Social Sciences Reviews, February 1, 2011
Feb 1, 2011BIOGRAPHY
Ciezadlo, Annia. Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love, and War. Free Pr: S. & S. Feb. 2011. c.400p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781416583936. $26. AUTOBIOG
Ciezadlo, a freelance journalist, intertwines the narrative of her reporting from war-torn Beirut and Baghdad from 2003 to 2009 with her personal story of seeking a sense of home amid different cultures and impending violence. Focusing on how societies survive through war and violence, she introduces us to individuals able to reach out even when buffeted by religious or national hatred and explains important realities about the destruction brought by the American invasion of Iraq. She skillfully tempers scenes of brutality and cruelty among ethnic and religious rivals in Beirut or within the disintegrating political and social structure in Baghdad with her conviction that food can bring people together and preserve our humanity. Her fast-paced, graceful writing weaves politics into discussions of literature and cuisine to bring insight into the long history of cultural mix and transition in the Middle East, reminding us that even as war persists, our humanity helps to preserve our civilization, and our foods bind our communities and our families. VERDICT A highly recommended personal perspective on political and cultural aspects of the war-riven Middle East, with an appealing focus on food and its ability to bring people some stability and security in an otherwise unstable society.—Elizabeth R. Hayford, Evanston, IL
Darnton, John. Almost a Family: A Memoir. Knopf. Mar. 2011. c.352p. illus. ISBN 9780307266170. $27.95. AUTOBIOG
Darnton, a journalist and best-selling novelist (Neanderthal), spent his career working for the New York Times, first on local political stories and later overseas, starting in Africa. He received the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for his coverage on Poland. Despite his career success, his memoir is devoted to his personal life, detailing his childhood during and after World War II and his relationship with his mother after the death of his father during the war. In many ways, this is the story of Darnton’s efforts to learn more details about the relationship of his parents and how his father actually died. While he mentions his newspaper career, it is not the primary focus of the book. VERDICT Readers interested in the details of a journalist’s work will be disappointed with Darnton’s use of his career as a mere backdrop. But the narrative he presents, told almost as a mystery story, is engrossing. For memoir readers and those interested in World War II–era family experiences.—Joel W. Tscherne, Bryant & Stratton Coll., Cleveland
Gordon-Reed, Annette. Andrew Johnson. Times Bks: Holt. (The American Presidents).Feb. 2011. c.192p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780805069488. $23. BIOG
Andrew Johnson rose from humble beginnings in the South to serve as Lincoln’s second vice president, thus becoming President just as the Civil War was ending. He showed none of his predecessor’s political finesse and is often viewed as among the worst to hold the office. In this short and brilliantly written book, award-winning author Gordon-Reed (law & history, Harvard Univ.; The Hemingses of Monticello) argues that the nation went from the best President to the worst during this most crucial period of its history. This slim study does cover Johnson from birth to death (1808–75), but the focus is assuredly on his presidency. Gordon-Reed does not seek to improve Johnson’s reputation but to analyze it. She argues that his racism and deep insecurity were central to his failure to work with Congress to craft a workable Reconstruction at war’s end. VERDICT This concise, well-documented, and accessible book is recommended for all college and public libraries.—Theresa McDevitt, Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania Lib.
