Arts & Humanities

Arts | Literature | Performing Arts | Philosophy | Poetry | Religion | Sports & Recreation

The biggest problem with this catalog showcasing a collection of 20th-century sculpture recently installed at the J. Paul Getty Museum is the undergrowth through which readers must slog before the splendid forest is visible. The first clear, full-page color photo of a sculpture linked to descriptive text appears 50 pages in, after endless acknowledgments and an overlong description of the process of how the museum assembled the collection and designed the garden it graces. The 28 artists whose sculptures are featured—e.g., Alexander Calder, Joan Miró—each receive a three-page write-up; a large, full-color photo of the sculpture as well as incidental photos of the cast or engraved signatures; and, sometimes, the maquettes or drawings. The analyses of the works—by curators Bostrom (J. Paul Getty Museum) and Penelope Curtis (Henry Moore Inst., Leeds) and scholars John Dixon Hunt (landscape architecture, Univ. of Pennsylvania) and Christopher Bedford (contemporary art, Los Angeles Cty. Museum of Art)—are well written and jargon-free, intended more for an educated general audience than for art-world insiders. The bibliography is extensive, and the printing quality is good (though the binding is subpar). Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.—David McClelland, Philadelphia

Historian Buk-Swienty (Univ. of Southern Denmark), a former U.S. correspondent for several Danish newspapers, here examines the life and impact of Progressive reformer and muckraker Jacob Riis (1849–1914), arguably the inventor of photojournalism. This is the first monographic study of Riis since Alexander Alland's Jacob A. Riis: Photographer & Citizen, James B. Lane's Jacob Riis and the American City, and Edith Patterson Meyer's Not Charity, But Justice: The Story of Jacob Riis—all published in 1974, the 60th anniversary of Riis's death. Buk-Swienty brings his own insights as well as his essential language skills to the task of evaluating Riis's early, turbulent life as detailed in archives in Denmark and to reading Riis's diaries, held at the New York Public Library and translated from Danish by Annette Buk-Swienty. New to most social historians is material from many previously unpublished letters and journals. Illustrated with lesser-known photographs from Riis's collections (another bonus), this felicitously written study of a consequential reformer (and friend of Theodore Roosevelt) is relevant today as immigrants and the poor strive for more equitable treatment in postindustrial countries. Recommended for both professional historians and the general public.—Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Library of Congress

This is an attractive survey of the field based on the holdings of the British Museum, the largest collection of American prints outside the United States. Anthony Griffiths's (Snowdonia: Myth and Image) preface on the collection's relatively recent and fast formation is extremely interesting, and Coppel's (prints & drawings, British Museum) longer historical summary of the period 1905–60 is excellent for its clarity and perceptiveness. The artists are roughly grouped chronologically by school (e.g., Ashcan, Provincetown, Hopper and American Scene, Hayter and Atelier 17). Each print work receives a page of biography followed by brief (approximately 150-word) entries; again, models of observation and conciseness. The illustrations are stellar as well, frequently full-page. For readers unfamiliar with these artists, this is a superb, beautifully illustrated overview. Highly recommended for all art collections.—Jack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Libs.

Chintz, technically speaking, is a particular type of colorful, figured cotton cloth that was once made by painting and mordant- and resist-dying on the Coromandel coast of southeast India. Exported to Europe in the 17th century, chintz quickly revolutionized dress and home furnishings there while changing in response to European tastes. Here, Crill, senior curator in the Asian department of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, succinctly explains the history of the chintz trade and the techniques by which the cloth was produced. The museum's outstanding collection of 17th- and 18th-century chintzes—including clothing, wall hangings, and bedclothes—is then reproduced for the first time in color in these pages (an earlier publication, John Irwin and Katharine B. Brett's Origins of Chintz, featured many of the same pieces but had only black-and-white photographs). Recommended for specialized collections.—Kathryn Wekselman, MLn, Cincinnati

The Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, is forever an exercise in the impossible but potentially exhilarating task of defining the contemporary art landscape (at times, it can feel more like an attendance-driven packaging of it). Catalogs for the biennial can be similarly misleading: compiled months before the actual exhibition or final checklist, they must necessarily offer overgeneralized and easily digestible entries on each artist's "issues." This year's catalog follows its predecessors' format but reflects the 2008 exhibition's refreshingly uncluttered, art-centered aesthetic while providing useful frameworks for the chosen 81 artists and collectives. In separate essays, Whitney associate curator Momin discusses the unresolved temporality of today's art; writer Rebecca Solnit argues that "the small is the politics of our time"; and Whitney assistant curator Huldisch addresses the "anti-spectacle" nature of contemporary art, even its failure—what, citing Samuel Beckett, she sees as a deliberate "lessness." Reading through this informative and thoughtful catalog and having possibly attended the accompanying exhibition, we realize these descriptions are not, in 2008, a bad thing at all. Recommended for art history collections.—Prudence Peiffer, Washington, DC

Accompanying an exhibition showing at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, this catalog explores the influence of the Forest of Fontainebleau on 19th-century French painting and photography from the 1820s to the 1870s. Fontainebleau's proximity to Paris (35 miles southeast) provided easy access for artists who painted landscapes directly from nature. Camille Corot was the first artist to work there; other artists, drawn to its lush woods, rugged rock formations, and rural villages, soon followed. The catalog reflects this diversity in six thematic sections: "Discovery," "Topography," "Trees," "Rocks," "Village Life," and "Nature and Observation." Curator Jones's (French paintings, National Gallery of Art) introductory essay places Fontainebleau in historical, cultural, and artistic context, and the essays that follow deal with other aspects of Fontainebleau's influence on French painting and photography. This work is unique for two reasons: it explores the evolution of French landscape art from Corot to the impressionists, and it includes photography as a crucial part of that evolution. Highly recommended for art history collections.—Martha Smith, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY

Lamarca, who majored in environmental studies and biology at the University of Oregon, spent the last five years documenting the plight of environmental activists seeking to protect old-wood forests in the Pacific Northwest. Here, his 70 color and seven black-and-white documentary-style photographs—of trees, chainsaws, loggers cutting wood, clear-cut forest areas, and activists protesting, sleeping, and living in the forest—combine with six activist-authored essays and one short logger-authored personal statement to tell seemingly separate yet parallel stories. The essays include the activists' mission statements as well as relate their personal experiences, while the personal statement speaks to the nature of the logging profession. The basic message is compelling, but the book lacks information about specific events documented in the photographs and factual background that might be expected from a book reporting on an urgent environmental issue. Recommended for public libraries.—Valerie Nye, Coll. of Santa Fe, NM

"What did you do before you were an art investment counselor?" he asked./"Ever heard of Panorama Magazine?" I replied…/"…before that?"/"I made holes in cheese."/The inspector laughed…/"…you've always been selling hot air." So goes the dialog in this memoir by Lauryssens, a Belgium art dealer who spent time in prison for selling counterfeit works from surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. The text is somewhat uneven in the book's first half; readers may not be sure whether they should be taking any of it seriously. Eventually, however, relationship development between the main character and others in the story makes the narrative more grounded and convincing. The book, scheduled to be adapted into a movie starring Al Pacino (as Dalí) and Cillian Murphy (as Lauryssens), is supposedly an international best seller, though it seems more like a movie tie-in. Lauryssens, also a crime novelist, won the Hercule Poirot Award in 2002 for his first thriller, Black Snow. Purchase as needed in larger libraries and libraries specializing in art history.—Nadine Dalton Speidel, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OH

Jazz musician, actor, and painter Lurie has been active in American art since the 1980s. This beautifully printed and designed text presents his paintings in a two-page format, with densely colored images on the right and corresponding titles on the left. Lurie's titles function like punch lines, and it is easy, as Carter Foster (curator, Whitney Museum of American Art) here notes, to dismiss these works as nothing more than hip comic strips. The formal qualities of Lurie's paintings (e.g., unique color sense, clean compositions) and their fully developed sensibilities (they are by turns sweetly humorous and biting), however, make him a much more interesting visual artist than that. Like a hard-edged Florine Stettheimer or a more romantic Raymond Pettibon, Lurie surprises the viewer by juxtaposing unusual colors and feelings in his compositions. The book contains little interpretative writing (in addition to Foster, actor Steve Buscemi, musician Flea, painter James Nares, and curator Stéphane Aquin contribute text), and Glenn O'Brien's (Human Nature) desperately cool introduction sets the wrong tone for Lurie's sly cynicism. These trifling reservations aside, the book is enthusiastically recommended for arts and academic libraries.—Katherine C. Adams, Yale Univ. Lib., New Haven, CT

