Arts & Humanities

Arts

Anfam, David & others. Anish Kapoor. Phaidon. Feb. 2010. 527p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-7148-4369-8. $95. FINE ARTS
For over 30 years, this Indian-born, London-based Turner Prize-winning sculptor has brought a new vision to contemporary sculpture: using a great variety of materials to create both traditional and tradition-breaking works of art. This massive monograph, issued in tandem with the Guggenheim Museum's installation of Kapoor's Memory (10/09–3/10), covers the life and work in great depth and examines the techniques and vocabulary of this distinguished artist. Mysterious and abstract as Kapoor's concepts can appear, the works—ranging from Oblivion with its luminous blues to the ever-reflecting sphere of Turning the World Upside Down to the monumental red expanse of Dismemberment, Site 1 spread across the fields of New Zealand—evoke a response both physical and emotional, with the viewer at once outside the piece and within its confines. There is an excitement about the works that comes through in these essays by Anfam (Abstract Expressionism), Johanna Burton (curatorial studies, Bard Coll.), and others, reflecting the electrifying quality of the artist's view of space and our place in it. VERDICT Massive in content and weight (six lbs.), this is an important record of a major contemporary artist. Although it makes no claim to be a catalogue raisonné, it does include many early performance and installation works rarely seen, as well as Kapoor's current monumental sculptures.—Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York

Bevers, Holm & others. Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling the Difference. 288p. ISBN 978-0-89236-979-9. pap. $49.95.
Slive, Seymour. Rembrandt Drawings. 260p. index. ISBN 978-0-89236-976-8. $19.95.
ea. vol:Getty Museum. 2009. illus. bibliog. index. FINE ARTS
These two books make an excellent pendant pair. Slive (emeritus professor, Harvard; author of catalogues raisonnés on Frans Hals and Jacob van Ruisdael) presents over 150 drawings accepted by experts as authentic while Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils represents 30 years of Getty-sponsored scholarship on the 40-year life of Rembrandt's studio. Signed catalog entries are authored by several Rembrandt scholars. Both lavishly illustrated books introduce the reader to Rembrandt's life and artistic style and to the studio/apprentice system of training artists in his day. Rembrandt's students began by copying as closely as possible the master's work for practice in improving their own abilities. Later, when their skills warranted, apprentices also copied the master's work to sell, not as forgeries but as lower-priced copies. This resulted in the survival of almost identical works from Rembrandt's and his students' hands. Just as Rembrandt stored his own collection, Rembrandt Drawings is thematically arranged by subject including women, women and children, religious subjects, buildings, and more. Slive describes each theme and how the drawings within each theme relate to one another, Rembrandt's style, and contemporary events. Drawings by Rembrandt juxtaposes two or more Rembrandt drawings with those of his pupils and discusses the historical and stylistic evidence used by historians to identify correctly the artist. Both books include time lines, indexes, bibliographies, and locations of works in museums. VERDICT Written in a relaxed, easy-to-read style, both books will prove useful to studio artists, art history students, and more-than-interested general readers.—Nancy J. Mactague, Aurora Univ., IL

Cahan, Richard & Michael Williams(text) & Alexander Vertikoff (photogs.). Edgar Miller and the Handmade Home: Chicago's Forgotten Renaissance Man. CityFiles. 2009. 398p. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-9785450-5-5. $50. FINE ARTS
Although Edgar Miller (1899–1993) designed and created interiors, exteriors, and ornamentation for buildings such as the North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck and the Pierre Hotel in New York, most of his work was done in and around Chicago: murals for Marshall Field's, the 885 Club, and the Northwest Air Ticket office; stone carvings for the Madonna della Strada Chapel; and much more. His greatest accomplishment, though, was the four fully realized artistic studios he built on Chicago's North Side in the 1920s and 1930s. There he created environments that were "more a poem than a house, but admirable to live in, too." VERDICT This beautiful volume, by the authors of Richard Nickel's Chicago: Photographs of a Lost City, is a singular, admirable tribute to a brilliant creative talent of the American Arts and Crafts movement who has been forgotten for far too long. Students and scholars—as well as librarians—may lament the lack of a full bibliography here (clearly much research was done), but readers interested in the Arts and Crafts movement, architecture, and architectural ornamentation will admire this book.—Marcia Welsh, Dartmouth Coll., Hanover, NH

