, those 

who feel underemployed might not be motivated to work harder because it would only 

increase their sense of inequity. A final section examines future research areas related to 

underemployment. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborRobertson, Ivan. Wellbeing: 

productivity and happiness at work, by Ivan Robertson and Cary Cooper. Palgrave 

Macmillan, 2011. 224p bibl indexes; ISBN 9780230249950, $42.00. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

Engaged employees with a sense of well-being can provide organizational benefits such as 

high productivity, customer satisfaction, and lower illness-related absenteeism. Robertson 

(Leeds Univ., UK) and Cooper (Lancaster Univ., UK) provide a practical book based on 

considerable scientific evidence. The authors define well-being and employee engagement, 

and explain why they matter for organizations and individuals. They describe a strategic, 

model-based approach for helping organizations establish psychological well-being 

programs. Highlighting the final third of the book are nine case studies of well-being 

programs from organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, London Fire Brigade, and Mersey 

Care NHS Trust



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborBell, Chip R. Wired and 

dangerous: how your customers have changed and what to do about it, by Chip R. Bell 

and John R. Patterson. Berrett-Koehler, 2011. 248p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781605099750 


From the attention-getting cover to the "Flash Drive" section at the end, this book focuses 

attention on learning to collaborate with customers. Bell and Patterson (customer service 

consultants) explain that customers are "wired" in several senses of the word, and that 

"dangerous" refers to the economic threat to businesses from the viral spread of negative 

messages. Perhaps the most significant aspect of what Bell and Patterson help readers 

understand is that organizations and customers measure customer service differently. A 

business may have good scores based on the metrics it uses, yet find that customers 

perceive its service as lacking. The strategies the authors outline emphasize creating an 

emotional connection with customers that nurtures confidence and trust. They also 

emphasize the importance of honesty as a best practice. Their examples are concrete and 

their "tools" user-friendly.


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Science & Technology \ ChemistryBrimer, Leon. Chemical food safety. CABI, 2011. 

287p bibl index ISBN 1845936760 pbk, $75.00; ISBN 9781845936761 pbk, $75.00. 


Food safety is a growing public health concern and the focus of many policy efforts. 

Government agencies as well as public interest organizations want to develop 

sound scientific risk assessments to define exposure levels and health risks of 

substances found in food. Here, Brimer (Univ. of Copenhagen, Denmark) explores 

major global issues about food safety related to food production and processing. 

The book begins with an introduction to the multicultural nature of nutrition and 

food safety concerns, followed by a synopsis of modern food production and a 

description of food chemistry and the biology of human food metabolism. Next, 

the author presents current information on food safety regulations from around 

the world. This leads to a discussion of food risk assessments for naturally 

prepared and processed foods, including chemicals introduced into foods during 

agricultural production and the food manufacturing process. The book also 

discusses food additives and supplements 

Science & Technology \ ChemistryEuropean women in chemistry, ed. by Jan 

Apotheker and Livia Simon Sarkadi. Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 2011. 

239p bibl index afp ISBN 3527329560 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9783527329564 pbk, 


This book contains short biographical essays written by a variety of authors and, as 

demonstrated by other compilations about women in science, shows that although 

each story is unique, the tenacity, steadfastness, and determination of the women 

are recurring characteristics. These women inspired generations of students to 

study scientific principles, yet in many cases their accomplishments went largely 

unnoticed during their lifetimes, and only a few achieved high honors such as the 

Nobel Prize. The essays are organized chronologically and start with contributions 

to chemistry (or alchemy) by women who lived from the first to third centuries and 

continue to the present. The more recent essays are naturally more detailed and 

particularly poignant when the contributors describe the sacrifices these 

individuals made in order to study chemistry. They serve as a reminder that the 

quest for knowledge is a driving force that permeates politics, economics, and 

society. 

Science & Technology \ PhysicsYoung, F. Ronald. Fizzics: the science of bubbles, 

droplets, and foams. Johns Hopkins, 2011. 114p bibl index afp; ISBN 

9780801898914, $50.00; ISBN 9780801898921 pbk, $25.00. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

Fizzics is an entertaining, accessible book on the physics and the phenomenology 

of bubbles. Young (formerly, Watford Technical College, UK) walks the reader 

through a series of examples taken from daily life where bubbles play an important 

role. These range from bubbles in beer or champagne to bubbles in white water. 

The author does not rely on equations or abstract concepts; instead, he uses the 

examples to highlight the underlying principles. This approach makes the text 

accessible to general audiences, as well as high school and undergraduate students 

without a scientific background.



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Science & Technology \ PhysicsLewin, Walter. For the love of physics: from the end 

of the rainbow to the edge of time-- a journey through the wonders of physics, by 

Walter Lewin with Warren Goldstein. Free Press, 2011. 302p index; ISBN 



This biography/autobiography (written in the first person with the collaboration of 

Univ. of Hartford historian Goldstein) recounts the career of Lewin, the popular 

teacher of introductory physics at MIT. Lewin's physics lectures have become 

famous worldwide through the Internet, and the professor affected the learning of 

thousands of students of this basic subject in science. The book is about not only a 

charismatic teacher but also his research in the field of X-ray astronomy. Lewin and 

Goldstein cover the personal as well as the professional side of a physicist's life and 

growth both as teacher and researcher. 

Science & Technology \ ChemistryPozharskii, Alexander F. Heterocycles in life and 

society: an introduction to heterocyclic chemistry, biochemistry and applications, 

by Alexander F. Pozharskii, Anatoli Soldatenkov, and Alan R. Katritzky. 2nd ed. 

Wiley, 2011. 382p bibl index; ISBN 9780470714119, $145.00; ISBN 


As the challenges facing our modern world have evolved significantly over the 

nearly 15 years since the publication of this book's first edition in 1997, the 

understanding and exploitation of heterocyclic compounds to meet these 

challenges have also evolved. Pozharskii (Southern Federal Univ., Russia), 

Soldatenkov (Russian People's Friendship Univ.), and Katritzky (Univ. of Florida) 

highlight heterocycles as among the most important classes of molecules 

throughout history and into the future. The first six chapters introduce the 

structure, function, and biosynthesis of the myriad heterocycle-containing 

proteins, carbohydrates, enzymes, coenzymes, and nucleotides that comprise all 

living things, accompanied by thorough representations of the diverse 

biosynthetic, electron transfer, and other biochemical mechanisms in which they 

participate. The latter chapters focus on the widespread applications of 

heterocyclic compounds, exposing their biological mechanisms as 21st-century 

treatments for heart disease and sexual dysfunction, as well as their implication in 

pesticides, biotechnological assays, energy storage, molecular devices, and more. 

Science & Technology \ ChemistryLetters to a young chemist, ed. by Abhik Ghosh. 

Wiley, 2011. 298p index; ISBN 9780470390436 pbk, $39.95. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

As Stephen Lippard states in the foreword, this book is a valuable and essential 

resource for all chemistry teachers. It is also aimed at undergraduates, but high 

school chemistry students will find it useful as well. All 17 chapters were written as 

letters to a hypothetical college sophomore named Angela from the University of 

California at San Diego (UCSD), who has expressed an interest in chemistry 

research. It is unclear whether Angela is really a distinct person or whether the 

authors were encouraged to write from a range of perspectives from their 

association with UCSD or family members. If indeed Angela is a single hypothetical 

student, an original letter or e-mail should have been included. No matter; the 

letters are both entertaining and illuminating about the various fields of research. 

The authors, all prominent chemists, give histories both personal and related to



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their field of study along with descriptions of current and future research. 

Science & Technology \ ChemistryCooper, Caroline. Organic chemist's desk 

reference. 2nd ed. Taylor & Francis, 2011. 268p index afp ISBN 1439811644 pbk, 


This "desk reference" continues to evolve in its second edition (1st ed., 1995, by P. 

Rhodes and R. Purchase) to serve the changing disciplinary breadth of organic 

chemistry and the expanding knowledge base that students must assimilate. 

Conveniently organized by topic, this volume collects a wide range of experimental 

and chemical literature details that are often difficult to reference or retrieve, and 

consolidates them into a rich resource. The first two-thirds of this edition 

emphasizes fundamental concepts such as nomenclature (including ring systems) 

and literature competency; then the content changes to tabulated data covering 

spectroscopy, chemical properties, and compatibilities. The brief text that 

accompanies each topic is accessible to both undergraduate students and 

practitioners of overlapping scientific fields. 

Science & Technology \ PhysicsMalley, Marjorie C. Radioactivity: a history of a 

mysterious science. Oxford, 2011. 267p bibl indexes afp; ISBN 9780199766413, 


One of the best things about this excellent short history of radioactivity is the way 

Malley, a writer and former science and mathematics educator, portrays the 

development of ideas; she explains how eventually accepted ideas emerged from a 

sea of interesting but mostly wrong ones. Around a century ago, a small 

community of physicists and chemists in Europe and North America were 

fascinated by the mysteries of the newly emerging phenomenon of radioactivity. 

Pierre and Marie Curie, Ernest Rutherford, Frederick Soddy, and Stefan Meyer 

were among the most prominent and successful investigators of this new field. 

Henri Becquerel and the Curies shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for their 

work on radioactivity, beginning with Becquerel's 1886 accidental discovery of 

mysterious emanations from uranium. The Curies coined the term "radioactivity" 

and continued to investigate the rays from uranium and other materials. The story 

of radioactivity flows into the 1930s when radioactivity as a discipline was 

absorbed into the emerging fields of nuclear and particles physics. Malley places 

the scientific work on radioactivity within the culture and conflicts of the time. The 

volume is well illustrated with drawings and photographs. Six appendixes, including 

a glossary, and endnotes support the text 

Science & Technology \ PhysicsVignale, Giovanni. The beautiful invisible: creativity, 

imagination, and theoretical physics. Oxford, 2011. 303p index afp; ISBN 


Vignale (Univ. of Missouri--Columbia) has written a book on fundamental ideas in 

physics. His goal is to make these ideas accessible to readers who have little grasp 

of the terminology. For this purpose, he has eschewed mathematics in favor of 

arguments, but he falls short in this effort. Concepts such as fundamental particles, 

fields, and energy are abstractions that are crucial to the physicist in understanding 

the universe. Using metaphors and allegories from his favorite works of literature, 

the author discusses an array of difficult topics. In 12 engaging chapters, the book 

elucidates the meaning of physical laws and the role of relativity, duality in nature, 

symmetry, and the structure of matter.



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Science & Technology \ ChemistryThe Chemical element: chemistry's contribution to 

our global future, ed. by Javier Garcia-Martinez and Elana Serrano-Torregrosa. 

Wiley-VCH, 2011. 377p bibl index afp; ISBN 9783527328802, $34.50; ISBN 


This focus of this book is expressed by its subtitle; it does not deal with the 

chemical elements, as one might initially think. The individual chapters, written by 

international teams of authors, cover topics ranging from the traditional--water, 

energy, atmospheric changes, and green chemistry--to areas where the chemical 

contribution is often overlooked. This reviewer does have one concern: the editors 

suggest that one of their main goals is to "encourage the interest of young people 

in chemistry." This is an end much to be desired, but many chapters look backward 

at existing problems rather than forward toward exciting new areas for chemical 

research. In this respect the chapters on nontraditional topics, like poverty, food 

supplies, and economic development, are especially useful, but it would also be 

helpful to have separate chapters on topics like new materials, nanochemistry, 

biochemistry, and biofuels rather than just mentioning them in chapters on other 

subjects. The chapters are valuable summaries, but will be most accessible to 

readers with some chemistry background. The volume includes an excellent set of 

color illustrations. Overall, a useful resource for college libraries, especially for the 

coverage of material not normally related to chemistry 

Science & Technology \ PhysicsStenger, Victor J. The fallacy of fine-tuning: why the 

universe is not designed for us. Prometheus Books, 2011. 345p bibl index afp; 

ISBN 9781616144432, $28.00; ISBN 9781616144449 e-book, contact publisher for 

price. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

For almost 100 years, physicists have observed that if certain basic universal 

physical constants (such as the fine structure constant or the number of spatial 

dimensions) had different values, many phenomena would not be possible, and life 

might not exist. This notion, that these universal constants are so "fine-tuned" that 

even small changes would preclude life, has been taken by some to be an 

argument for the existence of God. Stenger (philosophy, Univ. of Colorado; emer., 

physics and astronomy, Univ. of Hawaii; God, CH, Aug'08, 45-6729) does not take 

on the job of disproving this notion. He instead provides a very good 

counterargument, pointing out that life would be possible for a wide range of 

parameters and that claims to the contrary just reflect a narrow view of life. The 

author's discussion of the fine-tuning thesis and the issues surrounding it is quite 

broad and written in a plainspoken fashion that physicists as well as general 

readers will find refreshing. The physics necessary for understanding the author's 

case is well presented, the references are very complete, and the index is quite 

good. 

Science & Technology \ PhysicsGrissom, Thomas. The physicist's world: the story of 

motion and the limits to knowledge. Johns Hopkins, 2011. 311p bibl index afp; 

ISBN 9781421400839, $70.00; ISBN 9781421400846 pbk, $30.00. Reviewed in 


The Physicist's World is an excellent book for any student who is interested in 

learning about what physics really is without needing any math more advanced 

than high school algebra. It is an outgrowth of a course that Grissom designed for 

undergraduate liberal arts students at The Evergreen State College. The author has


written a clear and succinct account of what physics fundamentally explains about 

the universe.


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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationBest practices in literacy instruction, ed. by 

Lesley Mandle Morrow and Linda B. Gambrell. 4th ed. Guilford, 2011. 492p bibl 

index afp; ISBN 9781609181789, $65.00; ISBN 9781609181789 pbk, $45.00. 


The title of this book gives readers a clear idea of its content. Editors Morrow 

(Graduate School of Education, Rutgers) and Gambrell (Clemson Univ.) have 

organized the book into short and succinct chapters that discuss a specific best 

practice with a relevance to the practicing classroom teacher. Part 1 of the book 

reports on general topics of comprehensive literacy instruction and balancing 

literacy instruction; part 2 reports on the best practices of early literacy, struggling 

readers, English-language learners, and adolescent literacy instruction. Part 3 

examines evidence-based strategies, and includes a particularly strong segment on 

writing by Karen Bromley. Part 4 was of particular interest as covers special issues, 

which includes developing topics in literacy, technology as it relates to reading, 

new literacies in literacy instruction, and professional development for literacy 

instruction. The book is an interesting read, especially part 4, and is recommended 

for literacy teachers of all skill levels. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationGarcía, Eugene E. Bilingualism and 

cognition: informing research, pedagogy, and policy, by Eugene E. García and José 

E. Náñez Sr. American Psychological Association, 2011. 242p bibl index ISBN 1- 

4338-0879-X, $69.95; ISBN 9781433808791, $69.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

This isn't the usual defense of bilingual education. García and Náñez have placed 

their attack on English-only mandates within the context of this question: What 

does neuropsychological and cognitive developmental research reveal about the 

cognitive benefits of second-language acquisition? Their conclusion is that the 

advantages are such that many of the ills besetting education in the US can be 

addressed if all students, rather than just bilingual students, had access to bilingual 

education. As a matter of fact, the authors make a solid case for the benefits of 

second-language acquisition, one that would stand on its own merits. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationLarson, Robert L. Changing schools from the 

inside out: small wins in hard times. 3rd ed. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 237p 

bibl index afp; ISBN 9781607095279, $60.00; ISBN 9781607095286 pbk, $29.95; 

ISBN 9781607095293 e-book, $29.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Larson (emer., Univ. of Vermont) effectively and conclusively enlightens policy 

makers, professors, school administrators, and change agent researchers by 

providing an exhaustive discussion of decades of research on change. The author 

reviews in great detail the variables and factors associated with success or failure 

in making change in public schools, including his most recent study on change in 

two high schools. Numerous ideas are explored, such as the realization that change 

is complex and complicated; there are problems associated with top-down change; 

schools need the collaborative efforts of all to make change succeed; and the 

essence of long-term meaningful change should be from the "inside out." The 

author's experience as a professor and researcher makes this is an excellent read 

for anyone interested in understanding the impact of meaningful and sustained 

change in America's public school system.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationMarsh, John. Class dismissed: why we 

cannot teach or learn our way out of inequality. Monthly Review, 2011. 255p 



Writing as an engaged public intellectual, Marsh (English, Pennsylvania State Univ.) 

argues that education, from preschool through graduate school, should not be 

viewed as a panacea for America's economic and social ills. Instead, he calls for a 

drastic decrease in poverty and inequality as a more potent elixir. Marsh marshals 

ample historical and empirical evidence to bolster his case--one he shares with 

such critics as Samuel Boyles and Herbert Gintis (Schooling in Capitalist America, 

1976) and Richard Rothstein (Class and Schools, CH, Sep'05, 43-0465; Grading 

Education, CH, Jul'09, 46-6339). Marsh's forceful, erudite treatment lays bare the 

fact that the US seems largely unwilling to change underlying social structures that 

sustain poverty and inequitable life chances. Though his thesis is not especially 

novel (see, for example, Christopher Jencks et al., Inequality: Reassessment of the 

Effects of Family and Schooling in America, 1972), the drumbeat of his important 

message needs to be amplified in a nation widely deaf to it. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationHong, Soo. Cord of three strands: a new 

approach to parent engagement in schools. Harvard Education Press, 2011. 246p 

index; ISBN 9781934742822, $49.95; ISBN 9781934742549 pbk, $29.95. Reviewed 


Against the backdrop of national concern about the varied challenges that urban 

schools face, Hong's book describes the exemplary case of the Logan Square 

Neighborhood Association (LSNA), based in a community on Chicago's northwest 

side. For almost two decades, the LSNA has driven educational change at the 

community and state level. Utilizing a multilayered ethnographic methodology, 

Hong (Wellesley College) presents a rich account of the LSNA's community 

organizing efforts targeted at improving schools, neighborhoods, and educational 

outcomes. The author provides strong evidence that when families, schools, and 

communities band together for a common purpose, as in the LSNA, they form a 

cord of three strands that is hard to break. Therefore, parents should be viewed as 

assets and not as deficits. Successful parent engagement includes induction, 

integration, and investment. The LSNA has a strong parent-mentors program based 

on trust and mutual appreciation between schools and families. Hong's work 

shows how immigrant, non-English-speaking parents can become leaders in 

schools and communities 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationEarly childhood intervention: shaping the 

future for children with special needs and their families: v.1: Contemporary 

policy and practices landscape; v.2: Proven and promising practices; v.3: 

Emerging trends in research and practice, ed. by Christina Groark with Steven 

Eidelman, Susan P. Maude, and Louise A. Kaczmarek. Praeger, 2011. 3v bibl index 

afp; ISBN 9780313377938, $154.95; ISBN 9780313377945 e-book, contact 

publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

This is one of the best sets of books in the area of early childhood special education 

(ECSE) that has come along in years. The three volumes were edited such that 

there is a seamless flow within and among books, and the contributing authors are 

some of the finest minds in the field of ECSE. Volume 1 has the traditional topics



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that readers would expect in a series such as this: historical perspectives, national 

and international policies and perspectives, and other topics that provide the 

justification for the existence of this field of study and practice. Volume 2 contains 

the nuts and bolts of how to establish an ECSE program, teaching methodologies 

and efficacy, and some insights on specific categories of exceptionality (e.g., 

autism, blindness, deafness, and mental illness) and why their uniqueness 

demands extraordinary interventions. Volume 3 presents an array of promising 

practices and future trends in the ECSE field, including the proliferation of 

technology, response to intervention, and emerging issues in professional 

development. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationGiroux, Henry A. Education and the crisis of 

public values: challenging the assault on teachers, students, and public 

education. Peter Lang, 2012. 129p bibl index afp (Counterpoints, 400); ISBN 


Multiple educational aims result in an infinite number of ways to understand how 

schools ought to work. Depending upon the educational aim(s) of the writer, 

corporations, teachers unions, a common curriculum, diversity, or some other 

factor may be seen as damaging or protecting public schools. Giroux (English, 

McMaster Univ., Canada) uses citizenship as an educational aim and sees big 

business, federal and private funding, charter schools, and colleges of education as 

factors that damage public schools. For Giroux, public schooling is a space in which 

democratic values are developed (e.g., civic courage, dissent, freedom, equality, 

and justice). The current model of public education, however, constricts the ability 

of teachers and students to practice these values. In order to highlight what he 

sees as the precarious state of public education in the US and its possible effects 

on generations of citizens, the book is structured as a series of eight essays in 

which Giroux considers both general notions (e.g., public and private funding and 

critical pedagogy) and specific cases (e.g., Arne Duncan's support of charter schools 

and the relationship between Michael Bloomberg and the New York public school 

system). 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationMartin, Jane Roland. Education 

reconfigured: culture, encounter, and change. Routledge, 2011. 240p bibl index; 

ISBN 9780415889629, $140.00; ISBN 9780415889636 pbk, $37.95; ISBN 


Martin (emer., philosophy, Univ. of Massachusetts, Boston), author of Changing 

the Educational Landscape (1994) and Reclaiming a Conversation (1985), aims to 

"reconfigure" education. Her primary insight is that education is an "encounter" 

between the culture and the individual. The chapter titles aptly reflect her point of 

view. She lays out her unified theory of education, its implications, and its 

applications in three sections of the same respective titles. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationDamon, William. Failing Liberty 101: how we 

are leaving young Americans unprepared for citizenship in a free society. Hoover 

Institution, 2011. 148p index afp; ISBN 9780817913649, $19.95; ISBN 

9780817913663 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Citizenship is multifaceted as an idea and in practice. Damon (senior fellow, Hoover 

Institution) considers what is at stake when the ideas and practices that ground 

citizenship, such as moral responsibility, civic participation, and personal sacrifice



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for the common good, are undermined in the spaces in which a child develops. 

Young people are sent mixed messages from the home, school, and through the 

media. The force and placement of these messages makes it less likely that 

children will understand their civic responsibilities as a foundation on which to 

build their adult lives and understand their responsibilities to self, others, 

community, and nation. This, according to Damon, leads away from an 

appreciation for and understanding of liberty and possibly towards nihilism. The 

ideas suggested in the book are supported by data from survey research. Interview 

data from young adults is also shared in order to bolster the book's claims. For 

Damon, citizenship requires opportunities for children to integrate what they 

experience as they develop a commitment to further their individual lives and the 

lives of those in the present and the future. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationHandbook of reading interventions, ed. by 

Rollanda E. O'Connor and Patricia F. Vadasy. Guilford, 2011. 436p bibl indexes afp 

ISBN 1-60918-151-4, $65.00; ISBN 9781609181512, $65.00. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

O'Connor (Univ. of California, Riverside) and Vadasy (Washington Research 

Institute) have put together a comprehensive, readable resource that puts the 

latest in research-based strategies for struggling readers into the hands of literacy 

practitioners. Building on the work of the Report of the National Reading Panel, 

this volume offers practical approaches to developing phonemic awareness, 

decoding skills, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationHandbook of special education, ed. by James 

M. Kauffman and Daniel P. Hallahan. Routledge, 2011. 810p bibl index; ISBN 

9780415800716, $295.00; ISBN 9780415800723 pbk, $114.95; ISBN 


This beautifully written, well-edited handbook is a summary of research findings, 

best practices, and legal precedents that explores special education as a field and a 

general enterprise. Organized into 13 sections, the book explores critical 

information and controversial issues in a single volume. It is intended to be a 

reference volume and is presented as such. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationTyson, Karolyn. Integration interrupted: 

tracking, black students, and acting white after Brown. Oxford, 2011. 222p bibl 



Although some authorities contend that African American culture pushes black 

students toward school failure, Tyson (sociology, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel 

Hill) believes school officials cause the problem when they separate students 

according to ability or achievement into low- or high-track courses. To prove her 

point, Tyson draws on four ethnographic studies in which she participated or that 

she undertook independently from 1996 to 2004. From this research, she tried to 

determine two things: how the students perceived their choices and what 

influenced their decisions. In the book's four chapters, Tyson critically analyzes 

several descriptions of the African American culture. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationEgan, Kieran. Learning in depth: a simple 

innovation that can transform schooling. Chicago, 2011 (c2010). 220p bibl afp; 

ISBN 9780226190433, $25.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE.


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The scope and sequence of the academic curriculum--that is the breadth versus 

the depth of subjects taught and learned--have fueled myriad debates. The public 

school curriculum in North America has almost always defaulted to superficial 

surveys of subject matters. Iconoclastic educational theorist Egan offers the 

audaciously simple (and radical) proposal that students study the usual curriculum, 

but starting with the first days of school and continuing through graduation, that 

they also study one topic in depth. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationLearning science through computer games 

and simulations, ed. by Margaret A. Honey, Margaret L. Hilton, and the National 

Research Council of the National Academies. National Academies Press, 2011. 

161p bibl afp; ISBN 9780309185233 pbk, $39.00; ISBN 9780309185240 e-book, 

contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Correctly asserting that science education in the US is uneven at best, this timely 

and informative publication of the influential National Research Council of the 

National Academies offers a cognitive science, research-based perspective on the 

use of simulations and computer games to enhance and improve opportunities for 

learning. Drawing on the expertise of individuals from a wide spectrum of 

educational and commercial perspectives, who met at a recent workshop to 

explore the connections between learning theory and gaming/simulations, this 

publication offers a comprehensive yet concise snapshot of the field. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationAnyon, Jean. Marx and education. 

Routledge, 2011. 117p bibl index; ISBN 9780415803298, $125.00; ISBN 

9780415803304 pbk, $31.95; ISBN 9780203829615 e-book, $31.95. Reviewed in 


The ideas of Karl Marx have served as an important interpretive lens for scholars in 

education. Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintes's Schooling in Capitalist America 

(1977) introduced a new generation of teachers and researchers to Marx's ideas. 

This influence continued with the work of Michael Apple, Henry Giroux, and Anyon 

(Graduate Center of the City University of New York). In this modest volume, 

Anyon provides a clear explanation of the tremendous scope and influence of Marx 

on educational practice and policy. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationDyrness, Andrea. Mothers united: an 

immigrant struggle for socially just education. Minnesota, 2011. 254p bibl index 

afp; ISBN 9780816674664, $69.00; ISBN 9780816674671 pbk, $22.95. Reviewed in 


This unflinching work follows the story of five Latina mothers as they struggle to 

establish a new small school in California to combat the educational inequities 

found in the Oakland public school system. The narrative reveals the backstory of 

this effort at education reform to illustrate the mechanisms that make reform 

happen. This backstory employs an ethnographic narrative to describe the 

endeavors of these women to right the injustices that they saw in the public 

education system. It is in the subtext of this narrative that the work moves beyond 

educational reform to the power of feminist ideology and cultural determination. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationHalstead, Jeff. Navigating the new 

pedagogy: six principles that transform teaching. Rowman & Littlefield Education, 

2011. 151p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781610480239, $40.00; ISBN 9781610480246 

pbk, $21.95; ISBN 9781610480253 e-book, $21.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE.


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In a world where there is increasing scrutiny of teachers, here is another book that 

states the obvious: it is the teacher's place to inspire, interest, and facilitate 

student learning. How this book differs from so many others is that the author, 

Halstead, has written a simple guide to achieving stellar results. From the first page 

to the last, Halstead opens the door to a fun and active learning classroom 

environment. Through specific description, thinking activities, and teaching 

modalities, he gives example after example of ways to transform subject matter 

into relevant, current, and real-life experience. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationSpotlight on technology in education, ed. by 

Nancy Walser. Harvard Education Press, 2011. 122p bibl (Harvard Education 

Letter spotlight series, 7); ISBN 9781934742907, $39.95; ISBN 9781934742891 pbk, 


This collection of short essays is founded on the premise that "it's no longer a 

question of whether technology is affecting education, but rather how and how 

much." In the foreword, Will Richardson, a leader on Web tools in the classroom, 

comments that this book offers "an exceedingly well-rounded launching pad ... as 

we begin to more fully imagine where we can go as learners with these new 

globally networked technologies." Editor Walser (editor, Harvard Education Letter) 

predicts that "technology may hold the key to important breakthroughs in both 

policy and practice." With chapters on "how to help middle school students avoid 

getting tangled up in the web" while researching, "how blogs, wikis, and podcasts 

are changing the classroom," mobile computing in the classroom, teaching 21stcentury 

skills, video games for encouraging students to learn and to achieve on 

tests, computer-based accountability and more effective testing, laptop programs, 

distance learning and blended schooling, and online professional development, 

this book provides an overview of the potential for educational technology in the 

second decade of this century 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationDrew, David E. STEM the tide: reforming 

science, technology, engineering, and math education in America. Johns Hopkins, 

2011. 242p index afp ISBN 1-4214-0094-4, $35.00; ISBN 9781421400945, $35.00. 


STEM, an acronym familiar to those in science education, represents the fields of 

science, technology, engineering, and math. Ever since Sputnik's launch in the 

1950s, the US has attempted to enrich the science awareness of the public and to 

direct students to enter these fields. As technology increasingly invades the 

environment and controls everyone's lives, it becomes ever more urgent that more 

of today's youth be competent in these disciplines to ensure the future as a global 

economic power. Education professor Drew (Claremont Graduate Univ.; Aptitude 

Revisited, CH, Jan'97, 34-2873) points out that science education in this country is a 

catastrophe. While describing the disastrous deficiencies of US science education, 

the author is nonetheless optimistic that various reforms can reverse the current 

mediocrity. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationKolis, Mickey. Student relevance matters: 

why do I have to know this stuff?. Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2011. 143p 


ISBN 9781607099178 e-book, $21.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE.


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Kolis (Univ. of Wisconsin, Eau Claire) has written an enlightening, thoughtprovoking 

book for educators who believe in student-centered teaching. He 

presents ideas about how to develop discipline-specific lessons that connect the 

classroom to the "real world." Many of today's secondary students are interested 

only in the actual purpose of education; they want to know how this knowledge 

will help them in college and in the professional world. Kolis inspires teachers to 

create lessons that challenge young learners to think critically and to look beyond 

the classroom. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationSchiering, Marjorie S. Teaching and learning: 

a model for academic and social cognition, by Marjorie S. Schiering, Drew Bogner, 

and Jorun Buli-Holmberg. Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2011. 322p bibl afp; 


9781610484282 e-book, $35.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

In part 1 of this book Schiering and Bogner (both, Molloy Univ.) and Buli-Holberg 

(Univ. of Oslo, Norway) present their learning and teaching model to the reader, 

which includes a combination of memory, cognition, comprehension, learning, 

teaching perspectives, beliefs, and value systems. The authors define teaching and 

learning and indicate that learning is a result of memory, cognition, and 

metacognition that impacts comprehension. They indicate the importance of 

combining learning and teaching through a theoretical perspective. Readers learn 

the SOW (sociology of the world) model, as well as REAP (religion, economics, 

academics, and politics), and reflection. The authors present two interior 

components that are central, namely, societal realities, belief and value systems. 

Furthermore, they state that these are areas of commonality within all cultures. 

Part 2 of the book provides practical applications of the model. It is worth noting 

that there are three appendices written to add clarification and/or extended 

information on initially addressed topics in the book. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationDrury, Darrel. The American public school 

teacher: past, present & future, by Darrel Drury and Justin Baer. Harvard 

Education Press, 2011. 326p index ISBN 1-934742-91-0, $39.95; ISBN 


Drury and Baer (both, National Education Association) have collected 

commentaries from 17 scholars, business leaders, and policy makers who were 

invited to respond to a prompt about the nature of public school teaching. Among 

the commentaries is a call for greater coherence in standards for teacher training 

from the former president of the National Board for Professional Teaching 

Standards, Joseph Aguerrebere. The founder of a computer manufacturing firm, 

Michael Dell, explains how technology might help teachers focus on each student's 

needs. US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan describes some policy changes that 

could help teachers work effectively. The president of the American Federation of 

Teachers, Randi Weingarten, explains why teachers should influence school 

reform. After each commentary, the editors place an essay from a classroom 

teacher. For example, following Weingarten's piece is a description of a project a 

fifth-grade teacher joined with her colleagues to help students who speak English 

as a second language. Interested readers could consult Mark A. Smylie and Debra 

Miretzky, eds., Developing the Teacher Workforce (2004) or Linda Darling- 

Hammond et al., eds., Preparing Teachers for a Changing World (2005).



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationBabbage, Keen. The dream and the reality of 

teaching: becoming the best teacher students ever had. Rowman & Littlefield, 

2011. 165p afp; ISBN 9781610480178, $50.00; ISBN 9781610480185 pbk, $24.95; 


Babbage, an experienced educator and author of 13 books about teaching and 

school administration, steers prospective teachers through a maze of issues 

concerning the profession they are about to enter. Even a veteran teacher will find 

the book reassuring, supportive, and encouraging as the hard work of teaching is 

explored. Hints and helpful tips are discussed in an easy-to-read format so that the 

reader is clear about the aspects of teaching that are to be expected and those 

that are not. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationOkun, Tema. The emperor has no clothes: 

teaching about race and racism to people who don't want to know. Information 

Age, 2010. 181p bibl; ISBN 9781617351051, $85.99; ISBN 9781617351044 pbk, 

$45.99; ISBN 9781617351068 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 


This book explores the continuing issue of racism in the US. Okun (National-Louis 

Univ.) believes that cultural change is possible and sees the classroom as a 

promising setting for this effort. Her years of experience with teachers, facilitators, 

and activists have yielded an approach based on "stages in a process of 

relationship-building, analysis, planning, action, and reflection." She shares a 

pedagogy designed to engage participants through these stages. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationJackson, Yvette. The pedagogy of 

confidence: inspiring high intellectual performance in urban schools. Teachers 

College Press, 2011. 194p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780807752241, $62.00; ISBN 


Jackson (chief executive officer, National Urban Alliance for Effective Education) 

presents the pedagogy of confidence as an approach to education that seeks to reenvision 

the pedagogy of minority education and deconstruct the perceptions, or 

rather misperceptions, related to under-performing students and schools as well as 

the often misunderstood factors that perpetuate the achievement gap. In this 

context, much of the book is framed around Reuven Feuerstein's theories of 

learning--specifically variations in cognitive processing among minority students. 

What Jackson puts forth is a model for understanding achievement declines in 

minority students by actually drawing parallels to higher performing gifted 

students 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationGardner, Howard. Truth, beauty, and 

goodness reframed: educating for the virtues in the twenty-first century. Basic 

Books, 2011. 244p index afp ISBN 0-465-02192-1, $25.99; ISBN 9780465021925, 


Psychologist Gardner (Harvard Graduate School of Education) is renowned for his 

research on mind and multiple intelligences (Multiple Intelligences, CH, Oct'93, 31- 

1214). Much of his work has been theoretical, but here he reflects on the 

continued cultural relevance of the classic concepts of truth, beauty, and goodness 

and suggests how education can aid their development. Today these virtues are 

endangered by postmodern thinking and powerful digital media. Gardner 

examines each of the virtues from a multidisciplinary perspective, considering their



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past and current status and how they are challenged by the new forms of thought 

and technology. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationRios, Francisco. Understanding multicultural 

education: equity for all students, by Francisco Rios and Christine Rogers Stanton. 

Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 137p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781607098614, $50.00; 

ISBN 9781607098621 pbk, $24.95; ISBN 9781607098638 e-book, $24.95. Reviewed 

in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Using the metaphor of a house, Rios (Univ. of Wyoming) and Stanton (Montana 

State Univ.) lead educators in understanding multicultural education. In the 

metaphor, the "town" is the broader context of multicultural education within 

schools and communities; the "streets" are the principles, frameworks, and 

theories of multicultural education; the "walls" are resistance, barriers, and 

oppression of multicultural education; the "living room" stands for the 

conversations and collaboration; the "kitchen" represents the myths and 

misconceptions; the "rooftop" stands for promising practices and future directions; 

and the "tool shed" is resources. Rios and Stanton's well-written book defines, 

clarifies, and discusses the underlying issues of multicultural education that are 

often overlooked within the current educational system. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationTempleton, Beth Lindsay. Understanding 

poverty in the classroom: changing perceptions for student success. Rowman & 

Littlefield Education, 2011. 137p bibl afp; ISBN 9781610483636, $30.00; ISBN 



Today's teachers face the challenge of growing numbers of children of poverty in 

schools. Templeton provides suggestions to maximize the schooling experience of 

these students. Their success in school is largely dependent upon an informed, 

nurturing faculty armed with a realistic understanding of students, their 

instructional needs, and an array of practical teaching strategies. Because the life 

experience of these students differs drastically from that of their teachers and 

classmates, common misunderstandings abound. For example, fulfilling homework 

can become impossible for students who are homeless or who live in a crowded, 

multifamily setting. A teacher may suspect low mental capacity in a student unable 

to answer a question like "What's your shoe size?," unaware that the student has 

worn only shoes that were found or given to her. Teachers adapt everyday 

interactions, like giving directions, to help students develop sequential skills by 

dividing tasks into components and providing students with something concrete 

(e.g., a sticky note) delineating each part. They can provide cues so that students 

who live with uncertainty can learn to identify when a lesson actually begins. This 

book provides teachers a much-needed resource to address the increasing amount 

of child poverty in schools. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationGraeber, Anna O. Upper elementary math 

lessons: case studies of real teaching, by Anna O. Graeber, Linda Valli, and Kristie 

Jones Newton. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 178p bibl index afp; ISBN 

9781442211964 pbk, $19.95; ISBN 9781442211971 e-book, contact publisher for 

price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE.


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Interest in improving the mathematics proficiency of US schoolchildren continues 

to build, as evidenced by many states' recent adoption of the Common Core State 

Standards. While many works address the theoretical and practical underpinnings 

needed to deliver exemplary math instruction, few explore how this looks in 

practice. To meet this need, Graeber (emer., Univ. of Maryland), Valli (Univ. of 

Maryland), and Newton (Temple Univ.) have written a collection of case studies. 

Each chapter provides a case study that explores a range of subject matter as 

delineated by standards, a variety of pedagogical approaches, and a mixture of 

instructor experience levels and learning settings. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationBurkhardt, Sally E. Using the brain to spell: 

effective strategies for all levels. Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2011. 292p bibl 

index afp; ISBN 9781607096986, $65.00; ISBN 9781607096993 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 


Burkhardt states that understanding the developmental nature of spelling 

acquisition, as well as the memory processes of the brain, leads one to realize that 

spelling acquisition will be slow and often imperceptible; children will not 

demonstrate spelling and language improvement over short periods. Therein lies 

the fallacy of most, if not all, spelling programs regardless of age level. This 

reviewer, a former teacher and current methods instructor, has always lamented 

to students that spelling is the one area that is not taught well. Burkhardt has now 

changed this reviewer's mind about the practical application of spelling using the 

brain. This book is engaging, sensible, and accessible while at the same time based 

in theory and practice. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationSquire, Kurt. Video games and learning: 

teaching and participatory culture in the digital age, by Kurt Squire with Henry 

Jenkins. Teachers College Press, 2011. 251p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780807751992, 


This volume is an outstanding addition to the growing number of books advocating 

video games in education. Accessible and informative about techniques of playing 

and designing educational video games, the book offers valuable accounts of using 

games with low-achieving students. Squire (Univ. of Wisconsin) is both 

educationally and technically astute. The combination of theory and personal 

experience absorbs the reader on a number of levels. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationWhite teachers, diverse classrooms: creating 

inclusive schools, building on students' diversity, and providing true educational 

equity, ed. by Julie Landsman and Chance W. Lewis. 2nd ed. Stylus Publishing, 


pbk, $29.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

The second edition of White Teachers, Diverse Classrooms adds seven essays to 14 

of the original chapters. In the first edition (CH, Feb'07, 44-3413), the editors 

selected essays about pedagogical methods that might close the achievement gap 

between white and African American students. Although the editors claimed that 

the same techniques would help all students, the new edition contains seven 

articles describing approaches for teachers working with Latino, Asian, or Native 

American students. Suggestions borrowed from the first edition include the claims 

that teachers should help students of color combat inequity and that teachers 

should recognize the cultural biases in the traditional curriculum.


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Science & Technology \ Health SciencesLoue, Sana. "My nerves are bad": Puerto 

Rican women managing mental illness and HIV risk. Vanderbilt, 2011. 216p bibl 



Loue (Case Western) details the results of a study funded by the National Institute 

of Mental Health of 53 Puerto Rican women with severe mental illness residing in 

six counties of northeastern Ohio. Her goal is to better understand their daily lives 

and struggles, along with their HIV risk and its context. As Loue notes, this topic is 

important because the HIV prevalence rate among Hispanic women is four times 

higher than among non-Hispanic white women. Loue uses ethnographic methods 

to interview the women and follow them in locations including home, community, 

churches, and clinics. The book is divided into chapters on topics including the 

meaning of mental illness (major depression, bipolar illness, or schizophrenia) to 

the women themselves, employment and living conditions, and relationships. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesBioethics around the globe, ed. by Catherine 

Myser. Oxford, 2011. 294p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780195386097, $49.95. 