Parsons, Neil. Clicko: The Wild Dancing Bushman. Univ. of Chicago. 2010. c.256p. illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780226647418. $55; pap. ISBN 9780226647425. $18. BIOG
Parsons (formerly history, Univ. of Botswana; King Khama, Emperor Joe, and the Great White Queen: Victorian Britain Through African Eyes) chronicles the life of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus exhibit Franz Taibosh (d. 1940), the South African Bushman who performed as Clicko. The author’s amalgam of details, gleaned from painstaking research in various official records, is confusingly presented and casts more light on the Anglo profiteers and familiars of Taibosh than on the man himself. Thus, this narrative manages only to dehumanize him in memory as he was in life, with insufficient explication provided until the book’s end, by which time the cohesive representation of Taibosh’s internal life as well as work and relationships comes across as too little, too late. VERDICT Despite impressive scholarship, Parsons fails to capture either attention or imagination in this account. The commentary on the inherently paternalistic and overtly racist nature of Taibosh’s circumstances seems an afterthought when it should have been a clearly defined foundation of the discussion. Not recommended.—Jewell Anderson, Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. Lib., Savannah
Reagan, Ron. My Father at 100: A Memoir. Viking. 2011. c.240p. ISBN 9780670022595. $25.95. AUTOBIOG
Ronald Reagan was “easy to love but hard to know,” writes his son, Ron (not Jr., as he has a different middle name from his father) in this affectionate memoir, published on what would have been Reagan’s 100th birthday. The book, primarily devoted to Ron’s reflections as he visits Illinois locales and researches his father’s youth at the Reagan Library, is the son’s story of attempting to know his father better. The autobiographical component, which includes a few episodes of Ron’s mild adolescent rebellion, is relatively small in comparison with Ron’s efforts to reconstruct Ronald Reagan’s internal narrative of his own life, one in which Reagan was “creator and star…director and story editor” of a production where, in early frames as a lifeguard and college football player, he learned to be a hero who would one day “save the world.” VERDICT Ron Reagan, up against extant works by biographers, two sisters, brother, mother, and his father himself, may disappoint readers looking for much new information about the 40th President. But sometimes in awe of while sometimes bemused by his “square” of a dad, Ron delivers what many others have not, a down-the-middle portrait that admirers of his father and some memoir fans will likely enjoy.—Bob Nardini, Nashville
Retief, Glen. The Jack Bank: A Memoir of a South African Childhood. St. Martin’s. Apr. 2011. c.288p. illus. ISBN 9780312590932. $24.99. AUTOBIOG
Retief (English & creative writing, Susquehanna Univ.) grew up in South Africa in a minority within a minority—the son of a moderately progressive, Roman Catholic, English family among the Afrikaners—in a place where one might find lions lazing on the school yard basketball court. His quasi-idyllic childhood ended abruptly when he was sent to a boarding school where the older students used beatings with cricket bats (the “jacks” of the title) as a bizarre currency in a perverse game. The pubescent Retief’s growing awareness of his nascent homosexuality didn’t help; nor, later, his attraction to black men at a time of heightened racial tensions, which led him to join the antiapartheid movement. His memoir can sound like something out of the 19th century, but references to popular North American TV shows make it clear that this was fewer than 30 years ago. VERDICT Retief has a skillful, subtle style that conveys a sense of atmosphere and his own otherness that grips even when he describes in detail the sordid brutality of boarding school life. This memoir should appeal to LGTB readers looking for something beyond the standard gay coming-of-age story and, incidentally, to anyone interested in the social history of South Africa as apartheid was ending.—Richard J. Violette, Greater Victoria P.L., B.C.
Wake, Jehanne. Sisters of Fortune: America’s Caton Sisters at Home and Abroad. Touchstone: S. & S. Apr. 2011. c.416p. illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781451607611. $27. BIOG
Covering 100 years, from America’s Revolutionary beginnings to the death of the last surviving sister at the height of the Victorian age, Wake (Princess Louise: Queen Victoria’s Unconventional Daughter) tells the story of the four Caton sisters, granddaughters of the wealthy Charles Carroll of Maryland, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration. Based on unpublished archival sources, this is a meticulously researched, highly readable narrative. Born into a world of wealth and breeding, the sisters were unusually independent, financially savvy, and politically conscious. They traveled overseas and mixed in Europe with the best of post-Waterloo society. This engrossing biography focuses primarily on the three eldest sisters, who came to make their homes in England during a formative period in Anglo-American relations. Wake provides revealing glimpses into the anti-Catholic and anti-American biases of the period, with the sisters’ lives challenging the era’s stereotypical assumptions about women’s lack of financial acumen. VERDICT Enhanced by illustrations revealing the homes, fashions, and personalities of the time, this fascinating book yields rich insights into a world where wealth gave certain women unprecedented access to power and influence. Intended and recommended for readers interested in history and the romantic world of 19th-century European aristocracy.—Marie M. Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., NJ