Murphy (art history, CUNY Graduate Ctr.; The American Townhouse) has written five other volumes on architecture. In this beautifully illustrated work, he showcases the architecture and interiors of 18 homes and two private gardens in New York City's Greenwich Village. Beginning with the Robert Blum House (1827) and extending through the 20th century, the author places each of the homes in the context of its original owner and architect in the service of detailing the evolution of design and style in the neighborhood at large. The presentation is not chronological, alphabetical, or stylistic. Nonetheless, the volume works very well as an introduction to and explanation of the neighborhood's variety of architectural styles. Rocheleau's photographs, reproduced here in both black and white and color, predominate and strongly complement the text. Highly recommended.—Alex Hartmann, Delgado Community Coll., West Bank, New Orleans

Catalogs of the monumental "Picasso Project" began publishing in 1995, and the series will eventually encompass 20 volumes of Picasso's works from 1889 to 1973. This, the first of two volumes subtitled Youth in Spain (the second spans 1897–1900), catalogs and illustrates 1,227 works produced in Málaga, Corunna, and Barcelona, beginning with the artist's earliest extant painting, The Port of Málaga, signed P. Ruiz and reproduced on the dust jacket. Illustrated notebooks, doodles, sketches, and studies in various media lend credence to Picasso's astonishing precocity. Included are drawings of a Corunna farmhouse, mountain scenes in Málaga, and figural studies (hands, in particular) from Picasso's time in Barcelona. The catalog begins with a chronology and concludes with concordances to Christian Zervos's Pablo Picasso, Musée Picasso (Paris), and Museu Picasso (Barcelona) reference numbers. Individual entries include basic information—date, title (in English, Spanish, sometimes Catalan, and French), medium, dimensions, concordance numbers, and provenance—as well as a modest black-and-white reproduction. Titles of many early works have never before been translated into English. The Picasso Project far exceeds Zervos's volume in breadth and accuracy; both of its volumes are an essential purchase for libraries supporting graduate-level Picasso research.—Russell T. Clement, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, IL

Wright was the greatest architect who ever lived, both in terms of the staggering quantity of designs he produced (more than 800) and in terms of their extraordinary quality. At least a dozen absolute masterpieces equal to the greatest buildings of any time anchor his achievement from 1900 to 1960. And, as it turns out, Wright also wrote a lot. This book records all of his significant writings—with the exception of his autobiography, which has been amply published elsewhe re—including his books The Disappearing City (1932), Architecture and Modern Life (1937), and A Testament (1957). Edited by Pfeiffer (director, Frank Lloyd Wright Archives, Frank Lloyd Wright Fdn.), this valuable record of Wright's words forms a welcome addition to the three key accounts of his designs that appeared at the end of the 20th century: Neil Levine's The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright (1997), Robert McCarter's Frank Lloyd Wright (1998), and William Allin Storrer's The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion (1996), which records every Wright building that was actually constructed. Heartily recommended.—Peter Kaufman, Boston Architectural Ctr.
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This literary biography is being reissued because editor Lockerd (English language & literature, Grand Valley State Univ.; Aethereal Rumours: T.S. Eliot's Physics and Poetics), who pens a new introduction, feels it is the best such work on poet T.S. Eliot among the many other Eliot biographies published since its initial appearance in 1971 (rev. ed., 1984). Lockerd notes that the book's author, Kirk (The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot), now deceased, was especially qualified to write about Eliot because they were friends toward the end of the poet's life. As a result, the book is somewhat subjective in its adulation as Kirk analyzes Eliot's works and relates them to various aspects of 20th-century civilization. Kirk defines "moral imagination" as a means to establish order in the soul and the commonwealth, and he focuses on Eliot's conservatism, which, opposing both fascism and communism, saw Christianity as the basis for the ideal state. The postscript to the 1984 edition evaluates other works on Eliot and refutes what Kirk called "psychobiographers," or writers attempting to read too much into their subject's life and literary output. A scholarly study recommended for academic libraries not owning the earlier editions.—Denise J. Stankovics, Rockville P.L., Vernon, CT