In her first effort as editor, Myser (Florida Atlantic Univ.) brings together the 

diverse contributors needed for an ambitious book. This volume defies easy 

categorization: it includes history, sociological and anthropological analysis, and 

philosophical reflection. In this way, it reflects the contours of bioethics as a field-interdisciplinary 

almost to a fault. The text is written with minimal jargon, and 

those without training in sociology or anthropology will find it approachable. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesKwabi-Addo, Bernard. Cancer causes and 

controversies: understanding risk reduction and prevention, by Bernard Kwabi- 

Addo and Tia Laura Lindstrom. Praeger, 2011. 241p bibl index afp; ISBN 



Cancer researcher Kwabi-Addo (Howard Univ.) and writer Lindstrom have 

authored a useful work geared to general readers. The introduction provides an 

excellent overview of the history and causes/effects of cancer from a biological 

perspective. The remainder of the book is divided into two sections. The first 

section contains chapters on individual cancers, and provides a synthesis of current 

research concerning the causes and risk factors; the second section includes 

chapters on behaviors affecting cancer risk and controversial risk factors and 

treatments. The authors give solid overviews and understandable presentations of 

the scientific evidence related to reducing risk. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesChild and adult care food program: aligning 

dietary guidance for all, ed. by Suzanne P. Murphy et al., Institute of Medicine of 

the National Academies. National Academies Press, 2011. 296p index CD-ROM 

ISBN 0309158451 pbk, $48.00; ISBN 9780309158459 pbk, $48.00. Reviewed in 


A previous USDA report, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 (CH, Oct'11, 49- 

0615), generated increased public and government attention amid continuing 

reports of a rise in obesity. The editors of the current report, who have extensive 

backgrounds in nutrition education and government food assistance programs,



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indicate that despite this concern, federally sponsored school lunch programs and 

foods served to children and adults in day care facilities do not receive enough 

attention. Murphy (Univ. of Hawaii), committee chair, has stated that the 

guidelines must be realigned to conform to the latest recommendations for other 

federal meal programs. Committee members acknowledge increased program 

costs due to the greater variety of healthful foods provided. Their 

expertise/credentials are very important for recommendations to be implemented. 

The report is extremely thorough and clear, and each section has an extensive, up- 

to-date list of references. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesInstitute of Medicine of the National 

Academies. Climate change, the indoor environment, and health. National 

Academies Press, 2011. 272p bibl ISBN 0309209412 pbk, $49.50; ISBN 


The Institute of Medicine (IOM), the biomedical arm of the National Academy of 

Sciences, typically grapples with complex problems at the interface of multiple 

disciplines. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested IOM to 

benchmark the state of the science of health effects from indoor air quality 

influenced by climate change. More than most IOM publications, this synthesis 

relies on modeled predictions of a future fraught with uncertainty. The report 

begins with introductory and background information and government 

involvement in this issue. Reviews of air quality and pollutants, moisture and mold, 

infectious agents and pathogens, thermal stress, and ventilation and energy use 

follow. The concluding chapter lists "key findings" and presents recommendations. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesWicclair, Mark R. Conscientious objection in 

health care: an ethical analysis. Cambridge, 2011. 252p bibl index; ISBN 


CHOICE. 

With increasing frequency, health care workers are finding conscience-based 

reasons for limiting the scope of their practices. As physicians, nurses, pharmacists, 

and others grapple with the moral implications of emerging medical technologies, 

procedures, and medications, the need grows for guidelines by which to make 

rational decisions regarding patient care. Wicclair (West Virginia Univ.) offers this 

much-needed guidance. His book moves well through the highly technical 

literature, but the focus is always clear: this is solid ethical theory with palpable 

real-world case studies and policy implications 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesPauley, Judith Ann. Establishing a culture of 

patient safety: improving communication, building relationships, and using 

quality tools, by Judith Ann Pauley and Joseph F. Pauley. ASQ Quality, 2012. 176p 

index afp ISBN 0873898192 pbk, $30.00; ISBN 9780873898195 pbk, $30.00. 


Communication experts/educators Judith Pauley and Joseph Pauley (both, Process 

Communications) focus on the very important and much talked about issue of 

patient safety. They assert that communication plays an important part in assuring 

good patient outcomes. Specifically, poor and/or ineffective communication styles 

can cause emotional responses that lead to patient care errors. This work identifies 

six personality types and details how individuals with each personality type 

communicate, miscommunicate, and respond to each other. The book contains



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specific strategies for people with each personality style to improve their 

communication with patents and other health care professionals 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesStone, Robyn. Long-term care for the elderly. 

Urban Institute Press, 2011. 161p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780877667704 pbk, 


This book by Stone, a health care research executive, will serve health and human 

services staff as a valuable introduction to the field of socially applied gerontology. 

This slim volume provides readers with vignettes of situations commonly affecting 

adults and their families and communities, along with operating definitions and 

informative discussions of several demographic factors impacting the elderly: cost, 

caregivers, and quality of care in 24-hour facilities. From the sociopolitical 

perspective, Stone examines long-term care as the newest phenomenon affecting 

society. The author examines fundamental questions concerning who will need 

care, who will pay, and who will deliver services. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesPatients as policy actors, ed. by Beatrix 

Hoffman et al. Rutgers, 2011. 309p index afp; ISBN 9780813550503, $75.00; ISBN 


Many books on ordinary people who hope health care might become responsive to 

their needs talk around the subject with theoretical or idealistic agendas. This is 

not so with this valuable, timely book. The documentation of ways activism has 

succeeded and exposition of the problem's scope/depth provide a balanced 

account. It is a guide to developments in the field, critical with the new federal 

health care law soon to become fully operational. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesPublic health ethics: key concepts and issues 

in policy and practice, ed. by Angus Dawson. Cambridge, 2011. 239p bibl index; 


Public health ethics is a branch of bioethics focusing on ethical questions that 

emerge when addressing the health of populations, as opposed to those that arise 

when examining individual relationships between a patient and a provider. While 

the discipline of bioethics has already addressed these issues, it is more recent that 

they are explored under the name of "public health ethics." This work may 

therefore be considered an introduction to a new field. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesHadler, Nortin M. Rethinking aging: growing 

old and living well in an overtreated society. North Carolina, 2011. 250p index 

afp; ISBN 9780807835067, $28.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

All Americans over the age of 45 as well as health care providers and political 

leaders should read this book. Hadler (UNC Chapel Hill; Stabbed in the Back, CH, 

Apr'10, 47-4451) reflects on aging and death/dying within the American health 

care culture, based on his research and years of clinical experience. He challenges 

many actions society takes to enhance longevity and provide health care to this 

population. Hadler feels the system encourages overtreatment, the medicalization 

of too many normal problems of daily living, and the use of advanced technology 

before fully understanding value and costs. Too often the system serves the needs 

of the special interests, including providers, over that of patients. Further, the



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media hype the latest risk or miracle without perspective to a public not prepared 

to assess this information; this includes exaggerated marketing claims for 

pharmaceuticals and health interventions and presentations by spokespersons 

lacking adequate knowledge about their topics. In fact, the real gains in life-span 

that have occurred over the past 100 years have been more related to behavior 

changes and public health policies than to the heath care system. Hadler provides 

useful insights into successful aging within the context of this challenging system 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesTaylor, Susan Gebhardt. Self-care science, 

nursing theory, and evidence-based practice, by Susan Gebhardt Taylor and 

Katherine Renpenning. Springer Publishing, 2011. 242p bibl index; ISBN 



Taylor (emer., Univ. of Missouri-Columbia) and Renpenning (nursing consultant) 

use Dorothea Orem's theory of self-care as the foundation for this book. The 

authors build on this theory to explain in detail two international nursing trends: 

self-care and evidence-based practice. The book is divided into three sections. The 

first is an in-depth discussion of self-care science and nursing theory, the second 

explores nursing practice sciences and nursing education, and the third deals with 

evidence-based practice. The authors promote and explain systematically how 

application of nursing theory and the evaluation of nursing outcomes are the 

foundation for establishing evidence-based practice. They present a substantial 

discussion to support the association between evidenced-based practice, improved 

patient outcomes, and reduced health care costs. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesHanson, William. Smart medicine: how the 

changing role of doctors will revolutionize health care. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 

261p index ISBN 0-230-62115-5, $26.00; ISBN 9780230621152, $26.00. Reviewed 

in 2012jan CHOICE. 

With the insightful perspective of an insider, Hanson (Univ. of Pennsylvania School 

of Medicine) does a remarkable job of weaving into a comprehensive whole many 

current changes and advances in medicine, along with their further development, 

which he believes will dramatically alter the practice of medicine. Each chapter is 

devoted to one of the many factors that play some role in medical practice, 

including education, residency, sharing of medical records, the role of nurses, "best 

practices" medicine, automatic decision making, medical sensors, the physical 

exam, and doctor-doctor communications, among others. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesGrob, Rachel. Testing baby: the 

transformation of newborn screening, parenting, and policy making. Rutgers, 



Newborn screening is a most interesting area that impacts each and every 

individual in countless ways. In this truly inspiring work, Grob (Univ. of Wisconsin- 

Madison) has captured what others have not been able to write about the topic. 

She poignantly identifies the sociological consequences that screening has on 

individuals, parents, and society. The interviews are quite interesting and definitely 

thought-provoking. It is difficult not to view any of these parent-infant situations as 

personal, since everyone has been touched by so many of these issues either as a 

health care professional or through their own experiences or with a family member



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or friend. The author includes an impressive, comprehensive reference list at the 

end of the book, along with detailed notes regarding her research as well as her 

interviews. This book is must reading for everyone interested in policy making, and 

anyone interested in being at least a "tiny bit prepared" for the possibility of 

receiving bad or good news, depending on how it is presented and how an 

individual views it. It is also mandatory for healthcare professional students or 

graduates who may be confronted with these types of issues with their patients 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesThe Health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 

transgender people: building a foundation for better understanding, by the 

Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. National Academies Press, 2011. 

347p bibl index; ISBN 9780309210614, $59.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

This Institute of Medicine report is an excellent addition to the small body of 

scientific/scholarly literature focused on the health of sexual minority groups. It 

joins the IOM's report Lesbian Health (1999), edited by A. L. Solarz. The IOM 

committee responsible for this new report was charged to review and report on 

the state of science on the health status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 

groups, to identify research gaps and opportunities in LGBT health-related matters, 

and to recommend a research agenda to advance knowledge of LGBT health. The 

report examines the context (history, stigmatization, laws/policies, and barriers to 

health care) of LGBT people in the US. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesThe Picture of health: medical ethics and the 

movies, ed. by Henri Colt, Silvia Quadrelli, and Lester D. Friedman. Oxford, 2011. 

527p bibl filmography index afp; ISBN 9780199735365 pbk, $39.95. Reviewed in 


New communication technologies may necessitate adaptive changes in teaching 

methods, and sometimes the changes clearly lead to better and more effective 

instruction. Beginning with the editors' preface and four short essays, this volume 

presents a powerful case for the significant benefits of using feature films in 

teaching--particularly in the context of medical and health care instruction. There 

follows a set of 80 individual essays on a diverse selection of 80 films, each 

discussing an ethical issue raised in a short scene from the respective film. 

Science & Technology \ Health SciencesBurek Pierce, Jennifer. What adolescents 

ought to know: sexual health texts in early twentieth-century America. 

Massachusetts, 2011. 237p index afp; ISBN 9781558498921, $80.00; ISBN 


Pierce (library and information sciences, Univ. of Iowa) presents a complicated 

examination of progressive, transatlantic ideas of social hygiene. She explores the 

rise of interest in the prevention of syphilis, a disease understood to wreak not just 

personal havoc on its victims, but also on the victims' families, current or future, 

and long lamented as a scourge one could do little about. Public dialogue about 

the prevention of syphilis through published tracts originated in France, and Pierce 

deftly examines the transmission of these ideas to the US. In both countries, 

cultural norms inhibited the publication of syphilis prevention treatises. The most 

volatile arguments concerned gender, as informing girls about syphilis's dangers 

was a contentious proposition. This informational double standard reflected 

another in medicine; Pierce cites doctors who refused to tell syphilitic wives the 

truth about their condition out of fears of disrupting their marriages. The author


has meticulously integrated this study about sex, health, and gender with a study 

of print and publishing, and scholars and students alike will appreciate the 

complexity of her insights. Pairs well with Daniel Rodgers' Atlantic Crossings: Social 

Politics in a Progressive Age (1998)


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Science & Technology \ MathematicsDytham, Calvin. Choosing and using statistics: a 

biologist's guide. 3rd ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. 298p index; ISBN 

9781405198387, $150.00; ISBN 9781405198394 pbk, $49.95. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

Books on biostatistics can be difficult to read, and many can be hard to use when 

one is conducting analyses on a biological dataset. But these problems do not 

apply to this practical, easy-to-use guide to the choice and use of biostatistical 

tests. Dytham (Univ. of York, UK) aims the work at those who are using computer 

packages to analyze their data, rather than doing analyses by hand. Therefore, the 

book does not focus on equations, but instead is full of practical examples showing 

how to analyze sample data with four different statistics programs; the addition of 

R in this third edition is a great advance over the previous editions (2nd ed., 2003; 

1st ed., 1999). 

Science & Technology \ Information & Computer ScienceCloud computing: Web-based 

dynamic IT services, by Christian Baun et al. Springer, 2011. 97p bibl index afp 



Cloud computing can arguably be dismissed as simply an attempt to wean people 

from personal computers and back to the mainframe days when the data center 

priesthood ruled corporate technology. But Baun and colleagues (all, Karlsruhe 

Institute of Technology, Germany) make it abundantly clear in this slim volume 

that cloud computing is a disruptive force that is much more a threat to the IT 

priesthood, by virtue of its economies of scale and its adaptability to varying load 

demands, than a reversion to an earlier status quo. In less than 100 pages, the 

book provides a well-written, surprisingly comprehensive introduction to the topic 

of service-oriented architecture, which is a core concept underlying various "as a 

service" possibilities (infrastructure, platform, software, and humans) that 

together are commonly called cloud computing. 

Science & Technology \ Information & Computer ScienceKitchin, Rob. Code/space: 

software and everyday life, by Rob Kitchin and Martin Dodge. MIT, 2011. 290p 

bibl index afp ISBN 0-262-04248-7, $35.00; ISBN 9780262042482, $35.00. 


Code/Space creates a foundational vocabulary for talking about code (software) 

and its relations to physical space, social space, and the built environment. As part 

of the "Software Studies" series, which addresses, if not actively forms, the field--in 

this case, as it relates to human geography--this is an invaluable contribution. 

Some key points defined within this vocabulary are the difference between space 

(uncoded), coded space (affected by code), and code/space (code as infrastructure 

for space), the need to delineate between data and captured data ("capta"), and a 

hierarchy of the many different ways in which objects are encoded and the 

significance thereof. Although the middle of the book is a dry catalog of examples 

supporting the arguments of human geographers Kitchin (National Univ. of 

Maynooth, Ireland) and Dodge (Univ. of Manchester, UK), the arguments at the 

beginning and end are a solid contribution to the field. These arguments revolve 

around the idea that space is an active agent in the production of the social, and 

that code, through a process of collaborative transduction, "modulates the



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conditions under which sociospatial processes operate." This is a critical work for 

anyone interested in the social relations of software and computers 

Science & Technology \ Information & Computer ScienceHan, Jiawei. Data mining: 

concepts and techniques, by Jiawei Han, Micheline Kamber, and Jian Pei. 3rd ed. 

Elsevier/Morgan Kaufman, 2012. 703p bibl index ISBN 0-12-381479-0, $74.95; 


Han (Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Kamber (researcher) have teamed 

with Pei (Simon Fraser Univ., Canada) to produce this third edition of a well-written 

textbook (2nd ed., 2006; 1st ed., 2001) on data mining or knowledge discovery. 

The text is supported by a strong outline. The authors preserve much of the 

introductory material, but add the latest techniques and developments in data 

mining, thus making this a comprehensive resource for both beginners and 

practitioners. The focus is data--all aspects. 

Science & Technology \ Information & Computer ScienceGorton, Ian. Essential 

software architecture. 2nd ed. Springer, 2011. 242p bibl index; ISBN 

9783642191756, $59.95; ISBN 9783642191763, contact publisher for price. 


What is software architecture? Throughout the evolution of software engineering 

and computer science, many authors have attempted to answer this deceptively 

simple question. Software architecture has become an overused term; its scope 

spans such a large gamut of techniques and theories that often a software 

professional finds it difficult to practice as a software architect. This book attempts 

to make sense of the accumulation of definitions and practices around software 

architecture. In 15 relatively short chapters, Gorton (Pacific Northwest National 

Laboratory) presents a unified perspective that is inclusive, rational, and elegant 

but eminently practical. 

Science & Technology \ MathematicsExpeditions in mathematics, ed. by Tatiana 

Shubin, David Hayes, and Gerald Alexanderson. Mathematical Association of 

America, 2011. 312p index ISBN 0-88385-571-2, $60.95; ISBN 9780883855713, 


Every generation requires persuasion (or at least reminding) of the coolness of 

mathematics. Many books, and even most pages of certain journals, dedicate 

themselves to this goal. Now certain topics seem immortally cool, e.g., transfinite 

cardinals, the Fibonacci sequence, knots, non-Euclidean geometry, soap bubbles, 

zero-knowledge proofs (revisited here by B. Poonen, J. H. Conway and T. Hsu, J. 

Hass and A. Thompson, F. Farris, F. Morgan, and S. Krantz, respectively). There is 

special interest when breaking research developments and open problems make 

contact with the world of stuff everyone can understand--as here in articles about 

twin primes, the Riemann hypothesis, and celestial mechanics (by D. Goldston, J. 

Conrey, and D. Saari, respectively). Coolness can also have a grounding in grim 

practicality, as in H. Moore's article about mathematical attacks on HIV and 

leukemia. But the gem of this collection? Perhaps T. Davis's article, "The 

Mathematics of Sudoku," which reveals the unexpected depth underlying a 

mathematician's viewpoint concerning a widely popular pastime that one might 

otherwise dismiss as a trivial distraction; Davis will get many a student hooked on 

the joy of critically rethinking the otherwise familiar.



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Science & Technology \ MathematicsFascinating mathematical people: interviews 

and memoirs, ed. by Donald J. Albers and Gerald L. Alexanderson. Princeton, 



This book is an assortment of interviews and memoirs of 16 contemporary 

mathematicians with a variety of backgrounds. The volume includes some unique, 

never-published photographs of the mathematicians--at work and/or with their 

families--that add a nice personal touch. As this reviewer read about these 

individuals, she found herself wanting to know more about them, and even 

considering inviting one to be a guest speaker at a math club meeting. The 

interview with Fern Hunt, one of the first black women to earn a PhD in 

mathematics, was particularly interesting. 

Science & Technology \ Information & Computer ScienceStachniak, Zbigniew. 

Inventing the PC: the MCM/70 story. McGill-Queen's, 2011. 214p bibl index afp 

ISBN 0-7735-3852-6, $39.95; ISBN 9780773538528, $39.95. Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

Stachniak (York Univ., Canada) has written an entertaining, highly informative 

account of the struggle to create a useful and marketable desktop computer. 

Leading the way was a Canadian-based firm named Micro Computer Machines 

(MCM), headed by the visionary Mers Kutt. He and Gordon Ramer embarked on a 

wondrous but tortuous struggle to bring computing to the masses. It is a story 

certainly worth telling. The early 1970s may be noted for their times of political 

change, but the changes in digital circuitry were even more extreme. Moore's law 

was beginning to pay off, and the magic of miniaturization was leading to massproduced, 

affordable hardware. Although far different from today's personal 

computer, MCM's early machines, such as the MCM/70, were remarkably 

innovative and on the market long before the fabled Apple II or the nearly useless 

Altair. Unfortunately, MCM was ahead of its time. A lack of proper technology kept 

their desktop computers primitive and too expensive, despite sales in the millions 

of dollars. Nonetheless, this is a great book and a must for any fan of the history of 

the modern computer. 

Science & Technology \ MathematicsSchwartz, Richard Evan. Mostly surfaces. 

American Mathematical Society, 2011. 314p bibl index afp (Student 

mathematical library, 60); ISBN 9780821853689 pbk, $47.00. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

This is a novel, eclectic, and ambitious collection of geometric and topological 

topics developed as they relate to surfaces. The subject matter includes basic 

topology; the fundamental group and covering spaces; Euclidean, spherical, and 

hyperbolic geometries; Riemann surfaces and complex geometry; cone surfaces 

and the Veech group; Teichmüller space; and the mapping class group. 

Science & Technology \ MathematicsRichter-Gebert, Jürgen. Perspectives on 

projective geometry: a guided tour through real and complex geometry. 

Springer, 2011. 571p bibl index afp; ISBN 9783642172854, $84.95; ISBN 


Perspectives on Projective Geometry incorporates multiple approaches to the 

subject. Richter-Gebert (Technical Univ. Munich, Germany) includes proof 

techniques resurrected from the literature, and newer methodologies more suited



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to automated theorem proving and dynamical geometry systems. The author 

covers most of the traditional topics in real projective geometry, and extends the 

concepts through complex projective geometry. He provides the reader with 

concise proofs, clear and insightful presentations, and a coherent development of 

the topic. 

Science & Technology \ Information & Computer SciencePrivacy online: perspectives 

on privacy and self-disclosure in the social Web, ed. by Sabine Trepte and Leonard 

Reinecke. Springer, 2011. 269p bibl index afp ISBN 3642215203, $99.00; ISBN 


Trepte and Reinecke (both, psychology, Univ. of Hamburg) have compiled 

contributions from 31 authors to produce this volume. The work is divided into 

three parts, "Approaches," "Applications," and "Audiences," with the latter 

focusing on age (adolescents and elderly) and gender. Though there is some 

duplication (e.g., Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis's "right to privacy" definition 

appears in multiple chapters), it is a well-written, easily understood text. 

Science & Technology \ MathematicsGrinstead, Charles M. Probability tales, by 

Charles M. Grinstead, William P. Peterson, and J. Laurie Snell. American 

Mathematical Society, 2011. 237p bibl index afp (Student mathematical library, 

57); ISBN 9780821852613 pbk, $42.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Probability Tales is a wonderful description of four real-world problems from the 

discipline. Grinstead (Swarthmore), Peterson (Middlebury), and Snell (formerly, 

Dartmouth) chose these topics by drawing on their experience developing a 

quantitative literacy course titled "Chance" and as editors of a newsletter titled 

CHANCE News. The topics are streaks (primarily in sports), the lottery, the stock 

market, and fingerprints. This reviewer has not seen a presentation of streaks or 

fingerprints in a similar book. Furthermore, the depth of the discussion in the 

lottery and stock market chapters is unique, both among general interest 

mathematics books and books intended as course supplements. 

Science & Technology \ Information & Computer ScienceGriffith, Christopher. Realworld 

Flash game development: how to follow best practices and keep your 

sanity. 2nd ed. Elsevier/Focal Press, 2012. 418p index ISBN 0240817680 pbk, 

$49.95; ISBN 9780240817682 pbk, $49.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

This practical, project-based book is a good resource for those seeking to develop 

expertise in ActionScript 3.0 game construction. Griffith (VP of Technology at 

Trivie) uses clear, comprehensible language and walks readers step by step 

through what is often very complex code. The text assumes readers already have 

considerable experience with object-oriented programming and a basic 

understanding of Flash. The volume's 16 chapters (and 3 online bonus chapters) in 

this new edition (1st ed., 2010) provide a series of discrete challenges: animation, 

audio and video management, implementing mathematical functions, collision 

detection, game physics, and creating platformers and iOS games, which gradually 

build user competence and confidence. 

Science & Technology \ MathematicsRoy, Ranjan. Sources in the development of 

mathematics: infinite series and products from the fifteenth to the twenty-first 

century. Cambridge, 2011. 974p bibl index ISBN 0-521-11470-5, $99.00; ISBN 

9780521114707, $99.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE.


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This work is unbelievably thorough. Roy (mathematics and astronomy, Beloit 

College) includes not just results but also many proofs, historic contexts, 

references, and exercises. It is the sort of encyclopedic effort that one typically 

associates with a group of authors rather than an individual. A list of notations 

would have been useful for undergraduate readers, as some that are used would 

likely be unfamiliar to them. Although they are not the target audience and the 

author assumes some background that they would rarely possess, such young 

readers will still find a tremendous amount of useful material here, as will 

experienced researchers. Although one might expect a nearly 1,000-page book to 

contain photos and digressions to partly account for some of its extreme length, 

there are none. Only necessary diagrams are present. 

Science & Technology \ Information & Computer ScienceGasston, Peter. The book of 

CSS3: a developer's guide to the future of Web design. No Starch Press, 2011. 

278p index ISBN 1593272863 pbk, $34.95; ISBN 9781593272869 pbk, $34.95. 


Gasston, an experienced UK-based Web developer, sets both the context and the 

expectations for this guide to CSS3 right from his introductory sentence: "You're a 

web professional who's been hand-coding HTML and CSS for a few years ... you've 

read a bit about CSS3 ... but you want to gain a deeper understanding of the 

fundamentals." That sort of audience expects a book that returns real value for the 

reader's investment of time, and The Book of CSS3 meets and exceeds expectations 

in this regard. 

Science & Technology \ MathematicsBloch, Ethan D. The real numbers and real 

analysis. Springer, 2011. 553p bibl index; ISBN 9780387721767, $84.95. Reviewed 


Bloch (Bard College) has written an introductory book on analysis at the 

undergraduate level, with enough material for at least two semesters of studies. 

The author writes very carefully and includes numerous examples and historical 

insights. The exposition is generally excellent. The book provides all proofs with 

enough details for most undergraduates to follow through without undue 

difficulties. One of the very nice results contained in the work, theorem 3.5.4, 

which is rarely discussed in other books on the subject, is the equivalence of the 

least upper bound property with some of the most important theorems in analysis, 

such as the extreme value theorem, the intermediate value theorem, and the 

Heine-Borel theorem. 

Science & Technology \ MathematicsCunningham, James B. Using SPSS: an 

interactive hands-on approach, by James B. Cunningham and James O. Aldrich. 

SAGE Publications, 2012. 237p index afp ISBN 1412995159 pbk, $39.95; ISBN 


Clearly, the amount of detail that Cunningham and Aldrich (both, California State 

Univ., Northridge) provide in this self-instructional work makes it an excellent 

resource for anyone who is trying to grasp concepts in descriptive and inferential 

statistics while learning the basic functions of SPSS. The volume is constructed in a 

very thorough, interactive fashion, offering clarity and succinctness of presentation 

not found in most similar books.



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Science & Technology \ MathematicsFrantz, Marc. Viewpoints: mathematical 

perspective and fractal geometry in art, by Marc Frantz and Annalisa Crannell. 

Princeton, 2011. 232p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780691125923, $45.00. Reviewed in 


Viewpoints is an undergraduate textbook for a general education mathematics 

course, based on courses and workshops led by Frantz (Indiana Univ.) and Crannell 

(Franklin and Marshall College). The authors focus on two areas of mathematics, 

perspective and fractals, and their applications to art. This focus allows for more indepth 

study of these subjects than usual for such a course, but it is still appropriate 

for the audience.


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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyMiller, Susan L. After the crime: the power of 

restorative justice dialogues between victims and violent offenders. New York 

University, 2011. 267p index afp; ISBN 978081476143 e-book, contact publisher 

for price; ISBN 9780814795538 pbk, $25.00; ISBN 9780814795521, $75.00. 


Miller's latest book on victimology is a research report analyzing the success of one 

postconviction restorative justice program, Victims' Voices Heard (VVH). Describing 

the dialogues between victims of nine violent crimes, including gendered offenses, 

and their offenders, Miller (sociology and criminal justice, Univ. of Delaware) 

writes for both lay and academic audiences. Both sets of readers will find the 

summaries of the nine cases, the focus on the victims' stories, and the descriptions 

of the processes of their dialogues with the offenders insightful and sensitively 

written. Academic readers will find the appendix dealing with a review of the 

literature useful. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Western 

EuropeWeingartner, James J. Americans, Germans and war crimes justice: law, 

memory and "the good war". Praeger, 2011. 231p bibl index afp; ISBN 



Weingartner's book is not an ordinary historical account of war crimes and their 

trials in the European Theater of Operations in WW II. Noting that "[m]ost 

atrocities in World War II went unreported and unpunished," the author delves 

into two rather obscure trials, one involving German military and civilian 

defendants who allegedly killed a disabled B-17 crew in the town of Borkum on the 

North Sea. The other involved US combat soldiers who killed several German 

civilians in and around Voerde, Germany, near the Dutch border. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologySiegel, Jane A. Disrupted childhoods: 

children of women in prison. Rutgers, 2011. 233p bibl index afp; ISBN 


CHOICE. 

Criminology professor Siegel (Rutgers, Camden) examines the experiences of two 

groups of children with mothers involved in the criminal justice system: children 

whose mothers have been arrested but not yet sentenced, and children whose 

mothers have been incarcerated for at least one year. The author approaches the 

subject from both life course and ecological perspectives, making the important 

point that these children were already living in very high-risk environments marked 

by poverty and violence, long before their mothers were arrested. 

Reference \ Social & Behavioral SciencesGarner, Bryan A. Garner's dictionary of legal 

usage. 3rd ed. Oxford, 2011. 991p bibl indexes afp ISBN 0-19-538420-2, $65.00; 


Previously titled A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (2nd ed., CH, Mar'96, 33- 

3649), this work is designed to allow readers who write legal English to resolve the 

many grammatical and stylistic questions that arise. This readable third edition 

adds many new (and many more) citations with citable examples. Garner serves as 

editor in chief of Black's Law Dictionary (9th ed., 2009) and contributed a chapter



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to The Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed., CH, Jan'11, 48-2398). His writing simply 

flows. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North 

AmericaBerkman, Alexander. Prison blossoms: anarchist voices from the 

American past, by Alexander Berkman, Henry Bauer, and Carl Nold; ed. by Miriam 

Brody and Bonnie Buettner. Belknap, Harvard, 2011. 253p bibl afp ISBN 0-674- 


This book collects a series of pamphlets produced in prison by anarchists Alexander 

Berkman, Henry Bauer, and Carl Nold. Berkman was imprisoned for the attempted 

assassination of Henry Frick in 1892 during the Homestead Strike. Nold and Bauer 

were imprisoned, falsely, on accessory charges. The editors organize the 

pamphlets by the four main themes the pamphlets discuss: the strikes and the 

jails, the assassination, prison life, and defending anarchism. In spite of their unjust 

imprisonment, Nold and Bauer did not blame Berkman but instead seem to have 

expected their fate. The writings illuminate northern prisons at the time, and 

provide an in-depth look at what some anarchists thought. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsBernstein, David E. 

Rehabilitating Lochner: defending individual rights against progressive reform. 

Chicago, 2011. 194p index afp; ISBN 9780226043531, $45.00. Reviewed in 


This wonderful book reexamines one of the most infamous cases in Supreme Court 

history, Lochner v. New York (1905), in which the Court held that a New York law 

limiting the number of hours a person could work in a bakery was an 

unconstitutional infringement upon "liberty of contract." For the past 100 years, 

this case has been singled out as an example of the Supreme Court run amok. In 

1937, in the wake of the Great Depression and the New Deal, the Supreme Court 

explicitly overruled Lochner, and came to embrace the modern administrative 

state and defer to legislatures in formulating social policy, particularly as it affected 

economic matters. The author takes issue with this conventional wisdom. B 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyLeon, Chrysanthi S. Sex fiends, perverts, and 

pedophiles: understanding sex crime policy in America. New York University, 



Leon (sociology and criminal justice, Univ. of Delaware) provides a very readable 

and erudite history of sex crime policy in the US since 1930. While this very 

important and timely topic has been the subject of a number of high-quality 

monographs in recent years (for instance, Philip Jenkins's Moral Panic, CH, Feb'99, 

36-3637), Leon makes an original contribution on a number of fronts.


Economics 


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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsInternational Bank for Reconstruction and 

Development/The World Bank. A guide to the World Bank. 3rd ed. World Bank, 

2011. 261p index; ISBN 9780821385456 pbk, $24.95; ISBN 9780821386576 ebook, 

contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This book is a very useful primer on the organization and functions of the World 

Bank. Now in its third edition (1st ed., CH, Jun'04, 41-6025), the guide is an official 

publication of the World Bank, with the associated advantages and limitations this 

implies. It provides a clear, thorough presentation of the bank's structure and 

official policies but no analysis and very limited reference to areas of contention 

such as neoliberal policy bias, top-down decision making, and US domination. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsMadrick, Jeff. Age of greed: the triumph of 

finance and the decline of America, 1970 to the present. Knopf, 2011. 464p bibl 

index; ISBN 9781400041718, $30.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

In Age of Greed, Madrick (fellow, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, 

The New School) takes readers on a behind-the-scenes tour of the world of 

economics, politics, and finance in the postwar US. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsHamermesh, Daniel S. Beauty pays: why 

attractive people are more successful. Princeton, 2011. 216p index afp ISBN 0- 


For the last 20 years, Texas economist Hamermesh has been intrigued by, and has 

contributed significant research on, what one may term "The Economics of Beauty" 

(which, perhaps no accident, is the title of the first chapter and the overall theme 

of Beauty Pays). This short, provocative, engaging volume takes its audience 

through the author's previous work and contemporary data, analyses, and impact 

of being considered good-looking by others on one's labor-market outcomes 

(employment and compensation); in the social world of friends and family; and 

even the extent to which one's happiness is affected by the presence (or absence) 

of looks. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsBeyond the Middle Kingdom: comparative 

perspectives on China's capitalist transformation, ed. by Scott Kennedy. Stanford, 

2011. 256p index afp; ISBN 9780804769570, $65.00; ISBN 9780804769587 pbk, 


Citing the lack of cross-national comparative research regarding China's political 

economy, the studies collected in this volume isolate a variety of issues, which are 

divided into two broad areas dealing with economic reform and interest groups. 

The purpose of these studies is to "demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of 

cross-national comparison." Although China's multiple economic systems 

(command in some sectors, capitalist in others, and many in between) make it 

difficult to compare China's political economy with those of capitalist countries, 

the established China experts contributing to this work offer important new 

insights and identify profitable directions for future research.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsLewis, Michael. Boomerang: travels in the 

new Third World. W. W. Norton, 2011. 213p; ISBN 9780393081817, $25.95. 


The "new third world" of the book's title refers to first-world countries that have 

run up debts so large that default is now a serious option. Bestselling journalist 

Lewis (The Big Short, CH, Jul'10, 47-6378; Moneyball, CH, Apr'04, 41-4733) visits 

Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Germany, and California, trying to discover why some 

speculators are betting that sovereign debt default will trigger the next financial 

crisis. Lewis has an acerbic take on some societies and people he visits: the 

Icelanders are aggressive but naïve, the Greeks totally corrupt, and the Germans 

fascinated with excrement. The reader will enjoy both Lewis's stay with Greek 

monks who have an uncanny ability to deal in real estate and his bike ride through 

traffic with Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsBusiness as usual: the roots of the global 

financial meltdown, ed. by Craig Calhoun and Georgi Derluguian. New York 

University, 2011. 312p index afp (Possible futures series, 1); ISBN 9780814772775, 


The 2007 financial meltdown inspired a cottage industry of books exploring the 

origin of the crisis. For the most part, these books were relatively narrow, singling 

out one cause or another--generally some aspect of finance or the regulation 

thereof. This volume takes a different approach. The subtitle, The Roots of the 

Global Financial Meltdown, reflects the book's intention. The "big-think" approach 

of the contributors goes a long way to meeting the promise of the subtitle. For 

example, the essay by Immanuel Wallerstein and the joint essay by Giovanni 

Arrighi (since deceased) and Beverly Silver place the crisis within a sweeping 

historical perspective. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsCline, William R. Carbon abatement costs 

and climate change finance. Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2011. 

139p bibl index; ISBN 9780881326079 pbk, $26.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

The Peterson Institute for International Economics, a bipartisan, private, not-forprofit 

institution for the study of international economic policy, has once again 

published the work of an internationally recognized expert in an important policy 

area. Cline (senior fellow, Peterson Institute) provides an excellent treatment of 

the title subject, which will not surprise those who have read his earlier works. It is 

rare that an author so carefully delineates the models and methodologies being 

used. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsChipping away at public debt: sources of 

failure and keys to success in fiscal adjustment, ed. by Paolo Mauro. Wiley, 2011. 

278p bibl index; ISBN 9781118043387, $45.00; ISBN 9781118113042 e-book, 

contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Mauro (International Monetary Fund) has edited a collection on fiscal adjustment, 

the core of which examines case studies of developed countries that succeeded 

and countries that failed at reducing deficits to their target. All cases took place 

during the last 35 years. This volume takes a different approach than others: it 

examines how much deficit reduction was planned and how much was actually 

achieved. It also details the planning process and sources of success or failure.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsMcTague, Jim. Crapshoot investing: how 

tech-savvy traders and clueless regulators turned the stock market into a casino. 

F T Press, 2011. 247p index afp ISBN 0-13-259968-6, $26.99; ISBN 


McTague (Washington editor, Barron's Magazine) documents the recent increase 

in high-frequency trading (HFT), which ultimately led to the "flash crash" of May 6, 

2010, during which the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 700 points in 

less than 20 minutes. This HFT is the result of computer algorithms that discern 

pricing differentials (arbitrage opportunities) and trading patterns. Orders are 

executed in huge volume and often accomplished between market makers' bid and 

ask prices. Positions are held for extremely short periods of time. While economic 

and political news may have contributed to the flash crash, much of the blame has 

been attributed to HFT. McTague attributes the increased volatility not only to HFT 

but also to radical changes in the regulation of the national market system 

(Regulation NMS). These regulatory changes include the abolition of the duopoly 

status of NASDAQ and the NYSE so that any exchange may trade listed securities. 

McTague clearly explains how HTF and regulatory changes have led to increased 

price volatility, driven away many individual investors, and created financial 

markets that more resemble a casino than markets for the allocation of financial 

assets. A valuable read for anyone considering investing in equity markets. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsSimmons, Kevin M. Economic and societal 

impacts of tornadoes, by Kevin M. Simmons and Daniel Sutter. American 

Meteorological Society, 2011. 282p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781878220998 pbk, 


Simmons (Austin College) and Sutter (Univ. of Texas-Pan American) analyze the 

cost-effectiveness of different measures for reducing the impact of tornados, 

including tornado shelters, safe rooms, warnings and watches, and Doppler 

weather radar. Starting with a fascinating discussion of the idiosyncrasies of 

tornado impact data, the book continues with a sophisticated analysis of casualty 

patterns and mitigation strategies. The analysis is authoritative and meticulously 

grounded in research; the topic is timely and important (not only because there 

seem to be more incidents of extreme weather, but also because of what the book 

reports about how people perceive and respond to low-probability, high- 

consequence events, so-called "Black Swans"); and the presentation is effective. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsPerthuis, Christian de. Economic choices in a 

warming world. Cambridge, 2011. 250p bibl index; ISBN 9780521175685, $75.00; 

ISBN 9781107002562 pbk, $27.99. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

In recent years, global warming has become one of the hottest topics of debate. 