COMMUNICATIONS
Davis, Alison & Jane Shannon. The Definitive Guide to HR Communication: Engaging Employees in Benefits, Pay, and Performance. FT: Pearson. Mar. 2011. c.304p. index. ISBN 9780137061433. $39.99. COMM
Davis (coauthor, Your Attention Please: How To Appeal to Today’s Distracted, Disinterested, Disengaged, Disenchanted, and Busy Consumer), CEO of her own employee communication firm, has teamed up with Shannon (73 Ways To Improve Your Employee Communication Program) to write this complete human resources (HR) guide to effective communication with employees. They begin by recommending that the HR department treat employees as customers of the company’s benefits and services. The authors describe the elements of this novel approach, including knowing your employees; constructing effective messages based on that knowledge; identifying appropriate communication tools, formats, and venues; and assessing communication outcomes. Shannon and Davis then review proven communication strategies in recurring HR situations, with examples drawn from their consulting work as well as published research. VERDICT The strength of this informative and well-documented guide lies in the many examples of effective messages and strategies, accompanied by easy-to-follow checklists, tips, and additional resources. Highly recommended for students of communications and business as well as current HR professionals.—Jane Scott, George Fox Univ. Lib., Newberg, OR
ECONOMICS
Kasarda, John D. & Greg Lindsay. Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next. Farrar. Mar. 2011. c.480p. bibliog. ISBN 9780374100193. $28. BUS
Kasarda (Kenan Distinguished Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship, Kenan-Flagler Business Sch., Univ. of North Carolina) developed the “aerotropolis” concept—a combination of a giant airport, planned city, business hub, and shipping center—for cities in China, the Netherlands, Africa, and the United States, among other locations. In the 20th century, airports were generally built on the city’s periphery. With increased air travel, the need for overnight shipping, and expanded global business networks, however, the pattern is changing. Kasarda and journalist Lindsay present not only the theories but the nitty-gritty stories of how the concept was put into practice, the people involved, and an examination of the factors leading to the transformation of these cities. The text includes an extensive bibliography for further reading and research. VERDICT This thoughtful study of the aviation-centric city plan and its impact on city planning, globalization, and world trade, among other factors, should be read by business students and faculty, practitioners, and interested lay readers. Highly recommended.—Lucy Heckman, St. John’s Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY
Linkner, Josh. Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System To Drive Breakthrough Creativity. Jossey-Bass. Feb. 2011. c.240p. illus. ISBN 9780470922224. $26.95. BUS
Linkner, founder and CEO of ePrize, one of the top online interactive promotions companies, outlines why businesses need to stay creative to stay competitive. After noticing that businesses have work flows and systems in place for almost every aspect of corporate behavior except creativity, Linkner designed a five-step process to manage innovation as part of daily, monthly, and annual goals. While the individual steps focus on keeping employees alert and responsive to new ideas, the fundamentals of the process mirror established project-management theory. The book provides checklists and questionnaires that spur readers through the process, as well as dozens of examples that highlight the effectiveness of creativity in the workplace. VERDICT One of the few books that outline a method for incorporating creativity within standard operating procedures, this will appeal to general business readers as it provides a straightforward plan for boosting innovation.—John Rodzvilla, Emerson Coll., Boston
Luntz, Frank I. Win: The Key Principles To Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary. Hyperion. Feb. 2011. c.304p. ISBN 9781401323998. $25.99. BUS
Luntz, a controversial political pollster, interviewed a fascinating list of “winners” such as Larry Bird, Rich DeVos, and Arnold Schwarzenegger to illustrate his “Luntz Lessons” about winning. Unfortunately the fruit of these interviews is sprinkled throughout the text; it would have been much more useful and engaging to see the interviews intact. List-based self-help books (this one has 13 attributes of winners and nine P’s of winning) have the unenviable task of repackaging common sense. What sets them apart is theme and personality. Here Luntz leans primarily on personality, but his tone is so colloquial that it undermines his authority. Also, at various points the text loses focus on strategies for winning in business as Luntz instead opines that Google is creepy and Steve Jobs is a demigod, among other non sequiturs. VERDICT This guide fails to rise above the extant mass of motivational books. But fans of Luntz’s previous best seller, Words That Work, or his Fox News appearances may be drawn to it.—Robert Perret, Univ. of Idaho Lib., Moscow