Lebedoff's (The Uncivil War) thesis is that writers George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh, opposites in nearly all other respects, were at heart alike, namely, in their fierce and undying opposition to and foreseeing of such evils as moral relativism and the corruption of language. Lebedoff's unpretentious writing style, marked by a preference for proletarian short sentences, crackles with wit and playfulness as well as ardent advocacy for these embattled twin prophets. He laces his two brief biographies with sharp-edged details that brightly illuminate his subjects' innermost characters. The 19-year-old Orwell (whose life story Lebedoff treats as an Ein Heldenleben) grew to hate the English class system and his role in Burma as "visible overseer of empire." So began his willed descent down the social ladder, to a point of view that thereafter informed his writing. Concurrently, his contemporary, Waugh, who hungered after wealth and fame as a writer, too, reached a point of self-loathing, abandoning "the vacuity of life without faith" through conversion to Catholicism. Brief and to the point, this thrillingly written study of two of the 20th century's great social icons will impel readers to return to their timeless works. Recommended for all libraries.—Charles C. Nash, formerly with Cottey Coll., Nevada, MO

Murakami is neither a conventional novelist nor a conventional memoirist. In this work whose title was inspired by Raymond Carver's short story collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, he explores how running has shaped his life. The best memoirs inform readers and enlighten them; this memoir contains practical philosophy from a man whose insight into his own character, and how running both suits and shapes that character, is revelatory and can provide tools for readers to examine and improve their own lives. Murakami wrote most of it between 2005 and 2006, but a key chapter from 1996 reinforces his later examination of his own development and the cadence of his life. This book will be appreciated by runners (as well as Murakami's usual readership) because it is ostensibly about running, but anyone interested in the processes of writing and self-examination will also be well served by it. Highly recommended for all collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/08.]—Audrey Snowden, Cleveland P.L.

Forty-two years after the 1955 publication of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, as Adrian Lyne's adaptation of the novel was screening in U.S. theaters, Nabokov's son commented that someone could write a book on the title character's many permutations. Vickers (Key Moments in Architecture) took that comment as inspiration to write this quirky title, in which he attempts to give a more objective view of Nabokov's nymphet than Nabokov's narrator was able to provide. However, his insistence that he is offering "facts" about Dolores Haze (Lolita's "real" name in the novel) suggests a blurring of the distinction between fact and fiction; at one point, he even advises readers to look to the novel itself to find the "real" Lolita. Further, Vickers's discussion of every film and stage adaptation of Lolita is excessive. Far more valuable and compelling are his examination of society's changing perspectives of young girls through the years and his discussion of what constitutes art vs. what is merely perverse. Although this book tells us more about Lolita than we might want to know, it also tells us more about ourselves than we might want to admit. Recommended.—Anthony Pucci, Notre Dame H.S., Elmira, NY
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Long before the heroes of Star Wars made battle with Darth Vadar, Flash Gordon was saving Earth from his mysterious enemy, Ming. Considered a cult classic, the Flash Gordon serial was a leader in sf movie history, starring Buster Crabbe as Flash and many beautiful starlets. With this chapter serial, each episode ended in a cliff-hanger, keeping the audience waiting for the next installment. Starting with a brief history of the Flash Gordon comics, this entertaining book chronicles the series from beginning to end. Each episode from all three serials is described completely in order. Interviews from the cast and crew and facts of production, budgets, and special effects are included; complementing the text are black-and-white photos from the serials. Kinnard, author of numerous film books; Tony Crnkovich, who coauthored (with Kinnard) The Films of Fay Wray; and R.J. Vitone, a comic book dealer, present a fascinating look at a forgotten film format. This thoroughly researched book is almost as fun as watching the films. Recommended for larger libraries.—Rosalind Dayen, South Regional Lib., Broward Cty., FL

LeVine (Middle Eastern history, Univ. of California, Irvine; Why They Don't Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil), an academic and musician, journeys throughout the Middle East searching for black metal, death metal, gangsta rap, and hardcore punk. He travels to Morocco, Egypt, Israel (Palestine), Lebanon, Iran, and Pakistan, talking and jamming with the local leaders of extreme music. LeVine finds a complex cultural scene, where heavy metal rockers and rappers use Western music to attack growing capitalism, globalization, and varying degrees of political repression but still profess allegiance to local mores and religious values. Using music as a prism to observe social relations, he expertly describes the political upheaval and social confusion in the Middle East that Westerners ignore or seldom understand. This examination of the changing and evolving cultures in a key global region is highly recommended.—Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle

Music critic Petrusich (senior contributing editor, Paste magazine) chooses to pursue a fascinating and ongoing story: the development of American music and how it maps to that of America as a country is a quest that has claimed many a musicologist and critic. It is curious, then, that Petrusich's study is so thin. Much of the history she relates, studded though it is with visits to Graceland, Sun Records, and Nashville, will be familiar to those with a passing knowledge of American roots music. Her nostalgic reflections on how many of these places have decayed or changed should have led to a deeper discussion of where American roots music is going, which is ostensibly what Petrusich attempts to tackle. Only in a mid-book digression into alternative country and a final chapter on avant-garde folk does Petrusich really delve into the consequences of phenomena such as the rise of radio and the modern, deliberate mash-up of genres, artists, and instrumentation. Even then, her conclusions seem to be driven more by personal taste than critical appraisal born of deep understanding. The lack of a discography is a serious omission. Recommended only for the largest music collections.—Genevieve Williams, Pacific Lutheran Univ. Lib., Tacoma, WA

The early life of Juanita Slusher, born in 1935 in Edna, TX, was one that few would envy, and Schwarz (The Hillside Strangler) tells her story in honest detail. After a difficult childhood, this teenage runaway became a victim of a kidnapping/prostitution ritual in Dallas, where she was abused physically, sexually, and emotionally. Eventually, a passion for dancing provided money and fame in Las Vegas as Candy Barr, a burlesque stripper with a talent for improvising to live music. Yet, her life was still plagued with numerous complications as a succession of men—boyfriends, husbands, and mobsters—exploited Juanita, leading to her being framed for drug possession, sent to prison, and tracked by would-be murderers. Her friendship with Jack Ruby also moved her into an unwelcome spotlight after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Schwarz completed more than 100 hours of exclusive interviews with Slusher, and he does an excellent job of portraying her painful and complex life and times. Although he describes the places, people, and events well, additional emphasis on their social/cultural context would have provided an even sharper focus. For circulating libraries.—Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ

Strouse, Tony and Emmy Award-winning composer of Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, and other iconic Broadway musicals, offers a fascinating tale for those interested in theater or music, studded with glimpses of a wide array of titanic figures such as Leonard Bernstein, Sammy Davis Jr., and Mike Nichols. However, this is equally a story of penniless artists struggling to put a show together for the sheer joy of it, and this excitement gives the narrative a great deal of vitality. Strouse emerges as a compelling and likable protagonist, and though he grapples with the depression and insecurity common to many artists, he is able to see (or at least frame) some of his darkest moments with a sense of comedy. Like the best of his musical creations, Strouse's memoir skillfully balances pathos and sunshine and results in an entertaining story of genuine warmth. Essential for all musical theater, theater, and popular music collections; recommended for all public libraries.—Katherine Litwin, Chicago
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Philosophy

In this largely approachable work, Boylan (philosophy, Marymount Univ.) expands on the worldview theory of ethics he outlined in A Just Society (2004) and the fiction work The Extinction of Desire (2007). Beginning with the premise that all individuals seek the good, Boylan leads readers—by way of thought experiments and detailed argument—through the main questions of philosophy, addressing what it means to become good, how we struggle to identify truth, and how we can decide what is beautiful. While he presents his own answers to these questions, he leads us to the conclusion that our own answers largely rely on the personal and community worldviews we adopt. Boylan's exposition of his argument aims at a broad audience, and his concrete examples illustrate how these questions affect our daily lives. However, readers without a background in the history of philosophy may get lost in his detailed summaries of past philosophers and their positions. Nevertheless, Boylan's work serves as a patient introduction to the big questions in philosophy. Recommended for public and academic libraries.—Steven Chabot, Univ. of Toronto