Despite vociferous skeptics, the scientific data cannot be denied: the Earth is 

warming at an almost unprecedented rate. This raises substantial questions of 

climatological, physical, economic, and social concern. The phenomenon is not 

new. Temperature fluctuations can be traced from the fossil record through glacial 

striation and tree-ring analysis to modern statistical data. What is unusual about 

the present trend, however, is that rather than attributable to cycles normal to a 

planet such as Earth, it can be traced directly to industrialization, consumption of 

resources (especially fossil fuels), destruction of forest cover, and rapid population 

growth over the past 200 years. This ongoing period of Earth history is now being



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widely called the "anthropocene." First published in French in 2009, this book 

provides an excellent overview of this process. Perthuis, a French economist, also 

points out that reversing or at least slowing the warming trend depends largely on 

reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere, and he discusses economic 

measures (e.g., carbon pricing) as well as international efforts to deal with this 

critical issue. A valuable resource for environmental studies students. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsCarnot, Nicolas. Economic forecasting and 

policy, by Nicolas Carnot, Vincent Koen, and Bruno Tissot. 2nd ed. Palgrave 

Macmillan, 2011. 495p bibl index; ISBN 9780230243217, $110.00; ISBN 


The second edition (1st ed., CH, Mar'06, 43-4136) of this indispensable handbook 

on macroeconomic forecasting includes perspectives on, and lessons from, the 

financial crisis of 2008-09. The fact that almost the entire forecasting profession 

did not foresee the crisis has led to some soul-searching, but no major changes in 

procedures or techniques. The text is not light reading, yet anyone with a 

background in economics will quickly run into something interesting, insightful, or 

useful. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsBivens, Josh. Failure by design: the story 

behind America's broken economy. ILR Press, 2011. 103p bibl afp; ISBN 


This slim volume is intended as stand-alone as well as companion to the more 

detailed The State of Working America series by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) 

(2008/2009 ed., CH, Oct'09, 47-0956), which is published in print and also online 

http://www.stateofworkingamerica.org/. In this generally useful and timely work, 

Bivens (economist, EPI) provides an assessment that will clarify for many the 

widely held view that the current so-called "great recession" need not have 

occurred but rather was due to government policy errors. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsNasar, Sylvia. Grand pursuit: the story of 

economic genius. Simon & Schuster, 2011. 555p index; ISBN 9780684872988, 


Robert Heilbroner's The Worldly Philosophers (1953; 7th ed., 1999) educated 

generations with its sweeping story of how great economists from Adam Smith to 

John Maynard Keynes accounted for the ways of the modern economy. Nasar's 

Grand Pursuit is a worthy successor to Heilbroner's story, but her tale is both more 

and less ambitious than Heilbroner's. Her focus is narrower, for one thing, but, as a 

consequence, it is richer and teaches more about economics. Nasar (Columbia 

Univ. School of Journalism), a former economics journalist, now gives a grand but 

not overly generalized story of the ideas of a set of thinkers who transformed 

economics in the 20th century. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsSchutz, Eric A. Inequality and power: the 

economics of class. Routledge, 2011. 226p bibl index; ISBN 9780415554800, 



Economist Schutz (Rollins College) has written an eminently readable overview of a 

very interesting topic: how to include the concept of social class within a 

fundamentally neoclassical (i.e., standard) economic theory framework. Using little 

jargon and even less mathematics, Schutz carefully walks the reader through an



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increasingly realistic depiction of the contemporary American class system. He 

starts with a simple equating of class with income and discusses the various 

mechanisms by which opportunity translates into income. This expands to a twoclass 

structure (capitalists/owners and workers) in which income source becomes 

important, and then to a multiclass structure that allows for additional nuance in 

terms of how income is generated (for instance, a professional class can now be 

added to the mix). The equating of class with power, and an exploration of forms 

of power (e.g., political can now be added to the mix) further enriches the 

discussion. The author concludes with a satisfyingly detailed discussion of policy 

recommendations that would mitigate the income distributional effects of class as 

well as spread power and increase opportunity for the lower classes 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsTurner, John A. Longevity policy: facing up 

to longevity issues affecting Social Security, pensions, and older workers. W.E. 

Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2011. 159p bibl index afp; ISBN 


CHOICE. 

Turner (director, Pension Policy Center), author of numerous publications related 

to public and private retirement programs, presents a unified plan for dealing with 

the anticipated rising costs due to increased longevity in the US population. Turner 

argues that policies concerning Social Security, pensions, and work at older ages 

should be coordinated in view of their interrelationships and that each component 

would be more effective if designed as part of a grand scheme of reform. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsStasavage, David. States of credit: size, 

power, and the development of European polities. Princeton, 2011. 192p bibl 

index afp; ISBN 9780691140575, $39.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Stasavage (politics, New York Univ.) brings together the political and economic 

history of early modern Europe with several interesting twists that make a 

substantial addition to both the new institutionalist and political economy 

literatures. Scholars commonly agree that the simultaneous appearance of 

representative assemblies and debt financing of sovereign activities is not 

coincidental. Stasavage uses newly assembled data to show how they were linked 

and, more importantly, when they were effectively linked and when they were not. 

The key, he argues, is in transaction costs--specifically, the costs of collecting and 

disseminating relevant information about sovereign actions to creditors 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsWinter, Harold. The economics of excess: 

addiction, indulgence, and social policy. Stanford Economics and Finance, 2011. 

189p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780804761475, $75.00; ISBN 9780804761482 pbk, 


This new book provides an overview of much of the work being done in behavioral 

economics and includes suggested readings at the end of each chapter. Students 

will benefit from Winter's careful delineation of differences in the assumptions 

used in models and the differences in findings that result from choices in empirical 

testing. While the book includes a fairly extensive list of references, some 

important work by others (e.g., Dan Ariely and Martin Lindstrom) is not 

considered, perhaps because Winter did not choose to move further into the area 

of neuroeconomics.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsRoberts, Keith. The origins of business, 

money, and markets. Columbia Business School, 2011. 357p bibl index afp; ISBN 



This volume provides a survey of economic history from its founding in the Middle 

East through the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century of the Common 

Era. The author begins with Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Syria, where 

governments created institutions that supported commercial activities, including 

security, credit, and physical infrastructure. The Hellenistic Era gave rise to modern 

forms of business characterized by markets, money, and entrepreneurialism. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsSaint-Paul, Gilles. The tyranny of utility: 

behavioral social science and the rise of paternalism. Princeton, 2011. 163p bibl 

index afp; ISBN 9780691128177, $39.50. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

With Tyranny, French economist Saint-Paul inserts himself squarely into two 

related conversations. The first is the long-standing but certainly contemporary 

discussion of the role of the individual (and individual liberty) versus state 

interventions. The second is the currently fashionable "frontier" of behavioral 

economics--intersections of economics and psychology. His book's two principal 

sections, "The Demise of the Unitary Individual" and "The Rise of Paternalism," 

encompass these two broad themes, respectively. In a thoughtful, challenging, and 

intellectually honest manner, the author explores the intrusion of these behavioral 

nudges into the assumptions and theory of neoclassical economics, social science 

methodologies, and public policy 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsVeseth, Mike. Wine wars: the curse of the 

Blue Nun, the miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the revenge of the terroirists. 


ISBN 9780742568211 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

This is a serious book about the future of the wine industry that does not take itself 

too seriously. The writing of wine experts has long been lampooned for its 

pretension and incomprehensibility to the layperson. Veseth (economics, Univ. of 

Puget Sound) avoids these traps, although readers disdaining puns may wish he 

had not. He has produced an accessible, insightful book that shows he obviously 

has both intellectual understanding of and emotional attachment to the topic. His 

main intent is to address the potential benefits and dangers of various 

developments in the wine industry. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EconomicsYes Africa can: success stories from a 

dynamic continent, ed. by Punam Chuhan-Pole and Manka Angwafo. World Bank, 

2011. 477p bibl; ISBN 9780821387450 pbk, $49.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Yes Africa Can is a team effort from a large number of World Bank staff, 

consultants, academics, and others in Africa, Europe, and North America (some 

identified by post and affiliation, most not). The stated purpose of this collection is 

to "change the narrative" about Africa to stimulate "the media and filmmakers to 

seek out and tell more of Africa's many success stories." It is more likely to change 

the perceptions of students and other nonspecialists about Africa's economic 

record. The volume contains 26 "success stories" including macroeconomic


turnarounds, highly specific case studies (like mango exports and M-Pesa mobile 

phone payments), and broader issues such as malaria control. Inevitably in a 

volume that is avowedly in part propaganda, there is some rather selective use of 

evidence and choice of time periods to strengthen the stories' support for the 

World Bank's message. Nevertheless, there is much data and analysis here that 

would be extremely difficult to assemble without this volume, and the bank's 

commitment to editing and presentation make for clear exposition, much data, 

and many figures, all in a fat, large-format volume using color throughout. 

Excellent value, even if specialists will find much detail to carp about


Education 


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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationBest practices in literacy instruction, ed. by 

Lesley Mandle Morrow and Linda B. Gambrell. 4th ed. Guilford, 2011. 492p bibl 



The title of this book gives readers a clear idea of its content. Editors Morrow 

(Graduate School of Education, Rutgers) and Gambrell (Clemson Univ.) have 

organized the book into short and succinct chapters that discuss a specific best 

practice with a relevance to the practicing classroom teacher. Part 1 of the book 

reports on general topics of comprehensive literacy instruction and balancing 

literacy instruction; part 2 reports on the best practices of early literacy, struggling 

readers, English-language learners, and adolescent literacy instruction. Part 3 

examines evidence-based strategies, and includes a particularly strong segment on 

writing by Karen Bromley. Part 4 was of particular interest as covers special issues, 

which includes developing topics in literacy, technology as it relates to reading, 

new literacies in literacy instruction, and professional development for literacy 

instruction. The book is an interesting read, especially part 4, and is recommended 

for literacy teachers of all skill levels. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationGarcía, Eugene E. Bilingualism and 

cognition: informing research, pedagogy, and policy, by Eugene E. García and José 

E. Náñez Sr. American Psychological Association, 2011. 242p bibl index ISBN 1- 


This isn't the usual defense of bilingual education. García and Náñez have placed 

their attack on English-only mandates within the context of this question: What 

does neuropsychological and cognitive developmental research reveal about the 

cognitive benefits of second-language acquisition? Their conclusion is that the 

advantages are such that many of the ills besetting education in the US can be 

addressed if all students, rather than just bilingual students, had access to bilingual 

education. As a matter of fact, the authors make a solid case for the benefits of 

second-language acquisition, one that would stand on its own merits. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationLarson, Robert L. Changing schools from the 

inside out: small wins in hard times. 3rd ed. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 237p 



Larson (emer., Univ. of Vermont) effectively and conclusively enlightens policy 

makers, professors, school administrators, and change agent researchers by 

providing an exhaustive discussion of decades of research on change. The author 

reviews in great detail the variables and factors associated with success or failure 

in making change in public schools, including his most recent study on change in 

two high schools. Numerous ideas are explored, such as the realization that change 

is complex and complicated; there are problems associated with top-down change; 

schools need the collaborative efforts of all to make change succeed; and the 

essence of long-term meaningful change should be from the "inside out." The 

author's experience as a professor and researcher makes this is an excellent read 

for anyone interested in understanding the impact of meaningful and sustained 

change in America's public school system.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationMarsh, John. Class dismissed: why we 

cannot teach or learn our way out of inequality. Monthly Review, 2011. 255p 



Writing as an engaged public intellectual, Marsh (English, Pennsylvania State Univ.) 

argues that education, from preschool through graduate school, should not be 

viewed as a panacea for America's economic and social ills. Instead, he calls for a 

drastic decrease in poverty and inequality as a more potent elixir. Marsh marshals 

ample historical and empirical evidence to bolster his case--one he shares with 

such critics as Samuel Boyles and Herbert Gintis (Schooling in Capitalist America, 

1976) and Richard Rothstein (Class and Schools, CH, Sep'05, 43-0465; Grading 

Education, CH, Jul'09, 46-6339). Marsh's forceful, erudite treatment lays bare the 

fact that the US seems largely unwilling to change underlying social structures that 

sustain poverty and inequitable life chances. Though his thesis is not especially 

novel (see, for example, Christopher Jencks et al., Inequality: Reassessment of the 

Effects of Family and Schooling in America, 1972), the drumbeat of his important 

message needs to be amplified in a nation widely deaf to it. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationHong, Soo. Cord of three strands: a new 

approach to parent engagement in schools. Harvard Education Press, 2011. 246p 

index; ISBN 9781934742822, $49.95; ISBN 9781934742549 pbk, $29.95. Reviewed 


Against the backdrop of national concern about the varied challenges that urban 

schools face, Hong's book describes the exemplary case of the Logan Square 

Neighborhood Association (LSNA), based in a community on Chicago's northwest 

side. For almost two decades, the LSNA has driven educational change at the 

community and state level. Utilizing a multilayered ethnographic methodology, 

Hong (Wellesley College) presents a rich account of the LSNA's community 

organizing efforts targeted at improving schools, neighborhoods, and educational 

outcomes. The author provides strong evidence that when families, schools, and 

communities band together for a common purpose, as in the LSNA, they form a 

cord of three strands that is hard to break. Therefore, parents should be viewed as 

assets and not as deficits. Successful parent engagement includes induction, 

integration, and investment. The LSNA has a strong parent-mentors program based 

on trust and mutual appreciation between schools and families. Hong's work 

shows how immigrant, non-English-speaking parents can become leaders in 

schools and communities 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationEarly childhood intervention: shaping the 

future for children with special needs and their families: v.1: Contemporary 

policy and practices landscape; v.2: Proven and promising practices; v.3: 

Emerging trends in research and practice, ed. by Christina Groark with Steven 

Eidelman, Susan P. Maude, and Louise A. Kaczmarek. Praeger, 2011. 3v bibl index 

afp; ISBN 9780313377938, $154.95; ISBN 9780313377945 e-book, contact 

publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

This is one of the best sets of books in the area of early childhood special education 

(ECSE) that has come along in years. The three volumes were edited such that 

there is a seamless flow within and among books, and the contributing authors are 

some of the finest minds in the field of ECSE. Volume 1 has the traditional topics



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that readers would expect in a series such as this: historical perspectives, national 

and international policies and perspectives, and other topics that provide the 

justification for the existence of this field of study and practice. Volume 2 contains 

the nuts and bolts of how to establish an ECSE program, teaching methodologies 

and efficacy, and some insights on specific categories of exceptionality (e.g., 

autism, blindness, deafness, and mental illness) and why their uniqueness 

demands extraordinary interventions. Volume 3 presents an array of promising 

practices and future trends in the ECSE field, including the proliferation of 

technology, response to intervention, and emerging issues in professional 

development. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationGiroux, Henry A. Education and the crisis of 

public values: challenging the assault on teachers, students, and public 

education. Peter Lang, 2012. 129p bibl index afp (Counterpoints, 400); ISBN 


Multiple educational aims result in an infinite number of ways to understand how 

schools ought to work. Depending upon the educational aim(s) of the writer, 

corporations, teachers unions, a common curriculum, diversity, or some other 

factor may be seen as damaging or protecting public schools. Giroux (English, 

McMaster Univ., Canada) uses citizenship as an educational aim and sees big 

business, federal and private funding, charter schools, and colleges of education as 

factors that damage public schools. For Giroux, public schooling is a space in which 

democratic values are developed (e.g., civic courage, dissent, freedom, equality, 

and justice). The current model of public education, however, constricts the ability 

of teachers and students to practice these values. In order to highlight what he 

sees as the precarious state of public education in the US and its possible effects 

on generations of citizens, the book is structured as a series of eight essays in 

which Giroux considers both general notions (e.g., public and private funding and 

critical pedagogy) and specific cases (e.g., Arne Duncan's support of charter schools 

and the relationship between Michael Bloomberg and the New York public school 

system). 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationMartin, Jane Roland. Education 

reconfigured: culture, encounter, and change. Routledge, 2011. 240p bibl index; 



Martin (emer., philosophy, Univ. of Massachusetts, Boston), author of Changing 

the Educational Landscape (1994) and Reclaiming a Conversation (1985), aims to 

"reconfigure" education. Her primary insight is that education is an "encounter" 

between the culture and the individual. The chapter titles aptly reflect her point of 

view. She lays out her unified theory of education, its implications, and its 

applications in three sections of the same respective titles. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationDamon, William. Failing Liberty 101: how we 

are leaving young Americans unprepared for citizenship in a free society. Hoover 

Institution, 2011. 148p index afp; ISBN 9780817913649, $19.95; ISBN 


Citizenship is multifaceted as an idea and in practice. Damon (senior fellow, Hoover 

Institution) considers what is at stake when the ideas and practices that ground 

citizenship, such as moral responsibility, civic participation, and personal sacrifice



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for the common good, are undermined in the spaces in which a child develops. 

Young people are sent mixed messages from the home, school, and through the 

media. The force and placement of these messages makes it less likely that 

children will understand their civic responsibilities as a foundation on which to 

build their adult lives and understand their responsibilities to self, others, 

community, and nation. This, according to Damon, leads away from an 

appreciation for and understanding of liberty and possibly towards nihilism. The 

ideas suggested in the book are supported by data from survey research. Interview 

data from young adults is also shared in order to bolster the book's claims. For 

Damon, citizenship requires opportunities for children to integrate what they 

experience as they develop a commitment to further their individual lives and the 

lives of those in the present and the future. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationHandbook of reading interventions, ed. by 

Rollanda E. O'Connor and Patricia F. Vadasy. Guilford, 2011. 436p bibl indexes afp 

ISBN 1-60918-151-4, $65.00; ISBN 9781609181512, $65.00. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

O'Connor (Univ. of California, Riverside) and Vadasy (Washington Research 

Institute) have put together a comprehensive, readable resource that puts the 

latest in research-based strategies for struggling readers into the hands of literacy 

practitioners. Building on the work of the Report of the National Reading Panel, 

this volume offers practical approaches to developing phonemic awareness, 

decoding skills, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationHandbook of special education, ed. by James 

M. Kauffman and Daniel P. Hallahan. Routledge, 2011. 810p bibl index; ISBN 

9780415800716, $295.00; ISBN 9780415800723 pbk, $114.95; ISBN 


This beautifully written, well-edited handbook is a summary of research findings, 

best practices, and legal precedents that explores special education as a field and a 

general enterprise. Organized into 13 sections, the book explores critical 

information and controversial issues in a single volume. It is intended to be a 

reference volume and is presented as such. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationTyson, Karolyn. Integration interrupted: 

tracking, black students, and acting white after Brown. Oxford, 2011. 222p bibl 



Although some authorities contend that African American culture pushes black 

students toward school failure, Tyson (sociology, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel 

Hill) believes school officials cause the problem when they separate students 

according to ability or achievement into low- or high-track courses. To prove her 

point, Tyson draws on four ethnographic studies in which she participated or that 

she undertook independently from 1996 to 2004. From this research, she tried to 

determine two things: how the students perceived their choices and what 

influenced their decisions. In the book's four chapters, Tyson critically analyzes 

several descriptions of the African American culture. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationEgan, Kieran. Learning in depth: a simple 

innovation that can transform schooling. Chicago, 2011 (c2010). 220p bibl afp; 

ISBN 9780226190433, $25.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE.


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The scope and sequence of the academic curriculum--that is the breadth versus 

the depth of subjects taught and learned--have fueled myriad debates. The public 

school curriculum in North America has almost always defaulted to superficial 

surveys of subject matters. Iconoclastic educational theorist Egan offers the 

audaciously simple (and radical) proposal that students study the usual curriculum, 

but starting with the first days of school and continuing through graduation, that 

they also study one topic in depth. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationLearning science through computer games 

and simulations, ed. by Margaret A. Honey, Margaret L. Hilton, and the National 

Research Council of the National Academies. National Academies Press, 2011. 

161p bibl afp; ISBN 9780309185233 pbk, $39.00; ISBN 9780309185240 e-book, 


Correctly asserting that science education in the US is uneven at best, this timely 

and informative publication of the influential National Research Council of the 

National Academies offers a cognitive science, research-based perspective on the 

use of simulations and computer games to enhance and improve opportunities for 

learning. Drawing on the expertise of individuals from a wide spectrum of 

educational and commercial perspectives, who met at a recent workshop to 

explore the connections between learning theory and gaming/simulations, this 

publication offers a comprehensive yet concise snapshot of the field. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationAnyon, Jean. Marx and education. 

Routledge, 2011. 117p bibl index; ISBN 9780415803298, $125.00; ISBN 



The ideas of Karl Marx have served as an important interpretive lens for scholars in 

education. Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintes's Schooling in Capitalist America 

(1977) introduced a new generation of teachers and researchers to Marx's ideas. 

This influence continued with the work of Michael Apple, Henry Giroux, and Anyon 

(Graduate Center of the City University of New York). In this modest volume, 

Anyon provides a clear explanation of the tremendous scope and influence of Marx 

on educational practice and policy. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationDyrness, Andrea. Mothers united: an 

immigrant struggle for socially just education. Minnesota, 2011. 254p bibl index 



This unflinching work follows the story of five Latina mothers as they struggle to 

establish a new small school in California to combat the educational inequities 

found in the Oakland public school system. The narrative reveals the backstory of 

this effort at education reform to illustrate the mechanisms that make reform 

happen. This backstory employs an ethnographic narrative to describe the 

endeavors of these women to right the injustices that they saw in the public 

education system. It is in the subtext of this narrative that the work moves beyond 

educational reform to the power of feminist ideology and cultural determination. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationHalstead, Jeff. Navigating the new 

pedagogy: six principles that transform teaching. Rowman & Littlefield Education, 


pbk, $21.95; ISBN 9781610480253 e-book, $21.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE.


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In a world where there is increasing scrutiny of teachers, here is another book that 

states the obvious: it is the teacher's place to inspire, interest, and facilitate 

student learning. How this book differs from so many others is that the author, 

Halstead, has written a simple guide to achieving stellar results. From the first page 

to the last, Halstead opens the door to a fun and active learning classroom 

environment. Through specific description, thinking activities, and teaching 

modalities, he gives example after example of ways to transform subject matter 

into relevant, current, and real-life experience. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationSpotlight on technology in education, ed. by 

Nancy Walser. Harvard Education Press, 2011. 122p bibl (Harvard Education 

Letter spotlight series, 7); ISBN 9781934742907, $39.95; ISBN 9781934742891 pbk, 


This collection of short essays is founded on the premise that "it's no longer a 

question of whether technology is affecting education, but rather how and how 

much." In the foreword, Will Richardson, a leader on Web tools in the classroom, 

comments that this book offers "an exceedingly well-rounded launching pad ... as 

we begin to more fully imagine where we can go as learners with these new 

globally networked technologies." Editor Walser (editor, Harvard Education Letter) 

predicts that "technology may hold the key to important breakthroughs in both 

policy and practice." With chapters on "how to help middle school students avoid 

getting tangled up in the web" while researching, "how blogs, wikis, and podcasts 

are changing the classroom," mobile computing in the classroom, teaching 21stcentury 

skills, video games for encouraging students to learn and to achieve on 

tests, computer-based accountability and more effective testing, laptop programs, 

distance learning and blended schooling, and online professional development, 

this book provides an overview of the potential for educational technology in the 

second decade of this century 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationDrew, David E. STEM the tide: reforming 

science, technology, engineering, and math education in America. Johns Hopkins, 



STEM, an acronym familiar to those in science education, represents the fields of 

science, technology, engineering, and math. Ever since Sputnik's launch in the 

1950s, the US has attempted to enrich the science awareness of the public and to 

direct students to enter these fields. As technology increasingly invades the 

environment and controls everyone's lives, it becomes ever more urgent that more 

of today's youth be competent in these disciplines to ensure the future as a global 

economic power. Education professor Drew (Claremont Graduate Univ.; Aptitude 

Revisited, CH, Jan'97, 34-2873) points out that science education in this country is a 

catastrophe. While describing the disastrous deficiencies of US science education, 

the author is nonetheless optimistic that various reforms can reverse the current 

mediocrity. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationKolis, Mickey. Student relevance matters: 

why do I have to know this stuff?. Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2011. 143p 


ISBN 9781607099178 e-book, $21.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE.


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Kolis (Univ. of Wisconsin, Eau Claire) has written an enlightening, thoughtprovoking 

book for educators who believe in student-centered teaching. He 

presents ideas about how to develop discipline-specific lessons that connect the 

classroom to the "real world." Many of today's secondary students are interested 

only in the actual purpose of education; they want to know how this knowledge 

will help them in college and in the professional world. Kolis inspires teachers to 

create lessons that challenge young learners to think critically and to look beyond 

the classroom. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationSchiering, Marjorie S. Teaching and learning: 

a model for academic and social cognition, by Marjorie S. Schiering, Drew Bogner, 

and Jorun Buli-Holmberg. Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2011. 322p bibl afp; 


9781610484282 e-book, $35.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

In part 1 of this book Schiering and Bogner (both, Molloy Univ.) and Buli-Holberg 

(Univ. of Oslo, Norway) present their learning and teaching model to the reader, 

which includes a combination of memory, cognition, comprehension, learning, 

teaching perspectives, beliefs, and value systems. The authors define teaching and 

learning and indicate that learning is a result of memory, cognition, and 

metacognition that impacts comprehension. They indicate the importance of 

combining learning and teaching through a theoretical perspective. Readers learn 

the SOW (sociology of the world) model, as well as REAP (religion, economics, 

academics, and politics), and reflection. The authors present two interior 

components that are central, namely, societal realities, belief and value systems. 

Furthermore, they state that these are areas of commonality within all cultures. 

Part 2 of the book provides practical applications of the model. It is worth noting 

that there are three appendices written to add clarification and/or extended 

information on initially addressed topics in the book. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationDrury, Darrel. The American public school 

teacher: past, present & future, by Darrel Drury and Justin Baer. Harvard 

Education Press, 2011. 326p index ISBN 1-934742-91-0, $39.95; ISBN 


Drury and Baer (both, National Education Association) have collected 

commentaries from 17 scholars, business leaders, and policy makers who were 

invited to respond to a prompt about the nature of public school teaching. Among 

the commentaries is a call for greater coherence in standards for teacher training 

from the former president of the National Board for Professional Teaching 

Standards, Joseph Aguerrebere. The founder of a computer manufacturing firm, 

Michael Dell, explains how technology might help teachers focus on each student's 

needs. US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan describes some policy changes that 

could help teachers work effectively. The president of the American Federation of 

Teachers, Randi Weingarten, explains why teachers should influence school 

reform. After each commentary, the editors place an essay from a classroom 

teacher. For example, following Weingarten's piece is a description of a project a 

fifth-grade teacher joined with her colleagues to help students who speak English 

as a second language. Interested readers could consult Mark A. Smylie and Debra 

Miretzky, eds., Developing the Teacher Workforce (2004) or Linda Darling- 

Hammond et al., eds., Preparing Teachers for a Changing World (2005).



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationBabbage, Keen. The dream and the reality of 

teaching: becoming the best teacher students ever had. Rowman & Littlefield, 

2011. 165p afp; ISBN 9781610480178, $50.00; ISBN 9781610480185 pbk, $24.95; 


Babbage, an experienced educator and author of 13 books about teaching and 

school administration, steers prospective teachers through a maze of issues 

concerning the profession they are about to enter. Even a veteran teacher will find 

the book reassuring, supportive, and encouraging as the hard work of teaching is 

explored. Hints and helpful tips are discussed in an easy-to-read format so that the 

reader is clear about the aspects of teaching that are to be expected and those 

that are not. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationOkun, Tema. The emperor has no clothes: 

teaching about race and racism to people who don't want to know. Information 

Age, 2010. 181p bibl; ISBN 9781617351051, $85.99; ISBN 9781617351044 pbk, 



This book explores the continuing issue of racism in the US. Okun (National-Louis 

Univ.) believes that cultural change is possible and sees the classroom as a 

promising setting for this effort. Her years of experience with teachers, facilitators, 

and activists have yielded an approach based on "stages in a process of 

relationship-building, analysis, planning, action, and reflection." She shares a 

pedagogy designed to engage participants through these stages. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationJackson, Yvette. The pedagogy of 

confidence: inspiring high intellectual performance in urban schools. Teachers 

College Press, 2011. 194p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780807752241, $62.00; ISBN 


Jackson (chief executive officer, National Urban Alliance for Effective Education) 

presents the pedagogy of confidence as an approach to education that seeks to reenvision 

the pedagogy of minority education and deconstruct the perceptions, or 

rather misperceptions, related to under-performing students and schools as well as 

the often misunderstood factors that perpetuate the achievement gap. In this 

context, much of the book is framed around Reuven Feuerstein's theories of 

learning--specifically variations in cognitive processing among minority students. 

What Jackson puts forth is a model for understanding achievement declines in 

minority students by actually drawing parallels to higher performing gifted 

students 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationGardner, Howard. Truth, beauty, and 

goodness reframed: educating for the virtues in the twenty-first century. Basic 

Books, 2011. 244p index afp ISBN 0-465-02192-1, $25.99; ISBN 9780465021925, 


Psychologist Gardner (Harvard Graduate School of Education) is renowned for his 

research on mind and multiple intelligences (Multiple Intelligences, CH, Oct'93, 31- 

1214). Much of his work has been theoretical, but here he reflects on the 

continued cultural relevance of the classic concepts of truth, beauty, and goodness 

and suggests how education can aid their development. Today these virtues are 

endangered by postmodern thinking and powerful digital media. Gardner 

examines each of the virtues from a multidisciplinary perspective, considering their



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past and current status and how they are challenged by the new forms of thought 

and technology. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationRios, Francisco. Understanding multicultural 

education: equity for all students, by Francisco Rios and Christine Rogers Stanton. 


ISBN 9781607098621 pbk, $24.95; ISBN 9781607098638 e-book, $24.95. Reviewed 


Using the metaphor of a house, Rios (Univ. of Wyoming) and Stanton (Montana 

State Univ.) lead educators in understanding multicultural education. In the 

metaphor, the "town" is the broader context of multicultural education within 

schools and communities; the "streets" are the principles, frameworks, and 

theories of multicultural education; the "walls" are resistance, barriers, and 

oppression of multicultural education; the "living room" stands for the 

conversations and collaboration; the "kitchen" represents the myths and 

misconceptions; the "rooftop" stands for promising practices and future directions; 

and the "tool shed" is resources. Rios and Stanton's well-written book defines, 

clarifies, and discusses the underlying issues of multicultural education that are 

often overlooked within the current educational system. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationTempleton, Beth Lindsay. Understanding 

poverty in the classroom: changing perceptions for student success. Rowman & 

Littlefield Education, 2011. 137p bibl afp; ISBN 9781610483636, $30.00; ISBN 



Today's teachers face the challenge of growing numbers of children of poverty in 

schools. Templeton provides suggestions to maximize the schooling experience of 

these students. Their success in school is largely dependent upon an informed, 

nurturing faculty armed with a realistic understanding of students, their 

instructional needs, and an array of practical teaching strategies. Because the life 

experience of these students differs drastically from that of their teachers and 

classmates, common misunderstandings abound. For example, fulfilling homework 

can become impossible for students who are homeless or who live in a crowded, 

multifamily setting. A teacher may suspect low mental capacity in a student unable 

to answer a question like "What's your shoe size?," unaware that the student has 

worn only shoes that were found or given to her. Teachers adapt everyday 

interactions, like giving directions, to help students develop sequential skills by 

dividing tasks into components and providing students with something concrete 

(e.g., a sticky note) delineating each part. They can provide cues so that students 

who live with uncertainty can learn to identify when a lesson actually begins. This 

book provides teachers a much-needed resource to address the increasing amount 

of child poverty in schools. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationGraeber, Anna O. Upper elementary math 

lessons: case studies of real teaching, by Anna O. Graeber, Linda Valli, and Kristie 

Jones Newton. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 178p bibl index afp; ISBN 


price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE.


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Interest in improving the mathematics proficiency of US schoolchildren continues 

to build, as evidenced by many states' recent adoption of the Common Core State 

Standards. While many works address the theoretical and practical underpinnings 

needed to deliver exemplary math instruction, few explore how this looks in 

practice. To meet this need, Graeber (emer., Univ. of Maryland), Valli (Univ. of 

Maryland), and Newton (Temple Univ.) have written a collection of case studies. 

Each chapter provides a case study that explores a range of subject matter as 

delineated by standards, a variety of pedagogical approaches, and a mixture of 

instructor experience levels and learning settings. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationBurkhardt, Sally E. Using the brain to spell: 

effective strategies for all levels. Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2011. 292p bibl 



Burkhardt states that understanding the developmental nature of spelling 

acquisition, as well as the memory processes of the brain, leads one to realize that 

spelling acquisition will be slow and often imperceptible; children will not 

demonstrate spelling and language improvement over short periods. Therein lies 

the fallacy of most, if not all, spelling programs regardless of age level. This 

reviewer, a former teacher and current methods instructor, has always lamented 

to students that spelling is the one area that is not taught well. Burkhardt has now 

changed this reviewer's mind about the practical application of spelling using the 

brain. This book is engaging, sensible, and accessible while at the same time based 

in theory and practice. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationSquire, Kurt. Video games and learning: 

teaching and participatory culture in the digital age, by Kurt Squire with Henry 

Jenkins. Teachers College Press, 2011. 251p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780807751992, 


This volume is an outstanding addition to the growing number of books advocating 

video games in education. Accessible and informative about techniques of playing 

and designing educational video games, the book offers valuable accounts of using 

games with low-achieving students. Squire (Univ. of Wisconsin) is both 

educationally and technically astute. The combination of theory and personal 

experience absorbs the reader on a number of levels. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ EducationWhite teachers, diverse classrooms: creating 

inclusive schools, building on students' diversity, and providing true educational 

equity, ed. by Julie Landsman and Chance W. Lewis. 2nd ed. Stylus Publishing, 



The second edition of White Teachers, Diverse Classrooms adds seven essays to 14 

of the original chapters. In the first edition (CH, Feb'07, 44-3413), the editors 

selected essays about pedagogical methods that might close the achievement gap 

between white and African American students. Although the editors claimed that 

the same techniques would help all students, the new edition contains seven 

articles describing approaches for teachers working with Latino, Asian, or Native 

American students. Suggestions borrowed from the first edition include the claims 

that teachers should help students of color combat inequity and that teachers 

should recognize the cultural biases in the traditional curriculum.


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Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanRowe, John Carlos. Afterlives of 

modernism: liberalism, transnationalism, and political critique. Dartmouth, 2011. 221p 

bibl index afp; ISBN 9781584659952, $85.00; ISBN 9781584659969 pbk, $35.00. Reviewed 


Employing Lionel Trilling's The Liberal Imagination: Essays on Literature and Society (1950) 

as a mid-century touchstone, Rowe (Univ. of Southern California) explores the progressive, 

nationalist themes that shape the American literary canon. In the first of the book's two 

parts he analyzes the work of early modernists Gertrude Stein, John Dos Passos, William 

Faulkner, and Ralph Ellison, who experimented with style and structure but who negotiated 

a middle way between political extremes 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanOostdijk, Diederik. Among the 

nightmare fighters: American poets of World War II. South Carolina, 2011. 307p bibl 

index afp; ISBN 9781570039959, $49.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Oostdijk's ambition is to rescue from neglect the generation of US poets who came of age 

during WW II. Unlike their earlier counterparts, the British "trench poets" of WW I, these 

poets have not been well studied or considered as a specific group; the members of the 

particular group Oostdijk (Free Univ., Amsterdam) focuses on all knew each other and 

wrote about each other's work. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ GeneralMcLoughlin, Kate. Authoring war: the 

literary representation of war from the Iliad to Iraq. Cambridge, 2011. 221p bibl index 

ISBN 1-107-00390-3, $82.00; ISBN 9781107003903, $82.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

This important, probing study covers a sweeping number of works of literature but not in 

any slavish or reductive fashion. Rather, McLoughlin (Birkbeck College, Univ. of London, UK) 

allows the literature to illustrate the mechanisms that, as she so keenly discerns, are 

embedded in the best literature of war. How can, and why should, war be fully presented 

and represented? The book's six chapters--"Credentials," "Details," "Zones," "Duration," 

"Diversions," and "Laughter"--examine the epistemological and ontological underpinning of 

profound war writing. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanDouglas-Fairhurst, Robert. 

Becoming Dickens: the invention of a novelist. Belknap, Harvard, 2011. 389p bibl index 


Douglas-Fairhurst (Oxford Univ.)--author of Victorian Afterlives and editor of, for example, 

editions of Great Expectations (2008) and Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London 

Poor (2010)--has written an ambitious book that demands an audience already familiar 

with the life and work of the early Dickens. Readers familiar with the entirety of Dickens 

will find this book a remarkable achievement. Those who know the early works and the 

great biographies--from John Forster's The Life of Charles Dickens (1872-74) to Peter 

Ackroyd's Dickens (CH, Jul'91, 28-6100)--will find it a revelation. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanBeowulf and other Old English 

poems, ed. and tr. by Craig Williamson. Pennsylvania, 2011. 255p bibl index afp ISBN 0- 

8122-4345-5, $45.00; ISBN 9780812243451, $45.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This new poetic translation strikes a middle ground between Seamus Heaney's polarizing, 

artistic re-creation (1999) and Roy Liuzza's much more literal and scholarly version (2000). 

This version is not closely literal, but Williamson (Swarthmore College) rarely sacrifices 

meaning, and his poetic style is true to the spirit of the Old English in rhythm, alliteration, 

repetition, and especially apposition. The volume is suitable for beginners because it 

includes brief introductions to Anglo-Saxon history, culture, and poetic forms. Introductory 

sections give just enough background to orient readers without burdening them with too



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much interpretation; the poems are generally allowed to speak for themselves. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanBeyond Uncle Tom's cabin: 

essays on the writing of Harriet Beecher Stowe, ed. by Sylvia Mayer and Monika Mueller. 

Fairleigh Dickinson, 2011. 247p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781611470048, $80.00; ISBN 

9781611470055 e-book, $79.99. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Literary criticism of Stowe's work consistently focuses on her masterpiece, Uncle Tom's 

Cabin (1852), and on themes immediate to that work--race, slavery, religion, and 

domesticity. In fact, Stowe wrote much more than just that one novel: she also penned The 

Pearl of Orr's Island (1862), Lady Byron Vindicated (1870), Pink and White Tyranny (1871), 

My Wife and I (1871), We and Our Neighbor (1875), Poganuc People (1878), and many 

more works. Mayer (Univ. of Bayreuth, Germany) and Mueller (Univ. of Stuttgart, 

Germany) seek to shift the scholarly conversation to these less-known works and provide 

other lenses through which to read Stowe. They succeed brilliantly. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanFlannery, Eóin. Colum McCann 

and the aesthetics of redemption. Irish Academic Press, 2011. 244p bibl index ISBN 0- 


American readers are most likely to know McCann for Let the Great World Spin (2009), 

which won the National Book Award for fiction. Flannery (Oxford Brookes Univ., UK) 

analyzes that novel--which takes place primarily in 1974 at the time of Philippe Petit's highwire 

walk between the Twin Towers--as a "counter-narrative" about 9/11. Flannery notes 

that the novel's themes of "trauma, loss, and redemption" are also central to McCann's 

other novels and short story collections, which range in topic--quite astonishingly--from the 

"Troubles" in Northern Ireland to Rudolph Nureyev to the plight of gypsies in Bosnia. 

"Stories are the best democracy we have," McCann has stated, and Flannery insightfully 

traces McCann's "preoccupation with the historical mobility of successive generations of 

the Irish population and the attendant traumas and reliefs of dislocated human 

interaction" in his fiction. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanPrenshaw, Peggy Whitman. 

Composing selves: southern women and autobiography. Louisiana State, 2011. 331p bibl 

index afp; ISBN 9780807137918, $45.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

The doyenne of southern women's writing, Prenshaw (emer., Louisiana State Univ.) here 

turns her attention to the personal narratives of 18 southern women, confirming her 

reputation as a pioneering, meticulous scholar. In the first chapter, she reviews relevant 

scholarship, including work on the history of southern women, analyses of what makes the 

South distinctive, theories of autobiography (general and feminist), and literary criticism. 