Magnus, George. Uprising: Will Emerging Markets Shape or Shake the World Economy? Wiley. 2011. c.368p. index. ISBN 9780470660829. $34.95. ECON
Books addressing issues related to China’s economic rise are not unusual; what sets this title apart is the level of detail Magnus (senior economic adviser, UBS Investment Bank; The Age of Aging: How Demographics Are Changing the Global Economy and Our World) provides in laying out the complex, multifaceted relationship between the United States and China. Drawing on history, demographics, politics, and economics, he paints a picture of a multipolar post-crisis world, with the United States and China its reluctant de facto leaders. Noting weaknesses in China’s financial and economic governance, however, Magnus concludes that only the United States is positioned to pilot the world through the after-crisis turbulence and its reverberations. The United States will have to take the lead in establishing a new economic order. The author also sheds light on the major emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and others) and the impact of both climate change and demographics on the world’s economic future. VERDICT The level-headed, disinterested approach and the non-overbearing inclusion of relevant data make the book appropriate for deepening one’s understanding of present geopolitical tectonics. This is highly recommended to any audience interested in political economy.—Jekabs Bikis, Dallas Baptist Univ., TX
EDUCATION
Professor X. In the Basement of the Ivory Tower: Confessions of an Accidental Academic. Viking. Apr. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780670022564. $25.95. ED
In his author’s note, Professor X, who teaches English composition and literature at two small colleges, describes this book as a “quest narrative.” Seeking to expound the controversial essay of the same name that he wrote for the Atlantic Monthly, he guides readers toward the view of higher education as a business more focused on making profit than producing graduates. Humorous, critical, and self-deprecating, his meandering story reads like a journal. Professor X exposes the failures of colleges and indirectly raises questions about the preparation of students during the early years of schooling. VERDICT Critics of the current state of higher education will find plenty in Professor X’s book to bolster their arguments against the corporate nature of education; however, readers undecided on the issue and seeking insight are likely to be distracted by his multiple references to literature. Whether readers agree or disagree with the professor’s summation of American colleges and, by extension, the K–12 education system, the recent crackdown on for-profit colleges and universities makes this book of interest.—Tamela Chambers, Chicago Public Schs.
HISTORY
The Civil War: The First Year Told by Those Who Lived It. Library of America, dist. by Penguin. Feb. 2011. c.816p. ed. by Brooks D. Simpson & others. index. ISBN 9781598530889. $37.50. HIST
Drawing on diaries, letters, speeches, newspaper reports and editorials, memoirs, songs, poems, and other sources, the editors bring together a rich variety of voices relating or remembering the crisis of the Union from Lincoln’s election in 1860 through the first year of war. Running through these accounts is white Southerners’ certainty in the right of secession and their right to undertake war to defend slavery’s interest and white man’s liberty, as is the certainty of Northerners in the right and necessity of saving the Union by whatever means to continue the great experiment in self-government. At the same time, confusion and doubt reign as contemporaries worry about how to achieve their ends and whom to trust to do so. VERDICT Readable and riveting, this “you are there” collection makes real the sense of urgency that gripped Americans as the nation came apart and as the war began, 175 years ago. An excellent primer on why the Civil War mattered to those living it. Highly recommended. [Look out for LJ’s roundup of several more sesquicentennial Civil War titles in the 3/15/11 issue.—Ed.]—Randall M. Miller, Saint Joseph’s Univ., Philadelphia
Davis, William C. The Rogue Republic: How Would-Be Patriots Waged the Shortest Revolution in American History. Houghton Harcourt. Apr. 2011. c.416p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780151009251. $28. HIST