Girouard, Mark. Elizabethan Architecture: Its Rise and Fall, 1540–1640. Yale Univ. 2009. 536p. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-300-09386-5. $65. ARCHITECTURE
In Elizabethan Architecture, Girouard, author of other works on English architecture and a professor at Oxford, comes full circle to chronicle the style that he first wrote about as a Ph.D. student nearly 45 years ago. This is a history not of the cozy, half-timbered vernacular buildings of the period but rather of the high Elizabethan style of grand country houses such as Hardwick Hall (see Maurice Howard's The Building of Elizabethan and Jacobean England for a history of a broader range of building types). The text of this weighty tome provides a close examination of patrons and builders, the rise of classicism and Flemish influence through published sources and immigrant craftspeople, the lingering influences of Gothic architecture, and the symmetrical plan and form of Elizabethan and Jacobean country houses. Numerous photographs, plans, details, and period drawings round out the 500-plus pages. VERDICT If you are interested in high Elizabethan-style country houses, this is the book for you. The text is thorough, the illustrations copious, and the end result is a readable, accessible book on a subject not treated in this much detail anywhere else.—Amy Trendler, Ball State Univ. Libs., Muncie, IN

Sutcliffe, Serena & others (text) & Makiko Takehara (photogs.). The Art of Vintage: An Aesthetic Odyssey Through 20 Vintage Perrier-Jouët Champagnes. Jacqui Small, dist. by Trafalgar Square. 2010. 400p. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-906417-34-5. $75. FINE ARTS
"A visual treat from cover to cover," this exquisite work combines the history of a world-class winery founded in 1811 by a marriage of two French families, the Perriers and the Jouëts, with two centuries of art and culture and champagne. Following "Liquid Legend," the brief introduction by Sutcliffe, head of Sotheby's international wine department and prominent author on wine, the book documents the 20 most celebrated vintages of this house from 1825 through 2002 in glorious splendor. Wine lovers, connoisseurs, and enthusiasts alike will appreciate the colorful tributes found in each section that highlight the historical context of each vintage in "The House"; a stunning selection of art appropriate to each year, from Monet, Morisot, and Toulouse-Lautrec to Warhol, Haring, Dalí, and Christo, in "The Arts"; and the notable fashion and personalities from film to politics in "The Women." The book abounds in the colors of chartreuse, gold, and white, with the images of the iconic anemones delicately portrayed in the margins and backgrounds as well as the translucent transitional pages that imitate the unique belle epoque bottle design from 1964 to date. VERDICT A fabulous tribute to the French wine industry, this is a wonderful gift item for special friends. Also recommended for libraries with strong collections in the arts.—Stephen Allan Patrick, Jonesborough, TN

The Woodcut in Fifteenth-Century Europe. National Gallery of Art, dist. by Yale Univ. (Studies in the History of Art). 2009. 352p. ed. by Peter Parshall. illus. ISBN 978-0-300-12163-6. $70. FINE ARTS
This installment in Yale's "Studies in the History of Art" series publishes the proceedings of a symposium to further the research begun with the joint exhibition and catalog of the National Gallery of Art and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg. After 1400, woodblock images were printed on paper in large enough quantities for many to survive to the present day. The contributors, an international collection of professors, conservators, librarians, and researchers, take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the function and context of single-sheet wood- and metal cuts. They present new scientific information on 15th-century printing techniques, pigment and coloring, paper and cloth, and artisanal printmaking and compare prints with contemporary artworks and household items. While most entries are easy to read, some contain technical content requiring a background in the subject. Thoroughly illustrated with color and duotone images in-text, the volume is also indexed, with each chapter providing endnotes. VERDICT Not only for art history students and professors, this volume is for those interested in 15th-century society, religion, politics, and technology.—Nancy J. Mactague, Aurora Univ., IL

Literature

Beach, Sylvia. The Letters of Sylvia Beach. Columbia Univ. Apr. 2010. c.376p. ed. by Keri Walsh. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-231-14536-7. $29.95. LIT
"I have always loved books and their authors…," Beach writes in a letter to her longtime friend Marion Peter. This preference for "art" rather than "business or sport" inspired Beach to pursue a career as the proprietor of a "bookshop-lending library" in Paris, France, in the 1920s and 1930s. The bookshop she established, Shakespeare and Company, became famous as a "resort of writers" owing largely to Beach's charm, generosity, and intelligence. Ernest Hemingway, Thornton Wilder, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as Gertrude Stein, T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound, were friends and patrons of Beach and her shop. Undoubtedly, the event that elevated Beach most dramatically among the literary intelligentsia of the period was her publication of Ulysses by James Joyce in 1922. As editor Walsh suggests in her helpful introduction, "…her role in bringing modernism's master work to the public meant that after 1922 her opinions commanded respect and her circle of influence grew." Walsh organizes the letters chronologically beginning in 1901 and ending in 1962, just months before Beach's death. Brief footnotes identify people mentioned in each letter with an occasional explanation of an event or situation. The letters reveal Beach's positive nature and her clever, witty persona. Her accounts of working for the Red Cross in Serbia during World War I, arranging to smuggle the banned Ulysses into the United States, and selling her beloved Joyce collection to the University of Buffalo provide details that allow readers to appreciate this interesting woman and her life. VERDICT Academics and students interested in literary culture, especially of writers of the Lost Generation, will find this book valuable.—Kathryn R. Bartelt, Univ. of Evansville Libs., IN