Her goal is "an exploration of autobiography, women narrators, and 'southernness,' and 

the ways in which regionality, gender, and genre are experienced, enacted and thus made 

visible in a variety of life writings by southern women." 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanSurette, Leon. Dreams of a 

totalitarian utopia: literary modernism and politics. McGill-Queen's, 2011. 363p bibl 


Also author of Pound in Purgatory (CH, Sep'00, 38-0167), A Light from Eleusis (1979), and 

other works, Surette (emer., Univ. of Western Ontario) has written a cogent study of three 

modernist writers--Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, and Wyndham Lewis--whose revolutionary 

aesthetics informed their conservative politics. Frederic Jameson's Fables of Aggression 

(CH, Dec'79) and Andrew Hewitt's Fascist Modernism (CH, Dec'93, 31-2251) cover similar 

ground, but Surette's approach is remarkably even in tone--he does not attempt to excuse 

the inexcusable, nor is he intent on assigning guilt. He is very good at contextualizing these 

writers' political thought and showing that in the early 20th century their stance--distrust 

of industrial capitalism and the mass man/mass culture it was producing, and suspicion



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that liberal democracy was a facade for an oligarchy that exploited most people and saw 

art as merely commodity--was not unusual. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanFradkin, Philip L. Everett Ruess: 

his short life, mysterious death, and astonishing afterlife. California, 2011. 279p bibl 

index afp ISBN 0-520-26542-4, $24.95; ISBN 9780520265424, $24.95. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

This is a fine biography of Ruess, writer/artist/explorer who disappeared, at age 20, in the 

Utah desert in 1934--thus joining such figures as Ambrose Bierce and Weldon Kees, artistic 

spirits who also disappeared in the West. Ruess has become a celebrated case: a young 

man who could not find his place, left his family behind, and preferred to be alone yet 

sought company in his travels through western landscapes. He seems not to have 

established a firm identity; Fradkin alienated the Ruess family by theorizing that Everett 

may have been bipolar. Although Fradkin's is the first biography of Reuss, Ruess has been 

revealed and his disappearance probed in several books, including Mark Taylor's Sandstone 

Sunsets: In Search of Everett Ruess (1997); On Desert Trails with Everett Ruess, ed. by Hugh 

Lacey (1940), a collection of Ruess's work; W. L. Rusho's The Mystery of Everett Ruess 

(1983; rev. ed., 2010), which collects many of Ruess's letters; and The Wilderness Journals 

of Everett Ruess, ed. by Rusho (1998). John O'Grady placed him in august company in his 

Pilgrims to the Wild: Everett Ruess, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Clarence King, Mary 

Austin (CH, Jul'93, 30-6029). Valuable for western collections. Excellent notes, bibliography, 

and index. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanHendrickson, Paul. 

Hemingway's boat: everything he loved in life, and lost, 1934-1961. Knopf, 2011. 531p 

bibl index; ISBN 9781400041626, $30.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Writing in the first person, prize-winning nonfiction writer Paul Hendrickson (Univ. of 

Pennsylvania) offers a hefty, creatively told exploration of the last 27 years (1934-61) of 

Hemingway's life. He takes readers along as he travels and does extensive research into the 

archives and the inner lives of the Hemingway sons. His vehicle is the boat, primarily 

Hemingway's Pilar, the Cuban 38-foot love of his nautical life ("She'd been intimately his for 

27 years," writes Hendrickson). This is a study of self-inflicted "ruin," a striving for 

"sainthood," and the "tensions unresolved in American males." 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanKanellos, Nicolás. Hispanic 

immigrant literature: el sueño del retorno. Texas, 2011. 201p bibl index afp ISBN 0-292- 


As director of the Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage of the United States project, 

Kanellos (Univ. of Houston) has an unsurpassed wealth of knowledge to offer. Uniquely 

capable of mapping the progression from oral to print literature, the author outlines the 

development of themes Hispanic texts treat (such as nation building, cultural preservation, 

anti-assimilation, and conservative feminism). He also takes care to distinguish between 

native, transmigrant, and exile authors. Kanellos reveals his premise in the book's subtitlethe 

dream of the return. In Hispanic immigrant literature, the desire to return to the 

homeland (whether actualized or imaginary) determines plot structure. Yet he moves 

beyond the central binary (American Dream/melting pot versus reality) in most immigrant 

texts. His work culminates with two chapters on "immigration and gender," one offering 

female perspectives, the other male. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanParr, Katherine. Katherine Parr: 

complete works and correspondence, ed. by Janel Mueller. Chicago, 2011. 645p index afp 

ISBN 0-226-64724-2, $65.00; ISBN 9780226647241, $65.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE.


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Mueller has to her credit, among other titles, four collections of work by Elizabeth I (e.g., 

the two-volume Elizabeth I, coedited with Joshua Scodel, CH, Oct'09, 47-0713). Following a 

general introduction and four chronological chapters of Parr's letters, Mueller offers the 

monarch's Psalms or Prayers (1544), Prayers or Meditations (1545), The Lamentation of a 

Sinner (1547), and her Personal Prayerbook (c. 1544-48), formerly attributed to Lady Jane 

Grey but which Mueller has identified as Parr's. Each work is prefaced with its own 

introduction and glossed with extensive annotations citing primary and secondary sources 

(a separate works cited would have been helpful). Texts are modernized, except those that 

exist only in Parr's handwriting and not in printed versions or scribal copies. Appendixes 

present the "Elton Hall Inscriptions Relating to Katherine Parr" and "The Inventory of 

Katherine Parr's Personal Effects." As Mueller writes in her introduction, Parr (Henry VIII's 

last wife) was "the first woman to publish in print a work of her own under her own name, 

in England and in English"; accordingly, this meticulous volume will prove vital to historians, 

literary scholars, and others interested in early modern women writers. It is unlikely to be 

superseded. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanAdams, Edward. Liberal epic: 

the Victorian practice of history from Gibbon to Churchill. Virginia, 2011. 322p bibl index 

afp; ISBN 9780813931456, $39.50; ISBN 9780813931500 e-book, contact publisher for 


Adams makes an ambitious, compelling case for a new interpretation of British historical 

writing from the mid-18th century to the mid-20th. The book is ambitious because it not 

only encompasses the work of a dozen historianse.g., Hume, Macaulay, Carlyle, Napier, 

Buckle, Trevelyan--but also reveals the inspiration they owed (and their kinship with) such 

non-historians as Dryden, Pope, Byron, Scott, Morris, and Hardy. The book is compelling 

because Adams is relentless, resourceful, and often dramatic in making his argument, and 

he supports it with apt quotation. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanHenry, Katherine. Liberalism 

and the culture of security: the nineteenth-century rhetoric of reform. Alabama, 2011. 

213p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780817317225, $36.50; ISBN 9780817385101 e-book, $29.20. 


Henry (Temple Univ.) sounds her "barbaric yawp" in this tracing of liberal traditions and 

mores in the US during the 19th century. What makes Henry's narrative unique is that she 

carefully looks at the concept of "liberalism," and she discusses the American contributions 

to the ideas of democracy and freedom. She also provides perspectives on matters such as 

slavery, poverty, and women's rights, putting these issues in the context of both 19th- and 

21st-century America 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanReynolds, David S. Mightier 

than the sword: Uncle Tom's cabin and the battle for America. W.W. Norton, 2011. 351p 

index ISBN 0-393-08132-X, $27.95; ISBN 9780393081329, $27.95. Outstanding Title! 


As the most influential novel of the 19th century, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's 

Cabin (1852) has received much attention. Now Reynolds (English and American studies, 

CUNY) offers a brilliant biography of this important work. Writing in an authoritative, 

entertaining voice, he analyzes the rich historical context in which Stowe was writing and 

shows, as he writes in chapter 3, "Antislavery Passion," that "all kinds of cultural 

phenomena--visionary fiction, biblical narratives, pro- and anti-Catholicism, gender issues, 

temperance, moral reform, minstrelsy--contributed to the novel, whose every character 

radiates multiple meanings." 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanBlackford, Holly. Mockingbird 

passing: closeted traditions and sexual curiosities in Harper Lee's novel. Tennessee, 2011. 

349p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781572337497, $56.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE.


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"'Mockingbird' is an apt description for what Lee achieved with her unique coalescence of 

American canons," writes Blackford (Rutgers); these canons include the transcendentalism 

of Emerson and Whitman, the "mythic" melodrama of Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Twain's 

social satire in Huckleberry Finn, and such "modern women's regional writing" as Chopin's 

The Awakening and Wharton's The Age of Innocence. In contrast to Claudia Johnson's To 

Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries (1994), which illuminates Lee's debt to the 

gothic, Blackford's much longer study sheds light on many additional traditions, including 

Henry James's novel of manners and the post-WW II southern fiction of Truman Capote 

(Lee's cousin) and Carson McCullers. Capote figures importantly in Blackford's emphasis on 

the "embedded narrative of homosexuality that encompasses Dill, Boo, and Scout"; Scout 

will survive because she rejects the closet and chooses to "pass" as a lady under the 

tutelage of the African American housekeeper Calpurnia and the "invert" Miss Maudie. 

From camp style to the summer-camp movement, from racial passing to the passing of tea 

cakes, Blackford explores every nuance of Mockingbird's "polyphony." 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanWilson, Eric G. My business is to 

create: Blake's infinite writing. Iowa, 2011. 102p index afp; ISBN 9781587299902, $19.95; 


This book appears to be slight but turns out to be a weighty examination of William Blake 

as a creative artist. Wilson (English, Wake Forest Univ.) writes for nonspecialists, not 

academics specifically, so this is a book for anyone who takes delight in what Blake calls 

"the enjoyments of Genius." Part of the series "Muse Books: The Iowa Series in Creativity 

and Writing," the book is advertised as a kind of handbook for writers and artists. But it is 

more inspirational than the term "handbook" implies because it is not only a fascinating 

study of the creative imagination but also an eloquent (implicit) case for the importance of 

the arts. On a practical level, the book serves as a superb introduction to Blake and his 

work and his wide-ranging influence on counterculture and popular culture. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanMy Viet: Vietnamese American 

literature in English, 1962-present, ed. by Michele Janette. Hawai'i, 2011. 250p afp; ISBN 


For many Americans, "Vietnam" means a war rather than a country. With this collection of 

Vietnamese American literature in English, Janette (Kansas State Univ.) provides a muchneeded 

corrective to this assumption. Written entirely from the Vietnamese perspective, 

these pieces offer readers the opportunity to forego the American point of view well 

documented in earlier collections such as The Vietnam War in American Stories, Songs, and 

Poems, ed. by H. Bruce Franklin (1996). 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanChakkalakal, Tess. Novel 

bondage: slavery, marriage, and freedom in nineteenth-century America. Illinois, 2011. 

145p bibl index afp ISBN 0-252-03633-6, $40.00; ISBN 9780252036330, $40.00. Reviewed 


How do race, slavery, marriage, and freedom among African Americans intersect and 

function in literature and law? Chakkalakal (African studies and English, Bowdoin College) 

explores and explicates this consequential issue through an analysis and refreshing 

reexamination of 19th-century literature by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frank Webb, Frances 

Harper, and Charles Chesnutt, among others. Drawing on archival materials, coupled with 

readings of legal conventions of marriage, the author illuminates the ways writers--both 

black and white--represent the complex dynamics governing slave marriage and unions in 

19th-century America. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanRobbins, Ruth. Oscar Wilde. 

Continuum International Publishers Group, 2011. 193p bibl index; ISBN 9780826498519, 

$75.00; ISBN 9780826498526 pbk, $24.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE.


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According to Wilde, "Every great man nowadays has his disciples, and it is always Judas 

who writes the biography." There have been many biographies of Wilde, but too many of 

them have been written by a "Judas" who has portrayed him as a cautionary tale, tragic 

hero, or co-opted champion of contemporary gay rights and socialism. (This reviewer 

admits that his own vision of Wilde tends toward the last of these.) Ostensibly intended as 

a primer on Wilde's life and works, the present beautifully written book will be invaluable 

to all Wilde scholars because Robbins (cultural studies, Leeds Metropolitan Univ., UK) 

presents Wilde as a human being with a soul and not as a cartoon character whose entire 

life can be understood through his trial and death. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ GeneralAshley, Mike. Out of this world: science 

fiction, but not as you know it. British Library, 2011. (Dist. by Chicago), 144p bibl index; 

ISBN 9780712358354 pbk, $29.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

In this exhibition catalog for the British Library's science-fiction exhibition of the same title, 

Ashley (a science-fiction researcher) provides a condensed yet fascinating and entertaining 

history of science fiction. He begins by looking at "alien worlds" in classic travelers' tales as 

envisioned in the Odyssey and ends with a section titled "The Perfect World?" as imagined 

in utopian tropes like Orwell's 1984. Beautifully illustrated--numerous text boxes provide 

detailed information on various notable historical figures connected with science fiction 

(Jules Verne, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Philip K. Dick)--the book provides a clear, 

concise overview of the evolution of the genre. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanCarter, Sarah. Ovidian myth and 

sexual deviance in early modern English literature. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 212p bibl 

index; ISBN 9780230244238, $80.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Carter's innovative, intriguing study examines the Ovidian myths that appeared most 

frequently in English literature from about 1540 to 1640: Philomela, Lucrece, Ganymede, 

Hermaphroditus, Pygmalion, Myrrha, and Adonis. What, she asks, drew writers to these 

particular myths? Why, for example, did Philomela and Lucrece resonate more powerfully 

than other tales of rape and violence, and why did Ganymede rather than Hyacinthus 

become the primary exemplum of male-male desire? The author demonstrates that these 

recurrently chosen myths enabled early modern writers both to depict sexual behavior and 

to discourse on sexualities that the period defined as deviant. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanDellamora, Richard. Radclyffe 

Hall: a life in the writing. Pennsylvania, 2011. 319p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780812243468, 


This is perhaps the definitive book on Radclyffe Hall (1880-1943). Dellamora (UCLA) puts his 

background in Victorianism and queer studies to use in this readable treatment of Hall's 

body of work, from her early poetry (published under the name Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall) 

to her letters, published as Your John: The Love Letters of Radclyffe Hall (CH, Sep'97, 35- 

0125). Most work on Hall has focused on The Well of Loneliness (1928), particularly its 

prosecution in England for obscenity. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanCoulombe, Joseph L. Reading 

Native American literature. Routledge, 2011. 188p bibl index; ISBN 9780415579421, 

$120.00; ISBN 9780415579438 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9780203832905 e-book, contact 


Coulombe (Rowan Univ.) speaks about his subject engagingly, refreshingly, and with joy. He 

offers well-illustrated discussions of Native American literature and how non-Native 

readers view it; how words change meaning from tribe to tribe and culture to culture; and 

contemporary cross-cultural attitudes vis-à-vis Native American literature. The author 

builds the book around the work of premiere Native American writers--N. Scott Momaday,



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Gerald Vizenor, Leslie Silko, Sherman Alexie, and Linda Hogan--providing a thorough 

examination of how Native literature affects today's readers. Every page supplies evidence 

of Coulombe's arguments, and a rich bibliography and deep index will serve readers well. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanBell, Robert H. Shakespeare's 

great stage of fools. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 186p bibl index; ISBN 9780230115118, 


In this interesting book--which at times makes one wonder whether the author is playing 

with his readers the way Shakespeare played with his audiences--Bell (Williams College) 

offers a coherent, humane account of fools and foolery in the plays of Shakespeare. Bell 

takes authorial intention seriously. His purpose "is not to idealize the fool or to make 

another simple reversal of binary oppositions" but rather to recognize that through the 

"ongoing exchange between opposites such as sublime and ridiculous," fools bring one 

"closer to the heights and depths of experience and keep both poles in play." Written with 

the same playful exuberance that marked Bell's examination of humor in Joyce, Jocoserious 

Joyce: The Fate of Folly in Ulysses (CH, Jun'91, 28-5536), this treatise lives up to the formula 

of the Roman poet Horace, who urged authors to teach while delighting. Offering witty, 

insightful close readings that explain the ways fools help one make sense of the seemingly 

senseless, Bell shows how "the fool is on our side and at one with us." 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanRitschel, Nelson O'Ceallaigh. 

Shaw, Synge, Connolly, and socialist provocation. University Press of Florida, 2011. 266p 



Ritschel's superb study focuses on two entwined themes: the rise of militant socialism in 

Ireland from the 1890s through the ill-fated 1916 Easter Rising, and the role George 

Bernard Shaw played in the process as an agent provocateur, particularly in regard to his 

dialectical relationship with the socially liberal dramatist J. M. Synge and the socialist 

agitator James Connolly. According to Ritschel (humanities, Massachusetts Maritime 

Academy), the three principals were committed socialists who often (but not always) 

differed profoundly in terms of philosophies and methods, with Synge and Connolly 

standing for nationalism and combativeness and Shaw standing for internationalism and 

gradualism. These differences, writes Ritschel, surface in intertextual stage encounters 

between Shaw and Synge and also manifest themselves during pivotal junctures of history. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanWolfe, Peter. Simon Gray 

unbound: the journey of a dramatist. McFarland, 2011. 249p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Playwright, diarist, and novelist Simon Gray (1936-2008) is among the most accomplished 

of the British authors unfamiliar to US audiences. But this should now change substantially, 

thanks to the appearance of this book. Wolfe's well-executed, uncommonly astute, 

eminently readable critical study charts the journey--the evolutionary progress--of the 

conflicted Englishman's distinctive dramatic art--an art that inscribes continuity of concern 

rather than univocity of theme, and overtly inclines toward darkness yet secretly yearns for 

redemption. The creative force behind some 40 plays written for stage, television, and film, 

Gray undertook a sustained odyssey that, according to Wolfe, began with forays across icy 

patches of wit, meandered through barren swatches of assorted blight, and culminated in 

arid landscapes peopled by professionals unable to forge meaningful connections with one 

another. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ GeneralWallace, David. Strong women: life, text, 

and territory, 1347-1645. Oxford, 2011. 288p bibl index afp (Clarendon lectures in 

English, 2007) ISBN 0-19-954171-X, $55.00; ISBN 9780199541713, $55.00. Reviewed in 

2012feb CHOICE.


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In this volume, Wallace (Univ. of Pennsylvania) expands the scope of both biography and 

literary analysis. Looking at the recorded lives of four women--two medieval and two early 

modern--he explores everything from the meaning of travel in the premodern period to the 

historical and cultural reasons these women reemerged in the modern age. Often, this 

range is exhilarating and insightful; Wallace's meditations on the way these women reject 

enclosure and his historical investigation of the rediscovery of their work, especially 

Margery Kemp's, provide a wonderful new way of viewing these texts. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ GeneralOatley, Keith. Such stuff as dreams: the 

psychology of fiction. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. 275p bibl indexes; ISBN 9780470974575 pbk, 


CHOICE. 

In this intriguing, well-written book, Oatley (emer., cognitive psychology, Univ. of Toronto) 

offers another resounding answer to an age-old question: how and why does fiction 

influence readers? What distinguishes this work from others is the clarity of Oatley's 

expression and the fine prose he uses to explain psychological aspects of this issue. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanStuckey-French, Ned. The 

American essay in the American century. Missouri, 2011. 256p bibl index afp ISBN 0- 

8262-1925-X, $60.00; ISBN 9780826219251, $60.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 


In this highly readable study, Stuckey-French (Florida State Univ.) traces the history of the 

essay in the US over the first half of the 20th century, showing how essayists responded to 

or ignored social and political currents. Dismissed by the elite as a stodgy British genre, the 

essay was claimed in the early part of the century by the growing middlebrow readers of 

the new popular magazines. The author brings a sympathetic understanding of the people 

of the new middle class, their yearning to become sophisticated, and the role of magazine 

advertisements and essays in guiding their way. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanBetz, Phyllis M. The lesbian 

fantastic: a critical study of science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, and gothic writings. 

McFarland, 2011. 203p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780786458851 pbk, $40.00; ISBN 


"Lesbians are scary. Scary because they contradict standard concepts of what women look 

like, how they should behave, and who they ought to love." So writes Betz (La Salle Univ.) 

in the preface to this book, her third volume of criticism of lesbian fiction (after Lesbian 

Detective Fiction, Jun'07, 44-5480, and Lesbian Romance Novels, 2009). Betz is particularly 

interested in fantasy genres--from gothic to sci fi--since they allow writers (identifying as 

lesbian or nonlesbian) to explore cultures, worlds, and beliefs in which same-sex love can 

be reimagined and redefined. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanEliot, T. S. The letters of T. S. 

Eliot: v.1: 1898-1922 (rev. ed.); v.2: 1923-1925, ed. by Valerie Eliot and Hugh Haughton. 

Yale, 2011. 2v indexes afp; ISBN 9780300176452 v.1 |c; ISBN 9780300176865 v.2, $45.00 

ea. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Though the long-awaited second volume Eliot's letters covers only three years, it offers a 

trove of important correspondence--much of it business letters related to Eliot's literary 

magazine The Criterion (1922-39), which detail Eliot's exhausting work as editor as he 

sought to publish both the famous and the then unknown. Taken as a whole, volume 2 

begins to tell the story of a brilliant, influential magazine that Eliot strove to make 

"international." Joining volume 2 is a revised edition of volume 1, newly edited by Valerie 

Eliot (Eliot's second wife) and Hugh Haughton (Univ. of York, UK), which adds some 200 

letters to the first edition (1988).



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Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanForster, John. The life of Charles 

Dickens: the illustrated edition, ed. by Holly Furneaux. Sterling Signatures, 2011. 512p 

index ISBN 1-4027-7285-8, $45.00; ISBN 9781402772856, $45.00. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

Forster's The Life of Charles Dickens, published 1872-74, is the starting point for any study 

of Dickens's life. Dickens's friend, confidante, and literary and legal adviser, Forster knew 

the novelist perhaps better than anyone else almost from the beginning. Dickens left all of 

his papers to Forster to be used in writing the authorized biography. Although the present 

volume is abridged, Furneaux (Univ. of Leicester, UK) assures the reader that all of the key 

elements of the biography have been retained. Prefatory matter includes an introduction 

by Jane Smiley, who contributed Charles Dickens (CH, Nov'02, 40-1405) to the literature on 

Dickens, and an account of Forster's association with Dickens. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanEdmondson, George. The 

neighboring text: Chaucer, Boccaccio, Henryson. Notre Dame, 2011. 280p bibl index afp 

ISBN 0268027757 pbk, $40.00; ISBN 9780268027759 pbk, $40.00. Outstanding Title! 


Edmondson (Dartmouth) has written an exemplary study of literary relations of the late 

Middle Ages. Broadly speaking, this book concerns the so-called Matter of Troy and the 

interconnectedness of three writers and their works: Robert Henryson's Testament of 

Cresseid, Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, and Boccaccio's Il Filostrato. Specifically, 

the author is concerned with the concept of the neighbor: how do these authors and their 

texts rub up against one another, and what are the literary and historical consequences. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanWinter, Sarah. The pleasures of 

memory: learning to read with Charles Dickens. Fordham, 2011. 455p bibl index afp; ISBN 



Winter (Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs) argues that serial publication of Dickens's fiction 

enabled the writer to forge a community of memory with his middle- and lower-class 

readers, a community based on the pleasure of living emotionally for months at a time with 

the poor orphans of his novels. Thus, Dickens contested with Evangelical Tractarians the 

grounds of the moral formation of Britain's poor. Winter shows that Dickens's secular 

humanitarianism led his readers to join his project of social reform over against the 

Evangelical project of social control and submission to providential poverty and suffering. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanMichie, Elsie B. The vulgar 

question of money: heiresses, materialism, and the novel of manners from Jane Austen 

to Henry James. Johns Hopkins, 2011. 303p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781421401867, $70.00. 


Michie (Louisiana State Univ.) has written an indispensable survey of the figure of the rich 

woman in the novel of manners from Austen to James. In her excellent opening chapter, 

the author situates Austen's characters and plots in the context of 18th-century theorists of 

moral sentiment such as David Hume and Adam Smith, in doing so considering related 

concepts such as taste, manners versus virtue, and sympathy. In subsequent chapters, she 

provides sensitive, eye-opening discussions of Anthony Trollope, Frances Trollope, 

Margaret Oliphant, and James. Michie demonstrates throughout the book the ways in 

which "the marriage plot is a way of thinking about social inequities in a general sense." 

Michie's writing is clear, precise, and lucid. An important work 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ GeneralThompson, Carl. Travel writing. Routledge, 

2011. 229p bibl index; ISBN 9780415444644, $95.00; ISBN 9780415444651, $22.95; ISBN 

9780203816240 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE.


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As a member of the Centre for Travel Writing Studies, Thompson (English, Nottingham 

Trent Univ., UK) is ideally positioned to explore travel writing as a literary genre. Because 

definitions shape what gets studied and how, the author devotes the first (important) 

chapter to broadening the definition of travel writing to include work previously considered 

outside the bounds of academic study, even to the extent of exclusion from the literary 

canon altogether. In subsequent chapters, he provides a broad, useful historical overview 

of travel writing, from ancient times to the present, and considers critical issues faced by 

writers and readers of travel writing--for example, verifying the factual basis of narratives, 

grappling with issues of colonialism. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanHochman, Barbara. Uncle Tom's 

cabin and the reading revolution: race, literacy, childhood, and fiction, 1851-1911. 

Massachusetts, 2011. 377p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781558498938, $80.00; ISBN 


As befits a book so influential that it reputedly helped instigate the American Civil War, 

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (published in serial form in 1851 and in book 

form in 1852) has been extensively studied by scholars. Some of the most notable volumes 

about its history, circulation, and audience are E. Bruce Kirkham's The Building of Uncle 

Tom's Cabin (CH, Mar'78), Sarah Meer's Uncle Tom Mania: Slavery, Minstrelsy, and 

Transatlantic Culture in the 1850s (CH, Feb'06, 43-3273), Jo-Ann Morgan's Uncle Tom's 

Cabin as Visual Culture (CH, Apr'08, 45-4167), and Claire Parfait's The Publishing History of 

Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1852-2002 (2007). Hochman (foreign literatures and linguistics, Ben- 

Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Israel) has built on these works and created something original. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanWill, Barbara. Unlikely 

collaboration: Gertrude Stein, Bernard Faÿ, and the Vichy dilemma. Columbia, 2011. 

274p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780231152624, $35.00; ISBN 9780231526418 e-book, contact 

publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

In the period between the two world wars, Gertrude Stein supported France's Vichy 

government, made anti-Semitic remarks, and disdained male homosexuals. These positions 

have caused scholars to ask how an artistic modernist such as Stein could be a political 

reactionary. That is the question Will (Dartmouth) engages by focusing on Stein's friendship 

with French writer and scholar Bernard FaŸ, a Vichy collaborator, whose influence helped 

protect Stein and Alice Toklas from persecution and deportation during the German 

occupation. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanMaus, Derek C. Unvarnishing 

reality: subversive Russian and American Cold War satire. South Carolina, 2011. 247p bibl 

index afp ISBN 1-57003-985-2, $49.95; ISBN 9781570039850, $49.95. Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

Betraying his text with a simplifying introduction that declares his goal to be "to reveal the 

existence and scope of such nonaligned critiques [of the Cold War, its operative doctrines, 

and binary logic] and then to evaluate their philosophical merit," Maus (SUNY, Potsdam) 

offers a detailed, scholarly treatment of Russian and American fiction (especially the latter) 

from the period. The breadth of Maus's critical reading is impressive and sets his text apart 

from other treatments of Cold War literature that include Soviet and/or Russian material 

(for example, David Caute's Politics and the Novel during the Cold War, CH, Dec'10, 48- 

1888). Perhaps unavoidably, American authors (Pynchon, Barth, Vonnegut, Coover, and 

DeLillo, for example) are emphasized, but Soviet authors such as Aksyonov, Voinovich, and 

Zinoviev are also treated as creators of "subversive satire." 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanKrockel, Carl. War trauma and 

English modernism: T. S. Eliot and D. H. Lawrence. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 241p bibl 

index ISBN 0-230-29157-0, $85.00; ISBN 9780230291577, $85.00. Reviewed in 2012feb 

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The most productive period in British poetry occurred during the early stages of WW I. 

Readers will be familiar with the principal war poets--Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brook, 

Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, Richard Aldington, et al.--who wrote movingly of personal 

experience on the battlefield. Krockel (independent scholar) expands the traditional 

parameters to include noncombatants Lawrence and Eliot, whose prose and poetry reflect 

close parallels with work by soldiers experiencing trauma. Both tried to enlist and were 

rejected; both suffered psychological collapse--anxiety, remorse, and shell shock. (In 

particular, Lawrence experienced traumatic imitation, identifying with the aggressor as a 

coping mechanism for survival in a hate-mongering society.) Exploring his theme 

chronologically, Krockel details concurrent trauma neurosis: onset, anxiety, defense, 

attempted recovery. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanWilla Cather and modern 

cultures, ed. by Melissa J. Homestead and Guy J. Reynolds. Nebraska, 2011. 306p index 

afp (Cather studies, 9) ISBN 0803237723 pbk, $40.00; ISBN 9780803237728 pbk, $40.00. 


This collection of informative essays traces Cather's encounters with innovations in early 

20th-century culture. Previous scholars have acknowledged her engagement with literary 

modernism via experimentation in form and technique. Contributors to this volume explore 

a range of factors that compelled a woman steeped in late Victorian culture to confront a 

complex modern world: railways, anthropology, opera, painting, popular music, and urban 

life. Extensive discussions of The Song of the Lark and The Professor's House reflect Cather's 

nuanced engagement with place, including a range of cultural settings. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanFoster, R. F. Words alone: Yeats 

and his inheritance. Oxford, 2011. 236p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780199592166, $29.95. 


William Butler Yeats was always remaking himself as a poet and revising his canon, and in 

his autobiographical and critical writing he often took care to create an image of himself as 

challenging the traditions that preceded him. Revisionist historian R. F. Foster (Univ. of 

Oxford, UK) sets out to contextualize the poet's interests and early literary persona, 

focusing primarily on the decade from 1885 to 1895. Author of a magisterial two-volume 

biography, W. B. Yeats: A Life (CH, Oct'97, 35-0770; May'04, 41-5145), Foster describes the 

poet as both a recipient and an interrogator of a literary tradition, and sorts out Yeats's 

tangled intellectual pedigree. Emanating from Foster's 2009 Clark Lectures, the book begins 

by looking at Irish writing in the early years of the Anglo-Irish Union of 1800 and includes 

chapters on nationalism and the midcentury Young Ireland movement, Romanticism, 

Celticism and its literary manifestations, and the poet's Anglo-Irish background, exploring 

themes of the supernatural in the 19th-century Irish consciousness. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ English & AmericanWriting as enlightenment: 

Buddhist American literature into the twenty-first century, ed. by John Whalen-Bridge and 

Gary Storhoff. SUNY Press, 2011. 193p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781438439198, $75.00; ISBN 


Whalen-Bridge (National Univ. of Singapore) and Storhof (Univ. of Connecticut, Stamford)also 

editors of, for example, The Emergence of Buddhist American Literature (2009)contend 

that Buddhism has been transmitted effectively through US literature and become 

"an important cultural dimension of America." The editors and their contributors are 

convincing in advancing this view.


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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Central & Eastern 

EuropePlakans, Andrejs. A concise history of the Baltic States. Cambridge, 2011. 472p 

bibl index; ISBN 9780521833721, $75.00; ISBN 9780521541558 pbk, $27.99. Reviewed in 


The "concise" in the title comes from being part of the publisher's "concise histories" 

series; it is 50 percent longer than Andres Kasekamp's A History of the Baltic States (CH, 

Jun'11, 48-5817). The histories of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are not easy to combine, 

but well-known scholar of Baltic history Plakans (emer., Iowa State Univ.) provides clear, 

insightful analyses of social and culture change over eight centuries. Plakans is lured into an 

exciting narrative only as he reaches the peaceful mass demonstrations that helped hurry 

the Soviet Union into extinction. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ GeneralWoolf, Daniel. 

A global history of history. Cambridge, 2011. 568p bibl index; ISBN 9780521875752, 


Balanced in both coverage and perspective, this encyclopedic treatise of the traditions of 

history writing around the world is a serious (and successful, in this reviewer's opinion) 

attempt to transcend Eurocentrism in the field of historiography, which studies not only 

how history is studied and written, but also how it is thought of at the meta level. 


EuropeMeinander, Henrik. A history of Finland, tr. by Tom Geddes. Columbia, 2011. 227p 

bibl afp; ISBN 9780231800600 e-book, $29.99; ISBN 9780231701921, $37.50. Outstanding 

Title! Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

An excellent counterpoint to David Kirby's A Concise History of Finland (CH, Sep'07, 45- 

0486), this volume goes well beyond the chiefly political analysis that informs Kirby's survey 

and includes substantial information on literary, philosophical, musical, linguistic, 

pedagogical, and general cultural topics, providing a deeper and more nuanced overview of 

the Finns from prehistoric times to the present. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ AfricaWallace, 

Marion. A history of Namibia: from the beginning to 1990, by Marion Wallace with John 

Kinahan. Columbia, 2011. 451p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780231701945, $40.00; ISBN 


Namibia is indeed "one of Africa's least understood and studied countries." It has drawn 

little attention beyond issues related to South African control from 1915 to 1990, but this 

near-comprehensive survey helps fill the gap. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaWoods, 

James M. A history of the Catholic Church in the American South, 1513-1900. University 

Press of Florida, 2011. 498p bibl index afp ISBN 0-8130-3532-5, $69.95; ISBN 


In the popular mind, the early origins of the American founding often begin with Protestant 

Jamestown or Puritan New England. For too long, scholarship on the early origins of 

American Catholicism has lagged; even more so has understanding of its southern roots. 

Although admittedly not an original work, Woods's study skillfully merges the 

historiography of American Catholicism and southern history into one coherent picture 

from the early colonial period to the late 19th century 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ United 

KingdomLarsen, Timothy. A people of one book: the Bible and the Victorians. Oxford, 

2011. 326p bibl index afp ISBN 0-19-957009-4, $55.00; ISBN 9780199570096, $55.00. 

Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE.


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Prolific historian of Victorian religion Larsen's insightful work analyzes the intertwining role 

that the Bible played in Victorian thought. His central thesis is that the Bible formed the 

central framework through which the Victorians defined themselves. In his well-balanced 

work, Larsen (Wheaton College) critiques not only men and women, but also 

representative works of people from many different theological and intellectual 

persuasions. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaHall, 

David D. A reforming people: Puritanism and the transformation of public life in New 

England. Knopf, 2011. 255p index ISBN 0-679-44117-4, $29.95; ISBN 9780679441175, 


Whenever Harvard Divinity School professor Hall, one of the premier scholars of American 

Puritanism, writes books and articles, those interested in early American history and 

culture should pay heed. This lucidly written, clearly organized work on New England 

"social practices and the workings of politics" from 1630 to 1650 argues convincingly that 

the members of New England's founding generation "brought into being churches, civil 

governments, and a code of laws that collectively marked them as the most advanced 

reformers of the Anglo-colonial world." 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ AfricaCampbell, 

Penelope. Africare: black American philanthropy in Africa. Transaction, 2011. 238p bibl 

index; ISBN 9781412842433, $39.95. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Begun in 1971 to mobilize African American fund-raising for needy Africans, Africare 

evolved into a major player in administering economic and social support from many 

resources to postcolonial African countries. In this much needed history, Campbell's well 

researched, tightly written prose documents the story of the philanthropic organization 

and provides a rich account of how foreign aid nurtured and shaped the emerging cultures 

of Africa. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Asia & 

OceaniaSpodek, Howard. Ahmedabad: shock city of twentieth-century India. Indiana, 

2011. 330p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780253355874, $49.95; ISBN 9780253000835 e-book, 


Spodek (Temple Univ.) is a renowned world historian and highly respected specialist in 

Indian urban history, particularly that of Ahmedabad, which he first visited in 1964. It has 

been his second home ever since. As a "shock city," a term coined by Asa Briggs in 1963 

about 1830s Manchester, it contains all the social, ethnic, environmental, and economic 

problems found in such shock cities through the decades. Based on its textile industry, 

Ahmedabad is the "Manchester of India." 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ GeneralBlang, Eugenie 

M. Allies at odds: America, Europe, and Vietnam, 1961-1968. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 

274p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781442209220, $85.00; ISBN 9781442209237 e-book, $85.00. 


This well-organized, ably written book delivers what the title promises. Blang (Hampton 

Univ.) examines US relations with France, West Germany, and Britain during the Kennedy- 

Johnson escalation of the war in Vietnam. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Asia & OceaniaXu, 

Guangqiu. American doctors in Canton: modernization in China, 1835-1935. Transaction, 

2011. 343p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781412818292, $59.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

This pioneering work explores the role US medical missionaries played in the establishment 

of a modern medical care and educational system in Canton, China, in the 19th and early- 

20th centuries. Canton was the only city open to foreign trade in the early-19th century,



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and was also where the first US doctors of the medical missionary movement came to 

advance Christianity in China. By providing modern medical care and education to the 

native Chinese in Canton, US doctors seemed to be less successful in their religious 

missions, but much more successful in helping the Cantonese establish the first hospitals of 

modern Western medicine, first medical and nursing schools, first public health programs, 

first women's health and rights programs, and first modern charitable and philanthropic 

programs and organizations. 


EuropeWeingartner, James J. Americans, Germans and war crimes justice: law, memory 

and "the good war". Praeger, 2011. 231p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780313381928, $44.95; 

ISBN 9780313381935 e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Weingartner's book is not an ordinary historical account of war crimes and their trials in the 

European Theater of Operations in WW II. Noting that "[m]ost atrocities in World War II 

went unreported and unpunished," the author delves into two rather obscure trials, one 

involving German military and civilian defendants who allegedly killed a disabled B-17 crew 

in the town of Borkum on the North Sea. The other involved US combat soldiers who killed 

several German civilians in and around Voerde, Germany, near the Dutch border. 

Weingartner compares and contrasts the US Army's handling of both cases, giving 

prominence to what, by all accounts, is a double standard--one for the German defendants 

in the Borkum affair and another for the US defendants in the Voerde trial. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Asia & OceaniaStrand, 

David. An unfinished republic: leading by word and deed in modern China. California, 

2011. 387p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780520267367, $65.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

This richly eloquent study of China's early-20th-century political culture stands out as a 

thought-provoking departure from the conventional narratives of Nationalist China, 

particularly the history of the newly emerging republic following the 1911 Revolution. 

Studying a wealth of diplomatic statements, political discourses, and other contemporary 

sources, Strand (politics and history, Dickinson College) refutes the traditional view that a 

post-1911 republic failed to become a republic in the true philosophical sense. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaArab 

Detroit 9/11: life in the terror decade, ed. by Nabeel Abraham, Sally Howell, and Andrew 

Shryock. Wayne State, 2011. 413p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780814335000 pbk, $24.95. 


This incredible text is an update published ten years after the first report, Arab Detroit (CH, 

Feb'01, 38-3592). It charts at once a completely different metropolitan area and also 

examines the preparedness of a community for a decade of terror. While many Americans 

think of the last decade as terror visited on the US from outside, Arabs and Muslims in 

metropolitan Detroit experienced a decade of terror from within the US. 


KingdomArtefacts in Roman Britain: their purpose and use, ed. by Lindsay Allason-Jones. 

Cambridge, 2011. 356p bibl index; ISBN 9780521860123, $82.00; ISBN 9780521677523 


This book was a wonderful surprise, far different and far better than its title suggests. The 

title led one to expect, and desire, something like a lengthy catalog with accompanying 

explanations and copious photographs. Instead, the subtitle, "Their Purpose and Use," 

forecasts the contents. Editor Allason-Jones is a distinguished, deeply learned scholar and 

director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Artefact Studies and reader in Roman material 

culture at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Latin America & the 

CaribbeanAyala, César. Battleship Vieques: Puerto Rico from World War II to the Korean 

War, by César J. Ayala and José L. Bolívar. Markus Wiener, 2011. 220p bibl index afp; ISBN 

9781558765382 pbk, $24.95; ISBN 9781558765375, $64.95. Outstanding Title! Reviewed 


Ayala (UCLA) is one of the rising stars in Puerto Rican studies, and Battleship Vieques is an 

excellent and important addition to his growing body of work (much of it, like this book, 

coauthored with others in evidently quite productive collaborations). Using documentary 

and interview sources, the authors masterfully weave together the political, economic, 

military, and personal historical dimensions that have entwined the US and Puerto Rico in 

the small island of Vieques through the naval base established there at the beginning of 

WW II, only recently closed down after protracted protests in all three locales. 


AmericaHenderson, Timothy J. Beyond borders: a history of Mexican migration to the 

United States. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. 182p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781405194297, $89.95; 

ISBN 9781405194303 pbk, $21.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Immigration history between Mexico and the US is vexing and complex. After the 

borderline was finally drawn in 1853, thousands of square miles of Mexico's land and 

people became part of the US. Thereafter, multitudes of Mexicans kept crossing north, as 

no immigration law was enacted or enforced until the 20th century. All the while, the US's 

prosperous economy kept pulling available, reliable, and cheap labor. On the southern side, 

poverty and dislocation continued to feed the US need for an affordable labor pool. The 

Bracero Program during WW II brought in millions of Mexicans on a temporary basis, but 

when it was discontinued in 1965, undocumented immigration replaced it. The fact is that 

Mexican migration into the US has created a slanted equation and a stalemate. Henderson 

(Auburn Univ., Montgomery) argues that both sides have failed to make a workable 

commitment to resolve a situation that keeps millions of Mexicans living in the US under 

the shadow of illegality and vulnerable to exploitation. 


