Politics and Political Change
Edited By Robert I. Rotberg ’55
The MIT Press, 2001

Politics and political change are the staples of history, says Rotberg, whose collection demonstrates how theory and practice from political science, sociology, and economics can deepen the study of past politics. His wide-ranging topics include political confessionalism, urban voter fraud, and methods of electing popes. Rotberg is president of the World Peace Foundation and director of Harvard University’s Program on Intrastate Conflict.

When I Open My Window:
Reflections for the Living of These Days
By Chandler “Tuck” Gilbert ’47
Grenfell Reading Center, 2001

Written to “provoke discussion, intrigue the mind, and nurture the spirit,” this book addresses some of the challenges of living in our times. Drawing on his experiences as a pastor and a human being, Gilbert frames these personal reflections with thought and a graceful style. An ordained minister, Gilbert was a parish minister for 38 years.

The Psychology of Nationalism
By Joshua Searle-White ’87
Palgrave, 2001

Nationalism and other forms of group identity underlie some of today’s most tenacious and vicious conflicts, says Searle-White, who answers many questions Americans have about these events: Why do people cling to nationalism when it can ultimately be destructive to them, to their families, and to their nations? Forms of nationalism in Quebec, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Sri Lanka are examined. Searle-White teaches psychology at Allegheny College.

Phantom Soldier: The Enemy’s
Answer to U.S. Firepower
By H. John Poole ’64
Posterity Press, 2001

Well-researched and authoritative, this book describes the differences between Eastern and Western military traditions by depicting the actions of the infantryman faced by Americans in war, including those in Japan, Somali, Arabia, Vietnam, and Germany. Poole explains the very different historical perspectives, living conditions, and terrain that have produced different methods of warfare and offers the lessons of recent military history at a most pressing and appropriate time. Poole has authored and edited several other works, including The Last Hundred Yards.

A Memoir of No One in Particular
By Daniel Harris ’80
Basic Books, 2002

This unique and eccentric book parodies conventional autobiographies, asking, “Why should we care about anyone’s life?” Harris’ story, nevertheless, is by turns sad and serious, sensitive, self-deprecating, and sympathetic. He shares his own personal history as a gay, white male by probing the banalities of daily living and reveling in the minutiae and mundane rituals of life. Harris is the author of Cute, Quaint, Hungry, and Romantic and The Rise and Fall of Gay Culture.

Strategies for Playbuilding: Helping Groups Translate Issues into Theatre
By Will Weigler ’82
Heinemann, 2001

Transforming serious social, personal, and political issues into plays is the focus of this work, which serves as a step-by-step manual for those who want to help young people evaluate their knowledge, learn about the important issues in their lives, and turn their ideas into scripts, songs, or choreography. With its outlines, bullets, and helpful inlays, this is an easy guide for use right on the stage. Weigler is the cofounder of the Young Actors’ Forum.

Virtually Jewish: Reinventing
Jewish Culture in Europe
By Ruth Ellen Gruber ’71
The University of California Press, 2002

Gruber explores the widespread European infatuation with Jewish culture. Based on her extensive travels and direct observations, she considers how and why Jewish performances, publications, and museums have become so popular. The embrace of Jewish culture by non-Jews in Europe, she suggests, may signify atonement for the Holocaust, adherence to a multicultural ideal, or a way to redefine “personal identity and national histories.” Gruber is the author of Upon the Doorposts of thy House and Jewish Heritage Travel. She lives in Italy and Hungary.

Colonial Cinema and Imperial France, 1919-1939: White Blind Spots, Male Fantasies, Settler Myths
By David Henry Slavin ’67
The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001

This ambitious work explores the relationship between imperialism and French film, describing how artists and propagandists exploited the new medium of cinema in their romanticized depictions of France’s imperial mission in Algeria and Morocco. As examples, Slavin refers to such key colonial-era films as L’Atlantide and Pépé le Moko. He is a visiting assistant professor of history at Knox College.

Timebomb: The Global Epidemic of
Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
Lee B. Reichman ’60
McGraw-Hill, 2002

The New York Times called this book a “chilling account” of the rise of tuberculosis, which has reached epidemic proportions. Over one-third of the world’s population has latent TB, says Reichman, and the disease is undergoing a metamorphosis: it’s adapting to our misused medications and becoming unbeatable and multi-drug resistant. His lively book relays statistics and TB “hot spots” while proposing funding and standardized treatments. Reichman is the executive director of the New Jersey Medical School National Tuberculosis Center.

Contrasts in American and Jewish Law
Edited by Daniel Pollack ’75,
with Karen R. Cavanaugh ’86
Yeshiva University Press, 2001

Through a series of essays, many previously published in leading law journals, Pollack illustrates how American law is rights-based, while Jewish Law (Halacha) is duty-based. The ways in which each deals with society’s needs will captivate all, from lawyers and students to readers of Jewish studies. Pollack is associate professor at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University and president of the Center for Social Work Management. Cavanaugh is an attorney in Washington, D.C.

The Invention of Art: A Cultural History
By Larry Shiner ’56
The University of Chicago Press, 2001

Shiner spent more than a decade honing a “brief history of the idea of art.” This carefully prepared and concise book traces the 18th-century division between “so-called polite and vulgar arts” to the beginning of art as we experience it today. His examples include Shakespearean plays, Greek drama, Cellini’s sculptures, and Michelangelo’s paintings. A must for art aficionados, his text is scholarly, but appealing to readers with even a dabbler’s interest in art theory. Shiner is a professor of philosophy at the University of Illinois at Springfield.