Donoghue, Emma. Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature. Knopf. May 2010. c.304p. photogs. index. ISBN 978-0-307-27094-8. $27.95. LIT
Donoghue (Slammerkin), a prolific writer of fiction and literary history, spent over 12 years on this indispensable work, examining desire between women characters found mainly in English, French, and other Western literary works that span the Middle Ages to modern times. She analyzes numerous titles as diverse as Shakespeare's As You Like It, Diderot's La Religieuse, Dickens's Little Dorrit, and 20th-century pulp fiction. She divides her analysis into six chapters inspired by the popular plot motifs created when representing attraction between women: "travesties," "inseparables," "rivals," "monsters," "detection," and "out." The literature discussed here portrays female-female desire but with great variation. The chapter on monsters, for example, demonstrates how negatively this type of desire was often depicted, while the "coming out" chapter highlights how this depiction has changed in the past 40 years. Donoghue also acknowledges the few works that anticipated societal transformations and tolerance decades before they occurred. VERDICT For all readers interested in this subject and GLBT, women's studies, and Western literature scholars.—Erica Swenson Danowitz, Delaware Cty. Community Coll., Media, PA

Maar, Michael. Speak, Nabokov. Verso, dist. by Norton. Mar. 2010. c.160p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-84467-437-4. $24.95. LIT
Maar, a German critic and academic, previously authored The Two Lolitas, which aroused controversy when he suggested that Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) may have derived the title and plot of his novel Lolita from an obscure German novella. In this new study, Maar examines not only Lolita but also other major novels as well as short stories and autobiographical writings by Nabokov. The book comes out at a propitious time, since Nabokov's son Dmitri authorized the recent publication of the unfinished The Original of Laura (2009), which is also mentioned in Maar's study. Though the critic admires Nabokov, he does not hesitate to point out some of the novelist's more unpleasant traits, such as his homophobia; Nabokov's homosexual brother, Sergei, whom he distanced himself from, died in a concentration camp. The main purpose of this study is to consider closely the symbols and textual complexities of the novels and to deduce themes and the character of the author from such an analysis. For example, the Lolita theme (an older man's attraction to very young girls) is traced not only in that novel but also in many other works by Nabokov throughout his literary career. VERDICT Primarily recommended for dedicated Nabokovians who have read not only the works themselves but also the sources that Nabokov used (such as works by Thomas Mann, Proust, and Schopenhauer).—Morris Hounion, Ursula C. Schwerin Lib., Coll. of Technology, CUNY

Morris, Roy, Jr. Lighting Out for the Territory. S. & S. Apr. 2010. c.304p. photogs. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-4165-9866-4. $26. LIT
Samuel Clemens went west in 1861, and Mark Twain returned east six years later with the growing reputation of being a writer who rarely let the facts get in the way of a good story. Using letters, diaries, and reminiscences, Morris, author, journalist, and editor, pieces together the facts to show how an unemployed riverboat pilot became a self-made writer. Morris comments that separating fact from fiction in Twain's case is more or less a full-time occupation. Morris is the editor of Military Heritage magazine and has served as a consultant for A&E Network and the History Channel. By relying on primary sources, he tracks Clemens's personal, professional, and artistic transformation. Details include the development of Twain's style including use of the vernacular, a love of the ridiculous, and a stinging wit to transform true-life situations into some of the most memorable stories of frontier life. Fans of Twain's writing and academics will enjoy this well-researched biography. VERDICT A noteworthy addition for American literature and biography collections.—Joyce Sparrow, JWB Children's Svcs. Council, Clearwater, FL

Ricks, Christopher. True Friendship. Yale Univ. Mar. 2010. c.272p. index. ISBN 978-0-300-13429-2. $28. LIT
Individual accomplishments, regardless of the field of endeavor, are achieved in part by the contributions of others; of course, not all others but rather valued others whose contributions are worthy of contemplation and conclusion. These accomplishments are honored by offering recognition of these additions. If the field of endeavor is poetry—as is the case with this book—the honor of giving back is revealed in notable scholarship by author Ricks. The varied individual poets are Geoffrey Hill, Anthony Hecht, and Robert Lowell, foreshadowed by T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, all under the microscope of Ricks's calculating and discriminating eye. Collectively, these superlative poets have provided verse that is open to a vast array of interpretation and meaning. Poetry is like that. In some instances, poems written by any of these men are challenged, criticized with surgical precision. This is made apparent in Ricks's discussion of Hill, which has as its theme that opposition is necessary in true friendship; or, in the words of William Blake, "Without contraries (there) is no progression." According to Ricks, Hecht, while idolizing Eliot, realized that racism is evident in Eliot's writing. This criticism helped Hecht in his continued reading of Eliot "from falling into a settled and uncomplicated pleasure" and certainly in the conception of his own work. VERDICT This book is not for the faint of mind or heart; much is demanded of the reader's understanding. Readers should be well versed in poetry in general, specifically in the works of the five poets represented.—Robert Kelly, Fort Wayne Community Schs., IN