EuropeSteinberg, Jonathan. Bismarck: a life. Oxford, 2011. 577p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Thomas Carlyle once wrote that history is the biography of great men. Some will cite 

Steinberg's biography of Bismarck as a fulfillment of this premise. The author writes, "Otto 

von Bismarck made Germany but never ruled it." He then explores the many facets of this 

complicated man. Included is Bismarck's relationship with the Roman Catholic Church from 

the perspective of his extreme Protestantism; his introduction of liberal (?) or socialist (?) 

programs, depending upon one's viewpoint; his ideas about Jewry in line with the anti- 

Semitism of the day; and his hypochondria, real or imagined. Steinberg (Univ. of 

Pennsylvania) notes that "no statesman of the 19th or 20th century fell ill so frequently, so 

publically [and] so dramatically." 


AmericaAnderson, Terry H. Bush's wars. Oxford, 2011. 282p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Of the countless books on Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terror, few attempt to bring 

these conflicts together into a single volume. This work by historian Anderson (Texas A&M 

Univ.) does just that. In this comprehensive examination, the author offers one of the first 

attempts to connect the origins, history, and outcomes of these post-9/11 US wars initiated 

by President George W. Bush. Anderson nimbly does so in a compelling narrative, guiding 

readers through the history of Iraq and Afghanistan, the origins of al Qaeda, and the events 

of 9/11, to Operation Iraqi Freedom and the expansion of the war in Afghanistan.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Ancient 

HistoryWinterling, Aloys. Caligula: a biography, tr. by Deborah Lucas Schneider, Glenn W. 

Most, and Paul Psoinos. California, 2011. 229p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780520248953, 


Winterling (Univ. of Basel, Switzerland) attempts to completely revise the prevailing view of 

the Emperor Gaius, better known as Caligula. Coming to the throne in 37 CE when only 25, 

Caligula chose at first to rule in a modest and limited manner, respecting the privileges and 

powers of the senatorial aristocracy. But then in 39 he was confronted with a powerful 

conspiracy of leaders of the aristocracy, including his closest advisers and his own sisters. 

Thereafter, he suspected plots everywhere, executed many leading senators, and 

threatened more, and this led to his assassination in the palace in early 41. What lay behind 

these plots and murders was the inner tension in the system created by Augustus, an 

unstable union (dyarchy) of the military princeps and the aristocratic senate, well described 

by Winterling as "an emperor in a republic." Only with Constantine's introduction of the 

dynastic principle 300 years later was the problem finally resolved. The book is clear and 

well organized, written in an accessible and graceful style, and has a helpful genealogical 

chart, good notes, and a well-selected bibliography 


EuropeSmith, Scott B. Captives of revolution: the socialist revolutionaries and the 

Bolshevik dictatorship, 1918-1923. Pittsburgh, 2011. 380p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Although the Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia in 1917, another party--the Socialist 

Revolutionaries--was larger during that year and remained so for some time after the 

revolution. This impressive book examines the struggle between the Bolsheviks and 

Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) in the crucial period of civil war (1918-21), ending with the 

condemnation of the SRs as counter-revolutionaries in a political show trial in 1922. 


AmericaDomhoff, G. William. Class and power in the New Deal: corporate moderates, 

southern Democrats, and the liberal-labor coalition, by G. William Domhoff and Michael J. 

Webber. Stanford, 2011. 288p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780804774529, $80.00; ISBN 


Domhoff and Webber, professors of sociology at two California universities, have produced 

a thoroughly researched and carefully organized examination of the general philosophy of 

the New Deal and three major acts: the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the National Labor 

Relations Act, and the Social Security Act. The work represents a significant challenge to the 

traditional interpretations of the New Deal. Using publications and archival sources that 

were not available to scholars until recently, the authors argue that major players included 

"corporation moderates" and ultraconservatives as well as labor and liberals. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Asia & OceaniaSegal, 

Ethan Isaac. Coins, trade, and the state: economic growth in early medieval Japan. 

Harvard University Asia Center, 2011. (Dist. by Harvard), 258p bibl index afp (Harvard East 

Asian monographs, 334) ISBN 0-674-06068-7, $39.95; ISBN 9780674060685, $39.95. 


Segal (Michigan State Univ.) breaks new ground in Japanese history by focusing on 

economic developments in the 12th-13th centuries that laid the groundwork for the 

economic growth Japan experienced during the period of political decentralization and civil 

war in the 14th-16th centuries. In doing so, Segal fills a gap in knowledge of the economic 

history of Japan before the Edo period. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ GeneralLemire, 

Beverly. Cotton. Berg, 2011. 182p bibl index; ISBN 9781845202996, $99.95; ISBN 

9781845203009 pbk, $39.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE.


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The 4,000-year history of cotton can be traced from the plant's origins in the Indus Valley 

to its global reach (and iconic status) today. The intertwined tales of colonialism, the 

industrial revolution, and the rise of cotton are the heart of this study. Historian Lemire is 

more interested in the cotton gin and the spinning jenny than more recent technology 

(e.g., genetic modification). Cotton's introduction in Europe in the 16th century challenged 

Europe's textile establishment; roiled a society accustomed to sumptuary laws and rigid 

class and gender hierarchies; and inspired a kind of antiglobalization movement avant la 

lettre. 


CaribbeanGillingham, Paul. Cuauhtémoc's bones: forging national identity in modern 

Mexico. New Mexico, 2011. 338p bibl index afp ISBN 0826350372 pbk, $28.95; ISBN 


Mexico is considered one of Latin America's most nationalistic countries. This emblematic 

distinction became generally apparent in the aftermath of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. 

Academics tend to agree that national recognition developed around the late-19th and 

early-20th century by upper- and middle-class intellectuals of diverse political affiliations. 

Mexican-ness and Indigenismo (praise of the indigenous past) flourished at all social levels 

once 1910 revolutionary ideology penetrated community and regional historical beliefs. 

Revolutionary thought and practice was forcefully predicated under the aegis of state 

institutions. Nothing was more revealing of the process than the purported 1940 discovery 

of the tomb and bones of the last Aztec emperor, Cuauhtémoc. The finding was hailed as 

the unearthing of the first Mexican national symbol of resistance to foreign intrusion. The 

process of excavation and certification of authenticity was fraught with material, 

documentary, and ideological fabrications and angry debates. More than seven decades 

after the bones' recovery at Ixcateopan, Guerrero, Emperor Cuauhtémoc's life history and 

ultimate destiny remain elusive, at best. Gillingham's account, based on broad, thorough 

research with an impressive combination of primary and secondary sources, articulates a 

well-written narrative with his profound understanding of Mexican history, lore, myth, and 

culture. Photographs, appendix, and extensive notes 


EuropeMcAuliffe, Mary. Dawn of the Belle Epoque: the Paris of Monet, Zola, Bernhardt, 

Eiffel, Debussy, Clemenceau, and their friends. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 387p bibl 

index afp; ISBN 9781442209275, $26.95; ISBN 9781442209299 e-book, $14.99. Reviewed in 


Somehow out of the disasters of France's l'année terrible--the debacle of the Second 

Empire, national defeat, the loss of Alsace-Lorraine and German occupation, and the siege 

of Paris and the Commune--there emerged the glittering quarter-century Belle Époque. 

Freelance historian McAuliffe chronicles the years (1871-1900) in which this society, 

astonishing in its genius, was somehow created. Mining a host of printed primary sourcesjournals, 

correspondence, and memoirs--the author seeks not so much to explain as to 

inform and entertain. And what a story she has to tell! In a world of breathtaking 

achievement in art, music, drama, dance, sculpture, literature, and occasionally even 

politics, the "to-ings and fro-ings" of those synonymous with the period--Zola, Bernhardt, 

Clemenceau, Eiffel, Debussy, Rodin--are set against the perpetual high drama that was the 

Third Republic. 


EuropeFulbrook, Mary. Dissonant lives: generations and violence through the German 

dictatorships. Oxford, 2011. 515p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780199287208, $65.00. Reviewed 

in 2011dec CHOICE.


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This impressive work examines the experiences of two specific war-youth generations in 

20th-century Germany. The first, Germans born before the Great War (1900-1914), played 

a key role in supporting the Third Reich. The second, those born in the years before Hitler 

came to power (the "1929ers") and socialized under the Nazis, disproportionately 

supported the German Democratic Republic. Fulbrook (Univ. College London), a leading 

historian of modern Germany, investigates how different "social generations" responded to 

the common challenges they encountered and the ways in which these events were 

recorded, discussed, and remembered. 


HistoryWaterfield, Robin. Dividing the spoils: the war for Alexander the Great's empire. 

Oxford, 2011. 273p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780195395235, $27.95. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

This book will be useful to many readers at all levels. The difficulty of the subject matter is 

well known; the book covers the 40 years after the death of Alexander and the struggle for 

power among his successors down to the death of the last of them, Seleucus, in 281 BCE. 

The difficulty lies in the fact that there are many players to keep track of, and the ancient 

sources are very thin and confusing, or just plain lacking. Waterfield is well aware of the 

problems and the speculative nature of many of the conclusions. Essential and excellent 

inclusions are maps, a time line, a cast of characters, and genealogies. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaCox, 

Karen L. Dreaming of Dixie: how the South was created in American popular culture. 

North Carolina, 2011. 210p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780807834718, $34.95. Reviewed in 


As its subtitle indicates, Dreaming of Dixie analyzes how popular culture in the US created 

the stereotypical image of the 20th-century South. In music, movies, radio, advertising, and 

even in some literature, decidedly non-southern groups almost exclusively marketed and 

managed this image. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaHyde, 

Anne F. Empires, nations, and families: a history of the North American West, 1800-1860. 

Nebraska, 2011. 628p bibl index afp ISBN 0-8032-2405-2, $45.00; ISBN 9780803224056, 


This innovative study examines the vast area of the Trans-Mississippi West during the first 

half of the 19th century. It affirms the vital importance of French, Spanish, Indian, and 

Métis populations throughout the subregions even before the 1803 Louisiana Purchase and 

the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo delivered the West into US hands. Systems of 

commerce, cultural exchange, diplomacy, and familial ties connected the peoples prior to 

the establishment of a national identity. Hyde (Colorado College) relates the complex story 

through the important families of the subregions and their interconnectedness over several 

generations. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaSettje, 

David E. Faith and war: how Christians debated the Cold and Vietnam Wars. New York 

University, 2011. 231p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780814741337, $39.00; ISBN 9780814741344 

e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Settje's work on Christian responses to the Vietnam era nicely overlaps with William 

Inboden's Religion and Foreign Policy, 1945-1960: The Soul of Containment (CH, Aug'09, 46- 

6996). Settje (Concordia College) examines both conservative and liberal responses 

through the prism of such groups as the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC: conservative), 

the United Church of Christ (liberal), the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME: 

conservative-moderate), and various Catholics groups (moderate-liberal). Settje's central 

thesis is that, except for conservative evangelicalism, religious groups early in the Vietnam 

era questioned the monolithic stature of the communist threat and the wisdom of



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containment policies. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ AfricaReid, Richard J. 

Frontiers of violence in north-east Africa: genealogies of conflict since c. 1800. Oxford, 


Reid (School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ. of London) presents a comprehensive 

analysis and stimulating conceptualization of the complex history of the Horn of Africa. In 

this text in the publisher's Zones of Violence series, the author's shrewd narrative of North- 

East Africa over the past two centuries argues cogently that "the various cultural, ethnic, 

and linguistic fault lines of the region--the zones of identity, as it were--are intertwined and 

overlapping." As a whole, "the region's troubled present is rooted in a troubled past." 

Nevertheless, Reid stresses (but certainly not exclusively) the multifaceted and violent 

marginal northern frontier of Tigray and Eritrea as a key border area in the enigmatic 

ethnic, political, and religious rivalries of past and present North-East Africa. 


AmericaGolway, Terry. Give 'em hell: the tumultuous years of Harry Truman's 

presidency, in his own words and voice. Sourcebooks MediaFusion, 2011. 258p index CD 

ISBN 1402217153 pbk, $19.99; ISBN 9781402217159 pbk, $19.99. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

In this, his fourth book on presidential speeches (e.g., Words That Ring through Time, CH, 

Feb'10, 47-2922), Golway (Kean Univ.) highlights all of the major speeches Harry Truman 

made during his time in the Oval Office. After a perfunctory overview of Truman's prepresidential 

years, the author lets the speeches tell the story of Truman's administration. In 

this mixed media treatment, the book comes with an audio CD one can play to actually 

listen to Truman's words, an integrated approach to learning about the 33rd president. 


OceaniaBenedict, Carol. Golden-silk smoke: a history of tobacco in China, 1550-2010. 

California, 2011. 334p bibl index afp ISBN 0-520-26277-8, $49.95; ISBN 9780520262775, 


Benedict offers an impressive study of four centuries of tobacco use in China, situated in 

the global history of tobacco. Foreign traders, mariners, and soldiers introduced tobacco, 

among the most universal commodities, to China's border regions in the 1500s. Soon 

thereafter, tobacco quickly became a thoroughly Chinese commodity, consumed first as 

pipe tobacco, later as snuff and cigarettes. Benedict's analysis of tobacco consumption 

patterns offers interesting insights into different historical periods of Chinese society and 

economy. 


HistoryWallace-Hadrill, Andrew. Herculaneum: past and future. Frances Lincoln/Packard 

Humanities Institute, 2011. 351p bibl index ISBN 0-7112-3142-7, $60.00; ISBN 


Wallace-Hadrill (Cambridge) offers the best discussion of Herculaneum since Joseph Deiss's 

Herculaneum, Italy's Buried Treasure (CH, Apr'67; rev. ed., 1985). In appearance a coffeetable 

book with over 300 photographs (most in color) and including eight double foldouts, 

this book offers far more. The author has an intimate knowledge of Herculaneum and its 

history and enlivens his narrative with stories of named inhabitants garnered from 

documents found in the city.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaFox- 

Genovese, Elizabeth. History & women, culture & faith: selected writings of Elizabeth 

Fox-Genovese: v.1: Women past and present, ed. by David Moltke-Hansen. South 

Carolina, 2011. 298p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781570039904, $29.95. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

This book is the first of a five-part series of essays and other short pieces by the late 

historian Elizabeth Fox-Genovese. Each volume in this series addresses a particular topic of 

Fox-Genovese's extensive scholarship. A majority of the essays in volume 1 focus on one of 

the core issues addressed in her body of work: the importance of individuality and 

individual rights versus the supremacy of social institutions--in this case, the ways that 

these historical conflicts play out in the realm of women's history. The essays included here 

vividly convey Fox-Genovese's well-documented, shifting ideological views. 


EuropeFischer, Klaus P. Hitler & America. Pennsylvania, 2011. 356p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Fischer (history and philosophy, Allan Hancock College) explores the paradox of Hitler's 

admiration for American technology while demeaning the US as a mongrel nation run by 

Jews and capitalists. The author argues that, essentially, Hitler did not want war with 

Britain or the US but overestimated his ability to complete his domination of Europe 

quickly. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ GeneralSnyder, Sarah 

B. Human rights activism and the end of the Cold War: a transnational history of the 

Helsinki network. Cambridge, 2011. 293p bibl index; ISBN 9781107001053, $85.00. 


This well-written, effectively argued study is a welcome addition to the growing literature 

on the end of the Cold War. While Snyder (international history, Univ. College London) 

does not deny the primary role of economic stagnation, the international arms race, and 

the rise of a new generation in the collapse of the Soviet empire and communism in 

Europe, she reclaims a vital and ultimately indispensable role for the tireless efforts of 

largely idealist advocates for basic for human rights in the West who took up the cause of 

dissidents in Eastern Europe and Jewish refuseniks in the Soviet Union. 


EuropeFanning, Bryan. Immigration and social cohesion in the Republic of Ireland. 

Manchester University Press, 2011. 202p bibl index; ISBN 9780719084782, $90.00; ISBN 


Abstaining from the polemics that dominate most discussions of recent immigration to 

Europe, Fanning offers an insightful view of contemporary Irish immigration that combines 

historical perspectives with recent developments to deflate alarmist rhetoric. In the first 

half of his book, the author debunks the ahistorical pronouncements of "securocrats" 

about the allegedly unprecedented threat recent arrivals pose. In addition to citing earlier 

(native-born) resistance to modern industrialism, Fanning points out that even the most 

dysfunctional cohorts of immigrants are still more potentially assimilable than the 

hardened socioeconomic underclass that has persisted in places such as Limerick during the 

last several decades. Fanning also avoids the deterministic rhetoric of immigrant 

victimization in his compelling argument for more inclusionary policies in Ireland. Pointing 

to the substantial educations and ambitious outlooks of many recent immigrants, the 

author combines social policy theory with personal narratives to remind readers that the 

Irish government has an intrinsic interest in the well-being and personal development of 

non-national residents as well as citizens



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaOwings, 

Alison. Indian voices: listening to Native Americans. Rutgers, 2011. 363p index afp; ISBN 


Initially, Owings counted herself among the large number of Americans who know 

absolutely nothing about Native Americans; prior to beginning this oral history project, she 

had scant knowledge (except that gained for a report she wrote in eighth grade). Many 

years of interviews and research have resulted in this book, an impressive sampling of 

contemporary lives of Native Americans. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Middle East & North 

AfricaAmanat, Mehrdad. Jewish identities in Iran: resistance and conversion to Islam and 

the Baha'i faith. I.B. Tauris, 2011. 279p bibl index; ISBN 9781845118914, $92.00. 

Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE 

The increasing volume of publications about the history of minorities in Iran brings 

welcome information about populations and incidents hitherto not well understood. This 

innovative offering examines the rise of Bahaism with attention to its special attraction to 

Iranian Jews in the late 19th century. Though independent scholar Amanat does not 

explore the history of Bahaism and Iranian Jewry in depth here--a seminal work on the 

history of Iranian Jews is yet to be mooted--he offers enough material to understand the 

intertwining relationships of these intersecting minorities. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaMjagkij, 

Nina. Loyalty in the time of trial: the African American experience in World War I. 

Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 225p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780742570436, $35.00; ISBN 


African Americans have served in virtually every US war from the Revolution to the present. 

But their loyalty has not always been appreciated or rewarded. This was never more the 

case than during and after WW I. Historian Mjagkij (Ball State Univ.) meticulously describes 

the feudal world of the Jim Crow South with its sharecropping, lynching, and segregation 

on the eve of the war. 


OceaniaMapping Mongolia: situating Mongolia in the world from geologic time to the 

present, ed. by Paula L. W. Sabloff. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and 

Anthropology, 2011. 273p bibl index afp CD-ROM ISBN 1-934536-18-0, $65.00; ISBN 


The 11 studies in this edited volume contextualize Mongolia in diverse realms of time and 

space that often transcend established academic boundaries. Some reassess Mongolia's 

position in steppe and Inner Eurasian history through an informed reanalysis of traditional 

concepts and stereotypes. 

Faculty Member: Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ GeneralDukes, Paul. 

Minutes to midnight: history and the Anthropocene era from 1763. Anthem Press, 2011. 

153p index; ISBN 9780857287793, $99.00; ISBN 9780857287809 pbk, $24.95. Reviewed in 


Required In his groundbreaking work The New Science (1725), historian Giambattista Vico considered 

humans to have evolved intellectually through three specific ages, from childlike creatures 

Recommended who comprehended their world solely through the lens of "gods" to the point where they 

manipulate their environment to suit themselves. Vico hinted at a fourth age, in which 

humans became gods themselves, controlling the forces of life and providence. When his 

book was published, Vico's vision appeared to be the work of either a lunatic or a fiend. 

However, as technology has advanced, it would not be a stretch today to argue that 

humans indeed have fulfilled Vico's vision. 

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AmericaStewart, Bruce E. Moonshiners and prohibitionists: the battle over alcohol in 

southern Appalachia. University Press of Kentucky, 2011. 325p bibl index afp; ISBN 



As independent entrepreneurs living on the fringes of state control, Appalachian 

moonshiners have become legendary figures of rebelliousness in US history and have 

helped shape the impression of mountain peoples. Stewart (Appalachian State Univ.) 

skillfully deconstructs the history of southern Appalachian moonshiners, especially in North 

Carolina, and investigates their role in the market economy of the early US 


AmericaMenchaca, Martha. Naturalizing Mexican immigrants: a Texas history. Texas, 

2011. 372p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780292725577, $60.00; ISBN 9780292726444 pbk, 


Menchaca (anthropology, Univ. of Texas, Austin) offers another informative work on 

Mexicans (e.g., Recovering History, Constructing Race, CH, Jul'02, 39-6646; The Mexican 

Outsiders, CH, Apr'96, 33-4722). This historical narrative focuses on Texas from the mid- 

19th century to 1921. 


AmericaNorwegian American women: migration, communities, and identities, ed. by 

Betty A. Bergland and Lori Ann Lahlum. Minnesota Historical Society, 2011. 356p bibl 

index afp; ISBN 9780873518208 pbk, $24.95; ISBN 9780873518338 e-book, contact 


The contributors to this excellent volume of far-reaching essays on women immigrants 

from Norway to the US from 1866 to 1960 have mined personal letters, diaries, fiction, and 

federal immigration statistics. 


AmericaZelinsky, Wilbur. Not yet a placeless land: tracking an evolving American 

geography. Massachusetts, 2011. 356p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781558498709, $80.00; ISBN 


Is the US becoming more homogeneous? Are place-to-place differences being eroded, or 

has the US retained the identity of its "multitudinous places"? Zelinsky (emer., geography, 

Penn State) sets off on a cross-country journey to investigate these questions. For 

geographers and other social scientists familiar with critical perspectives on difference and 

differentiation, this book disorients by being literal: Zelinsky looks at confluences of 

housing styles, retail options, and restaurant chains. He looks at apparently random 

distributions of summer camps and nudist colonies. 


CaribbeanOut of many, one people: the historical archaeology of colonial Jamaica, ed. by 

James A. Delle, Mark W. Hauser, and Douglas Armstrong. Alabama, 2011. 332p bibl index 

afp; ISBN 9780817356484 pbk, $27.50; ISBN 9780817385309 e-book, $22.00. Reviewed in 


This important volume compiles key historical archaeological studies from Jamaica. 

Chapters address central themes in Jamaican history, including Spanish colonial settlement 

in the 16th century, British settlement and urban life in the 17th century, slavery and 

plantation life, and maroon resistance. Maureen J. Brown's insightful essay sheds new light 

on tavern culture and merchant activities in 17th-century Port Royal. Editor Delle provides 

a theoretically sophisticated analysis of Jamaican plantation landscapes. 


OceaniaMimura, Janis. Planning for empire: reform bureaucrats and the Japanese 

wartime state. Cornell, 2011. 229p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780801449260, $39.95.


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Roles played by the Japanese civilian bureaucracy in the course of Japan's militarization 

before WW II have attracted little attention in academia, in contrast with scholars' heavy 

focus on the Japanese military. Mimura (SUNY at Stony Brook) fills this void with this first 

in-depth English-language analysis of the Japanese "reform bureaucrats" who, as 

prominent advocates of "techno-fascism," endeavored to realize their vision of a 

"managerial state" and "controlled economy" in prewar Japan 


AmericaAbruzzo, Margaret. Polemical pain: slavery, cruelty, and the rise of 

humanitarianism. Johns Hopkins, 2011. 330p index afp ISBN 0-8018-9852-8, $55.00; ISBN 


This reexamination of the evolution of humanitarianism in the US spans early Quaker 

attempts at universal purity through the outbreak of the Civil War. Abruzzo (Univ. of 

Alabama) argues that rather than being "a battle between humanitarians and 

antihumanitarians," the debate over slavery was part of a larger struggle to "mark out the 

meaning of humanness." Drawing on a shared intellectual heritage steeped in a Scottish 

moral sense philosophy based on sympathy evoked through the imagined sufferings of 

others, proslavery and antislavery polemicists employed rhetorical strategies that allowed 

them to reconcile their behavior with their moral beliefs. In the face of abolitionist attacks 

on the cruelty of slavery, its proponents constructed defenses around their perception of 

the institution's benevolent paternalism. Abruzzo's lucidly written and stunningly original 

analysis, encompassing debates over the slave trade, colonization, emancipation, and the 

impact of Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, challenges present-day assumptions concerning the 

evident nature of ethical judgments. 


EuropeGlaeser, Andreas. Political epistemics: the secret police, the opposition, and the 

end of East German socialism. Chicago, 2011. 606p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780226297941 

pbk, $35.00; ISBN 9780226297934, $100.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

This brilliant study of the sudden and unexpected collapse of the German Democratic 

Republic belongs in every college and university library. In it, sociologist Glaeser (Univ. of 

Chicago) focuses on the secret police of East Germany and the opposition, which consisted 

of groups of citizens committed to defending human rights, advancing peace, and 

protecting the environment. The author shows with great care and analytical rigor how the 

thought of the defenders of the socialist state and the thought of the critics of the regime 

evolved, using interviews, documents, and a wide range of secondary sources. 


AmericaBerkman, Alexander. Prison blossoms: anarchist voices from the American past, 

by Alexander Berkman, Henry Bauer, and Carl Nold; ed. by Miriam Brody and Bonnie 

Buettner. Belknap, Harvard, 2011. 253p bibl afp ISBN 0-674-05056-8, $26.95; ISBN 


This book collects a series of pamphlets produced in prison by anarchists Alexander 

Berkman, Henry Bauer, and Carl Nold. Berkman was imprisoned for the attempted 

assassination of Henry Frick in 1892 during the Homestead Strike. Nold and Bauer were 

imprisoned, falsely, on accessory charges. The editors organize the pamphlets by the four 

main themes the pamphlets discuss: the strikes and the jails, the assassination, prison life, 

and defending anarchism. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaNichols, 

Christopher McKnight. Promise and peril: America at the dawn of a global age. Harvard, 

2011. 448p index afp; ISBN 9780674049840, $35.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE.


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Americans are always on the lookout for isolationism in the US--and it never arrives. In a 

most clearly explicated exposé, Nichols (Univ. of Pennsylvania) explains why. Using the biohistorical 

approach, he brings forth salient figures from the Gilded Age to serve as 

examples to elucidate the nuances of the US's complex ideology. The author refutes prior 

simplistic assessments of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson's "no entangling 

alliances" descriptor of US foreign policy, shifting the focus from isolationism to 

"meaningful international involvement (where) nothing less than the meaning of America 

was at stake." Through the voices of ten articulators of isolationist thinking, Nichols 

convincingly concludes "American policy in the interwar era was not nearly as isolationist 

as many have characterized it." 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ GeneralRefugees and 

the end of empire: imperial collapse and forced migration in the twentieth century, ed. 

by Panikos Panayi and Pippa Virdee. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 305p bibl index; ISBN 


Refugees--often under the rubric of "forced migration," which accurately captures their 

predicament--have sadly become a thriving subject of study in recent years, fueled by 

continuing conflicts in Africa and many other parts of the world. But there has been little 

attempt to examine this specifically as a phenomenon of the end of empires, despite the 

fact that much of the refugee problem was created by the formation of exclusionary 

nation-states out of empires. With the collapse of the Ottoman and Habsburg Empires in 

1918 and the slow decomposition of the British and French Empires after 1945, millions of 

people were forced to leave their homes, often in appalling conditions and at the cost of 

thousands of lives. This enterprising, timely volume offers a series of excellent case studies. 

There are studies of Armenians and Arabs in the Middle East displaced by the breakup of 

the Ottoman Empire, and of Muslims and Hindus in the forced exchange of populations 

that occurred with the partition of India in 1948. There are also some very good general 

and theoretical essays. 


AmericaRevolutionary founders: rebels, radicals, and reformers in the making of the 

nation, ed. by Alfred F. Young, Gary B. Nash, and Ray Raphael. Knopf, 2011. 452p index 

ISBN 0-307-27110-2, $32.50; ISBN 9780307271105, $32.50. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This intriguing and enjoyable collection bridges the gap between the never-ending popular 

celebrations of the Founding Fathers and the academic focus on ordinary people and 

communities. These 21 mini-biographies, each by a different prominent historian, highlight 

how the American Revolution generated "an upsurge of egalitarian sentiment that threw 

into question not only monarchical rule but inequalities of every sort," along with populist 

dissent that continued to bubble in the new republic. 


AmericaVinyard, JoEllen McNergney. Right in Michigan's grassroots: from the KKK to the 

Michigan Militia. Michigan, 2011. 363p index afp; ISBN 9780472071593, $70.00; ISBN 

9780472051595 pbk, $27.95; ISBN 9780472027637 e-book, contact publisher for price. 


Following the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009, the Department of Homeland 

Security issued a warning concerning the threat of right-wing extremists. Immediately after 

the release of the report, conservative politicians and talk show hosts complained that the 

government was profiling their fellow conservatives. Unfortunately, few academics have 

taken the time or made the effort to study extremist groups. Recently, historian Vinyard 

(Eastern Michigan Univ.) has turned her talents to examining grassroots extremists in 

Michigan. Because of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, even casual readers have heard of 

the Michigan Militia. Vinyard goes much further by tracing the evolution of the modern 

Michigan Militia from the heyday of the Ku Klux Klan, Father Charles Coughlin, and the John 

Birch Society to the current brand of antigovernment extremists who harbor fantasies of



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imaginary threats to their way of life. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ AfricaLodge, Tom. 

Sharpeville: an apartheid massacre and its consequences. Oxford, 2011. 423p bibl index 


Lodge's well-documented study of the Sharpeville massacre, in which South African police 

fired on and killed 69 unarmed demonstrators on March 21, 1960, explores the shooting 

itself and, more importantly, analyzes its long-range significance. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaCarey, 

Anthony Gene. Sold down the river: slavery in the lower Chattahoochee Valley of 

Alabama and Georgia. Alabama/Historic Chattahoochee Commission/Troup County 

Historical Society, 2011. 263p index afp; ISBN 9780817317416, $29.95; ISBN 


Over the last generation of scholarship, many of the best works on slavery have been those 

that address big questions in smaller places/regions. At the level of region, county, or 

locality, the everyday experience of slavery and its evolution over time comes into focus. 

Carey (Appalachian State Univ.) achieves that masterfully in this informative volume about 

a relatively "young" region of the antebellum South in a particular area bordering the 

southern half of Alabama and Georgia. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ GeneralJerram, Leif. 

Streetlife: the untold history of Europe's twentieth century. Oxford, 2011. 477p bibl 

index afp; ISBN 9780192807076, $35.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Jerram (Manchester Univ., UK) applies the "spatial turn" that has taken place within 

cultural studies scholarship to the history of European cities in the 20th century. History 

happens in specific places, Jerram insists, so knowing something about the shape, 

organization, and structures of cities helps to uncover the specifics of a past that usually 

has been discussed only abstractly. Jerram's approach produces a brilliantly written and 

highly engaging series of stories that bring to light new or underappreciated aspects of 

European cities in the last century. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaTen 

years that shook the city: San Francisco 1968-1978: a reclaiming San Francisco book, ed. 

by Chris Carlsson with Lisa Ruth Elliott. City Lights, 2011. 328p bibl index ISBN 1931404127 

pbk, $18.95; ISBN 9781931404129 pbk, $18.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

From 1968 through 1978, the city of San Francisco bore witness to a series of crises, 

including the San Francisco State College shutdown, the mass suicide led by San Francisco 

cult leader Jim Jones in Jonestown, and the double assassinations of mayor George 

Moscone and city supervisor Harvey Milk. This most ambitious anthology covers these 

turbulent years in a series of 27 individual essays from a range of authors that includes 

academics, participants, journalists, and residents 


AfricaKévorkian, Raymond H. The Armenian genocide: a complete history. I. B. Tauris, 

2011. 1,029p index; ISBN 9781848855618, $80.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

The past two decades have witnessed the expansion and consolidation of genocide studies 

as a distinct field, in which the Jewish Holocaust is one anchoring event among others that 

took place in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Armenia. Other works have treated aspects of the 

Armenian genocide: Vahakn Dadrian's Warrant for Genocide (CH, Nov'99, 37-1725), Taner



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Akçam's A Shameful Act (CH, Jul'07, 44-6407), The Armenian Genocide, ed. by Richard 

Ovannisian (CH, May'08, 45-5154). But Kévorkian's magisterial study is indeed "a complete 

history." Including 188 pages of notes, the history encompasses the emergence of 

genocidal attitudes following the failure (in 1876) of reforms in the Ottoman Empire and 

chronicles the failed alliances that, combined with the Turkish defeats early in WW I, led to 

deportation/extermination of three-quarters of the empire's two million Armenian 

subjects. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Western EuropeClark, 

James G. The Benedictines in the Middle Ages. Boydell, 2011. 374p bibl index; ISBN 


Historian Clark (Univ. of Bristol, UK) provides a comprehensive introduction to Benedictine 

monasticism from the 7th to the 16th centuries, tracing the evolution of monastic custom 

over 11 centuries. At the same time, he engages the way of life in the monastic enclosure, 

following the daily and seasonal obligations of the rule and reflecting upon the complex 

role Benedictines played in medieval society. 


HistorySuetonius. The Caesars, tr. and introd. by Donna W. Hurley. Hackett, 2011. 370p 

index afp; ISBN 9781603843140, $44.00; ISBN 9781603843140 pbk, $14.95. Reviewed in 


To her previous commentaries on Suetonius's biographies of specific emperors, Hurley 

adds a translation of all of Suetonius's Caesars. Her introduction briefly discusses the genre 

of ancient biography and Suetonius's contribution to it. While cognizant of his faults as a 

writer, she characterizes Suetonius's work as clearly organized into rubrics "nested in 

chronology." She then summarizes various aspects of Roman society to provide a general 

background for those unfamiliar with ancient Rome. T 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ United KingdomThe 

Cambridge companion to medieval English culture, ed. by Andrew Galloway. Cambridge, 

2011. 321p bibl index; ISBN 9780521856898, $90.00; ISBN 9780521673273 pbk, $29.99. 


This collection defines "culture" very broadly; it encompasses not only literature and 

religious habits, but also legal codes and archaeological findings. This scope is both a 

strength and a weakness. By defining culture so broadly, the book offers surprising and 

enlightening juxtapositions, especially in the section on languages and literacies. And by 

including such a broad range of disciplines, the collection is sure to provide readers with 

new approaches to the period. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaWinch, 

Julie. The Clamorgans: one family's history of race in America. Hill and Wang, 2011. 416p 



Historian Winch (Univ. of Massachusetts, Boston) explores several generations of the 

mixed-race descendants of Jacques Clamorgan, a French trader who arrived in St. Louis in 

the 1780s. There, he amassed land claims in the millions of acres before bequeathing his 

property to the four children that resulted from relationships with women of African 

descent. Part of this story examines the decades-long efforts to win possession of 

Clamorgan's contested claims; it is a testament to Winch's ability as writer and researcher 

that this complex story is clearly and powerfully told. More broadly, the author recovers 

the compelling experiences of several generations of descendants who carved out lives in 

St. Louis and beyond. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaFrantz, 

Edward O. The door of hope: Republican presidents and the first southern strategy, 1877- 

1933. University Press of Florida, 2011. 295p bibl index afp ISBN 0-8130-3653-4, $69.95;


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During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Republican Presidents Rutherford Hayes, 

Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley (twice), Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard 

Taft ventured into the South by conducting tours of the region. Frantz (Univ. of 

Indianapolis) provides a highly useful study of those trips as contributors to the Republican 

effort to win the allegiance of white southerners and thus escape the onus of being a 

sectional party while also trying to honor their party's historical commitment to African 

American rights. 


AmericaMartelle, Scott. The fear within: spies, commies, and American democracy on 

trial. Rutgers, 2011. 296p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780813549385, $26.95. Reviewed in 


Journalist Martelle has written a vivid, engaging study of the 1949 Smith Act trial of the 

leadership cadre of the Communist Party, USA. The author clearly states his prejudices, 

comparing the excesses of the 1940 Smith Act (aka the Alien Registration Act of 1940) to 

the illegal operations of the Patriot Act. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Western EuropeThe 

French Republic: history, values, debates, ed. by Edward Berenson, Vincent Duclert, and 

Christophe Prochasson. Cornell, 2011. 378p bibl afp; ISBN 9780801449017, $65.00. 


This anthology of 40 short essays by leading Francophone and Anglophone historians of 

France derives from the editors' more extensive 2002 Dictionnaire critique de la république, 

and is composed half of selections translated from the French and half of new material. 

Intended as an exploration of the history and meaning(s) of the French republican 

tradition, the essays span the period from the Enlightenment to the present and discuss 

the emergence of a distinctively French variant of republicanism. 


OceaniaHershatter, Gail. The gender of memory: rural women and China's collective past. 

California, 2011. 455p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780520267701, $49.95. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

Hershatter (Univ. of California, Santa Cruz) offers a nuanced account of rural women's 

engagement in China's collective era. Recorded by the author and her co-researcher, the 

voices of 1950s rural activists as they were fading from the scene in post-Mao Shaanxi 

villages, along with Hershatter's sophisticated readings of dissonant oral and written 

sources, make this work stand out. 


EuropeO'Callaghan, Joseph F. The Gibraltar crusade: Castile and the battle for the Strait. 

Pennsylvania, 2011. 376p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780812243024, $55.00. Reviewed in 


In Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain (CH, Jul'03, 40-6649), O'Callaghan (emer., 

Fordham Univ.) examined the intertwined relationship of the Spanish Reconquest and the 

international concept of crusading from the 11th to the mid-13th century. The present 

work extends that examination from the 13th century to the end of the 15th century, with 

a particular focus on the struggle to secure the ports (Tarifa, Algeciras, and Gibraltar) 

constituting the entry gates for Muslim invaders from North Africa. 


EuropePetrone, Karen. The Great War in Russian memory. Indiana, 2011. 385p bibl index 


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WW I during the interwar period and up to 1945. Most scholars have believed until now 

that the response to WW I in Russia and the Soviet Union differed from that in the rest of 

Europe, and was muted or suppressed by the political leadership who wanted to focus 

attention on the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and the civil war of 1918-21. 


HistoryPolybius. The histories: books 5-8, tr. by W. R. Paton. Rev. ed. Harvard, 2011. 

607p index; ISBN 9780674996588, $24.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

The revised edition of Polybius' Histories for the Loeb Classical Library continues apace, 

with volume 3 now published (vols. 1 and 2, CH, Mar'11, 484025). This third volume 

contains Book 5 and the fragments of Books 6-8, and, like its predecessors, contains a 

Greek text with facing English translation revised by Christian Habicht, who has employed 

the corrections left by the great Polybian scholar Frank Walbank at his death in 2008. 


CaribbeanMorris, Craig. The Incas: lords of the four quarters, by Craig Morris and Adriana 

von Hagen. Thames & Hudson, 2011. 256p bibl index ISBN 0-500-02121-X, $34.95; ISBN 


Morris (American Museum of Natural History) and von Hagen (Leymebamba Museum, 

Peru) present a concise but highly engaging account of the history of the Inca Empire. 

Respected experts of Andean civilization, the authors make creative use of ethnohistoric 

and archaeological source materials, providing an original interpretation of Inca imperial 

strategies. 


EuropeCooke, Philip. The legacy of the Italian Resistance. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 


Cooke (Univ. of Strathclyde, UK) offers a detailed view of the complicated heritage of the 

Italian Resistance, a subject long dismissed by non-Italian researchers as the domain of 

writers too focused on polemics and ideology. In studying the period from 1943 through 

the current Berlusconi government, the author analyzes the interplay between Italian 

politics and the cultural baggage of the Resistance (defined as historiography, literary texts, 

films, monuments, and songs) and shows how perceived present needs often hindered 

assessments of historical movements. 


CaribbeanLópez-Lázaro, Fabio. The misfortunes of Alonso Ramírez: the true adventures of 

a Spanish American with seventeenth-century pirates. Texas, 2011. 240p bibl index afp 

ISBN 0-292-72631-7, $55.00; ISBN 9780292726314, $55.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Simultaneously deploying archival research and the rhetoric of the picaresque novel, 

historian López-Lázaro (Santa Clara Univ.) makes a groundbreaking contribution to the 

genres of history and literature with his argument that this supposedly fictive 17th-century 

Spanish picaresque novel is actually an eyewitness account. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaSexton, 

Jay. The Monroe Doctrine: empire and nation in nineteenth-century America. Hill and 

Wang, 2011. 290p bibl index afp ISBN 0-8090-7191-6, $27.00; ISBN 9780809071913, 


In his 1823 annual message to Congress, President James Monroe unilaterally declared that 

the Western Hemisphere was to be considered "off-limits" to future European colonization 

and political intervention. This well-written, engaging study of the birth and evolution of 

Monroe's famous 1823 doctrine extends roughly from the close of the War of 1812 to 

Theodore Roosevelt's 1904 bold corollary that transformed what was a "noninterventionist 

message" into a proactive call for intervention and marked the rise of the US from an 

"insecure grouping of former colonies" to its emergence as a "great power."