Zizek (international director, Birkbeck Inst. for the Humanities, Univ. of London; sociology, Univ. of Ljubljana, Slovenia; The Fragile Absolute) writes with humor and incisiveness as he addresses the limits of liberal democratic approaches to politics and the possibility of benefit in totalitarian approaches to statehood. Examining by turns errors made by Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, Maximilien Robespierre, and other thinkers when faced with totalitarian missions, Zizek provides analysis by way of Jacques Lacan, literary deconstruction, and history's famously particular moments, such as the denouement of the the Cuban Missile Crisis. Scholars of political theory and modern philosophy will find much here to consider and argue for or against. In parts, the essays can also be used with upper-division undergraduate students. And because Zizek's work straddles the most contemporary 20th-century literature and history and is written with panache rather than in jargon, public libraries serving highly educated communities will want to add this as well.—Francisca Goldsmith, Halifax P.L.s, N.S.
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The author of ten books of poetry (e.g., Firekeeper), a book-length essay, and a poetry and graphic art collaboration, Rogers infuses her representation of scientific knowledge with a sensuality fueled by all five senses. This work's six sections—"Concert Hall," "Art Gallery," "Symposium Center," "Sanctuary," "Theater," and "Natural History Exposition"—explore the cognitive line between imagination and nature. The writer's forays into music, math, and symbol in the first few sections are not as engaging as the last section, "Natural History Exposition," which addresses the physical world. Of archeans, a type of one-celled creature, she writes: "Far too ancient for scripture, each/one bears in its one cell one text…/They are.../more mysterious than resurrection/too minimal for death." She contrasts this organism with the human, who can imagine the Milky Way as the hoofprints of white horses, or a river of ice, or an American flag. Or who may still share the trick of the caged tiger, who "departs this place, enters the circling/archives and depths of his own body/[and] finds the woven forest, the damp rank/of its layered mat." Intelligent and often beautiful; for all poetry collections.—Ellen Kaufman, Dewey & LeBoeuf Law Lib., New York

Warn's third volume of poetry (e.g., The Novice Insomniac) is an admirable project: a mystical progression through the Hebrew alphabet, each letter a point of departure for a poem sequence. It is, according to the author, a midrash, or interpretation, based upon the Kabbalah as well as on more traditional Jewish doctrine. Each Hebrew character is pictured and then followed by three poems, the first based on its physical form, the second on its meaning, and the third a prose poem exploring numerical significance according to gematria. "Dalet," for example, which means, "threshold," is a powerful metaphor for understanding, continuity, and life's passages: "you are the doorway through which the ancestors walk." The poems grapple with the nature of God and the difficulties of knowing; even Moses has ego problems as he descends the mountain with God's word: "Your face is lit as you descend/until you hear the crowd/praise another man's handiwork." As a sincere exploration of spirituality and the line between the abstract and the concrete, this is a challenging poetic work that will appeal more to those with knowledge of and a passion for the topic.—Ellen Kaufman, Dewey & LeBoeuf Law Lib., New York
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In this thoughtful, articulate, and well-reasoned treatise, Alpert (religion & women's studies, Temple Univ.), one of the first women to be ordained as a reconstructionist rabbi, argues for the value of progressive and liberal Judaism reclaiming itself as a religion rooted in the pursuit of justice. Tackling complex and controversial moral and political issues such as homosexuality, abortion, race relations, the peace movement, and the need to deal more effectively with issues of poverty and the state of the environment, Alpert invokes "a loving and compassionate God who wants justice for the Jewish people and the world," using the book of Deuteronomy's notion of the phrase tzedek, tzedek, tirdof as an alembic through which to evaluate the concept of true justice and compassion. Never strident and always attempting to acknowledge the more conservative and traditional positions of historical and religious Jewish thought and teachings, Alpert expresses a much-needed balanced perspective on complex and important issues facing Jews and others. She is able to write both for an audience familiar with traditional biblical texts and for those less familiar with established Jewish religion and traditions. Recommended for synagogue libraries and Judaic study collections.—Herbert E. Shapiro, Empire State Coll., Rochester, NY

Here, Griffith-Jones (Master of the Temple Church, London; The Four Witnesses: The Rebel, the Rabbi, the Chronicler, and the Mystic) takes a trendy Da Vinci Code topic and provides the scriptural and historical background that gave writers like Dan Brown license to cast Mary Magadalene as Jesus's presumed wife. Following a Gospel survey paying special attention to John's treatment of Mary, Griffith-Jones turns his focus to Gnostic works of the second and third centuries, and herein lies the work's primary strength. Unlike Susan Haskin in the impressive cultural history Mary Magdalene: Truth and Myth, Griffith-Jones here situates Mary in the canonical Christian scripture and then demonstrates Gnosticism's imaginative use of Mary as a site of incarnational theology, sexual dimorphism, and Sophia/Wisdom in creation. In the last chapter, he considers her evolution in aesthetic and cultural terms, with illustrations charting her evolution from repentant prostitute into an eroticized sexual figure embodying physical intimacy with the risen Christ. In Mary, claims Griffith-Jones, we glimpse our fundamental striving to understand what it means to be an embodied human being. An accessible read whose greatest usefulness is its Gnostic analysis; recommended.—Sandra Collins, Byzantine Catholic Seminary Lib., Pittsburgh