Shapiro, James. Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? S. & S. Apr. 2010. c.352p. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-4165-4162-2. $26. LIT
Mark Twain quipped that Shakespeare was not written by Shakespeare but another person named Shakespeare. Shapiro (English, Columbia Univ.; Shakespeare and the Jews) concludes that Shakespeare was written by Shakespeare. That said, he argues that an examination of the controversies over Shakespeare's authorship, which only began to arise in the 18th century, is valuable. It is not merely a matter of antiquarian curiosity but impinges on may issues in modern critical practice, raising questions about texts, autobiography, collaboration, national identity, interpretation, ideology, and the "author" function. Among the many competing claims of authorship, Shapiro focuses primarily on those for Francis Bacon and the Earl of Oxford as representative. His primary questions are the why and the how, tracing the history of these claims from their origins, how they gained momentum, and their lack of real substantiation. Thoroughly documented, Shapiro's book is scholarly yet well paced and accessible. VERDICT Rewarding for both the Shakespeare scholar and the serious general reader.—T.L. Cooksey, Armstrong Atlantic State Univ., Savannah, GA

You're a Horrible Person, but I Like You: The Believer Book of Advice. Vintage: Random. Apr. 2010. c.224p. ISBN 978-0-307-47523-7. pap. $13.95. HUMOR
This is an offshoot compendium of The Believer magazine, a monthly publication dedicated to books and book criticism. The reviewed titles may not be current, and the reviews may be lengthy. Other article and interview subjects are eclectic, to say the least, as is the host of advice givers assembled to provide answers to burning questions. An introduction by David Cross sets the absurdist tone of the work, with contributions from Sarah Silverman, Daniel Handler, Janeane Garofalo, Bob Odenkirk, and Amy Sedaris (who helms The Believer's monthly advice column, Sedaratives), among others. The questions asked (and their respective answers) have no unifying theme—anything goes. The only constant is the high level of snark in the answers. While much of The Believer's content is substantive, its advice column usually provides some levity. There's plenty of levity here but not much substance. VERDICT Readers of The Believer's advice column will enjoy this title; larger public libraries should consider this as a worthy addition to their humor sections.—Audrey Snowden, Cleveland P.L.

Zinn, Howard. 3 Plays: The Political Theater of Howard Zinn. Beacon, dist. by Houghton Harcourt. Mar. 2010. c.216p. ISBN 978-0-8070-7326-1. pap. $18. DRAMA
Zinn's A People's History of the United States is both in the college canon and wadding for the cannons of conservatives. This volume brings his political philosophies to the stage, with mixed success. Zinn writes in the introduction that plays allow him to "zoom in on a few characters" so the audience can identify with them. He succeeds best with this in Marx in Soho: A Play on History, a one-person show in which Karl Marx talks about his family and his life with humor, sympathy, and love. It's also an easily digestible treatise on Marxist and communist philosophy. Emma, about American anarchist Emma Goldman, is preachy but entertaining and can be performed with a bare minimum of scenery and props. In Daughter of Venus, featuring a nuclear scientist who ends up questioning his involvement in weapons development, the characters spend a lot of time shouting at or speaking poorly about one another, and the ending is all too predictable. VERDICT This collection will be of interest to college and university theater, history, and politics students, but it is not a priority purchase for campus libraries.—Larry Schwartz, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Moorhead

Performing Arts

Grier, Pam with Andrea Cagan. Foxy: My Life in Three Acts. Springboard: Grand Central. Apr. 2010. c.288p. photogs. ISBN 978-0-446-54850-2. $24.99. FILM
Grier's short memoir introduces her as a person rather than focusing on her professional film, TV, and singing career. In "Act One," she retraces her early life as she survived personal trauma, reaped the benefits of a stellar British education, and developed a fascination with the film industry. Next, Grier shares the turmoil of her serious relationships with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Freddie Prinze, and Richard Pryor; her independence and self-preservation instincts kept her focused but were also a source of friction in her love life. "Act Three" reveals Grier's life-threatening battle with cancer and acknowledges her camaraderie with The L Word cast. Suggested companion reading: Mia Mask's Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film, Stephane Dunn's "Baad Bitches" & Sassy Supermamas, and any of the myriad books on blaxploitation cinema. VERDICT Grier's memoir relies heavily on how women's liberation played an important role in every aspect of her life, almost to the point of preachiness. But the style doesn't deter the reader from enjoying a good memoir that is guaranteed to surprise. Strongly recommended.—Richard A. Dickey, Washington, DC