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ Asia & OceaniaThe 

People's Republic of China at 60: an international assessment, ed. by William C. Kirby. 

Harvard University Asia Center, 2011. 418p afp; ISBN 9780674060647 pbk, $29.95. 


These impressive conference papers by China specialists from across the world offer 

instructive views on the 60-year history of the People's Republic of China (PRC). From 

varied angles and in different tongues, the contributors discuss in fine interdisciplinary 

fashion important political, social, and cultural aspects of the PRC from 1949 to 2009. As a 

historical backdrop, editor Kirby (Harvard) provides a succinct introduction explaining the 

myth and lessons of contemporary China in general and pre-1949 Nationalist China in 

particular. 


AfricaPodeh, Elie. The politics of national celebrations in the Arab Middle East. 

Cambridge, 2011. 338p bibl index; ISBN 9781107001084, $95.00. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

This comprehensive, thoroughly researched study focuses on the historical transformation 

of national state celebrations in five Arab countries: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and Saudi 

Arabia. As the author (Hebrew Univ., Israel) writes, "this book explores the roles of national 

state celebrations in the Arab world" through an analysis of "the reasons rulers and elites 

invest great efforts in inventing holidays and manufacturing grandiose celebrations." 


EuropeAlvarez, David. The pope's soldiers: a military history of the modern Vatican. 

University Press of Kansas, 2011. 429p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780700617708, $34.95. 


Political science professor Alvarez (St. Mary's College of California), an expert on Vatican 

history, contributes a much-needed military history of the papacy in the post-Renaissance 

era. Starting in 1796, the Vatican military fought in 12 wars and domestic conflicts during 

the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Age of Revolution, and the unification 

of Italy. 


KingdomWalsham, Alexandra. The reformation of the landscape: religion, identity, and 

memory in early modern Britain and Ireland. Oxford, 2011. 637p bibl indexes afp ISBN 0- 

19-924355-7, $65.00; ISBN 9780199243556, $65.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

This is a study of the symbiotic relationship between religion and the environment or, more 

properly, between belief systems and the senses of place as manifest through that complex 

term, "landscape," often rendered as a material construct, artistic trope, historical 

document, or record of memory. This study approaches landscape as a theater of social 

change through time. 


EuropeCartledge, Bryan. The will to survive: a history of Hungary. 3rd ed. Columbia, 



Cartledge's comprehensive history of Hungary is quite similar to László Kontler's A History 

of Hungary: Millennium in Central Europe (CH, Sep'03, 41-0487), but written from a non- 

Hungarian perspective by this scholar and former British ambassador to Hungary. Cartledge 

(Linacre College at Univ. of Oxford) exhibits a command of Hungarian history, but states up 

front that his intent is not to present an original work of scholarship. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ GeneralO'Byrne, 

Darren J. Theorizing global studies, by Darren J. O'Byrne and Alexander Hensby. Palgrave 

Macmillan, 2011. 237p bibl index; ISBN 9780230517318, $90.00; ISBN 9780230517325 

pbk, $29.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE.


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Global studies is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field that has emerged, the authors 

contend, as a distinct academic discipline. Ambitious and well written, this book will help 

undergraduates begin to differentiate the field of global studies from the confusion 

surrounding the well-worn word "globalization." The authors define global studies as a 

distinct academic field that "refers to the ways in which academic knowledge can help us 

understand the dynamics of the globe itself. ..." while defining "globalization" "as the 

process of becoming global." 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ North AmericaMay, 

Vanessa H. Unprotected labor: household workers, politics, and middle-class reform in 

New York, 1870-1940. North Carolina, 2011. 246p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780807834770, 


In this well-researched, well-written monograph, May (Seton Hall Univ.) critically examines 

the multiple issues surrounding the so-called "servant problem" in the US from the end of 

the Civil War to the start of WW II. At its core was the basic conundrum--how to publicly 

regulate work that was carried out in the private home, and thus protect both domestic 

workers and the families that employed them. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ United KingdomCoke, 

David. Vauxhall Gardens: a history, by David Coke and Alan Borg. Yale, 2011. 473p bibl 

index afp ISBN 0-300-17382-2, $95.00; ISBN 9780300173826, $95.00. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

"Pleasure gardens," as they were known in the 17th century, arose as alternatives to the 

rough-and-tumble-male-oriented entertainments of the time, which were often based on 

violence and cruelty. These "gardens" were typically an enclosed outdoor site, outside a 

city or town, where members of the public were admitted for a modest price and 

entertained with music, singing, refreshments, and other amusements suitable for families. 

They catered not only to ordinary folk but the cultured and aristocratic as well. Vauxhall 

Gardens, on the south bank of the Thames, was surely the most successful and well known. 

In a lively narrative, Coke (formerly, curator, Gainsborough's House Trust, UK) and Borg 

(formerly, director, Victoria and Albert Museum and Imperial War Museum, UK) trace its 

early beginnings in the Restoration as a rural tavern to its transformation into a 19thcentury 

"dream-world" with the full spectrum of visual and performing arts. This work is an 

invaluable resource for social and art historians, musicologists, and other scholars. It is 

modern and comprehensive, providing both an accurate factual account and an abundance 

of wonderful illustrations that furnish readers with a vivid picture of the life and times of 

this period of English history. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ History, Geography & Area Studies \ AfricaReno, William. 

Warfare in independent Africa. Cambridge, 2011. 271p bibl index (New approaches to 

African history, 5); ISBN 9780521850452, $85.00; ISBN 9780521615525 pbk, $27.99. 


The achievement of independence by African countries did not provide the panacea many 

observers had assumed would shield the continent from persistent political instability. In 

this study, political science professor Reno (Northwestern) has captured one of the root 

causes of that insecurity: armed groups operating within the continent. Grouping African 

rebels conveniently into five different categories (anti-colonial, majority rule, reform, 

warlords, and parochial), Reno examines various facets of these armed groups from their 

leadership, individual, and collective fighting goals; complexities of internal structures; 

sources of recruitment; tactics and strategies; and dynamism and shifting grounds of 

power, to the challenges of gaining both internal and external recognition and support. 


AmericaHoneck, Mischa. We are the revolutionists: German-speaking immigrants & 

American abolitionists after 1848. Georgia, 2011. 236p bibl index afp; ISBN 

9780820338231 pbk, $24.95; ISBN 9780820338002, $59.95. Outstanding Title! Reviewed


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Honeck (Heidelberg Center for American Studies, Germany) examines the familiar topic of 

abolitionism in the US during the pre-Civil War period. His work, however, is a great 

contribution to the literature, for it makes a new, detailed examination of Germanspeaking 

immigrants' involvement in abolitionism from the period of the European 

revolutions of 1848-49 until the end of the US Civil War. 


AmericaSchackel, Sandra K. Working the land: the stories of ranch and farm women in 

the modern American West. University Press of Kansas, 2011. 158p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Though there is increasing academic interest in the experiences of rural women, few books 

provide the level of personal details, histories, and stories about the lived experience of 

rural ranch and farm daughters/wives/mothers--either historically or in modern times--as 

does Working the Land. The book's most impressive aspect is that an academic historian 

wrote it, but it reads almost like a novel. 


KingdomMayall, Berry. You can help your country: English children's work during the 

Second World War, by Berry Mayall and Virginia Morrow. Institute of Education, 

University of London, 2011. 311p bibl index; ISBN 9780854738892 pbk, $42.95. Reviewed 


Mayall (Univ. of London) and Morrow (Oxford) provide an accessible, ambitious, and 

compelling history of English children's work during WW II. The authors foreground young 

people's agency, participation, and voice to solidly locate their history within current 

sociological studies of childhood.


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Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceBrotchie, Alastair. Alfred Jarry: a 

pataphysical life. MIT, 2011. 405p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780262016193, $34.95. 


It was inevitable that Brotchie, who has written on Dada, surrealism, and the 

Oulipo, would go back to the writer who started it all. Jarry (1873-1907) was an 

ambiguous scalawag who created pataphysics, a talented spoof of fin-de-siècle 

esotericism, and the character of Ubu in the eponymous play, which stays in 

repertory and eerily anticipates the Theater of the Absurd. Most of all, he created 

himself as an erratic eccentric with a self-destructive lifestyle. He alternately 

ingratiated and antagonized the friends who subventioned and endorsed him. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceRobbins, Jill. Crossing through Chueca: 

lesbian literary culture in queer Madrid. Minnesota, 2011. 176p bibl index afp; 



Offering a comprehensive treatment focused on the visibility of Spanish queer 

identity, Robbins (Univ. of Texas, Austin) addresses the fact that Madrid has been 

marked by gay pride, feminism, and globalization but at the same time is still 

dominated by male ideas perpetuated during Franco's dictatorship. The author 

explores the Chueca neighborhood of Madrid as a cultural space. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceTouya de Marenne, Eric. Francophone 

women writers: feminisms, postcolonialisms, cross-cultures. Lexington Books, 

2011. 195p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780739140307, $60.00. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

Touya de Marenne (Clemson Univ.) presents excerpts from Francophone women 

authors (translated into English) that address, as the subtitle says, issues of 

feminism, postcolonialism, and cross-cultural matters. Departing from the more 

standard approach (which concentrates on defined geographical areas), the author 

covers all the Francophone regions of the world and offers a comparative 

perspective 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceRimbaud, Arthur. Illuminations, tr. by 

John Ashbery. W.W. Norton, 2011. 175p index; ISBN 9780393076356, $24.95. 


Translators of Rimbaud's enigmatic and pioneering poetry always have a daunting 

task before them. Whereas Rimbaud biographer Graham Robb (Rimbaud, CH, 

Apr'01, 38-4364) calls the youthful poet "an emergency exit from the house of 

convention" and Paul Valéry once remarked that "all known literature is written in 

the language of common sense--except Rimbaud's," Ashbery in his preface refers 

to this collection as a "crystalline jumble" leading to a "fertile destabilization" of 

literary custom. These 42 disparate poems, composed primarily in the early 1870s 

in London (where Rimbaud resided first with Paul Verlaine, then with Germain 

Nouveau), exude a characteristic avant-gardism and hallucinatory vision that must 

surely tax the creative powers of even the most celebrated translators.



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Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceNew reflections on Primo Levi: before 

and after Auschwitz, ed. by Risa Sodi and Millicent Marcus. Palgrave Macmillan, 

2011. 214p bibl index; ISBN 9780230103856, $80.00. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

Critical study of Levi has surged recently, and this is a fine addition to that 

literature. Sodi and Marcus (both, Italian, Yale) have assembled an international 

group of prominent and emerging scholars of Italian, Holocaust, and Levi literary 

studies. The primary obstacles to early dissemination of Levi's Survival in Auschwitz 

were the belief, on the part of leading publishers, that the Holocaust could not be 

assimilated into conventional literary genre studies and the early postwar 

repression of Italian Holocaust history to pursue the anti-Fascist narrative. Levi is 

credited with the eventual Italian escalation of interest in Holocaust literary 

production and scholarship. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceFoster, David William. São Paulo: 

perspectives on the city and cultural production. University Press of Florida, 

2011. 197p bibl index afp ISBN 0-8130-3665-8, $69.95; ISBN 9780813036656, 


A novel contribution to cultural studies, this volume provides fascinating essays on 

literature, architecture, photography, film, and graphic novels. The literary works 

Foster considers range from Mário de Andrade's Paulicéia desvairada (1922) to 

Regina Rheda's Arca sem Nóe (1994), the latter this reviewer's favorite. Two 

chapters detail works by Patrícia Galvão (the pseudonymous Pagu), whose 

autobiography remains virtually unknown. Foster finds a photographic quality in 

Claude Lévi-Strauss's vision of São Paulo; the portraits photographed by Madalena 

Schwartz reveal Brazil's diversity. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceHaywood Ferreira, Rachel. The 

emergence of Latin American science fiction. Wesleyan, 2011. 304p bibl index 



Published in the "Wesleyan Early Classics of Science Fiction" series, this book traces 

the development of science fiction in Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil from 1850 to 

1920. Haywood Ferreira (Iowa State Univ.) traces the genre from early, optimistic 

works presaging progressive national futures and utopias to pessimistic visions of 

devolution and end-of-the-world scenarios 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceSherberg, Michael. The governance of 

friendship: law and gender in the Decameron. Ohio State, 2011. 250p bibl index 

afp; ISBN 9780814211557, $49.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

This unfailingly lucid and intelligent study supplies further cogent evidence of 

American scholarship's steadily maturing involvement with the second most 

interesting writer of the Italian trecento. Sherberg (Washington Univ., St Louis) 

reads Boccaccio's Decameron with attentive care, skillfully deploying close textual 

analysis, his extensive familiarity with the relevant secondary literature, and an 

informed understanding of 20th-century legal theory (especially that owed to Hans 

Kelsen) of a kind seldom found among medievalists. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceCox, Virginia. The prodigious muse: 

women's writing in Counter-Reformation Italy. Johns Hopkins, 2011. 439p bibl 

index afp; ISBN 9781421400327, $60.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE.


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Author of the critically acclaimed Women's Writing in Italy, 1400-1650 (CH, Aug'09, 

46-6682), Cox here continues her investigations into the period of the Italian 

Counter-Reformation with amazing success. She glosses the adjective "prodigious" 

in the title as meaning "marvelous"--as female writers were accounted since the 

time of their first appearance on the scene in Renaissance Italy, even in the sense 

of "unnatural," in the eyes of their male peers--and certainly prolific, as evidenced 

by more than 100 female writers of this period for whom she provides thumbnail 

sketches at the end of the book 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceDuffy, Jean H. Thresholds of meaning: 

passage, ritual and liminality in contemporary French narrative. Liverpool 

University Press, 2011. 356p bibl index; ISBN 9781846316661, $95.00. Reviewed in 


How do contemporary French authors tackle the so-called exhaustion of fictional 

form, a phenomenon that dogged so much literary criticism during the last quarter 

of the 20th century? In this rich, fascinating study, Duffy (Univ. of Edinburgh, 

Scotland) explores the thematic, as opposed to the purely formal, continuity 

between postmodern writers and their literary ancestors of the 1960s and 1970s. 

Humanities \ Language & Literature \ RomanceAlcocer, Rudyard J. Time travel in the 

Latin American and Caribbean imagination: re-reading history. Palgrave 

Macmillan, 2011. 238p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780230117983, $85.00. Reviewed in 


Offering a unique analysis of diverse works, Alcocer (Georgia State Univ.) discusses 

"time travel in the Latin American and Caribbean imagination" as a cultural 

expression of unresolved historical trauma. A continuation of Alcocer's Narrative 

Mutations (2005), this compact study analyzes a vast spectrum of cultural 

production: short story, novel, poetry, film, and visual art. It includes North 

American as well as Hispanic writers, using temporal displacement as the unifying 

factor.


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Humanities \ Performing Arts \ FilmA Little solitaire: John Frankenheimer and 

American film, ed. by Murray Pomerance and R. Barton Palmer. Rutgers, 2011. 

312p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780813550596, $75.00; ISBN 9780813550602 pbk, 


Pomerance and Palmer's collection could serve as a model for scholarly books on 

directors. As the editors and their fellow contributors note, Frankenheimer's 

reputation went up and down on the popular/critical scale--ranging from 

something like "boy genius" to someone "who never fulfilled his promise." Rather 

than jousting with popular critics, Pomerance and Palmer begin with 

Frankenheimer's serious work in 1950s television, with shows such as You Are 

There, Climax!, and Playhouse 90. There Frankenheimer learned his craft and 

worked with first-rate actors. 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ FilmHansen, Marian Bratu. Cinema and experience: 

Siegfried Kracauer, Walter Benjamin, and Theodor W. Adorno. California, 2012. 

380p index afp (Weimar and now: German cultural criticism, 44); ISBN 


CHOICE. 

This superb, deeply felt work is obviously the result of an enormous amount of 

thinking, sifting, and research. In a careful consideration of the work of cultural 

theorists Siegfried Kracauer, Walter Benjamin, and Theodor Adorno, the late 

Hansen (who worked at the Univ. of Chicago) opens their writings to readers in 

clear, accessible language. The book is partly an explication of the work of these 

essential thinkers but also an account of their lives. 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ FilmFlickers of desire: movie stars of the 1910s, ed. 

by Jennifer M. Bean. Rutgers, 2011. 297p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780813550145, 


Finally, in the ongoing series "Star Decades," arrives the volume on the delightful 

and original decade of 1910s--a book that takes the reader back to yesteryear for 

the earliest luminaries of the celestial Hollywood heavens, even before Hollywood. 

Bean (cinema studies and comparative literature, Univ. of Washington) gathered 

an able team of scholarly film archaeologists to delve into the origins of film 

stardom. 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ MusicFischer, Jens Malte. Gustav Mahler, tr. by 

Stewart Spencer. Yale, 2011. 766p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780300134445, $50.00. 


Compared to Henry-Louis de La Grange's four-volume Gustav Mahler (1973-2008; 

v. 2, CH, Nov'95, 31-1451; v. 4, CH, Sep'08, 46-0187), Fischer's biography seems like 

haiku. But whereas La Grange chronicles, Fischer (history of theater, Univ. of 

Munich, Germany) analyzes, aiming to place Mahler within the 

social/political/artistic/philosophical and, especially, literary context of German- 

speaking central Europe in the decades between 1880 and 1910. 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ MusicLearning from young children: research in early 

childhood music, ed. by Suzanne L. Burton and Cynthia Crump Taggart. Rowman & 

Littlefield/MENC, 2011. 289p bibl afp; ISBN 9781607093220, $80.00; ISBN 

9781607093237 pbk, $37.95; ISBN 9781607093244 e-book, $37.95. Reviewed in


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Teachers, administrators, and music specialists frequently seek evidence to justify 

the efficacy of making musical programming available to young children. In this 

invaluable volume, music education scholars Burton (Univ. of Delaware) and 

Taggart (Michigan State Univ.) offer just that. 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ MusicLearning, teaching, and musical identity: voices 

across cultures, ed. by Lucy Green. Indiana, 2011. 319p bibl index afp; ISBN 


CHOICE. 

Reknowned editor and author Lucy Green (Univ. of London Institute of Education, 

UK) has collected 20 case studies about identity. Not only are the essays about a 

variety of musical cultural identities, they are written by researchers and educators 

from around the world. Green includes an ethnomusicologist, a soloist, a professor 

of social information, musicologists, and researchers of culture and identity. 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ GeneralDecker, Todd. Music makes me: Fred Astaire 

and jazz. California, 2011. 375p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780520268883, $70.00; ISBN 


Decker (music, Washington Univ., St. Louis) provides an accessible chronological 

study of the achievements of the remarkable Fred Astaire (1899-1987) in a book 

that is conversational in overall tone but stubbornly eludes categorization. 

Discussions of choreography are written in layperson's terms rather than in the 

vocabulary of dance; the most technical references are to film procedures and 

music. Details of the artist's personal life are almost entirely omitted, and although 

the author includes some interesting quotes, these offer little insight into Astaire's 

private thoughts. 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ MusicRojek, Chris. Pop music, pop culture. Polity, 

2011. 237p bibl indexes; ISBN 9780745642642, $69.95; ISBN 9780745642635 pbk, 


Researchers outside the musicological realm have been important in discussions of 

popular music since the mid-20th century. This group includes Theodor Adorno, 

Jacques Attali, Lawrence Grossberg, and Donna Gaines, among many others. Rojek 

(Brunel Univ., UK) continues that tradition in a remarkable fashion. His wellorganized 

and well-written book takes a sweeping look at various approaches to 

the study of popular music, including a musicological one. 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ MusicTreitler, Leo. Reflections on musical meaning 

and its representations. Indiana, 2011. 317p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780253356321, 


This is a compendium of writings by one of the most original thinkers in 

musicology. Lawrence Kramer deals with essentially the same subject in 

Interpreting Music (CH, May'11, 48-4986), but his writing is difficult. By contrast, 

Treitler's book is lucid and also more entertaining. Treitler (emer., CUNY Graduate 

Center) stands every issue on its head and shakes well to expose a viewpoint about 

musical meaning



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Humanities \ Performing Arts \ MusicKinney, Phyllis. Welsh traditional music. 

University of Wales Press/Cymdeithas Alawon Gwerin Cymru, 2011. 289p bibl 

indexes ISBN 0-7083-2357-X, $35.00; ISBN 9780708323571, $35.00. Reviewed in 


For many years, Kinney and her husband, Meredydd Evans, have been leading 

proponents of the traditional music of Wales, not only as collectors and historians, 

but also as performers. Their contributions were recognized in 2007 with the 

publication of Bearers of Song: Essays in Honour of Phyllis Kinney and Meredydd 

Evans, edited by Sally Harper and Wyn Thomas. It is no surprise, then, that Kinney 

has produced an excellent survey of Welsh traditional music, from the earliest 

bardic traditions to the present. 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ MusicKaufman, Will. Woody Guthrie, American 

radical. Illinois, 2011. 270p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780252036026, $29.95. 


Woody Guthrie was a musical genius. He was said to have written a song every 

morning before breakfast. In fact, as Kaufman (American literature and culture, 

Univ. of Central Lanchashire, UK) notes in this study of Guthrie's political 

radicalism, Guthrie wrote at least 3,000 songs during his lifetime, including more 

than 25 during his famous one-month visit to the Columbia River dam project 

during the 1930s. This book is not at all a standard biography; in fact, it assumes 

the reader knows the basic outlines of Guthrie's life. Rather, it is an attempt to 

wash away the myth of Guthrie as the "dust bowl balladeer" who wrote and sang 

patriotic songs that celebrated the US.


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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborRigby, Rhymer. 28 business 

thinkers who changed the world: the management gurus and mavericks who changed the 

way we think about business. Kogan Page, 2011. 228p bibl index; ISBN 9780749462390 



Through a series of short essays (none more then ten pages), British journalist Rigby 

profiles an eclectic group of 28 individuals he considers to be among the most influential 

contemporary business leaders. Rather than rehashing traditional biographical exposés, 

Rigby's vignettes provide a unique intimacy on the careers of the profiled persons. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborJackson, Brad. A very short, 

fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership, by Brad Jackson 

and Ken Parry. 2nd ed. SAGE Publications, 2011. 194p bibl index; ISBN 9781849207386, 


This turbo-primer on leadership boils down to the very essence of what readers should 

know about leadership. The authors, both Australian academics, put leadership studies in 

context in the first chapter, "Introduction: Why You Should Study Leadership." Subsequent 

chapters present various perspectives (e.g., leader, follower, cultural or critical centered) 

on leadership. The authors cover major scholars and works in leadership (e.g., those by 

Richard Gardner, Barbara Kellerman) and summarize key issues, e.g., the emerging field of 

followership. Part of SAGE's "Very Short, Fairly Interesting" series (e.g., A Very Short, Fairly 

Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about International Business, by George Cairns and 

Martyna Sliwa, CH, Apr'09, 46-4537), this book will appeal to the harried reader wanting a 

concise, readable survey of leadership. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborHarford, Tim. Adapt: why 

success always starts with failure. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. 309p index afp ISBN 0- 


Harford, the eminently readable "Undercover Economist" for The Financial Times and 

author of The Logic of Life (2008) and The Undercover Economist (CH, Oct'06, 44-1044), 

explains how taking a cue from evolutionary science can help solve daunting and complex 

modern problems. The sometimes uncomfortable thesis at the center of the book is that 

enabling bottom-up trial-and-error processes (akin to mutation and selection in biology) is 

often a more successful strategy for solving complex problems than relying on top-down 

grand plans or expert judgment. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborDaly, John A. Advocacy: 

championing ideas & influencing others. Yale, 2011. 387p index afp; ISBN 



When reviewing a book, this reviewer reads the book cover comments, which usually offer 

a glowing description of the work. The comments in this instance are highly accurate, 

describing this unique work on advocacy as "clearly written" and "vividly illustrated." These 

two comments set the tone of this review. Daly, a distinguished communications expert, 

has produced an exceptional study, which is comprehensive and well documented. And 

above all else, he maintains a sense of the practical. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborSheehan, Brian. Basics 

marketing: business and management skills. AVA Academic, 2011. 167p bibl index ISBN 

2940411514 pbk, $34.50; ISBN 9782940411511 pbk, $34.50. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Individuals wanting to learn more about marketing management will find this well-written 

handbook of value. Sheehan (Syracuse Univ.) extends the discussion about marketing


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management beyond the basic strategies often found in introductory books to consider 

issues managers may face in today's business world. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborMenkes, Justin. Better 

under pressure: how great leaders bring out the best in themselves and others. Harvard 

Business Review Press, 2011. 191p index afp; ISBN 9781422138700, $29.95. Reviewed in 


Menkes examines executive decision-making behavior from a psychological point of view 

and in doing so uses emotional intelligence as a foundational framework. More specifically, 

given the challenges and complexity that today's CEOs face, Menkes proposes a threedimensional, 

six-factor model based on his executive interviews and extensive research. 

Executives who perform well under significant pressure demonstrate realistic optimism and 

subservience to purpose, and they find order in chaos. In doing so, they maximize their 

potential and tap subordinates' need for accomplishment. Menkes characterizes realistic 

optimism as having an acute awareness of actual circumstances and a sense of agency. 

Subservience to purpose means putting the firm's mission ahead of personal needs and 

demonstrating affect tolerance, i.e., effectively managing emotions. Finding order in chaos 

means maintaining clarity of thought and being driven to solve the puzzle, i.e., being 

motivated to continuously learn and listen. Brief self-assessments that enhance the 

reader's understanding and numerous examples from Menkes's professional practice make 

this a worthwhile, practical read. While the book focuses on executive behavior, 

undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professionals holding any leadership 

position, will find they can apply the author's principles. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborHaig, Matt. Brand failures: 

the truth about the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time. [2nd ed.]. Kogan Page, 

2011. 242p bibl index; ISBN 9780749462994 pbk, $19.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This title has been reviewed jointly with "Brand Success: How the World's Top Brands 

Thrive and Survive," by Matt Haig. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborHaig, Matt. Brand success: 

how the world's top 100 brands thrive and survive. [2nd ed.]. Kogan Page, 2011. 296p 

bibl index; ISBN 9780749462871 pbk, $19.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

These two books offer a penetrating look into what makes the world's top brands flourish 

and what makes others miss the mark and crash. Each book is teeming with examples that 

are presented in very readable language. Perhaps the most valuable parts of the books are 

the "secrets of success" (for how and why top brands thrive) and the "lessons to be 

learned" (for what contributed to mistakes and failed brands). These pearls of wisdom are 

presented at the conclusion of each brand's history. Especially illuminating are the author's 

"seven deadly sins of branding" and the myths that are associated with failed brands. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborCracking the code: 

leveraging consumer psychology to drive profitability, ed. by Steven S. Posavac. M.E. 

Sharpe, 2012. 331p bibl indexes afp; ISBN 9780765629647, $99.95; ISBN 9780765629654 


Posavac (Vanderbilt Univ.) aims to help close the gap between marketing research and its 

practical application to the field. He claims that current research is deeply focused on 

science and adheres to the strict guidelines for publication, and much less so to the 

applicability of the content. As a result, much current marketing research has very limited 

practical relevance. Posavac addresses this issue by providing constructive advice regarding 

how to conduct such research in order to make it more pragmatic. He assembles a broad 

collection of works by various authors in an attempt to bridge the gap between theory and 

practice. These pieces cover diverse areas, including advertising research, branding, and 

consumer psychology, yielding results that can be applied instantly to contribute to a 

positive bottom line.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborKassing, Jeffrey. Dissent in 

organizations. Polity, 2011. 226p bibl index; ISBN 9780745651392, $64.95; ISBN 


In this clear, comprehensive look at dissent in organizations, Kassing (communication, 

Arizona State Univ.) takes care to dispel the myths about dissent and to include current 

examples from various workplaces, including manufacturing, health care, and the service 

sector. Instead of focusing on each context separately, the author explores dissent 

thematically for its potential benefit to organizations; the various ways dissent surfaces; its 

common triggers; the impact on the dissenter; and strategies to manage organizational 

dissent. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborEffectual entrepreneurship, 

by Stuart Read et al. Routledge, 2011. 228p bibl index; ISBN 9780415586436, $155.00; 

ISBN 9780415586443 pbk, $63.95; ISBN 9780203836903 e-book, contact publisher for 


The authors of this excellent volume contend there is a science to entrepreneurship, and 

they adopt an expansive definition of the "common logic" of entrepreneurship. This 

"common logic" includes the following principles: start with your means; set affordable 

loss; leverage contingencies; form partnerships; and create opportunities. The text is 

nonlinear, in that it can be read sequentially or by three identified (and color-coded) 

tracks): "Practically speaking," stories that illustrate the breadth and depth of the 

entrepreneurial world; "Research roots," academic research on entrepreneurship; and 

"Roadmap," a series of actionable items at the close of each chapter. The graphics, 

organization, and multiple pathways through the text are designed for the digital native 

who might become restless with a traditional text 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborGlobalization and selfregulation: 

the crucial role that corporate codes of conduct play in global business, ed. by 

S. Prakash Sethi. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 298p bibl index; ISBN 9780230611559, $65.00. 


In highly competitive business environments, individual firms may feel forced to adopt 

vigorous, even aggressive, actions to survive and to prosper. Unfortunately, that can lead to 

behavior that is harmful to employees, to the environment, or to the social ambient. In 

extreme situations, that could well lead to legal regulation. One approach that may help to 

achieve an acceptable balance between aggressive and ethical behavior is voluntary selfregulation. 

This approach is thoroughly explored by editor Sethi (Baruch College) and seven 

other contributors. Emphasis is placed on global business 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborKalleberg, Arne L. Good 

jobs, bad jobs: the rise of polarized and precarious employment systems in the United 

States, 1970s and 2000s. Russell Sage Foundation, 2011. 292p bibl index afp; ISBN 


As the great recession grinds on, policy makers debate strategies for job creation. This 

timely study provides a lucid analysis of the issue and offers meaningful policy 

recommendations. Kalleberg (Univ. of North Carolina) begins by distinguishing "good jobs" 

from "bad jobs." Good jobs pay relatively well, offer opportunity for wage increases, 

include fringe benefits, give workers some autonomy and control, and guarantee a 

measure of security. Beginning in the 1970s, changes in institutional structures polarized 

labor markets and sharpened differences in job quality. The driving forces were globalized 

commerce, declining government regulation and protection, ideological preferences for 

individual action, and increasing union weakness. Consequently, says Kalleberg, "The 

balance of power shifted heavily away from workers and toward employers." Using this 

framework, Kalleberg examines the components of good jobs and documents the changes 

affecting American workers.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborRumelt, Richard P. Good 

strategy, bad strategy: the difference and why it matters. Crown, 2011. 322p index; ISBN 


This interesting, thoughtful, cutting-edge book by an outstanding researcher, professor 

(UCLA), and consultant is a major contribution to the strategy literature. Rumelt integrates 

all theories on strategy; explains what good and bad strategy is; why good strategy is the 

exception, not the rule; why there is so much bad strategy; the causes of bad strategy; and 

why most organizations do not have a strategy. The book clearly explains how to develop 

and implement a successful strategy, including the importance of transformational 

leadership; good thinking; determination; focusing on priorities and achievable objectives 

at the right time; coordination and teamwork in analyzing and developing policies; and 

specific actions. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborHandlin, Amy H. 

Government grief: how to help your small business survive mindless regulation, political 

corruption, and red tape. Praeger, 2011. 201p index afp; ISBN 9780313392597, $34.95; 


Handlin (New Jersey General Assembly representative; marketing professor, Monmouth 

Univ.) draws on her 20 years of political experience in this unique, insightful, and practical 

guide on dealing with the oversight, bureaucracy, and red tape that often characterize 

state and local governments. The book's eight succinct, easy-to-read chapters are divided 

into two parts: "What You Need to Know" and "What You Need to Do." Handlin provides 

constructive, step-by-step strategies that are sensitive to both businesses and 

governmental representatives. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborNothhaft, Henry R. Great 

again: revitalizing America's entrepreneurial leadership, by Henry R. Nothhaft with David 

Kline. Harvard Business Review Press, 2011. 193p index afp; ISBN 9781422158579, $26.95. 


Nothhaft (CEO, Tessera Technologies Inc.) provides an important work for entrepreneurs, 

innovators, and policy makers. He articulates well-researched arguments for improving job 

creation and revitalizing the American entrepreneurial spirit. By offering a practical 

approach to solving the formidable problem of encouraging startup job creation, Nothhaft 

shows a path toward America's economic resurgence. The book is timely, with 

contemporary examples, yet the advice given is timeless. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborKing, Eden. How women 

can make it work: the science of success, by Eden King and Jennifer Knight. Praeger, 2011. 

327p index afp; ISBN 9780313393099, $54.95; ISBN 9780313393105 e-book, contact 


King and Knight, organizational psychologists, aim to help young women (ages 20s-30s) 

succeed in organizations. Even today, many years after equal opportunity legislation, 

women do not reach the same organizational levels as men with comparable backgrounds 

and skills. Stereotypes still appear to influence many decisions. The authors describe 

problems women often encounter in the workplace and offer insights and numerous 

strategies for addressing them. They reference academic literature, reports in the popular 

press, and their own experiences, bringing them together in a commonsense, practical 

approach. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborPine, B. Joseph, II. Infinite 

possibility: creating customer value on the digital frontier, by B. Joseph Pine II and Kim C. 

Korn. Berrett-Koehler, 2011. 268p index afp; ISBN 9781605095639, $26.95. Reviewed in 


In this insightful book, management practitioners Pine (The Experience Economy, updated 

ed., 2011; CH, Dec'99, 37-2254) and Korn create a conceptual framework to help technical


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managers and product planners analyze opportunities for creating compelling customer 

experiences in the virtual world and for "using digital technology to create unique customer 

value." For managers who need to integrate new customer experiences into business 

models, the search for memorable disruptive innovations is unceasing. Within their threedimensional 

framework (time, space, and matter), the authors present eight types of 

opportunities to explain how to make and remake real and virtual customer product 

experiences beyond gaming. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborPerlin, Ross. Intern nation: 

how to earn nothing and learn little in the brave new economy. Verso, 2011. 258p bibl 


Data from numerous interviews and scholarly, online, and popular press sources coalesce 

in this unique, critical examination of internships, mainly in the US. Internships grew 

approximately 35 percent from 1992 to 2008. Perlin, a journalist and former intern, claims 

that most unpaid/below-minimum-wage internships are unethical and illegal, and that 

desirable internships remain inaccessible without financial support. He contends 

internships lack clear language and definition in US labor law and consequently escape 

scrutiny, regulatory guidelines, and enforcement, negatively affecting work conditions in 

society at large. Perlin calls for resistance and reform, citing examples from the US, Canada, 

and abroad, and he recommends that US legislators adopt "The Intern Bill of Rights" (which 

appears in Appendix A) for protection and legitimization of interns/internships. Appendix B 

documents US laws/guidelines governing internships, and relevant UK and Canadian laws. 

Written in a nontechnical, expository, narrative style, this provocative book is reminiscent 

of Daniel Pink's Free Agent Nation (2002). It extends the literature and debate about 

contingent/contract/freelance workers as well as higher education, apprenticeships, 

vocational education, and school-to-work transition. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborLennick, Doug. Moral 

intelligence 2.0: enhancing business performance and leadership success in turbulent 

times, by Doug Lennick and Fred Kiel with Kathy Jordan. Prentice Hall, 2011. 296p index 

afp ISBN 0-13-249828-6, $25.99; ISBN 9780132498289, $25.99. Outstanding Title! 


This volume provides a necessary foundation in moral intelligence needed in today's 

business world. Media report numerous stories of business leaders and businesses failing 

because of a lack of moral intelligence. These failures have drastically altered community 

and consumer perceptions of business and leadership in general, and they cause problems 

for everyone involved, including an organization's employees. Readers of this book will gain 

an understanding of how their own personal success and that of an organization depend on 

four principles: integrity, responsibility, compassion, and forgiveness. The book is divided 

into three sections: "Moral Intelligence," "Developing Moral Skills," and "Moral 

Leadership." 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborLewis, Laurie K. 

Organizational change: creating change through strategic communication. Wiley- 

Blackwell, 2011. 299p bibl index (Foundations in communication theory, 2); ISBN 


The "stakeholder communication model of change" developed here posits that change 

proceeds through "activity tracks" of managing meaning ("What is going on?"); managing 

networks (monitoring participation in shaping relationships among stakeholders); and 

managing practice (actual activities to bring about change). Claiming that previous 

approaches to implementing change focus too heavily on implementation, Lewis posits that 

change cannot work until stakeholders recognize the factors that can facilitate change, 

agree that change is necessary, and convince decision makers to commit the necessary 

resources. The model, therefore, uses stakeholder analysis to determine appropriate



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communication strategies for achieving change. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborRoss, Howard J. 

Reinventing diversity: transforming organizational community to strengthen people, 

purpose, and performance. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 289p bibl index afp; ISBN 



Ross, a corporate consultant, discusses problems with diversity programs and offers advice 

on how to improve their success. Personal stories, quotes from senior managers, research 

studies, statistics, lists, and interviews dominate the book. Diversity programs often fail 

because employee attendance is mandatory and the success of such programs is ill defined. 

Diversity is viewed as a human resource issue to many employees. Ross advises that 

diversity programs should develop a sense of organizational inclusion in terms of decision 

making, responsibility, and leadership. The author's model requires a conscious shift 

affecting strategic planning, stakeholder development, organizational systems, and 

accountability. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborSage brief guide to 

corporate social responsibility. SAGE Publications, 2012. 274p afp ISBN 1412997224 pbk, 


This brief guide is an excellent summary reference work for practitioners, scholars, and 

students, and for courses with major corporate social responsibility (CSR) components. It 

can serve as a comprehensive background introduction to the topic as well. The book 

consists of a series of essays by several business scholars who explain key concepts in the 

area of social responsibility. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborSivulka, Juliann. Soap, sex, 

and cigarettes: a cultural history of American advertising. 2nd ed. Wadsworth Cengage 

Learning, 2012. 430p bibl index; ISBN 9781133311133 $76.95 pbk. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

Sivulka incorporates the many changes that have occurred in advertising since the first 

edition (1998) of this text, including how new media have altered advertising's creativity 

and production. Chapters are organized chronologically. The volume begins with a chapter 

on the printing press and its impact in the new world. Subsequent chapters address 

advertising practices from 1492 to 1880, 1880 to 1900, 1900 to WW I, the 1920s, the Great 

Depression and WW II, and the postwar years, 1945-60. The last four chapters focus on the 

modern period, examining the creative revolution in advertising, from 1960 to 1990, and 

the impact of technological changes on advertising and consumers since 1990, including 

more recent digital trends such as mobile devices and interactive media. Each chapter is 

filled with interesting examples of advertisements as well as information about individuals 

who played a major role in the development of advertising. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborBlakeman, Robyn. Strategic 

uses of alternative media: just the essentials. M.E. Sharpe, 2011. 261p bibl index afp; 

ISBN 9780765625557, $79.95; ISBN 9780765625564 pbk, $39.95. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

Blakeman (Univ. of Tennessee) discusses at length various traditional and alternative media 

used by advertisers and their advertising agencies. In addition, she provides information 

that will help readers make better decisions regarding which media should be used for 

advertising. Easy to read and understand, the book is divided into two parts, 

"Understanding Alternative Choices" and "Media Use: How Media Speaks to and Reaches 

the Target Differently." Blakeman's discussion of these topics is sound and thorough.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborRyan, Damian. The best 

digital marketing campaigns in the world: mastering the art of customer engagement, by 

Damian Ryan and Calvin Jones. Kogan Page, 2011. 210p index; ISBN 9780749460624 pbk, 


CHOICE. 