Davis (history, Virginia Tech) tells the compelling story of a series of early 19th-century rebellions over sovereignty and the short-lived West Florida Republic of 1810. After the American Revolution, England ceded its Florida territories to Spain, which retained sovereignty even as massive adjacent lands became American after the Louisiana Purchase. Rabble-rousers such as Samuel and Reuben Kemper took advantage of the uncertain political, economic, and cultural climate that resulted from competing and multiple territorial transfers to lead violent but unsuccessful rebellions with questionable aims. Then a more organized and politically motivated, almost bloodless rebellion led to the establishment of an independent West Florida Republic that lasted fewer than three months, with President Madison stepping in and absorbing the region into America. VERDICT Well written and deeply researched as this is, further exploration into the intentions and actions of Presidents Jefferson and Madison and the larger context of American expansionism would have made for an even more comprehensive and important book. A dense and detailed work of scholarship, not for lay readers, but for students of the region’s history.—Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia
DiSilvestro, Roger L. Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands: A Young Politician’s Quest for Recovery in the American West. Walker. Mar. 2011. c.368p. photogs. maps. bibliog. ISBN 9780802717214. $27. HIST
The frontier West and its importance to Theodore Roosevelt and in turn the American nation is explored in depth by naturalist/historian DiSilvestro (senior editor, National Wildlife magazine; In the Shadow of Wounded Knee), updating the account first told by Hermann Hagedorn in 1921 and included in a few chapters of Edmund Morris’s epic The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. DiSilvestro successfully communicates the western spirit of the Dakota Badlands that became an essential component of the personal identity of the future President. Drawing upon a wealth of archival and biographical writings, the author paints a picture of a grief-stricken New Yorker (following the death of his wife in childbirth and the death of his mother), politician, and socialite, who reinvented himself as a frontier cattle rancher, big-game hunter, and conservationist. Much information is included on the eastern establishment’s get-rich-quick western ranching fantasies, which Roosevelt saw disintegrate in the infamous winter of 1886–87. VERDICT Highly recommended as useful to scholars and accessible to general readers, this work focuses on the nature of the Badlands crucible that ultimately recast Roosevelt’s sense of confidence and purpose as a participant in American governance.—Nathan E. Bender, Laramie, WY
Fagan, Brian. The First North Americans: An Archaeological Journey. Thames & Hudson, dist. by Norton. Apr. 2011. c.272p. illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780500021200. $34.95. ARCHAEOL
Writing for lay readers, Fagan (anthropology, emeritus, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara; Cro-Magnon: How the Ice Age Gave Birth to the First Modern Humans) synthesizes theories and archaeological data in his survey of approximately 15,000 years of Native American history and culture in North America. He begins by examining several of the theories concerning the arrival of native peoples on the continent but cautions that the paucity of evidence makes it too early to make definitive statements on the topic. He then traces the evolution of cultures in various locales, beginning with the Paleo-Indians and ending with Native American groups such as the Iroquois and Pueblo at the time of European contact. A particular strength of the work is the author’s examination of Mound Builder ritual and cosmology, which are presently hot topics among academics but scarcely mentioned in books aimed at the general public. VERDICT This highly recommended work should be read alongside David J. Meltzer’s First Peoples in a New World: Colonizing Ice Age America.—John Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY
Gelardi, Julia P. From Splendor to Revolution: The Romanov Women, 1847??1928. St. Martin’s. Feb. 2011. c.512p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780312371159. $32.50. HIST
Freelance historian Gelardi (In Triumph’s Wake: Royal Mothers, Tragic Daughters, and the Price They Paid for Glory) tells the story of the downfall of the Romanov empire, from Alexander III to Nicholas II, through the distinctive perspectives of four of its powerful if lesser-known women: Danish-born Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, mother of the last reigning Romanov, Nicholas II; and her in-laws, Queen Olga of Greece, Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, of both Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg, and Duchess Marie Pavlovna of Russia. Gelardi does an exceptional job of relating the last years of the Romanovs via the formerly underutilized perspectives of the women behind the men. VERDICT While Orlando Figes’s Natasha’s Dance: A Cultural History of Russia used Tolstoy’s War and Peace as its framework, telling some of the same story, Gelardi offers a more richly detailed account, sure to captivate those with a deep interest in Russian and interrelated European history. Highly recommended.—Lisa Guidarini, Algonquin Area P.L. Dist., IL
Hall, David D. A Reforming People: Puritanism and the Transformation of Public Life in New England. Knopf. Apr. 2011. c.272p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780679441175. $29.95. HIST