Griffin, Mark. A Hundred or More Hidden Things: The Life and Films of Vincente Minnelli. Da Capo. Mar. 2010. c.320p. photogs. index. ISBN 978-0-7867-2099-6. pap. $15.95. FILM
Scores of interviews and intensive research provide the basis for this biography in which journalist Griffin shows the impact of director Vincente Minnelli's personal life on his work. From Meet Me in St. Louis to On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, his accomplishments were fueled by innovative approaches to lighting, color, and directorial techniques. Griffin explores Minnelli's childhood in a family of traveling tent performers through his illustrious days in Hollywood and offers thoughtful commentary on how and why his films both closely reflect this history and hold a key to the man. The author does not shy away from Minnelli's conflicted sexuality, his four marriages (one to a troubled Judy Garland), the inequality in his relationships to his daughters, and his interactions with film stars. VERDICT This well-written and tasteful work contributes yet another perspective toward illuminating the life of this enigmatic film director. It will be a valuable addition to the recent literature (e.g., Emanuel Levy's Vincente Minnelli: Hollywood's Dark Dreamer and Joe McElhaney's Vincente Minnelli: The Art of Entertainment).—Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ

Tompkins, Dave. How To Wreck a Nice Beach: The Vocoder from Stalin to Frampton to Bambaataa. Melville House. Mar. 2010. c.352p. illus. ISBN 978-1-933633-88-6. $35. MUSIC
Anyone who has ever spoken into an electric fan appreciates the magic of voice manipulation. Throughout history, altering one's voice has been used to deceive as well as entertain. Tompkins, a former columnist for The Wire, traces the strange history of the most famous robot-voice-making machine, the vocoder. Oscillating between political figures and popular musicians, Tompkins analyzes the various uses of the vocoder through its function and purpose. He excels at contextualization as he vividly describes voice manipulation as used during times of war and peace, from Stalin to New Edition. The figures in this story are as compelling as the machine itself. Although his writing style can be frenetic at times, Tompkins holds together the complete story of the vocoder while elaborating on the number of individuals responsible for its creation and popularity. VERDICT Seamlessly integrating many stories into a single narrative, Tompkins presents a masterly history of the vocoder. This fun and informational book will appeal to readers interested in the history of technology and the evolution of electronic music.—Joshua Finnell, Denison Univ. Lib., Granville, OH

Williams, Richard. The Blue Moment: Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and the Remaking of Modern Music. Norton. Apr. 2010. c.320p. index. ISBN 978-0-393-07663-9. $25.95. MUSIC
Williams, a writer for the Guardian, acknowledges the definitive books on Kind of Blue—Ashley Kahn's Kind of Blue and Eric Nisenson's The Making of Kind of Blue—for those interested in the details of the creation of Miles Davis's classic album. He instead offers a personal musing on the impact the album had and continues to have on music of all kinds. Starting with a discussion of blue as a color and as a description of music and mood, Williams then offers a brief account of the creation of the recording. The rest of the book is given to following the wide ripples resulting from this event. Not everyone will agree with the connections being made, and, at times, the thread to Davis seems to have been lost altogether. Ultimately, however, the idea that none of the music Williams discusses would have been possible without the modal revolution begun with Kind of Blue is compelling. VERDICT An enjoyable, readable ramble through a varied sampling of modern music. Suitable for anyone with an interest in jazz, popular music, or popular culture.—Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY

Philosophy

Smith, Robert Rowland. Breakfast with Socrates. Free Pr: S. & S. Mar. 2010. c.256p. index. ISBN 978-1-4391-4867-9. $22. PHIL
In this short and entertaining book, Smith (Derrida and Autobiography) uses the ideas of past philosophers, psychologists, and artists to analyze the daily, and sometimes mundane, actions of our lives. Topics such as commuting, eating, and sleeping are looked at through the lens of various thinkers to show how we can critically examine everyday actions and events. For example, in the section "Going to the Gym," he applies the ideas of Heidegger to explain the possible shortcomings of exercise because, while it can temporarily change your body, it can't change your being, and he compares modern-day gyms to Foucault's theory of how states create a docile and obedient citizen through routine and monitored activities. Smith does not argue for one idea over another but applies the theories in an interesting and sometimes lighthearted manner. VERDICT The author's accessible writing style and presentation will make this book appealing to readers with a general interest in philosophy or those looking to add some humor and meaning to the ordinary events in their lives.—Scott Duimstra, Capital Area Dist. Lib., Lansing, MI