This book performs the invaluable service of featuring in one place 25 of the most 

successful international digital marketing campaigns. Among these top campaigns are 

Dockers' "pants dance," the Pizza Hut iPhone application, Star Trek, World Malaria Day on 

Twitter, and Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign (the 15 swing states). With the 

explosion of social media, Internet applications, and digital marketing, this collection 

provides a snapshot of best practices and the proverbial "state of the art." To assure "even 

playing field" comparisons, the authors (digital marketing specialists and authors of 

Understanding Digital Marketing, 2009) present each of the 25 case studies in a uniform 

template that facilitates side-by-side comparison of key factors: the challenge, campaign 

budget, target audience, action, and results. This breezy, well-organized, easy-to-read 

volume is the best summary of the development and application of social media to the 

marketing arena 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborSaad, Gad. The consuming 

instinct: what juicy burgers, Ferraris, pornography, and gift giving reveal about human 

nature. Prometheus Books, 2011. 374p index afp; ISBN 9781616144296, $25.00; ISBN 


Saad (business, Concordia Univ., Canada) approaches consumer behavior from a joint 

psychological and biological perspective in this book. He proposes that humans are 

genetically wired for consumption. Thus, he asserts that biological and evolutionary forces 

are equally important to the more traditional cultural approach toward understanding 

consumer behavior. Using evolutionary psychology as his grounding, he links four key 

Darwinian drives--survival, reproduction, kin selection, and reciprocity--to human 

consumption acts. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborEsty, Daniel C. The green to 

gold business playbook: how to implement sustainability practices for bottom-line results 

in every business function, by Daniel C. Esty and P. J. Simmons. Wiley, 2011. 440p index; 

ISBN 9780470590751, $27.95; ISBN 9781118010884 e-book, $27.95. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

Rather then dwelling on the case for sustainability, as most current books seem to do, 

these authors, in this sequel to their bestselling book Green to Gold, (CH, Feb'07, 44-3366), 

present a unique, practical strategy for adding organizational value and contributing 

positively to global welfare. The book's 23 well-written chapters are divided into six parts 

that describe how to build an eco-strategy, assess environmental risks, incorporate the 

strategy into all business functions, implement an action plan, and evaluate and report 

success. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborThe Nature of leadership, 

ed. by David V. Day and John Antonakis. 2nd ed. SAGE Publications, 2011. 597p bibl 

indexes afp; ISBN 9781412980203 pbk, $69.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Editors Day and Antonakis, both academicians, have teamed up to write the second edition 

of this valuable work. Their extensive literature review, designed to determine the most 

significant areas of leadership research, results in the organization of the volume into three 

major themes (parts 2-4), with contributions from more than 20 experts. The volume 

begins with an introductory chapter that defines leadership, provides an overview of the 

history of leadership research, highlights biological and evolutionary perspectives, 

delineates emerging issues, and summarizes the book's organization. Part 2, "Leadership: 

Science, Nature, and Nurture," includes four chapters addressing topics such as leadership



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research methods, leadership development, and neuroscience perspectives. Chapters in 

Part 3, "The Major Schools of Leadership," highlight differences among leadership, 

contingency/situational theory, transformation/charismatic leadership theory, 

followership, and shared leadership. Part 4, "Leadership and Special Domains," focuses on 

issues of culture, gender, identity, and ethics. The final chapter, by leadership guru Warren 

Bennis, addresses contemporary issues and future research. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborMetz, Adam. The social 

customer: how brands can use social CRM to acquire, monetize, and retain fans, friends, 

and followers. McGraw-Hill, 2012. 279p index; ISBN 9780071759182, $25.00; ISBN 


Social media and the ensuing social customer have had a profound effect on today's 

marketing. Metz, a social media consultant, provides an in-depth understanding of today's 

"social customer" and does so in an entertaining way. He presents guidelines for building 

loyal customers and provides a wealth of anecdotes and brief case studies that bring to life 

the power and reach of sound customer relationship management (CRM). Among the most 

compelling thoughts are the ten commandments of social CRM, one of which is to respect 

one's customers by determining their needs and wants and then delivering value and 

satisfaction. Metz notes that top management buy-in is crucial, however, and that the 

social CRM mission should be shared by all people in the organization. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborUnderemployment: 

psychological, economic, and social challenges, ed. by Douglas C. Maynard and Daniel C. 

Feldman. Springer, 2011. 317p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781441994127, $129.00. 


As this volume reveals, underutilized skills, too little pay, and too few work hours take their 

toll on financial, social, and emotional well-being. Editors Maynard (SUNY, New Paltz) and 

Feldman (Univ. of Georgia) have compiled a set of multidisciplinary articles on the topic of 

underemployment, authored by international scholars. Chapters in part 1 discuss economic 

and behavioral science approaches to studying underemployment. Problems in measuring 

underemployment are clearly shown in the International Labour Organization 

measurement conventions. Human capital and relative deprivation are some of the 

behavioral theories covered. Part 2 investigates underemployment in various groups: 

young workers, older workers, women, immigrants, blacks, Hispanics, and contingent 

workers. These chapters also address continuing barriers to full employment, such as 

stereotyping. Part 3 focuses on the adverse effects of underemployment on physical and 

emotional health, family, work performance, and career development. For example, those 

who feel underemployed might not be motivated to work harder because it would only 

increase their sense of inequity. A final section examines future research areas related to 

underemployment. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborRobertson, Ivan. Wellbeing: 

productivity and happiness at work, by Ivan Robertson and Cary Cooper. Palgrave 

Macmillan, 2011. 224p bibl indexes; ISBN 9780230249950, $42.00. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

Engaged employees with a sense of well-being can provide organizational benefits such as 

high productivity, customer satisfaction, and lower illness-related absenteeism. Robertson 

(Leeds Univ., UK) and Cooper (Lancaster Univ., UK) provide a practical book based on 

considerable scientific evidence. The authors define well-being and employee engagement, 

and explain why they matter for organizations and individuals. They describe a strategic, 

model-based approach for helping organizations establish psychological well-being 

programs. Highlighting the final third of the book are nine case studies of well-being 

programs from organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, London Fire Brigade, and Mersey 

Care NHS Trust



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Business, Management & LaborBell, Chip R. Wired and 

dangerous: how your customers have changed and what to do about it, by Chip R. Bell 

and John R. Patterson. Berrett-Koehler, 2011. 248p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781605099750 


From the attention-getting cover to the "Flash Drive" section at the end, this book focuses 

attention on learning to collaborate with customers. Bell and Patterson (customer service 

consultants) explain that customers are "wired" in several senses of the word, and that 

"dangerous" refers to the economic threat to businesses from the viral spread of negative 

messages. Perhaps the most significant aspect of what Bell and Patterson help readers 

understand is that organizations and customers measure customer service differently. A 

business may have good scores based on the metrics it uses, yet find that customers 

perceive its service as lacking. The strategies the authors outline emphasize creating an 

emotional connection with customers that nurtures confidence and trust. They also 

emphasize the importance of honesty as a best practice. Their examples are concrete and 

their "tools" user-friendly.


Philosophy 


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Humanities \ PhilosophySrigley, Ronald D. Albert Camus' critique of modernity. 

Missouri, 2011. 189p bibl index; ISBN 9780826219244, $60.00. Reviewed in 


Most interpretations of Camus view his invocation of absurdity and his denial of 

transcendence as evidence of his existentialism and modernism. In contrast to this 

standard reading, Srigley (Univ. of Prince Edward Island) argues that Camus's 

philosophical project runs counter to modernism and instead hearkens back to the 

values of the ancient Greeks. 

Humanities \ PhilosophyDicker, Georges. Berkeley's idealism: a critical 

examination. Oxford, 2011. 310p bibl indexes afp; ISBN 9780195381467, $99.00; 

ISBN 9780195381450 pbk, $35.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Although not explicitly called an "introduction," this book fits comfortably 

alongside Dicker's books with subtitles that designate them as introductions: 

Descartes (1993), Hume's Epistemology and Metaphysics (1998), and Kant's Theory 

of Knowledge (CH, Sep'05, 43-0234). Unlike them, it is not a close sequential 

exposition and commentary on a major philosophical text for the benefit of 

students; like them, however, it is a clear and careful discussion of philosophical 

positions associated with a historical figure. This volume cannot fail to benefit 

students and also capture the interest of scholars. Dicker (The College at 

Brockport, SUNY) organizes his 14 chapters into four parts, dealing with the 

philosophical background of Berkeley's idealism (part 1), his direct (part 2) and 

indirect (part 3) arguments for it, and finally its principal metaphysical doctrines 

(part 4). He concentrates on the two central Berkeleian texts--Principles of Human 

Knowledge and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous--finding that they 

provide complementary arguments for the same view rather than the same 

arguments directed at different audiences. Of particular interest to scholars will be 

Dicker's original criticisms of Berkeley's positive metaphysics and his engagement 

with other Berkeley scholars in part 4. 

Humanities \ PhilosophyEpicurus and the Epicurean tradition, ed. by Jeffrey Fish 

and Kirk R. Sanders. Cambridge, 2011. 267p bibl indexes ISBN 0-521-19478-4, 

$90.00; ISBN 9780521194785, $90.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

This book consists of a group of ten essays on the philosophy of Epicurus and his 

followers. The essays are motivated by the attempt to counter the established 

view that Epicureanism was a stagnant philosophical system with little creative 

historical development. Topics include theological, political, ethical, and 

psychological aspects of the Epicurean tradition. The authors convincingly make 

their case using the discovery in the late 18th century of the Herculaneum papyri 

unearthed in the rubble of the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. 

Humanities \ PhilosophyAnstey, Peter R. John Locke and natural philosophy. 

Oxford, 2011. 252p bibl index afp ISBN 0-19-958977-1, $65.00; ISBN 


This work examines John Locke's views on science and the scientific method, and 

thus concerns the history of the philosophy of science. Anstey (Univ. of Otago, NZ) 

argues that Locke's views on natural philosophy have been poorly understood, that 

the distinction between natural and speculative philosophy is central to



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understanding Locke's project, and that laws of nature play only a small role in his 

theory. The author draws from a wide range of Locke's writings, and carefully sorts 

through the various drafts of Locke's famous Essay Concerning Human 

Understanding, his correspondence with Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton, and 

some of Locke's lesser-known works. 

Humanities \ PhilosophyMedieval political philosophy: a sourcebook, ed. by Joshua 

Parens and Joseph C. Macfarland. 2nd ed. Cornell, 2011. 443p bibl index afp; 



This work is a revised edition of the classic anthology of medieval political 

philosophy originally published in 1963 by Ralph Lerner and Muhsin Mahdi. The 

first edition was groundbreaking inasmuch as it provided a virtual treasure trove of 

newly translated texts. This updated collection is as timely now as it was back then: 

few students of political theory are sufficiently conversant with the rich medieval 

tradition of reflection on such problems as "reason and revelation" or "natural and 

divine law." 

Humanities \ PhilosophyParfit, Derek. On what matters, ed. by Samuel Scheffler. 

Oxford, 2011. 2v bibl index afp; ISBN 9780199265923, $55.00. Outstanding Title! 


This massive work contains several smaller books on the theory of reasons and 

moral theory. It also offers a helpful introduction, criticisms of Parfit (All Souls 

College, Oxford) by distinguished philosophers, and Parfit's replies. Parfit defends 

nonnaturalist cognitivism--the view that there are irreducibly normative reasons 

for people to act in one or another way. Without such reasons, one could not 

speak nontautologously even of an action's satisfying one's desire as a reason for 

doing it. The answer to the question "What does it matter what I do?" would be 

that it does not matter. In moral theory, Parfit argues the convergence of 

Kantianism, contractualism, and rule-consequentialism. 

Humanities \ PhilosophyNightingale, Andrea. Once out of nature: Augustine on 

time and the body. Chicago, 2011. 244p bibl index afp ISBN 0-226-58575-1, 

$39.00; ISBN 9780226585758, $39.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Nightingale (Stanford) offers a stimulating introduction to profound existential 

issues in Augustine's philosophy. Few Christian saints were as attracted to the 

beauties of the natural world, including women, while resisting their allure as 

forcefully as did Augustine. 

Humanities \ PhilosophyForster, Paul. Peirce and the threat of nominalism. 

Cambridge, 2011. 259p bibl index ISBN 0-521-11899-9, $82.00; ISBN 


The connection between C. S. Peirce's method of inquiry and metaphysics is 

complex and often misconstrued. Forster (Univ. of Ottawa) patiently characterizes 

Peirce's method against the theory Peirce found most reprehensible. Nominalism 

is the philosophical perspective that only individuals are real. Peirce found this 

thinking pervasive in science and yet impossible to substantiate on its own terms. 

He argued that nominalism was corrosive to meaning and inquiry. 

Humanities \ PhilosophyThe Courage of the truth (the government of self and 

others II): lectures at the Collège de France, 1983-1984, ed. by Frédéric Gros with


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François Ewald and Alessandro Fontana. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 364p indexes 

ISBN 0-230-11288-9, $30.00; ISBN 9780230112889, $30.00. Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

The Courage of the Truth is a translation of Michel Foucault's final lecture course 

presented at the Collège de France in 1983-84. It represents a continuation of the 

previous year's lecture course, The Government of Self and Others. It continues his 

examination of the ancient games of truth telling, of frank speech or parrhesia. 

Humanities \ PhilosophyZack, Naomi. The ethics and mores of race: equality after 

the history of philosophy. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 195p bibl index afp; ISBN 

9781442211254, $55.00; ISBN 9781442211278 e-book, $54.99. Reviewed in 


In order to ground ethical judgments about race, Zack (Univ. of Oregon) seeks a set 

of requirements for an "ethics of race." She critically probes the history of 

philosophical ethics, garnering valuable insights from each historical period and 

identifying problem areas such as elitism, a lack of a notion of human equality, and 

an overvaluation of the form of property ownership without regard to what is 

owned. Zack also argues that philosophical ethics has been limited by its close 

connection to political theory and ideas of government and that one needs a 

cosmopolitan view to provide better ethical perspectives on questions of race. 

Zack makes a valuable distinction between ethics and mores: ethics is a theoretical 

inquiry neutral of time and place, whereas mores is concretely historical and tied 

to group practices such as religion, tradition, and family. 

Humanities \ PhilosophyDel Nevo, Matthew. The work of enchantment. 

Transaction, 2011. 169p index afp; ISBN 9781412818605, $34.95. Reviewed in 


Del Nevo (Catholic Institute of Sydney, Australia) offers a truly enchanting little 

book. In fewer than 200 pages, he both inspires and informs to an astonishingly 

great degree. He notes, "We come to enchantment through art, and we come to 

art through the work of enchantment: reading, listening, and gazing." Del Nevo's 

book is like a weaving that takes readers out of the de-souling of today's world and 

its ubiquitous anxiety. 

Humanities \ PhilosophyDavies, Brian. Thomas Aquinas on God and evil. Oxford, 




This is an excellent book by an undisputed master of the material. Davies (Fordham 

Univ.) is a Dominican friar who has written over a hundred articles and books on 

theology and philosophy, most notably The Thought of Thomas Aquinas (CH, 

Nov'92, 30-1441) and An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (3rd ed., 2004). 

This is a straightforward overview of Aquinas's treatment of God and evil, rather 

than a scholarly evaluation of it.


Psychology 


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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyWilliams, Carolyn L. A beginner's guide to 

the MMPI-A, by Carolyn L. Williams and James N. Butcher. American Psychological 

Association, 2011. 314p bibl index; ISBN 9781433809385, $59.95. Reviewed in 


Williams and Butcher (both, emer., Univ. of Minnesota) have published 

extensively, together and separately, on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality 

Inventory (MMPI), MMPI-2 (MMPI revised), and MMPI-Adolescence (MMPI-A). 

Butcher is also a former editor of the journal Psychological Assessment; Williams is 

cocreator of Project Northland, a prevention program in US schools to reduce 

adolescents' abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The present volume goes 

beyond Butcher and Williams's Essentials of MMPI-2 and MMPI-A Interpretation 

(2nd ed., 2000) by adding current research 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyWolfson, Elliot R. A dream interpreted 

within a dream: oneiropoiesis and the prism of imagination. Zone Books, 2011. 

566p bibl index ISBN 1-935408-14-3, $36.95; ISBN 9781935408147, $36.95. 


Wolfson (Hebrew and Judaic studies, New York University) sets out to "think of the 

dream from inside the contours of the dream." His explorations range from 

biblical, rabbinic, and kabbalistic studies to literature, psychoanalysis, comparative 

religions, neuroscience, and philosophy. Largely based in phenomenology, this 

book requires readers to have a basic understanding of philosophy and 

phenomenology in particular. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyMcFadden, Susan H. Aging together: 

dementia, friendship, and flourishing communities, by Susan H. McFadden and 

John T. McFadden. Johns Hopkins, 2011. 235p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Unprecedented numbers of aging baby boomers are receiving the dreaded 

diagnosis of dementia. Susan McFadden (psychology, Univ. of Wisconsin, Oshkosh) 

and John McFadden (chaplain with Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin) 

boldly dispel the interpretation of cognitive decline as a personal tragedy to be 

grieved and instead propose that aging should be a journey involving others. As 

they lead the reader along "the dementia road," the authors attempt to replace 

fear and anxiety with the courage and commitment to include those who are 

willing to walk into the land of forgetfulness with the sufferer. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyMarkel, Howard. An anatomy of addiction: 

Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the miracle drug cocaine. Pantheon Books, 

2011. 314p bibl index; ISBN 9780375423307, $28.95. Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

Markel (history of medicine, Univ. of Michigan) has written an excellent, readable, 

and fascinating book on Freud's and American surgeon William Halsted's use of 

cocaine starting in the late 1880s. Freud stopped the drug in 1896, but Halsted 

remained addicted. Each young doctor began taking the substance in the spirit of 

adventurous quasi-research of the times: doctors used themselves as guinea pigs 

to study medical science. Markel shows the positive effects of the released 

creativity for both men in their respective branches of their medical explorations, 

Freud on behalf of the mind and Halsted on behalf of surgery.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyRothbart, Mary K. Becoming who we are: 

temperament and personality in development. Guilford, 2011. 324p bibl indexes 

afp; ISBN 9781609180690, $40.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Rothbart (emer., Univ. of Oregon) has written a seminal treatment of the pivotal 

role of temperament in personality across the age span, from infant to adult. She 

posits temperament as having both stable and changeable features--secondary to 

environmental, biologic, and genetic factors--all reciprocal and interacting on each 

other. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyThornton, Davi Johnson. Brain culture: 

neuroscience and popular media. Rutgers, 2011. 199p bibl index afp; ISBN 


CHOICE. 

According to the author of this thought-provoking, entertaining book, there are 

two aspects to the brain: the "real" brain, i.e., the brain inside one's head, and the 

"rhetorical" brain, i.e., the brain that circulates through culture via popular 

neuroscience. The real brain accounts for the individual's innumerable abilities to 

survive in the world; the rhetorical brain wins arguments, beguiles one into 

thinking about oneself and health in particular ways, and subordinates the 

individual to regimes of social, political, and medical power. Drawing on the work 

of Michel Foucault, among others, Thornton (communication, Southwestern Univ.) 

examines how the images of popular neuroscience shape good citizens and good 

consumers by convincing the individual that the brain, like the body, is continually 

in need of optimization; each technological advance in brain science carries with it 

the burden of a never-ending quest for self-improvement. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyConviction of the innocent: lessons from 

psychological research, ed. by Brian L. Cutler. American Psychological Association, 

2012. 370p bibl index; ISBN 9781433810213, $69.95. Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

This is an excellent book. Cutler (social psychology, Univ. of Ontario Institute of 

Technology, Canada) and many other experts present summaries of important 

research on why the innocent are sometimes convicted. As the editor points out in 

the introduction, concern over conviction of the innocent is nothing new. What is 

new and refreshing about this book is that it addresses changes, based on 

psychological research, that can be implemented to reduce such convictions. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyEagleman, David M. Incognito: the secret 

lives of the brain. Pantheon Books, 2011. 290p bibl index; ISBN 9780307377333, 


Fascinating things are going on in neuroscience, and the educated public knows 

that. Writing a book about the brain that nonspecialists can understand (without 

taking a course in neuroscience) is difficult. With this book, Eagleman 

(neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine) joins Oliver Sacks, V. S. Ramachandran, 

and Antonio Damasio in the small circle of people who have done just that. 

Eagleman's main theme is that what one calls "me," the conscious mind, is only the 

tip of the iceberg, and that most of the interesting and important things the brain 

does are inaccessible to the brain's "owner." This is not a novel idea, as it is 

something every cognitive scientist knows. What Eagleman does is explain the idea



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to the neophyte through discussion of dozens of fascinating, engaging examples. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyMurray, Sandra L. Interdependent minds: 

the dynamics of close relationships, by Sandra L. Murray and John G. Holmes. 

Guilford, 2011. 402p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781609180768, $50.00. Reviewed in 


Because relationships are at the core of being human, "the smallest human unit is 

composed of two people." So argue psychology scholars Murray (Univ. of Buffalo, 

SUNY) and Holmes (Univ. of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) in this book, in which they 

weave engaging case studies into cutting-edge research on close relationships, 

specifically marriage. The authors root their analyses of the dynamics of marriage 

in seminal work on interdependence within social and personality research. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyLaFrance, Marianne. Lip service: smiles in 

life, death, trust, lies, work, memory, sex, and politics. W.W. Norton, 2011. 336p 

bibl index; ISBN 9780393060041, $26.95. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Incredibly complex social acts, smiles shape life in more ways than most people 

realize. LaFrance (Yale) first focuses attention on facial physiology to help 

distinguish between social and genuine smiles and then traces the development of 

smiles from infancy to adulthood. She has a background in social psychology, so 

she focuses on the roles smiles play in social interaction--to seduce, appease, 

deceive. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyPositive psychology as social change, ed. by 

Robert Biswas-Diener. Springer, 2011. 358p bibl index afp; ISBN 9789048199372, 


This volume demonstrates how the emphasis of positive psychology can and 

should be shifted from the individual to the group level. In showing that the 

agenda for the future of positive psychology can be to promote social change, 

Biswas-Diener (Portland State Univ.; Center for Applied Positive Psychology) and 

the other contributors introduce the reader to cutting-edge thinking about public 

policy and interventions designed to impact individuals who find themselves in a 

wide variety of social contexts. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyMilevsky, Avidan. Sibling relationships in 

childhood and adolescence: predictors and outcomes. Columbia, 2011. 152p bibl 



Milevsky (Kutztown University of Pennsylvania) provides a concise synthesis of 

existing research on the predictors of quality sibling relationships and the 

processes within the family system that are associated with close sibling bonds in 

childhood and adolescence. After exploring the influences of familial structure 

variables such as birth order, age gaps between siblings, and gender, the author 

turns to a review of direct and indirect parental influences in fostering positive 

sibling relationships. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologySt. Clair, Michael. So much, so fast, so little 

time: coming to terms with rapid change and its consequences. Praeger, 2011.


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235p index afp; ISBN 9780313392757, $44.95; ISBN 9780313392764 e-book, 

contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

St. Clair (emer., psychology, Emmanuel College) addresses monumentally 

important issues. This reader is confident that anyone over the age of 30 has 

wondered about the very matters this book raises. But St. Clair does not just 

wonder; he explores the issues of rapid technological changes and their impact on 

"us" individually and collectively. The thought-provoking introduction establishes 

seven important areas in which research on the consequences of rapid change 

could be organized: information and the Internet; communication, entertainment, 

and stimulation; work and how work changes individuals; social behavior and 

values; speed and altered time; family and personal relationships; and 

contradictory social trends and fewer shared experiences. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyKrebs, Dennis L. The origins of morality: an 

evolutionary account. Oxford, 2011. 308p bibl index afp ISBN 0-19-977823-X, 

$49.95; ISBN 9780199778232, $49.95. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

The increase in scholarship on morality is a response to theories that are either 

outworn or incomplete and to a general sense that contemporary lack of social 

stability results from waning morals. Rather than looking at morality as a product 

of individual cognitive development, evolutionary models consider morality at a 

species level; the focal issue is how making moral judgments has evolved to benefit 

all. Krebs (psychology, Simon Fraser Univ.) provides a comprehensive look at the 

state of morality theory and the need for a broader perspective that can 

incorporate aspects of existing models and account for missing elements within 

them. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ PsychologyBaumeister, Roy F. Willpower: 

rediscovering the greatest human strength, by Roy F. Baumeister and John 

Tierney. Penguin Press, 2011. 291p index; ISBN 9781594203077, $27.95. 


Baumeister (psychology, Florida State Univ.) and Tierney (a science writer) address 

a fundamental issue of relevance to all. Bringing to the discussion a combination of 

common sense, historical analysis, and contemporary examples, the authors paint 

a vivid picture of successful and unsuccessful efforts to "wield" willpower and of 

why understanding willpower is so important.


Recreation 


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Science & Technology \ Sports & RecreationMarkula, Pirkko. Qualitative research for 

physical culture, by Pirkko Markula and Michael Silk. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 

252p bibl index; ISBN 9780230230231, $95.00. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Markula (Univ. of Alberta, Canada) and Silk (Univ. of Bath, UK) have produced a 

comprehensive, skillfully designed book that serves well both as a textbook on 

qualitative research and as a guide for social science researchers of physical 

culture. The use of alliterative mnemonics (sections titled "Design," "Doing," 

"Dissemination" include chapters on the 7 Ps of research) provides a powerful 

structure, defining the elements of qualitative research distinctly while making 

clear the interrelatedness of each of the components. 

Science & Technology \ Sports & RecreationBeamish, Rob. Steroids: a new look at 

performance-enhancing drugs. Praeger, 2011. 211p bibl index afp; ISBN 



Beamish (sociology, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada) provides broad 

background, historical review, and unique sociological perspectives on a variety of 

subjects that intersect with sport and performance-enhancing drugs. He looks at 

the development of the Olympic Games; formalization and urbanization of 

recreational sports; the growth of capitalism; the rise of the nation-state and 

national pride in athletic accomplishments; the Cold War and the East/West 

controversy; and the social construction of attitudes and beliefs about steroids and 

the war on drugs. The author explains how the elite Olympic amateur athlete, who 

ideally participated for the communal effort and not personal gain, became today's 

individualistic, scientifically engineered professional. 

Science & Technology \ Sports & RecreationWomen, sport, society: further 

reflections, reaffirming Mary Wollstonecraft, ed. by Roberta J. Park and Patricia 

Vertinsky. Routledge, 2011. 206p index; ISBN 9780415597388, $125.00. Reviewed 


With this collection, Park (emer., Univ. of California, Berkeley) and Vertinsky (Univ. 

of British Columbia) expand the definition of sport. The contributors, established 

scholars, focus more broadly on human movement and body culture than on sport 

as conventionally understood. For example, in her well-written chapter, "The 

Physical Is Political," Jaime Schultz explores how early-20th-century suffragists 

staged long-distance walks both to the capital of New York State and to 

Washington, DC, to highlight their demands for the right to vote. Schultz argues 

that the history of women's sport needs to expand the notion of sport to the body 

and movement more generally in order to include as many women as possible--a 

theme reiterated throughout the volume. Taking an international approach, other 

contributors consider women in dance, physical education, mountaineering, and 

basketball (the last in Brazil). Most of the essays fit together well, so the book is 

cohesive in its expanded take on sport. Though the title may mislead those who 

expect a more conventional definition of sport, the collection makes a significant 

addition to literature on gender and sport.



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Science & Technology \ Sports & RecreationBehavioral sport psychology: evidencebased 

approaches to performance enhancement, ed. by James K. Luiselli and 

Derek D. Reed. Springer, 2011. 272p bibl index afp ISBN 1-4614-0069-4, $129.00; 


Luiselli and Reed provide a thorough review of the more significant areas of 

behavioral sport psychology. The chapters are written by recognized experts in the 

field and provide readers with the most current thinking and research. More 

important, the contributors acknowledge gaps in current research and note areas 

where additional research can advance understanding in the field. The editors note 

the book was written for an academic audience, practicing psychologists, and 

readers with an interest in athletics. The chapters describing assessment and 

measurement will perhaps best serve entry-level graduate students; other 

chapters, especially those that treat performance enhancement, would be 

appropriate for less experienced readers, including those with a general interest in 

athletics. Overall, this book provides something of interest to most readers


Religious Studies 


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Humanities \ ReligionO'Callaghan, Paul. Christ our hope: an introduction to 

eschatology. Catholic University of America, 2011. 358p bibl indexes afp ISBN 

0813218624 pbk, $34.95; ISBN 9780813218625 pbk, $34.95. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

Christ Our Hope provides a concise yet inclusive survey of the major topics of 

eschatology--the return of Christ in glory at the end of time, the resurrection of the 

dead, the judgment of humanity, and the renewal of the cosmos. Although focused 

on the Catholic theological and magisterial tradition, this book should have broad 

appeal because of its thorough exposition of the sources of eschatological thinking- 

-Scripture, and ancient and medieval figures like Irenaeus of Lyons, Origen, 

Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas. 

Humanities \ ReligionBynum, Caroline Walker. Christian materiality: an essay on 

religion in late medieval Europe. Zone Books, 2011. 408p index afp ISBN 1- 

935408-10-0, $32.95; ISBN 9781935408109, $32.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This important, lucid, and theoretically sophisticated book by Bynum (Institute for 

Advanced Study), the author of Holy Feast and Holy Fast (CH, Sep'87), explores 

medieval Christian understandings of the ways that things believed to be 

associated with important events in Christian history, e.g., pieces of Christ's cross, 

relics, and miraculous objects such as bleeding Eucharistic hosts, influenced and 

shaped medieval religious practice and Christian understanding of God's 

relationship to the world. 

Humanities \ ReligionHarline, Craig. Conversions: two family stories from the 

Reformation and modern America. Yale, 2011. 301p bibl afp ISBN 0-300-16701-6, 

$27.50; ISBN 9780300167016, $27.50. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Harline (history, Brigham Young Univ.; Miracles at the Jesus Oak, CH, Dec'03, 41- 

2123) presents, in alternating chapters, the stories of Jacob Rolandus, the 17thcentury 

son of a Dutch Reformed preacher who converts to Catholicism, and of 

Michael Sunbloom, the son of Protestants, who converts to Mormonism before 

leaving that faith to live as an openly gay man. The book is not heavy-handed 

about forcing parallels, but tells them in an engaging way that reveals their 

symmetry. By avoiding scholarly jargon and relegating his detailed research to 

endnotes, Harline offers an engaging and compelling read 

Humanities \ ReligionHiltebeitel, Alf. Dharma: its early history in law, religion, and 

narrative. Oxford, 2011. 747p bibl index afp ISBN 0-19-539423-2, $74.00; ISBN 


The Indian concept of dharma deserves this first-rate, monumental study. 

Dharma's multifaceted meanings include law, custom, righteousness, morality, and 

also the Buddha's teaching. Because dharma first appears in the Vedic hymns 

dating from the late first millennium BCE and remains a vital concept today, 

Hiltebeitel (independent scholar) carefully tracks its evolution throughout the 

history of South Asia's major religions--Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. 

Humanities \ ReligionDavies, Douglas J. Emotion, identity, and religion: hope, 

reciprocity, and otherness. Oxford, 2011. 325p bibl index afp; ISBN 

9780199551521, $110.00; ISBN 9780199551538 pbk, $35.00. Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE.


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Davies (Univ. of Durham, UK) offers a rich, challenging, interdisciplinary analysis of 

the "complex interface of emotion and religious identity." Drawing on cognitive 

psychology, cognitive anthropology, evolutionary biology, philosophy, sociology, 

theology, literature, music, and the arts, the author makes a strong case that 

individual religious traditions promote and manage preferred idiosyncratic 

patterns of emotions by means of rituals, preferred images, sacred places and 

texts, and music. 

Humanities \ ReligionKoosed, Jennifer L. Gleaning Ruth: a biblical heroine and her 

afterlives. South Carolina, 2011. 173p bibl indexes afp; ISBN 9781570039836, 


For this refreshing examination of the biblical Ruth, Koosed (Albright College) 

acknowledges that little could be added by simply reviewing past scholarship, 

while much can be gleaned by exploring Ruth from her "afterlives in literature, art, 

film, and liturgy." The multifaceted portrait she draws of Ruth employs an eclectic 

methodology, drawing on traditional and nontraditional sources. This volume's 

structure emphasizes the recurring polarity of relationships that reveal Ruth's 

personality and the centrality of food throughout the book of Ruth. 

Humanities \ ReligionEgginton, William. In defense of religious moderation. 

Columbia, 2011. 158p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780231148788, $24.50; ISBN 

9780231520966 e-book, $19.99. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Egginton (Johns Hopkins) provides a clear argument defining and defending 

religious moderation against fundamentalisms that claim to have knowledge of the 

"code of codes," or use of a language capable of interpreting reality. This definition 

allows Egginton to illustrate the commonalities that unite extreme religious 

movements with "new atheist sympathies"--this latter move, acknowledged as 

superficially counterintuitive, emerges through a close reading of Sam Harris on 

religion. Beyond demonstrating ways to present a fair, well-reasoned argument 

based on theology, Egginton's book would be useful in an undergraduate 

classroom through his selection of examples. 

Humanities \ ReligionLongenecker, Richard N. Introducing Romans: critical issues in 

Paul's most famous letter. Eerdmans, 2011. 490p indexes; ISBN 9780802866196 

pbk, $40.00. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

This book by Longenecker (emer., Univ. of Toronto) is encyclopedic in scope. This 

reviewer has not previously seen, in a single book, discussion of such a large 

number of issues relating to interpretation of Romans or such thoroughness in the 

discussion. The author makes comprehensive use of the varied critical 

methodologies and displays an envious familiarity with exegetes ranging from the 

Ante-Nicene Fathers to the most recent interpreters. 

Humanities \ ReligionDunn, James D. G. Jesus, Paul, and the Gospels. Eerdmans, 

2011. 201p bibl indexes afp ISBN 080286645x pbk, $21.00; ISBN 9780802866455 


Dunn (emer., Univ. of Durham, UK) continues to provide readable, insightful books 

on the beginnings of Christianity. The title of this volume, Jesus, Paul, and the 

Gospels, suggests that it could appropriately serve as an overview and an 

introduction to Dunn's voluminous writings. Dunn examines how the Gospels 

narrate the story of a Jew, Jesus, working in the context of Second Temple Judaism,



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who made a lasting impact on his followers. 

Humanities \ ReligionWolterstorff, Nicholas. Justice in love. Eerdmans, 2011. 284p 

index afp ISBN 0-8028-6615-8, $35.00; ISBN 9780802866158, $35.00. Reviewed in 


In this occasionally dense and sometimes repetitive set of systematic reflections, 

Christian philosopher Wolterstorff (emer., Yale) treats religious scholars and 

practitioners to a serious and sustained exploration of the relation between love 

and justice. His target is part of what he calls the agapist moral tradition in 

Christianity, a part, particularly in the work of Anders Nygren, that insists that love 

trumps justice and renders it negligible if not completely overridden. 

Humanities \ ReligionManifold greatness: the making of the King James Bible, ed. 

by Helen Moore and Julian Reid. Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, 2011. 

208p bibl index ISBN 1851243496 pbk, $35.00; ISBN 9781851243495 pbk, $35.00. 


Not surprisingly, the 400th anniversary of the first publication of the King James 

Bible has witnessed a veritable cascade of books on the subject. To stand out in 

such erudite company, a volume must offer something special. This collection, 

produced in conjunction with a summer 2011 exhibition of the same name 

http://www.manifoldgreatness.org, succeeds in its combination of expert, 

engaging writing with a generous selection of beautifully reproduced images, many 

not easily available elsewhere. Its expansive coverage moves chronologically from 

the 8th century, with Bede, to the 21st, with references as varied as the King James 

Onlyists and the 2010 film The Book of Eli. 

Humanities \ ReligionSeitz, John C. No closure: Catholic practice and Boston's 

parish shutdowns. Harvard, 2011. 314p index afp; ISBN 9780674053021, $39.95. 


When the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston announced that it was closing parishes-based 

on clergy shortages and economic conditions--some parishioners resisted by 

occupying churches around the clock to prevent the archdiocese from locking the 

doors. This book by Seitz (Fordham Univ.), based on his fieldwork among resisters, 

illuminates their complex and sometimes contradictory motivations, and reveals 

the complexity of contemporary American Catholic life and practice. 

Humanities \ ReligionSharma, Arvind. One religion too many: the religiously 

comparative reflections of a comparatively religious Hindu. SUNY Press, 2011. 

164p afp; ISBN 9781438432472, $65.00; ISBN 9781438432489 pbk, $23.95. 


Sharma, a scholar of comparative religions, here reflects on his own religious 

dimension. In a series of snippets on various aspects of his academic and religious 

life, he provokes readers to reflect on what it means to be religious when affiliated 

to a religion. Sharma starts with his early days in the sacred city of Benares and 

with fascinating perspectives on reincarnation. He takes readers through the 

enriching experiences of his life in other cities in India, and talks about his delving 

into Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He describes the insights he gained and



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imparted while teaching courses on comparative religion at McGill. He reflects on 

the aftermath of 9/11. Sharma writes with deep affection for his own tradition, as 

any religious person will. But he also writes with deep reverence toward other 

religious traditions, as only a practicing Hindu can do. Above all, he speaks from an 

awakened perspective, ending the book with a rhetorical question: "If, as a Hindu, I 

inherit the Hindu tradition, then, do I not as a human being, inherit the entire 

religious tradition of humanity?" If all religiously inspired people would think in 

these terms, this would be a more harmonious world indeed. 

Humanities \ ReligionBashir, Shahzad. Sufi bodies: religion and society in medieval 

Islam. Columbia, 2011. 274p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780231144902, $50.00. 


Sufi Bodies sets out to explore the hidden physicality of late medieval Persianate 

Sufism. Ranging across a slate of multiple categories, Bashir (Stanford) weaves a 

remarkable tapestry of linkages between the social and intellectual world of 

medieval Sufis, on the one hand, and the spiritual messages encoded in bodies and 

bodily activities, on the other. He provides a journey into interior realms that are, 

in his view, inseparable from their outward expression. 

Humanities \ ReligionThe Apocryphal Gospels: texts and translations, [comp.] by 

Bart D. Ehrman and Zlatko Plese. Oxford, 2011. 608p bibl afp; ISBN 


Ehrman and Plese have made a prodigious contribution in this academic study of 

the Apocryphal Gospels. Almost certainly this volume will become a standard 

resource for students and scholars. This collection provides more than 40 gospel 

texts/text fragments that are not part of the New Testament. A brief introduction 

precedes each text. On the left side, the text appears in its original language 

(Greek, Latin, Coptic); an English translation is on the right. 

Humanities \ ReligionThe Cambridge companion to miracles, ed. by Graham H. 

Twelftree. Cambridge, 2011. 338p bibl index; ISBN 9780521899864, $85.00; ISBN 


This volume of essays makes a welcome contribution to persistent interpretive 

problems in the field of religious studies by giving serious consideration to the 

function and value of miracle stories across cultures. Problematic issues, such as 

definitions and meanings of miracles (or "intentional divine activity") are discussed 

honestly and straightforwardly before the text moves on to historical and 

philosophical discussions. Contributors explore the concept of miracle and miracle 

workers in the ancient Hebrew, Greek, and early Christian and medieval worlds. 

Humanities \ ReligionUrban, Hugh B. The church of Scientology: a history of a new 

religion. Princeton, 2011. 268p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780691146089, $27.95. 


This book opens with a correct observation: "Surely few new religious movements 

have been the subject of more scandal, media attention, or misunderstanding than 

the Church of Scientology." Urban (Ohio State Univ.) addresses his subject as a 

historian of religion and objectively traces the complex history of a movement that 

is now recognized as a religion in the US.



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Humanities \ ReligionCleary, Edward L. The rise of charismatic Catholicism in Latin 

America. University Press of Florida, 2011. 308p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Cleary (political science, Providence College) offers one of the first comprehensive 

studies of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) in Latin America. His focus is on 

nations with the largest charismatic memberships--notably Brazil, Bolivia, 

Colombia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Cleary's penultimate chapter gives 

a brief overview of CCRs in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Haiti; his final chapter provides 

an excellent in-depth examination of CCRs in Guatemala. He offers no final 

summary or conclusions. 

Humanities \ ReligionDalton, Jacob P. The taming of the demons: violence and 

liberation in Tibetan Buddhism. Yale, 2011. 311p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Dalton (Univ. of California, Berkeley) attempts to discern the origins of the 

distinctly Tibetan uses of ritual violence. Rather than simply dismissing these 

violent rituals as "compassionate violence," or as serving as a shocking path toward 

enlightenment, Dalton explores the reasons behind their popularity 

Humanities \ ReligionNemec, John. The ubiquitous Śiva: Somānanda's Śivadrsti 

and his tantric interlocutors. Oxford, 2011. 436p bibl indexes afp; ISBN 

9780199795451, $99.00; ISBN 9780199795468 pbk, $49.95; ISBN 9780199795543 

e-book, contact publisher for price. Reviewed in 2012feb CHOICE. 