Persecution of Christians, particularly in Muslim countries, is current news; here, Jenkins (history & religious studies, Pennsylvania State Univ.; The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity) reminds us that Christianity has at turns flourished and died out over the course of history. Focusing on less-well-known branches of Christianity, such as the Nestorians and the Jacobites, he examines the question of why religions die. "While religions might sicken and fade," he writes, "they do not die of their own accord: they must be killed." He shows, for example, how the coming of Islam affected Egypt and North Africa, once vibrant centers of Christianity, positing that the faith was able to survive in Egypt because religious roots were deeply planted through use of vernacular language and liturgy but disappeared in North Africa, where Christianity had a more elitist focus. This is not simply a cautionary tale; the author wants us to remember Christianity's successes as well as its failures so that churches can thrive under changing circumstances. A thought-provoking volume that brings forgotten history to light and belongs in public and academic libraries.—Diane Harvey, Univ. of Maryland Libs., College Park

Kauffman (biological sciences, physics, & astronomy, Univ. of Calgary) strives to present as guiding principle of this work a view of the impersonal creativity inherent in nature as an attempt to combat any "necessity" of belief in a creator God. Through this perspective, he offers a fresh angle in the ongoing debates concerning creationism, intelligent design, and evolution. Unfortunately, he runs into the problem that afflicts most other books in the faith and science genre: specifically, he argues a position from one side of the issue without any knowledge of the positions of the other side. Kauffman understands the matters of science at work—and raises some valid philosophical questions—but he does not understand or adequately deal with issues of faith, theology, or spirituality. As a result, we are given a title that is not only misleading but also one whose utility is severely limited. For special collections only.—Dann Wigner, Wayland Baptist Univ. Lib., Plainview, TX

Our current interest in non-Western thought calls for factual knowledge of Eastern philosophies if we are to understand better our world. Of prime importance, Laumakis (philosophy, Univ. of St. Thomas) believes, is a beginner's text in Buddhist teachings, which he attempts to offer here. Laumakis does a good job of narrowing his focus, clearly presenting Buddhist theory, and posing helpful questions to help make the subject more graspable. This is not a book about how to practice Buddhism, but readers are encouraged to trust their own life experiences rather than to rely on dogma. Included are short biographical passages of current Buddhist leaders Thich Nhat Hanh and the 14th Dalai Lama; a discussion of the Buddah, Siddha¯ rtha Gautama; an exploration of key concepts (e.g., mindfulness, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path); and an examination of Buddhism as it has taken form in different lands. Although Laumakis intends to be concise, one of the book's defects is its all-too-brief coverage of Zen Buddhism, a major Buddhist sect in North America. Best suited to undergraduate students and novices to Buddhism; recommended for academic philosophy collections and the philosophy collections of larger public libraries.—Lisa Liquori, MLS, Syracuse, NY

Hard times make hard religions. In this post-9/11 era, we witness an America drawing lines between the religious "us" and the religious "them" and are inundated with news reports of increased bigotry and intolerance. But there is hope, Niebuhr (religion, Syracuse Univ.), a former religion reporter for the New York Times, here writes. In this wide-ranging account of his personal journey through the religious landscape of America, Niebuhr compellingly argues that hard times can also be fertile ground for people of faith to increase their tolerance for others espousing contradictory/conflicting religious beliefs as well as to go "beyond tolerance"—i.e., to transcend these differences and, together with people of other faiths, embrace the major themes advocated by all religions: compassion, love, justice, and freedom. Niebuhr brings his reporter's eye for detail to this work, which he populates with people and organizations who strive to find religious meaning in our diverse lives. This is no dry, academic exposition. Written for a general audience, it is also valuable for scholars wishing to see an America many might have thought was calcifying into an insular continent, worshipping hard gods or God. Recommended for public and theological libraries.—Glenn Masuchika, Pennsylvania State Univ. Lib., University Park