van Deemter, Kees. Not Exactly: In Praise of Vagueness. Oxford Univ. Mar. 2010. c.304p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-19-954590-2. $29.95. PHIL
No one knows how many hairs you need to avoid baldness, nor when your growing dog becomes "big." "Vagueness" to van Deemter denotes, mostly, boundary problems. Baldness and bigness imply a range and can be dealt with in terms of probabilities. Colors are a bit trickier. Though different people see colors differently, color talk is useful. If this reviewer were to say, "Go out and bring in the purple cows," you may not see any purple cows, but odds are you will bring in the ones you don't see as black, grey, or white, and I will get my purple cows. Van Deemter argues that without such "vague" notions life would be more difficult. Vagueness can be tackled. "Fuzzy logic," which is not fuzzy at all but a system that picks out things within a range, helps. One can refine assaults on vagueness with many valued logics—which van Deemter likes—but that lands one in troublesome notions like "degrees of truth." Van Deemter does not ask about vague things, because those would defeat his theories. VERDICT A clever book, a bit smart-alecky but readable. Readers with technical interests in the issues might like Nicholas J. Smith's Vagueness and Degrees of Truth; lay readers who want to dig deeper into the weakness of traditional logics should still turn to Stephen Toulmin'sThe Uses of Argument.—Leslie Armour, Dominican Univ. Coll., Ottawa, Ont.

Poetry

Kaddour, Hedi. Treason. Yale Univ. Apr. 2010. c.192p. tr. from French by Marilyn Hacker. ISBN 978-0-300-14958-6. $26. POETRY
"What has gotten into the bus driver/ Who has left his bus, who has sat down/ On a curb on the place de l'Opéra/ Where he slips into the ease of being/ Nothing more than his own tears?" French poet Kaddour, here translated by an esteemed American poet, lures readers into his elegant world vignettes of overheard conversations and people on the street, his lyrical observations about poetry, politics, and philosophy, and his homage to writers like Paul Celan, Joseph Brodsky, and Derek Walcott, who inform his own. In her preface, Hacker refers to Kaddour as a flâneur—a loafer, a stroller, a witness—and, indeed, he is. Writing often in sonnet-shaped snapshots, he captures with wit, sensuality, and sometimes bawdy humor the sublime and the absurd on the streets of Paris and in romantic and familial relationships as well: "She was being kissed/ By a blunderer, the August night's/ Firmament poured its/ Starry milk down on them." VERDICT Sometimes difficult but thoroughly delightful, Kaddour's poetics offer readers proof of the transcendent qualities of literature. Highly recommended.—Karla Huston, Appleton Art Ctr., WI

Tichy, Susan. Gallowglass. Ahsahta Pr. Mar. 2010. c.96p. ISBN 978-1-934103-13-5. pap. $19. POETRY
An endnote tells us that this latest from Tichy (Bone Pagoda) takes its title from the Gaelic gal-óglac, which means foreign mercenary.'' Images of war and loss figure prominently, with unlike lines collaged into poems that bear witness to public and private traumas. Culled from a variety of sources, these poems use original material alongside lines borrowed from a diverse array of host texts. The language itself possesses the hazy quality of memory, which is, as Tichy writes, "a page of writing from which words have been randomly erased." An air of sadness also pervades this book, where the words themselves, having come from countless different origins, function almost as mercenaries. Tichy senses that, for all its power, language will not save us: as with mercenaries, its allegiances are temporary at best. VERDICT A politically engaged work on the horrors of war and the memories of those who remain behind, this book will appeal to avid readers of contemporary poetry.—Chris Pusateri, Jefferson Cty. P.L., CO

Walcott, Derek. White Egrets. Farrar. Apr. 2010. c.80p. ISBN 978-0-374-28929-4. $24. POETRY
"We never know what memory will do—" says Nobel Prize winner Walcott, as he steps into the past in order to make sense of the present and find direction for the future. Walcott draws these new poems from the same wells that have served him in the past: his Caribbean roots, a love of the Western literary tradition, exotic travel, the wonders of nature, and love, both old and new, as well as the passage of time and the complications that attend age. It is the quest for new love, and the recognition of age, celebrated with grace and wisdom in a delightfully lyrical language, that lie at the heart of this collection: "What if all this passion is out of proportion to its subject?/ An average beauty, magnified to deific, demonic/ stature by the fury of intellect…/ that she should infect your day to the very marrow." VERDICT With this volume, Walcott reaffirms his place as one of the most interesting and important poets of our time. Highly recommended.—Louis McKee, Painted Bride Arts Ctr., Philadelphia