Nemec (Univ. of Virginia) provides an edited Sanskrit text with an excellent 

translation of and exhaustive commentary on the first three chapters of the first 

major philosophical-theological treatise of the so-called Recognition School in the 

influential Kashmiri Shaivism tradition. Nemec's making available, for the first time, 

part of this work by Somānanda (fl. ca. 900-950) that inaugurates the philosophical 

exegesis of Shaivite tantra is most welcome. 

Humanities \ ReligionHarvey, Paul. Through the storm, through the night: a history 

of African American Christianity. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 217p bibl index afp; 

ISBN 9780742564732, $35.00; ISBN 9780742564756 e-book, $34.99. Reviewed in 


Books abound on the African American religious experience in the US, but Harvey's 

work is a welcome addition and succinct summary of its 400-year history. Typically 

in such short monographs, detail is sacrificed for brevity, but Harvey (history, Univ. 

of Colorado, Colorado Springs) packs great substance through insightful 

biographies and aptly summarized historical events.


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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyMiller, Susan L. After the crime: the power of 

restorative justice dialogues between victims and violent offenders. New York University, 

2011. 267p index afp; ISBN 978081476143 e-book, contact publisher for price; ISBN 

9780814795538 pbk, $25.00; ISBN 9780814795521, $75.00. Outstanding Title! Reviewed 


Miller's latest book on victimology is a research report analyzing the success of one 

postconviction restorative justice program, Victims' Voices Heard (VVH). Describing the 

dialogues between victims of nine violent crimes, including gendered offenses, and their 

offenders, Miller (sociology and criminal justice, Univ. of Delaware) writes for both lay and 

academic audiences. Both sets of readers will find the summaries of the nine cases, the 

focus on the victims' stories, and the descriptions of the processes of their dialogues with 

the offenders insightful and sensitively written. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Political TheoryDrolet, Jean-François. 

American neoconservatism: the politics and culture of a reactionary idealism. Columbia, 



In this scholarly, erudite work, Drolet (City Univ. London) seeks to uncover how 

neoconservatism came to dominate US politics. Contrary to similar works on 

neoconservatism, Drolet's argues that neoconservative policies, domestic and foreign, 

originate in authoritarian anti-Enlightenment thought. The study particularly impresses 

with a brilliant chapter on the author of this argument, Leo Strauss, whose work on Hobbes 

sparked neoconservative policies, according to Drolet. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsBrown, Kerry. Ballot 

box China: grassroots democracy in the final major one-party state. Zed Books, 2011. 

184p bibl index; ISBN 9781848138193, $125.95; ISBN 9781848138209 pbk, $29.95. 


Ballot Box China is clearly among the most engaging, informative works on contemporary 

Chinese politics and the political reforms initiated or proffered since the death of Mao. The 

book takes as a focal point the grassroots experiment launched in the late 1980s--three 

million candidates in 600,000 villages have won office in a million elections, many of them 

multicandidate contests involving independents as well as Communist Party members. But 

Brown's slender volume surpasses the focus of its title because of what it features about 

other, related post-Mao political reforms and initiatives: courts and the rule of law, civil 

society and the broadening array and autonomy of NGOs, possibilities for broadening the 

scope of popular elections, and initiatives to deepen democracy inside the ruling party. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyBronstein, Carolyn. Battling pornography: the 

American feminist anti-pornography movement, 1976-1986. Cambridge, 2011. 360p bibl 

index; ISBN 9780521879927, $85.00; ISBN 9781107400399 pbk, $25.99. Reviewed in 


Bronstein (media studies, DePaul Univ.) traces the history of the anti-pornography 

feminism movement to the social and cultural context of the late 1960s and 1970s. She is 

particularly interested in the impact of sexually violent images that appeared in media 

during this period. The author did extensive archival research, and she provides an 

eloquent depiction of the social environment that allowed the movement to gain 

momentum. She also reveals the inner workings and dynamics of three feminism mediareform 

organizations: Women against Violence against Women, Women against Violence 

in Pornography and Media, and Women against Pornography (the last two no longer in 

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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsMcKenzie, Evan. Beyond 

privatopia. Urban Institute, 2011. 147p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780877667698 pbk, $26.50. 


In Beyond Privatopia, McKenzie (Univ. of Illinois, Chicago) expands on his earlier classic 

Privatopia (CH, Nov'94, 32-1804) to explore recent developments in the continuing 

evolution of residential private governance. He focuses on the US while recognizing that 

private residential governance has become an international phenomenon. McKenzie 

demonstrates that common interest developments (CIDs), in the form of single-family 

homeowner associations or condominiums and townhouses, are now the norm in new 

housing construction, often with the backing and mandate of local government. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ International RelationsRichey, Lisa Ann. 

Brand aid: shopping well to save the world, by Lisa Ann Richey and Stefano Ponte. 

Minnesota, 2011. 253p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780816665457, $57.00; ISBN 9780816665464 


Richey (Roskilde Univ., Denmark) and Ponte (Danish Institute for International Studies) 

critically explore how multinational corporations successfully reified consumption into a 

form of compassion. They focus on efforts by corporations to use marketing schemes to 

portray corporate behavior as morally superior. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsKopp, Harry. Career 

diplomacy: life and work in the U.S. foreign service, by Harry W. Kopp and Charles A. 

Gillespie. 2nd ed. Georgetown University, 2011. 301p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781589017405 

pbk, $29.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

The second edition of this book, completed by Kopp in memory of the original coauthor, 

Charles Gillespie, provides a sound overview of the US Foreign Service. Kopp, a former 

Foreign Service (FS) officer, provides an insider's view. Yet the book remains objective 

about the strengths and weaknesses of the professional diplomats based in the State 

Department and Agency for International Development. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsFrisch, Scott A. Cheese 

factories on the moon: why earmarks are good for American democracy, by Scott A. 

Frisch and Sean Q. Kelly. Paradigm Publishers, 2011. 181p index afp; ISBN 


This is an unusual volume because it argues that congressional "earmarks are good for 

American democracy." Frisch and Kelly (both, California State Univ., Channel Islands) warn 

their readers "this book is neither balanced nor dispassionate. In our view, the discourse 

surrounding earmarks has been one-sided, superficial, and self serving." They argue that 

those who decry earmarks as the bane of democracy should look again. They suggest that 

members of Congress (and others) serious about addressing the national deficit should 

focus their efforts on areas where serious money is spent: Medicare, Social Security, and 

defense spending. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsPant, Harsh V. 

China's rising global profile: the great power tradition. Sussex Academic, 2011. (Dist. by 

International Specialized Book Services), 122p index afp; ISBN 9781845194574, $45.00. 


By exploring China's increasing engagement in international politics and the expansion of 

its presence as a world power, Pant (King's College London) seeks to evaluate China's 

emerging role as an important power broker in various regions of the world. This wellwritten 

volume's seven chapters include an introduction



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsBennett, Robert W. 

Constitutional originalism: a debate, by Robert W. Bennett and Lawrence B. Solum. 

Cornell, 2011. 210p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780801447938, $29.95. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

At first glance, Constitutional Originalism is one more book discussing constitutional 

interpretation. The discussion is nuanced and sophisticated, but no more so than recent 

books by Keith Whittington or Mark Graber; the writing is accessible, but so are numerous 

other books addressing the same material. Yet despite breaking no new ground, Solum 

(Univ. of Illinois) and Bennett (Northwestern School of Law) have produced a valuable 

book, particularly for students unfamiliar with the originalism versus "living Constitution" 

debate and the literature it has spawned 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ International RelationsBluth, Christoph. 

Crisis on the Korean peninsula. Potomac Books, 2011. 243p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Bluth (Univ. of Leeds, UK) examines the bilateral and multilateral dimensions of the security 

dilemmas on the Korean Peninsula. Bluth begins by providing a conceptual context for 

North Korea's survival strategy. This strategy tends toward strident responses to challenges 

to the existing regime, including military threats. The next two chapters assess the North 

Korean threat to regional peace through an examination of its military capability, economic 

limitations, and political uncertainty. A discussion of the related security dilemmas faced by 

South Korea as it transitioned from dictatorship to democracy and from limited to 

significant economic and military capability follows. The impact of North Korea's missile 

and nuclear programs on regional security is examined next, with special attention to the 

Agreed Framework. This is followed by a discussion of US efforts to prevent a nuclear North 

Korea and China's efforts to broker a path to reduced tension between North Korea and 

the US. The concluding chapter argues that aggressive efforts on the part of the US to put 

the nuclear genie back in the bottle or to accelerate regime change in North Korea will fail. 

This work is highly recommended for undergraduate library collections on Korea 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Political TheoryRosanvallon, Pierre. 

Democratic legitimacy: impartiality, reflexivity, proximity, tr. by Arthur Goldhammer. 

Princeton, 2011. 235p index afp; ISBN 9780691149486, $35.00. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

This book is an illuminating analysis of the transformed problem of political legitimacy that 

exists in contemporary democracy. It should be read by anyone seriously interested in 

thinking through the dangers posed by the climate of political distrust that has become 

normal in democratic regimes. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ International RelationsMani, Kristina. 

Democratization and military transformation in Argentina and Chile: rethinking rivalry. 

FirstForum, 2011. 247p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781935049401, $65.00. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

Mani (Oberlin College) explores the process through which Argentina and Chile ended their 

long-term rivalry and launched broad, positive instruments of security cooperation over the 

past two decades. A byproduct of this process was a change in military-civilian relations in 

the two nations, with the military becoming "stakeholders" in the new government and 

professional partners with the new democratic system. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologySiegel, Jane A. Disrupted childhoods: children of 

women in prison. Rutgers, 2011. 233p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780813550107, $72.00; ISBN 

9780813550114 pbk, $25.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE.


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Criminology professor Siegel (Rutgers, Camden) examines the experiences of two groups of 

children with mothers involved in the criminal justice system: children whose mothers have 

been arrested but not yet sentenced, and children whose mothers have been incarcerated 

for at least one year. The author approaches the subject from both life course and 

ecological perspectives, making the important point that these children were already living 

in very high-risk environments marked by poverty and violence, long before their mothers 

were arrested. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsBanchoff, Thomas. 

Embryo politics: ethics and policy in Atlantic democracies. Cornell, 2011. 294p bibl index 

afp; ISBN 9780801449574, $35.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Banchoff (Georgetown Univ.) neither advocates for a particular ethical position nor argues 

in favor of a particular political approach. Rather, he outlines and explains the "views and 

actions of participants in embryo politics," focusing on the views and actions of those 

involved in this political debate in the US, the UK, Germany, and France. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ International RelationsBarnett, Michael. 

Empire of humanity: a history of humanitarianism. Cornell, 2011. 296p bibl index afp 

ISBN 0-8014-4713-5, $29.95; ISBN 9780801447136, $29.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

As the book's subtitle indicates, this is a history of humanitarianism--its ideas, practices, 

problems, and institutions. Whereas most other accounts of humanitarianism focus on 

recent initiatives, Barnett (George Washington Univ.) begins his historical account with the 

antislavery and missionary movements of the 19th century. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsKelemen, R. Daniel. 

Eurolegalism: the transformation of law and regulation in the European Union. Harvard, 


Eurolegalism thoughtfully applies Robert A. Kagan's concept of "adversarial legalism" to the 

EU and its evolving legal institutions. This clearly written, up-to-date volume does an 

excellent job of arguing that the EU's fragmented political structures and ambitious policy 

objectives lead to coordination and enforcement by courts (especially the European Court 

of Justice) that rely on detailed regulations in place of the old model of national regulators 

that rely on ongoing but informal relationships. Keleman (Rutgers Univ.) succeeds in 

demonstrating that Europe should worry about adversarial legalism but at the same time 

shows that national-level legal institutions work to slow and channel legal and policy 

change. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyLamas, Marta. Feminism: transmissions and 

retransmissions, tr. by John Pluecker. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 168p bibl index; ISBN 


As Jean Franco remarks in the introduction to this extraordinary collection of essays, Marta 

Lamas "remains required reading" for those wishing to understand the role of women in 

the project of "redefining and promoting democracy" in the world. This translated 

collection of four of Lamas's key essays, many of which have been circulating for years 

throughout Latin America, particularly in her home nation of Mexico, provides English 

readers an essential if not classical set of insights into what Lamas calls the "transmissions 

and retransmissions" of feminist thought that links psychoanalysis to Marxism and 

anthropology. The essays range chronologically from Lamas's earliest writings in the 1970s 

through the early 21st century and cover four main topics: the political development of one 

sector of the feminist movement in Mexico; a cross-cultural look at affirmative action in the 

workplace; conceptual advances in the development of the gender concept; and a study of 

key disagreements among feminists. It is unfortunate that the price of this book is so high,



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as it finally brings marginalized Latin American intellectualism north where it is sorely 

needed 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyDistiller, Natasha. Fixing gender: lesbian mothers 

and the Oedipus complex. Fairleigh Dickinson, 2011. 151p bibl index afp; ISBN 


Informed by Freud's Oedipus complex, feminist psychoanalysis, and relational theory, this 

book explores the subjective possibilities and impossibilities of being a "lesbian mother." 

The book has numerous strengths. Distiller (English, Univ. of Cape Town, South Africa) does 

a fine job of discerning and critiquing the inevitable intersections of sex, gender, and 

sexuality; describing the dilemmas surrounding recognition as lesbian, mother, and lesbian 

mother; illustrating the roles of others and the impact of others' evaluations of lesbian coparent 

family life; and highlighting the paradoxes of being a "mother" (an identity riddled 

with gendered and heterosexual assumptions), a "lesbian" (an identity often perceived in 

conflict with or in contrast to being a mother), and an "other mother." The "other mother" 

identity marks both the legitimacy of a lesbian parent and her difference, especially in 

contexts infused with assumptions of heterosexual mothering. The author concludes by 

suggesting ways to embody lesbian motherhood differently--at the same time cautiously 

noting how different kinds of embodiment can simultaneously perpetuate and deviate 

from gendered and heterosexual parenting norms. The writing style is accessible and 

appropriate for those familiar with psychoanalysis, feminism, and queer theory. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsDorey, Peter. From 

crisis to coalition: the Conservative Party, 1997-2010, by Peter Dorey, Mark Garnett, and 

Andrew Denham. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 216p bibl index ISBN 0-230-54238-7, $85.00; 


For those who believe (correctly) that the Labour Party receives the bulk of scholarly 

attention and (wrongly) that the Conservative Party does not have a fascinating, lively, and 

interesting historical trajectory, this carefully researched, closely written, and thorough 

study is just the thing. Even if the prose is not sprightly, the analysis is thorough and it takes 

on other prevailing scholarly analyses. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsJacobs, Alan M. 

Governing for the long term: democracy and the politics of investment. Cambridge, 

2011. 306p bibl index; ISBN 9780521171779 pbk, $24.99; ISBN 9780521195850, $90.00. 


Jacobs (Univ. of British Columbia, Canada) explores the temporal dimensions of policy 

choice. He blends rational choice theory and institutional analysis to create a new 

framework to explain why governments are sometimes willing and able to impose shortterm 

pain for long-term gain. The theoretical work is innovative as he demonstrates that 

the politics of distribution is not separate from questions of intergenerational investment 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsElkind, Sarah S. How local 

politics shape federal policy: business, power, and the environment in twentieth-century 

Los Angeles. North Carolina, 2011. 267p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780807834893, $45.00. 


This collection of five environmental policy case studies from the first half of the 20th 

century will enhance readers' understanding of the role of business elites and interest 

groups in policy making. Elkind (San Diego State Univ.) thoroughly documents each case. 

The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce shaped efforts to protect Southern California 

beaches and was a leader in the creation of air pollution control policy. Business interests, 

politicians, and federal agencies were all involved in efforts to obtain funding for flood 

control in the Whittier Narrows and construction of the Hoover Dam. The final case on the 

rejection of national water planning reinforces conclusions about local and business 

interests.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyLipsitz, George. How racism takes place. Temple, 

2011. 310p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781439902554, $76.50; ISBN 9781439902561 pbk, 

$26.95; ISBN 9781439902578 e-book, $26.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Veteran scholar Lipsitz (black studies, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara; The Possessive 

Investment in Whiteness, CH, Dec'98, 36-2457) provides another deeply probing look at US 

racism. Accenting the "white spatial imaginary," he shows how racism plays out in 

apparently non-racist ways in the protection of long-segregated white residential areas and 

privileges. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyScheffer, Paul. Immigrant nations. Polity, 2011. 

390p bibl indexes; ISBN 9780745649610, $79.95; ISBN 9780745649627 pbk, $29.95. 


Scheffer (urban studies, Univ. of Amsterdam) tackles problems resulting from immigration 

into Europe with a candid critique of antiforeign sentiments and the feelings of immigrant 

populations as well. Offering insights from varied academic disciplines, Scheffer compares 

immigration to Europe with the history of immigration to the US. The author's essayistic 

style is well suited to widely promoting the contention that immigrants can be integrated 

into European society after the cycle of avoidance, conflict, and accommodation has run its 

course only if both natives and newcomers agree that the primary obligation of citizenship 

is respect for the legitimate rights of all. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyYoshikawa, Hirokazu. Immigrants raising citizens: 

undocumented parents and their young children. Russell Sage Foundation, 2011. 196p 

bibl index afp; ISBN 9780871549860, $29.95. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Yoshikawa (education, Harvard) delineates the everyday experiences of undocumented 

parents raising children in New York City. The research reported here, part of a larger 

project, is based on interviews and participant observation, parent surveys, and child 

assessment data collected between birth and age three. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ International RelationsInternational 

politics of the Persian Gulf, ed. by Mehran Kamrava. Syracuse, 2011. 374p bibl index afp; 


This informative collection of studies testifies to the growing geostrategic significance of 

the Persian Gulf and its profound transformation. A product of meetings at the Center for 

International and Regional Studies in Doha, Qatar 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ International RelationsAmit, Zalman. 

Israeli rejectionism: a hidden agenda in the Middle East peace process, by Zalman Amit 

and Daphna Levit. Pluto, 2011. 208p bibl index; ISBN 9780745330297, $95.00; ISBN 


Amit (emer., Concordia Univ., Canada) and Levit (Ben Gurion Univ., Israel), respectively a 

behavioral neuroscientist and a financial analyst, present a concise, carefully documented 

analysis of the missed opportunities for peace among Israel, the Palestinians, and other 

Arab neighbors. They persuasively argue for the existence of a hidden agenda, namely that 

"an equitable peace settlement was never Israel's top priority." 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyDavies, Christie. Jokes and targets. Indiana, 2011. 

314p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780253356192, $70.00; ISBN 9780253223029 pbk, $24.95. 


Davies (emer., Univ. of Reading, UK) is perhaps the most eminent of the sadly limited 

number of sociologists who have considered humor worthy of serious study. Here he


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focuses on cataloging and analyzing various types of jokes, ranging from "stupid and canny" 

through blond and lawyer to Jewish and Soviet-era jokes. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsLerner, Hanna. 

Making constitutions in deeply divided societies. Cambridge, 2011. 262p bibl index; ISBN 


A highly interesting book that promises to open up an important debate among students of 

democracy in divided societies. Lerner (Tel Aviv Univ., Israel) recommends an 

incrementalist approach to constitution-making when addressing fundamental questions 

about the nature and identity of the state. Rather than imposing a solution on a deeply 

divided polity, constitutional founders can produce stable democracy by building those 

disagreements into the constitution itself. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsCastañeda, Jorge G. 

Mañana forever?: Mexico and the Mexicans. Knopf, 2011. 293p index; ISBN 


Castañeda (NYU) is both an academic and the former foreign minister of Mexico. In this 

well-argued, engaging work, he seeks to examine various aspects and paradoxes of 

Mexican culture, history, and society, emphasizing "the disconnect between Mexico's 

national character and its current reality." His thesis is that Mexico's longstanding cultural 

values are stopping it from reaching full modernity, and this is shown in a range of areas: 

civil society, the middle class, conflict and competition, democracy, attitudes toward the 

foreign "other," and the rule of law. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyVelasco Ortiz, Laura. Mexican voices of the 

border region, by Laura Velasco Ortiz and Oscar F. Contreras with translations by Sandra 

del Castillo. Temple, 2011. 216p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781592139088, $79.50; ISBN 

9781592139095 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9781592139101 e-book, $29.95. Reviewed in 2011dec 

CHOICE. 

This in-depth study of the quotidian lives of Mexican dwellers in the Mexico-US 

borderlands focuses on the triad of border crossers, those who attempted to cross, and 

those who yearned to cross. The spotlight is the twin city expanse of Tijuana-San Diego. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsDélano, Alexandra. 

Mexico and its diaspora in the United States: policies of emigration since 1848. 

Cambridge, 2011. 288p bibl index; ISBN 9781107011267, $90.00. Reviewed in 2012jan 

CHOICE. 

If one does not carefully read the subtitle of Délano's book, one might assume that it is 

another book about Mexicans residing in the US. Its focus is, however, on the subtitle, 

Policies of Emigration since 1848. Délano (The New School for Social Research) offers an 

important, stimulating, and much-needed examination of Mexican migration. She focuses 

not only on the immigration policies of the receiving country, but also and more 

importantly on the emigration politics of the sending country. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsSpector, Bertram I. 

Negotiating peace and confronting corruption: challenges for postconflict societies. 

United States Institute of Peace, 2011. 191p index afp ISBN 1601270712 pbk, $14.95; ISBN 


Despite its brevity, Negotiating Peace and Confronting Corruption is a commendable study. 

Spector (president, Center for Negotiation Analysis) summarizes political stability and 

anticorruption effectiveness in six postconflict countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Sierra 

Leone, Burundi, Papua-New Guinea, and Liberia). Each case study follows a similar pattern: 

the negotiated agreement, negotiation analysis, implementation, and conclusion.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ International RelationsWilletts, Peter. 

Non-governmental organizations in world politics: the construction of global governance. 

Routledge, 2011. 193p bibl index (Routledge global institutions, 49); ISBN 

9780415381246, $130.00; ISBN 9780415381253 pbk, $39.95; ISBN 9780203834305 e-book, 


Willetts (emer., City Univ., London) has written a book on nongovernmental organizations 

(NGOs) that is appealing and valuable on several different levels. Ultimately the purpose of 

the book is to provide an overview of the role that NGOs play in the processes and 

construction of global politics. The book is successful in doing this, due to the methodical 

building of its argument. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ International RelationsTrubowitz, Peter. 

Politics and strategy: partisan ambition and American statecraft. Princeton, 2011. 185p 

bibl index afp; ISBN 9780691149585 pbk, $24.95; ISBN 9780691149578, $70.00. 


Trubowitz (Univ. of Texas, Austin) has written an impressive book with a modest thesis. He 

makes the case that both the distribution of power around the world and domestic politics 

influence strategic decisions in US foreign policy. Most readers would regard such a thesis 

as plain truth and common sense. But for theorists of international relations, the 

systematic integration of the international and domestic factors in understanding the 

formation of grand strategy is a significant contribution. The admirable desire in much of 

modern social science to generate parsimonious theories that reduce complicated 

phenomena to manageable and measurable variables can create distortions if major 

motivations of political behavior are discounted or dismissed. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsPoku, Nana. Politics 

in Africa: a new introduction, by Nana K. Poku, Anna Mdee. Zed Books, 2011. 150p bibl 

index; ISBN 9781842779811, $107.95; ISBN 9781842779828 pbk, $26.95. Reviewed in 


Many African states are experiencing declining economic productivity, extensive 

corruption, and inability to enact needed democratic and structural reforms. Colonialism, 

neocolonialism, imperialism, and global capitalism are frequently blamed for Africa's 

travails, but Poku and Mdee (both, Univ. of Bradford, UK), specialists in African studies, 

stress practical grassroots approaches and call upon African governments to seek solutions. 

They refer to the "failures of indigenous rule" and to the tendency of African elites to 

maintain continuity with colonial authoritarianism, thereby promoting stagnation instead 

of reform. According to the authors, independence movements unfortunately mark the 

end of a process rather than a new beginning. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyRallying for immigrant rights: the fight for 

inclusion in 21st century America, ed. by Kim Voss and Irene Bloemraad. California, 2011. 

319p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780520267541, $60.00; ISBN 9780520267558 pbk, $24.95. 


These conference papers from different disciplines focus on the political activism of 

immigrants' defending their rights in the US and protesting Draconian laws directed at 

undocumented migrants of mostly Mexican/Chicano heritage. The contributing authors 

examine the immigrant protest movement within the context of a political behavior 

approach and from the standpoint of social movements literature. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsMayeri, Serena. Reasoning 

from race: feminism, law, and the civil rights revolution. Harvard, 2011. 369p bibl index 

afp; ISBN 9780674047594, $39.95. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE.


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This book tells the story of how the battle to address gender discrimination appealed to 

race. Race defined the civil rights movement, and legal and social strategies were 

constructed by groups to enact civil rights legislation and challenge racially discriminatory 

laws in the courts. But the battle surrounding gender discrimination proved to be 

complicated, as was the question of whether to analogize gender to race. Mayeri (Univ. of 

Pennsylvania Law School) recounts how early feminists vacillated in drawing parallels of 

gender to race, only to see the reformers of the 1960s-70s increasingly adopting many of 

the legal arguments and tactics used to address race. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsBernstein, David E. 

Rehabilitating Lochner: defending individual rights against progressive reform. Chicago, 

2011. 194p index afp; ISBN 9780226043531, $45.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

This wonderful book reexamines one of the most infamous cases in Supreme Court history, 

Lochner v. New York (1905), in which the Court held that a New York law limiting the 

number of hours a person could work in a bakery was an unconstitutional infringement 

upon "liberty of contract." 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsHodos, Jerome I. 

Second cities: globalization and local politics in Manchester and Philadelphia. Temple, 



Urbanists have long noted the rise of world cities like New York and London, places where 

wealth, status, and transnational influence have flourished. Much of this work is 

typological, simply describing and ranking. Hodos (sociology, Franklin and Marshall College) 

adds a causal element to this research by examining two second-tier cities, Manchester and 

Philadelphia. He explains how the cities, through a combination of politics and bad 

decisions, were blocked from the top tier. But Hodos notes that even these provincial cities 

have been shaped by globalization and have carved out a niche in the new order. Both are 

practical places that have excelled at the applied professions such as medicine, 

engineering, and skilled manufacturing. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsNacos, Brigitte L. Selling fear: 

counterterrorism, the media, and public opinion, by Brigitte L. Nacos, Yaeli Bloch-Elkon, 

and Robert Y. Shapiro. Chicago, 2011. 241p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780226567198, $72.00; 


How well did professional journalism provide the US public with the information required 

to make sound judgments about counterterrorist policies in the four years following 

September 11, 2001? Very badly, according to this superbly crafted postmortem by Bloch- 

Elkon (Bar Ilan Univ., Israel) and Nacos and Shapiro (both, Columbia Univ.). From 

understanding the nature of the terrorist threat to clarifying the implications of alternative 

approaches, the authors make a compelling case that the media allowed and even enabled 

the Bush administration to use fear to market its initiatives, thereby depriving the public of 

the independent analysis it deserved. This is no polemic but rather a carefully constructed, 

ably executed social science study that employs an impressive methodological array and a 

clear theoretical lens. This book has all the makings of a classic in political communications. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyLeon, Chrysanthi S. Sex fiends, perverts, and 

pedophiles: understanding sex crime policy in America. New York University, 2011. 252p 



Leon (sociology and criminal justice, Univ. of Delaware) provides a very readable and 

erudite history of sex crime policy in the US since 1930. While this very important and 

timely topic has been the subject of a number of high-quality monographs in recent years 

(for instance, Philip Jenkins's Moral Panic, CH, Feb'99, 36-3637), Leon makes an original 

contribution on a number of fronts. Her methodology employs multiple methods of



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investigation (descriptive statistics, participant observation, and archival research), and she 

anchors her discussion of broad policy changes in a detailed examination of local forces, 

with a focus on California. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsPetras, James. 

Social movements in Latin America: neoliberalism and popular resistance, by James 

Petras and Henry Veltmeyer. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 274p bibl index afp; ISBN 


This book is an impressive presentation of data gleaned from the study of political, 

economic, and social changes in Latin America over the past decades. Petras (sociology, 

Binghamton Univ.) and Veltmeyer (Saint Mary's Univ., Canada) posit that globalization 

("global capitalism") penetrates and dominates economies in Latin America in a way that 

has diverted financial resources into interest payments on foreign debt and is destroying 

domestic productive forces in agriculture and industry. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsWilkinson, Paul. Terrorism 

versus democracy: the liberal state response. 3rd ed. Routledge, 2011. 237p bibl index; 

ISBN 9780415588003, $143.00; ISBN 9780415587990 pbk, $39.95; ISBN 9780203832318 ebook, 


The late Paul Wilkinson's revised third edition includes an assessment of the war on terror. 

Readers will benefit greatly from his deep expertise on terrorism. Wilkinson (emer., Univ. 

of St. Andrews, UK) provides a most historically contextualized discussion of strategic 

aspects of terrorism. This book is an antidote to many of the works of the past ten years 

that ignore the classic literature of the field. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyLieu, Nhi T. The American dream in Vietnamese. 

Minnesota, 2011. 186p index afp; ISBN 9780816665693, $67.50; ISBN 9780816665709 


The ideal of the American dream is a staple of popular culture about immigrants, but US 

research on immigrants tends to focus on economic achievement, not immigrants' 

adaptation to popular culture. Lieu (Univ. of Texas at Austin) brings a fresh, insightful 

perspective to the study of contemporary immigrants in general and Vietnamese 

Americans in particular. Using her expertise in American, Asian American, and women's 

studies, the author persuasively argues that Vietnamese Americans in Westminister, 

California, define success in part by their representation in popular culture. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Political TheoryRasmussen, Claire E. The 

autonomous animal: self-governance and the modern subject. Minnesota, 2011. 210p 



Rasmussen's is an ambitious work of political theory that aims to offer a new perspective 

on autonomy and self-governance. She does not take up autonomy as an abstract, 

transcendental category. Rather, Rasmussen (Univ. of Delaware) blends sophisticated 

conceptual genealogy with discussions of the "everyday practices" of autonomy--the ways 

in which autonomy shapes and configures political and social reality. Rasmussen presents 

the dominant liberal conception of autonomy as "self-governance, able to turn inward and 

make reasonable decisions and engage in self-management." 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ SociologyShepard, Benjamin. The beach beneath the 

streets: contesting New York City's public spaces, by Benjamin Shepard and Greg 

Smithsimon. SUNY Press, 2011. 246p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781438436197, $75.00; ISBN 


Throughout their book, Shepard (New York City College of Technology, CUNY) and 

Smithsimon (Brooklyn College, CUNY) constantly remind readers of the myriad ways that 

the issue of "public space" is vexing to those who study it. They tackle the complexities by 

considering the actions/activities of several different groups, all of whom occupy a position



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on the continuum of subalternity and all of whom succeed in getting their voices heard and 

their spaces secured. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsMarshall, Stephen H. The city 

on the hill from below: the crisis of prophetic black politics. Temple, 2011. 235p index 

afp; ISBN 9781439906552, $64.50; ISBN 9781439906576 e-book, $64.50. Reviewed in 


Marshall (Univ. of Texas, Austin) presents a challenging interrogation of a central trope of 

American political theory in this excellent new work. In examining the meaning and 

implication of "the city on the hill" as political imaginary, the author skillfully guides readers 

through the history of prophetic political critique from African American intellectuals and 

offers insights into both the strengths and weakness of the arguments put forth by David 

Walker, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, and James Baldwin. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsBrennan, Jason. The ethics of 

voting. Princeton, 2011. 210p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780691144818, $29.95. Reviewed in 


Brennan (philosophy, Brown Univ.) advances the extraordinarily provocative argument that 

the sine qua non of civic virtue is not political participation (especially not voting) but the 

moral duty to promote the common good. Indeed, the author admonishes citizens to 

abstain from voting unless they are epistemically justified in discerning how voting 

promotes their particular conceptions of the common good. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ U.S. PoliticsGraff, Garrett M. The threat 

matrix: the FBI at war in the age of terror. Little, Brown, 2011. 666p bibl index ISBN 0- 

316-06861-6, $27.99; ISBN 9780316068611, $27.99. Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 


Since September 11, 2001, terrorism has dominated the news as well as the president's 

national security agenda. In this work, Graff (editor in chief, The Washingtonian) provides 

readers with a riveting history of the FBI's role in the war on global terror. Graff uses a 

journalistic style to meticulously chronicle the FBI's five-decade struggle against the forces 

of international terrorism as well as internal conflicts with the CIA, the Department of 

Justice, and other US security agencies. Graff also documents the bureau's attempt to 

balance national security with the preservation of civil liberties. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ International RelationsRees, Wyn. The 

US-EU security relationship: the tensions between a European and a global agenda. 

Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 236p bibl index; ISBN 9780230221840, $110.00; ISBN 


In this clearly written, well-informed, and thoughtful monograph, Rees (international 

security, Univ. of Nottingham, UK) focuses on the security relationship between the US and 

the EU as it has evolved in the post-Cold War era, especially since 2001. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsSims, David. 

Understanding Cairo: the logic of a city out of control. American University in Cairo, 2011 

(c2010). (Dist. by Oxford), 335p bibl index; ISBN 9789774164040, $29.50. Reviewed in 


Sims (independent scholar) presents a timely study and one of the first comprehensive 

analyses of contemporary urban development in the megalopolis of Cairo, Egypt. The 

author's primary goal is to understand the complex realities of urban Cairo today--that is, 

how is it possible for a megacity with uncontrolled development to function so well? In ten 

provocative chapters, Sims crafts a fine argument by drawing on his more than 30 years of 

experience as an urban planner and economist in Cairo.



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Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ Comparative PoliticsVan Inwegen, 

Patrick. Understanding revolution. L. Rienner, 2011. 289p bibl index afp; ISBN 


As an introduction to the study of revolutions and revolutionary movements, 

Understanding Revolution stands as an excellent primer. Rather than engaging in the 

theoretical debates that embroil the subject, Van Inwegen (Whitworth Univ.) offers a broad 

survey that presents a more multifaceted and less contentious approach. He explains the 

issues and parameters of the study of revolution, including causes, ideologies, leadership, 

mass mobilization, and postrevolutionary outcomes. Each chapter is bolstered by 

numerous examples of revolution that ground theory to historical reality, illustrating that 

the explanatory utility of each theoretical perspective lies in its application to what are 

often unique revolutionary situations. 

Social & Behavioral Sciences \ Political Science \ International RelationsWilson, Richard 

Ashby. Writing history in international criminal trials. Cambridge, 2011. 257p bibl index; 

ISBN 9780521198851, $95.00; ISBN 9780521138314 pbk, $29.99. Reviewed in 2012feb 

CHOICE. 

Wilson's brilliant work crosses conventional disciplinary boundaries while making 

significant intellectual contributions. Looking to challenge the conventional wisdom that is 

largely critical concerning history's role in international criminal trials, Wilson (Univ. of 

Connecticut) looks to "rethink the terms of the debate." In a book with incredibly 

sophisticated discussions of topics as diverse as international institutions (chapter 2), 

evidence law and trial practice (chapter 3), macro- and microhistories (chapter 5), Rwandan 

(chapter 7) and Serbian (chapter 4) conflict narratives, and policy implications and 

recommendations (chapter 9), Wilson makes the argument that legal process can 

contribute to the building of historical narratives and historical narratives can, in turn, 

contribute to the legal process. The real contribution of this book, though, is the nuanced 

way in which it makes that argument, which combines deep political, anthropological, 

historical, and legal analysis of a variety of trials in three tribunals: the International 

Criminal Court and the tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.


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Humanities \ Performing Arts \ Theater & DanceEnacting history, ed. by Scott 

Magelssen and Rhona Justice-Malloy. Alabama, 2011. 230p afp; ISBN 

9780817317287, $39.75; ISBN 9780817356545 pbk, $24.95; ISBN 9780817385354 

e-book, $19.96. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

These ten essays cover various types of historical enactments by live performers. 

Theatrical re-creations of the past must negotiate a balance between education 

and entertainment, as several essays show. "Authenticity" is a constant concern for 

presenters. In this connection, Catherine Hughes opens the volume with an essay 

that factors in the audience's relation to historical verisimilitude. The essays that 

follow examine the goals, process, and audience impact of specific living-history 

projects. Leigh Clemons explores hobbyist reenactments of events in the Texas 

Revolution. Richard Poole rethinks issues connected with the play he wrote for a 

Sioux City, Iowa, commemoration of Sergeant Floyd's role in the Lewis and Clark 

expedition. Kimberly Tony Korol-Evans recounts an amusing collision between 

solidly researched Tudor cooking by Maryland Renaissance Festival enactors and a 

reality food show for television. Aili McGill traces an evolving approach to museum 

theater over several years at Conner Prairie, Indiana. Concluding essays by theater 

scholars Magelssen (Bowling Green State Univ.) and Justice-Malloy (Univ. of 

Mississippi) bring action-adventure flavor to the collection. The most successful 

essays allow readers to draw their own conclusions about specific performance 

approaches and their possible effects on the historical record 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ Theater & DanceBrewster, Karen. Fundamentals of 

theatrical design, by Karen Brewster and Melissa Shafer. Allworth, 2011. 284p 

index; ISBN 9781581158496 pbk, $27.50. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. 

Consummate theater designers Brewster and Shafer (both East Tennessee State 

Univ.) gear this engaging, well-laid-out resource to the beginning designer. Starting 

with the preliminaries of the process, the authors draw on their vast knowledge 

and experience and on the experience of many working professionals. Intended 

primarily for classroom use, the book is divided into four parts, each with several 

chapters. Exercises at the end of each chapter assist the reader in fully 

understanding the material. An epilogue, titled "Building a Career in Theater 

Design," is intended to help the young designer begin to document his or her work 

and get started in the field. Appendixes collect valuable material on a variety 

design aspects--color, genre, light cues, and so on. Although the book focuses on 

scene, costume, and lighting design, it will certainly prove useful to anyone 

interested in any other aspect of theater design. Thus, it will serve as a reference 

outside the classroom in addition to being useful as a textbook 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ Theater & DanceDobson, Michael. Shakespeare and 

amateur performance: a cultural history. Cambridge, 2011. 265p index ISBN 0- 

521-86234-5, $85.00; ISBN 9780521862349, $85.00. Reviewed in 2012jan CHOICE. 

Dobson (Birkbeck College, Univ. of London, UK) surveys the history of 

Shakespearean performance by amateurs (most, but not all, in the UK), both 

contemporary and historical, and in all varieties: for example, 18th-century private 

theatricals by aristocratic families, performances by diplomats abroad, and 

entertainment by and for deployed soldiers and prisoners of war. The book 

proceeds in more or less in chronological order, although it is also organized



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thematically--private, public, exile, and open (i.e., outdoor) performances. Dobson 

reviews how amateurs perform and construct "Shakespeare" (often as a mirror of 

professional productions) and how the amateur context shapes the focus of the 

production and the received meanings of the plays. He concludes that 18thcentury 

aristocrats cast themselves as tragic heroes, that 19th-century gentlemen 

and officers cast themselves in "comedy drag versions of the tragedies," and that 

the 20th century saw the rise of outdoor performance by amateurs from all classes 

and the rise to prominence of A Midsummer Night's Dream as the preferred 

amateur, outdoor Shakespeare play. This fascinating study cries out for further 

study of amateur performance in the US and other Anglophone nations. 

Humanities \ Performing Arts \ Theater & DanceWilliams, Drid. Teaching dancing 

with ideokinetic principles. Illinois, 2011. 128p bibl indexes afp; ISBN 


CHOICE. 

Senior editor of the Journal for the Anthropological Study of Human Movement, 

Williams introduces the readers to ideokinesis--and along the way to Lulu Sweigard 

(1895-1974), a pioneer of ideokinetic principles--and examines its application to 

teaching and dancing. The author studied privately with Sweigard and assimilated 

much of Sweigard's work into her own teaching, and she did her own personal 

work on visual imagery. Supplementing the book with writings by Sweigard, 

William James, and French dancer/ballet master Jean-Georges Noverre, Williams 

examines the use of body-directed imagery--"any image that names a bodily part, 

combined with a direction, should be stated in positive terms"--and shows how 

this method can make a huge difference in a student's understanding of how to 

perform an action. She also considers methods to better approach corrections. 

Sharing comments from dancers who learned via ideokinesis, Williams emphasizes 

the differences between internal, kinesthetic, external, and mirror imagery. 

Providing an important historical framework as well as discussion of how 

ideokinesis can shape dance philosophy, the book includes an excellent foreword 

by Lynn Martin and valuable images

Suggested Titles: February, 2012 - McEntegart Hall's Blog

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