Long an eminent scholar of New England Puritanism, Hall (Bartlett Professor of New England Church History, Harvard Divinity Sch.; Ways of Writing: The Practice and Politics of Text-Making in Seventeenth-Century New England) returns to the fertile ground of Colonial New England to construct a new ideological framework of a Puritan world based on equity and established through compromise and mediation. The core of this concisely written, scholarly work centers on Hall’s argument that freed from an environment in England that limited political, social, and intellectual reform, Puritans in early 17th-century New England established “churches, civil governments, and a code of laws that collectively marked them as the most advanced reformers in the Anglo-colonial world.” Hall contends that the society that emerged in New England was not the result of an authoritarian theocracy or an emergent liberalism but the consequence of a realistic negotiation that struck a delicate balance between liberty and authority. VERDICT Hall has produced a remarkably sophisticated and lucid work that ultimately shifts the established paradigm and opens up numerous avenues for further research. Highly recommended for students and historians of Colonial American history and religion.—Brian Odom, Pelham P.L., AL
Rasenberger, Jim. The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America’s Doomed Invasion of Cuba’s Bay of Pigs. Scribner. Apr. 2011. c.480p. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781416596509. $32. HIST
Almost 50 years ago, on April 17, 1961, the U.S. government and anti-Castro exiles launched the Bay of Pigs invasion to remove the Communist regime in Cuba. Instead, as Rasenberger (America, 1908: The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, the Invention of the Model T, and the Making of a Modern Nation) vividly shows, this Mission Impossible became a Cold War fiasco that strengthened Castro’s hold and tarnished the reputation of the United States throughout the world. CIA director Allen Dulles and master spy Richard Bissell are faulted here for their ill-conceived plans; however, Rasenberger concludes that JFK’s decision to cancel air support strikes was the main reason for the failure. This gripping investigation relives the events as they unfolded on a day-to-day and hour-by-hour basis. Especially absorbing is the harrowing story of 1,113 prisoners of the Cuban government (others had already been executed) and the effort to win their release. The author’s father worked for JFK to free the captives. VERDICT This important and engrossing work, offering updated history owing to recently declassified documents, will appeal to general readers and historians, especially those who enjoyed Howard Jones’s The Bay of Pigs.—Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA
Wilkinson, Toby. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt. Random. Mar. 2011. c.656p. photogs. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780553805536. $35. HIST
For decades introductory courses on ancient Egypt have featured Alan Gardiner’s Egypt of the Pharaohs and John A. Wilson’s The Culture of Ancient Egypt. Wilkinson (development director & fellow, Clare Coll., Univ. of Cambridge) now provides a comprehensive survey incorporating the most recent discoveries and theories. Unlike his predecessors, Wilkinson does not end with the fall of the last native Egyptian dynasty but includes a fascinating study of the Ptolemaic period. The narrative is so engrossing that lay readers will find it hard to put down, while those who want more will find extensive endnotes that further explore topics, along with citations. The author has opted to use forms “most closely approximating the original usage” for the names of ancient sites (exceptions include Memphis and Thebes.) Even though the modern name is given in parenthesis after the first usage, this can confuse the nonspecialist. A place name equivalency table or cross-referenced index would have helped. VERDICT Despite that reservation, this book will serve as a standard for general readers and college students alike who seek to be immersed in the 3000-year pageant of Egyptian civilization. Highly recommended for Egyptophiles and all public and academic libraries.—Edward K. Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., Ft. Pierce, FL
Wright, Patrick. Passport to Peking: A Very British Mission to Mao’s China. Oxford Univ. 2011. c.352p. illus. index. ISBN 9780199541935. $34.95. HIST
Americans were forbidden to visit “Red China” after 1949, but Britishers could soon go. In 1954, former prime minister Clement Attlee found himself sipping tea with Chairman Mao—amazingly, the first sitting or former Western head of state ever to talk with the leader of new China face to face. Attlee’s was the first of three British delegations, which included wildly assorted and quarrelsome painters, philosophers, labor leaders, and arch conservatives, that took the then quite arduous journey to Peking long before President Nixon went in 1972. Wright (Inst. of Cultural Analysis, Nottingham Trent Univ., UK; Iron Curtain: From Stage to Cold War) unfolds a rich, sometimes comic tale of how sympathizers and skeptics alike were tested by Communism in action as well as by Chinese brandy. Wright shows us where they flinched, diverted their eyes, or struggled to understand China’s new nationalism and experiment in socialism. VERDICT Highly recommended as a diverting but solid tale for those interested in China.—Charles W. Hayford, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL
Zuckoff, Mitchell. Lost in Shangri-La: The True Story of a Plane Crash into a Hidden World. Harper: HarperCollins. May 2011. c.400p. photogs. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780061988349. $26.99. HIST
Zuckoff (journalism, Boston Univ.; Robert Altman: The Oral Biography) presents an engaging story about the survival and ultimate rescue of three American service people who crashed in the dense jungles of New Guinea toward the end of World War II. While that is exciting enough in its own right, what makes Zuckoff’s story an essential read is the interaction between these survivors and the indigenous tribe they encountered after crashing. Humorous and at times dangerous misunderstandings arose between the Americans and the indigenous people during the 46-day ordeal in the jungle. The tribe had never encountered white people before and assumed their “guests,” including a young female WAC corporal, were spirits whose arrival fulfilled a prophecy of the end of the world. In a sense, this prophecy was true as after the rescue and the war, the Americans, Europeans, and Indonesians returned and changed the way of life that these tribes had followed for centuries. VERDICT This excellent book will be enjoyed by anyone who loves true adventure stories of disaster and rescue such as Alfred Lansing’s Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage.—Michael Farrell, Reformed Theological Seminary Lib., Oviedo, FL
LAW & CRIME
Alves, Maria Helena Moreira & Philip Evanson. Living in the Crossfire: Favela Residents, Drug Dealers, and Police Violence in Rio de Janeiro. Temple Univ. (Voices of Latin American Life).Mar. 2011. c.272p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781439900048. pap. $32.95. CRIME
Alves (State and Opposition in Military Brazil) and Evanson (history, emeritus, Temple Univ.) have produced a timely look at Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, or slums, which, with their narrow streets, crowded conditions, and spotty infrastructure, sprouted in the mountains above the city. With the world descending on Rio for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, Brazil is focused on public security. Drug trafficking is rampant in the favelas, but the policy against the bandidos historically has been one of repression, causing dangerous confrontations with the police and bystander deaths and injuries. Most of the book consists of interviews with favela residents, police, and government officials. The community members’ interviews are most compelling, as they detail not only the violence and threat of violence they live with daily but also the strong sense of community and hope for better days. The interviews with officials are at times frustrating; they are defensive and excuse the current situation as an inherited problem and hide behind the Brazilian constitution. At times, the interviewers lose their objectivity, especially with the government officials. VERDICT An important book for sociology and human rights collections that will also appeal to readers interested in crime and politics.—Karen Sandlin Silverman, Ctr. for Applied Research, Philadelphia
Balsamo, William & John Balsamo. Young Al Capone: The Untold Story of Scarface in New York, 1899–1925. Skyhorse, dist. by Norton. Mar. 2011. c.320p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781616080853. $24.95. CRIME
This story of Capone’s early years in Brooklyn is a captivating look at one of the 20th century’s most notorious criminals. With the assistance of his brother John, noted Capone historian William Balsamo compiles a compendium of little-known facts about the gangster’s formative years from 1899 to 1925. One novel feature of this biography is the use of first-person accounts from those who knew Scarface and were part of his inner circle during this time. The road to Chicago was paved with incidents ranging from how he received the scar and developed his famous stare to more serious crimes in his neighborhood, including the precursor to the infamous St. Valentine’s Day massacre. The inclusion of 16 pages of original black-and-white photographs from the private collection of William Balsamo, a distant relative of Brooklyn’s first godfather, Batista Balsamo, provides a rare perspective. VERDICT This riveting and detailed narrative will draw readers in. Highly recommended for those interested in criminology and the psychology of crime.—Claire Franek, MSLS, Brockport, NY
PARAPSYCHOLOGY
Godwin, Joscelyn. Atlantis and the Cycles of Time: Prophecies, Traditions, and Occult Revelations. Inner Traditions. 2011. c.448p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781594772627. pap. $19.95. PARAPSYCH