Religion

Cohick, Lynn H. Women in the World of the Earliest Christians: Illuminating Ancient Ways of Life. Baker Academic: Baker Bk. House. 2009. c.352p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8010-3172-4. pap. $26.99. REL
Thorough scholarly investigation, with scholarly speculation, characterizes this study of Jewish and Christian women of first-century Greco-Roman areas. Cohick (New Testament, Wheaton Coll.) draws on ancient classical, Jewish, and Christian writings to determine, as far as possible, what daily life in family, religion, and society was like for women elite (for whom there are naturally the most records), as well as for freed women, slaves, and prostitutes. The author documents social customs and laws, noting biases of male writers of the age, and demonstrates that women could be seen as both subservient by nature and accepted as political and cultural leaders, the latter being often memorialized in statuary, inscriptions, etc., some of which are represented in black-and-white photos. Women's leadership roles and Jewish-Gentile cultural complementarities grew despite an overall short life span, common divorce, and such practices as exposure of unwanted children to death, adoption, or slavery. A bibliography covers the substantial body of literature available, and the author's own unique suggestions and interpretations for present times add to the corpus. VERDICT This book, for its subject and its well-reasoned arguments, especially on patronage by women, will appeal largely to academic readers.—Anna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY

MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. Viking. Mar. 2010. c.1184p. illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-670-02126-0. $40. REL
Prize-winning author MacCulloch (history of the Church, Univ. of Oxford; The Reformation) has produced here a marvelous, comprehensive history beginning in 1000 B.C.E. with the development of Greece, Rome, and Israel, the primary cultural and religious traditions that helped shape Christianity from its beginning even until now. MacCulloch pays ample attention to the Orthodox Church, both Eastern and Oriental, as well as to Western Christianity, its reformations, and current "culture wars." The author's carefully reasoned interpretations substantiate his claim to be "a candid friend of Christianity," with happy memories of childhood "in the rectory of an Anglican country parish," searching for good within diverse manifestations of Christianity while also attending to the "foolish and dangerous" within the religion. VERDICT Laypeople not discouraged by its 1000-plus pages will find this book accessible and engaging; it would also make a fine textbook for a one- or two-semester course. Readers wanting a history less than half this length may find L. Michael White's From Jesus to Christianity useful even though they will miss MacCulloch's judicious explanations of (human) cause and influence in Christian history. Essential for all libraries collecting on this subject.—Carolyn M. Craft, Emerita, Longwood Univ., Farmville, VA

Miles, Sara. Jesus Freak: Feeding, Healing, Raising the Dead. Jossey-Bass. Feb. 2010. c.208p. ISBN 978-0-470-48166-0. $21.95. REL
Pretty platitudes and trite church signs are not going to work for former atheist Miles (Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion). A late convert to Christianity, Miles writes of meeting a living Jesus who has torn apart her world. No longer will she be just a journalist and author; she will be a vessel, a breathing body of Christ, living out his teachings and doing "greater deeds" than his. Miles directs the Food Pantry at the St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, where she seeks to die to herself and live unto others. This book is not another formulaic book on Christianity; it is alive with ideals of radical inclusion, and Miles's "come and see," "go and do" attitude reigns. Jesus is real and resurrected here and needs followers to feed, heal, forgive, love, and be raised from a living death. VERDICT This book is a clarion call to readers to go and do to all around them as Jesus did. Sympathetic readers will find it a passionate, verb-filled spur to action that is both enjoyable to read and inspiring.—Nancy Richey, Western Kentucky Univ. Lib., Bowling Green

Norman, Alexander. Secret Lives of the Dalai Lama: The Untold Story of the Holy Men Who Shaped Tibet, from Pre-History to the Present Day. Doubleday. Feb. 2010. c.448p. ISBN 978-0-385-53070-5. pap. $15. REL
To most Westerners, the 14th Dalai Lama is the jolly, perhaps holy, and now elderly religious leader of the peaceful if quaint Tibetans, a man forced into exile by the Communist Chinese in the 1950s. Norman, a collaborator on the Dalai Lama's Ethics for the New Millennium, begins with the pre-Buddhist, prenational, and shamanistic history of Tibet and its leaders, thus exploding any easy misconceptions about his subject. Along the way we learn that the Tibetan "empire" controlled significant portions of what is now China and the lucrative Silk Road trade in the mid-eighth century C.E., that it was Alton Khan, leader of the Mongols and descendant of Kublai Khan, who first conferred the title Dalai Lama on a Tibetan spiritual leader, Sonam Gyatso, who was both the third and the first Dalai Lama, and that it was the fifth Dalai Lama who consolidated Tibetan religious and temporal power in the 17th century, aided by the Chinese and Mongols. VERDICT Published in 2008 in the UK, this is a fascinating and readable, if sometimes complex, account for general readers as well as more dedicated students of Buddhism or Tibetan history/geopolitics.—James R Kuhlman, Univ. of North Carolina at Asheville Lib.

