What to Keep: A Novel
By Rachel Cline ’79
Random House, 2004

In her engaging first novel, Cline reveals three critical periods in the life of Denny Roman: as an Ohio teenager reeling from the divorce of her parents, and 15 years later as a struggling Hollywood actress coping with an emotionally distant mother. Finally, as a 36-year-old playwright debuting her first off-Broadway production, Denny is forced to question her own aptitude for parenthood.

At Port Royal: Poems
By Chris Edgar ’83
Adventures in Poetry, 2004

This volume by Edgar, whose poems have appeared in Best American Poetry and numerous other journals, pulls well-known places, personages, histories, and myths into a “jigsaw puzzle map of the world,” says poet John Ashbery. “Edgar’s poems are unlike anything I’ve ever read: deep, beautiful, and laugh-out-loud funny.”

Lake Erie: A Pictorial History
By Julie Macfie Sobol and Ken Sobol ’59
Boston Mills Press, 2004

This detailed and richly illustrated book looks at the lively social history of Lake Erie, including its prehistory and early settlement; its wartime role and economic boom from 1815 to 1880; its place in the High Industrial Period from 1880 to 1945; its history of storms, shipwrecks, and fires; its recreational history; and its wealth of flora and fauna.

Memory Fitness: A Guide for Successful Aging
By Gilles O. Einstein and Mark A. McDaniel ’74
Yale University Press, 2004

The authors, two professors widely respected for their research on memory, present a dynamic overview on how memory changes with age and share techniques for improving memory in everyday life. Topics include the use of physical and mental exercises, alternatives to hard-to-use mnemonic techniques, a review of drugs and nutritional supplements touted to enhance memory, and a complete discussion of Alzheimer’s disease.

Laboring Women: Reproduction and Gender in New World Slavery
By Jennifer L. Morgan ’86
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004

When black women were brought from Africa to the New World as slaves, their value was determined by their ability to work well and bear children. Basing her research on the lives of actual African woman, Morgan examines how women’s gender identity was defined by these two “laboring” roles and how the situation of enslaved women differed considerably from that of men.

Who’s Afraid of the WTO?
By Kent Jones ’76
Oxford University Press, 2004

Who is afraid of the World Trade Organization? The list appears to be long. Despite protests against globalization by unions, environmentalists, and human rights advocates, Jones presents a strong case for the WTO’s existence, arguing that developing countries need more trade—not less—along with rules allowing them to pursue trade interests alongside their more powerful neighbors.

Hidden
By Paul Jaskunas ’94
Free Press, 2004

An Indiana woman is living with the aftermath of a late-night assault that shattered her health, her peace of mind, and her marriage. Six years after the attack, she questions whether her
now imprisoned husband is actually the culprit. The Washington Post credits Jaskunas’ debut novel for “providing both the racing pulse pleasure of a thriller and the quieter deep waters of character-driven literary fiction.”

Hawthorne In Concord
By Philip McFarland ’51
Grove Press, 2004

McFarland, a seasoned American history writ-er, offers a vibrant depiction of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s intermittent years in Concord, Massachusetts: in 1842 with new wife Sophia and friends Thoreau and Emerson, and later as the renowned novelist of The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. Returning to pre-Civil War America from Europe in 1860, Hawthorne resumed life in Concord but struggled there with his health and writing.

Also Noted:

Music Scenes: Local, Translocal, and Virtual
Andy Bennett and Richard A. Peterson ’55
Vanderbilt Univ. Press, 2004

When Bugs Were Big, Plants Were Strange, and Tetrapods Stalked the Earth: A Cartoon History
Hannah Bonner ’78
National Geographic, 2003

Seeing Good at Work: 52 Weekly Steps to Transform Your Workplace Experience
Joyce Duffala ’71 and Edward Viljoen
Science of Mind, 2004

Rap Therapy: A Practical Guide for Communicating with Youth and Young Adults Through Rap Music
Don Elligan ’90
Kensington Publishing, 2004

Unnatural Selections: Eugenics in American Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance
Daylanne K. English ’84
Univ. of North Carolina Press, 2004

Wrong Turn on the Information Superhighway: Education and the Commercialization of the Internet
Bettina Fabos ’87
Teachers College Press, 2004

Trick of the Eye
Dennis Haseley ’72
Dial Books, 2004

Woodland Reflections: The Art of Truman Lowe
Jo Ortel ‘86
Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2004

The Vienna Paradox: A Memoir
Marjorie Perloff ’53
New Directions, 2004

Splendid Service: The Restoration of David Tannenberg’s Home Moravian Church Organ
Bruce Shull ’77 et al
Old Salem Inc., 2004

Henry David Thoreau: Cycles and Psyche
Michael Sperber ’53
Higganum Hill Books, 2004

The Coffee Table Coffee Table Book
Alexander Payne and James Zemaitis ’90
Black Dog Publishing, 2003