Author Pagitt is pastor of Solomon's Porch, a Minneapolis-based community church. In this book of contemporary spirituality, he writes of a more user-friendly, palatable, affirming, marketable, and sustainable variation on traditional Christian theology, using anecdotes to illustrate his points and essentially reducing complex theological issues to digestible faith-based lifestyles. Pagitt seems obsessed with marketing concepts, and he aims his book at the popular emerging community church movement, currently in serious competition with traditional denominational Christianity of the old-line Protestant style, many of whose adherents are growing distressed with the quality of spiritual life in traditional churches. Pagitt's book is certain to appeal to these disposed churchgoers, especially the YA members, because it offers a positive and uncontroversial alternative to the rigors of orthodoxy and its emphasis on human sin and depravity. Confessional theology of the fundamentalist variety seems to be confined today to a very vocal but restricted—and dying—minority. Pagitt's theology, while hardly new or innovative, may very well be the wave of the future. Recommended for libraries with large collections in spirituality.—James A. Overbeck, Atlanta-Fulton P.L.

Steinberg (English, SUNY at Fredonia; Reading the Middle Ages) presents a well-researched yet highly accessible overview of medieval Jewry that takes neither a predominantly Western Christian approach to medieval history nor one limited to Hebrew-speaking audiences. Steinberg bridges the gap between works by medieval historians possessing a deep knowledge of the period but having almost no knowledge of the unique role and contributions of Jews during the era, and works by Jewish scholars presuming in the reader a prior knowledge of Jewish identity, history, culture, and language. He clears up many misconceptions along the way, e.g., that "Jewish life in the Middle Ages was a succession of horrors," arguing that an overemphasis on Jewish suffering has left scholars with a distorted picture of Jewish history. He also highlights major contributions from Jewish philosophers and scholars of the period that culminated in the greatest achievement of the era, the rise of Rabbinic Judaism. Scholarly yet highly accessible, this book fills a significant gap in the literature of the field and is recommended for all academic and most public libraries.—Brian Greene, Northeastern Univ. Libs., Boston

Wilhoit (Christian formation & ministry, Wheaton Coll.; The Christian Educator's Handbook on Spiritual Formation) pens a deep and wide primer on what he argues is the task of the Christian church. He begins each chapter quoting scripture and experts to set the scene or to get the reader thinking; his first chapter, e.g., begins with the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19–20. With this injunction firmly in front of us to make disciples, Wilhoit then leads us through what formation is and how it can be accomplished. For Wilhoit, spiritual formation is necessarily a community process, and he goes on to identify four dimensions of this process: receiving, remembering, responding, and relating. He spends two chapters on each dimension, describing its foundation and the means of fostering it. Wilhoit bolsters his own discussion by supplementing each chapter with relevant extracts of other works and further reading lists that include both recent and classic titles. This book belongs in every seminary, on every clergyperson's shelf, and in any library supporting a community of inquiring Christians.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids
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In this book, Maraniss (Clemente), who won the Pulitzer Prize for his Washington Post coverage of President Bill Clinton, provides more than mere coverage of the 1960 summer Olympics. Although his descriptions of the sporting events and the athletes' lives on and off the field (e.g., Muhammad Ali when he was still Cassius Clay) would be sufficient to make this book worthy of adoption for sports collections, the author's wealth of sociohistorical knowledge that he also bestows upon the reader makes the book essential. Whether or not the 1960 Rome Olympics literally changed the world or not is up for debate—Maraniss offers little to justify the subtitle—but what is not debatable is the brilliance of Maraniss's historical accounts of the era, which these olympics did not much change: the Cold War, social tensions in the United States and Europe, the intrusion of politics into the world of sports, and the mingling of athletes and celebrities. Highly recommended for all libraries.—Tim Delaney, SUNY at Oswego

Only 11 thoroughbreds have won the elusive Triple Crown of horseracing, capturing the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. Award-winning New York Times reporter Drape (The Race for the Triple Crown) gathers original reporting from his newspaper as well as new essays that cover both the Triple Crown victors from Sir Barton in 1919 to Affirmed in 1978 and the famous hopefuls. Many horses in recent years have captured our hearts and minds, and they are here (e.g., Funny Cide, Smarty Jones, and Barbaro). This book also gives readers classic and rare photos and lists of race winners across the sport's different eras, offering also an interesting look at how what was once a pastime has evolved into a business. You may have to be a fan in order to get the most out of this book. Public librarians are encouraged to buy where there is interest.—Nancy Larrabee, Greenburgh P.L., Elmsford, NY
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