Tiger, Lionel & Michael McGuire. God's Brain. Prometheus. Mar. 2010. c.238p. ISBN 978-1-59102-164-6. $25. REL
Given the stresses of life, the human brain often turns toward religion as a fruitful source of "brainsoothe"—reassurance that comes from religious beliefs, communal activities, and human associations that optimize the brain's chemical profile. So contend anthropologist Tiger (anthropology, Rutgers Univ.; Men in Groups) and psychiatrist McGuire (psychiatry & behavioral sciences, emeritus, UCLA; Darwinian Psychiatry), who offer chapters on religion and sex, morality, socialization, liturgy, and brain chemistry, among others. They conclude that "religious socialization leads to predictable, desirable outcomes among believers. Were this not the case, participation would decline." The authors write here for a lay audience, offering interesting anecdotes, personal experiences, and witty turns of phrase. Nonetheless, the book is distressingly short on empirical data, and Tiger and McGuire too often assume their own authority: they fail to distinguish generalizations from self-evident truths, present prima facie observations as obvious facts, and pass off hunches as demonstrated conclusions. They pay lip service to scientific method but offer only an intriguing premise in place of a tested hypothesis. VERDICT Pass on this one. Instead, try Andrew Newberg and others' Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief, or Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman's Born To Believe: God, Science, and the Origin of Ordinary and Extraordinary Beliefs.—Steve Young, McHenry Cty. Coll., Crystal Lake, IL

Sports & Recreation

Bechtel, Mark. He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back. Little, Brown. Feb. 2010. c.320p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-316-03402-9. $25.99. SPORTS
A time-honored belief in NASCAR auto racing lore is that the sport catapulted from its Southern regional base to national prominence as a result of the televised 1979 Daytona 500 event, which ended dramatically when the two leaders crashed each other in the final lap, then got into a fight that was joined by a third driver. This episode swelled both media attention and subsequent ticket sales and could not have been more fortuitous in promoting the NASCAR brand. Bechtel (senior editor, Sports Illustrated) uses this Daytona race as a pivot, both to look back from and from which to survey the entire 1979 racing season. Bechtel's assessments are spot on. Though that Daytona race was a catalyst, that season featured many of NASCAR's legendary drivers, future stars, and most colorful personalities and culminated with one of the closest championship contests ever. Everything that season seemed to align to capture significant fan interest and usher NASCAR firmly onto the national radar screen. Bechtel's easy, flowing style in his well-developed account is peppered with vignettes that readers will savor, like the time that Richard Petty raced while wearing cowboy boots. VERDICT This should have wide appeal to racing fans and can serve libraries as a historical perspective on a seminal season in NASCAR's development. Solidly recommended.—David Van de Streek, Penn State Univ. Libs., York

Gillin, Paul & Dana Gillin. The Joy of Geocaching: How To Find Health, Happiness and Creative Energy Through a Worldwide Treasure Hunt. Quill Driver. Apr. 2010. c.260p. illus. maps. index. ISBN 978-1-884956-99-7. pap. $16.95. RECREATION
Here is an excellent introduction to this emerging sport. For the uninitiated, geocaching is a sort of treasure hunt wherein participants navigate their way to prehidden treasures (caches) using GPS technology. Caches, which are secreted by other practicing geocachers and logged on geocaching web sites, can be located anywhere from parking lots to forested areas. Longtime tech writer Gillin and his wife, Dana, an editor, are the perfect ambassadors for geocaching. Their book imparts all the how-to that a budding enthusiast needs to get started while also including lots of funny and interesting anecdotes that will communicate to the completely unfamiliar reader just why the sport is exploding in popularity. The book is broken down neatly into chapters on all aspects of geocaching, including hiding, seeking, and the requisite technology. VERDICT This is a lively and well-written introduction to a sport that is rapidly gaining followers. It makes a fine source for instruction—its clear writing and personable tone far surpass similar instruction books—but it is also simply an interesting read for all curious about the phenomenon.—John Helling, Bloomfield-Eastern Greene Cty. P.L., IN

Miller, Timothy. Drag Racing: The World's Fastest Sport. Firefly. 2009. 208p. photogs. index. ISBN 978-1-55407-446-4. $34.95 SPORTS
Readers can almost smell the rubber burning in this glossy overview of drag racing. For a sport that grew after World War II, mostly in California, this has gathered fans from all over the United States and Canada. Not an encyclopedia—it doesn't list titles or records or have an A-Z format—Miller's work provides a chapter-by-chapter introduction to the rules of the sport, the classes, and the drivers, both legendary and contemporary. From an explanation of the iconic "Christmas tree" lights that start a race to a diagram that plots the quarter-mile of a contest, the text is enthusiastic but not fawning. Over 160 photos, mostly color but some in vintage black and white, make up half the book. The confusing array of classes—fuel, alcohol, pro modified, pro stock, and sportsman—are explained. Women are especially well represented, in both a separate chapter and in chapters on the legends and top drivers. Fans will recognize the big names of the sport—Joe Amato, Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudhomme—and learn about such current drivers as Brandon Bernstein, John Force, Melanie Troxel, and Cruz Pedregon. VERDICT Essential for drag racing fans and libraries in communities where drag strips draw crowds.—Susan Belsky, Oshkosh P.L., WI