Atlantis, the fabled lost civilization, has fascinated people for ages. Much has been written about it by a variety of authors relying on different sources. Godwin (music, Colgate Univ.) here attempts to bring divergent theories together in one scholarly volume. He offers a logical approach to this vast topic by starting with the theories that are rooted in scientific fact. Many authors attempt to offer possible locations for Atlantis as proof of the island’s existence. French astronomer Jean-Sylvain Bailly places Atlantis in the Arctic Circle, giving specific map coordinates from ancient literature to verify his claim; other authors’ theories are rooted in the metaphysical, including ancient prophecy or paranormal communication. VERDICT Godwin pulls together the many disparate topics associated with the myth of Atlantis from a number of sources and presents them in a well-organized, scholarly work. For serious students of history or anthropology only. Godwin covers a vast amount of material but in doing so sacrifices readability.—Susan Flaherty, Portland P.L., ME
POLTICAL SCIENCE
Greenfield, Jeff. Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternative Histories of American Politics; JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan. Putnam. Mar. 2011. c.448p. ISBN 9780399157066. $26.95. POL SCI
Greenfield (senior political correspondent, CBS News; The People’s Choice: A Novel) offers three what-if political tales with a familiar cast of Presidents and politicos operating in alternate but plausible historical circumstances. This is a particularly good contribution to the alternate history genre because it relies on nonfiction works, memoirs, and the author’s experience as a political pundit. Greenfield’s spirited writing reaches its high point when he describes how the Cuban Missile Crisis resulted in a limited nuclear war in 1962 during Lyndon Johnson’s presidency (Johnson became President in January 1961, one month after president-elect Kennedy was killed in a bomb explosion). The second story explores Robert F. Kennedy’s election and turbulent presidency, following the failed assassination attempt by Sirhan Sirhan after the 1968 California primary. The final scenario weaves a complex web of Gerald Ford defeating Jimmy Carter in 1976, followed by Ford’s failed presidency, and the 1980 election of Gary Hart, who defeated Ronald Reagan in a close race. Readers will snicker over the ending’s indication that the more things change, the more they stay the same. VERDICT This book will hold the interest of those who enjoy political thrillers but will greatly appeal to nonfiction readers of this convulsive era.—Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA
Rosenbaum, Ron. How the End Begins: The Road to a Nuclear World War III. S. & S. Mar. 2011. c.320p. index. ISBN 9781416594215. $28. INT AFFAIRS
Rosenbaum ( Explaining Hitler ) argues that the world is in an especially precarious position with the very real danger of nuclear war. He recounts close calls in recent history from many familiar players: India vs. Pakistan, Russia vs. the United States, Israel vs. Iran and terrorist groups, and North Korea’s current provocations. He also covers other newer nuclear weapons holders, such as China and Taiwan, and devotes entire chapters to potential issues relating to such human variables as the possibility that someone in the chain of command may question the order to push the button to start a nuclear war. He also considers the importance of numbers: Does the number who could potentially be killed factor into the decision making for nuclear war? What if the decision makers don’t think clearly or if they jump the gun? VERDICT Painstakingly researched, with 25 pages of notes, Rosenbaum’s book shows that he has clearly done his homework. Predicting outcomes entails speculation, so whether Rosenbaum is correct in his argument remains to be seen. Pointing out how many hot spots there are in the world is eye-opening to the general reader and is particularly timely as more nations become nuclear strongholds. —Krista Bush, Shelton Public Schs., CT
PSCYHOLOGY
Anderson, Susan. Taming Your Outer Child: A Revolutionary Program To Overcome Self-Defeating Patterns. Ballantine. 2011. c.304p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780345514486. $25. SELF-HELP
Are you repeating unhelpful, destructive patterns of behavior? Anderson (The Journey from Abandonment to Healing), a social worker in private practice, attributes this sabotaging behavior to your “Outer Child,” a part of personality that takes over when your “Adult” function is weak. This Outer Child is likened to an early teenager who is not mature enough to handle the needs and emotions of the “Inner Child” and lacks the Adult’s support and wisdom. In the first step toward integration, the Adult takes charge and communicates with the Inner/Outer Child through journal writing, correspondence, or role play. As caretaker, the Adult identifies and visualizes future goals and then enlists help from both Inner and Outer Child in taking small steps to change behavior. As this process is repeated, new routines are established, and the brain’s ability to coordinate among regions that control emotion and cognition is strengthened. Anderson does not discount the role of past trauma but shows that self-defeating behavior can be changed without in-depth examination and resolution. VERDICT A helpful scenario, requiring determination and commitment, for dealing with difficult issues. This will appeal to readers seeking change.—Lucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CA
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Spencer, Rainier. Reproducing Race: The Paradox of Generation Mix. Lynne Rienner. 2010. c.355p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781588267511. $68.50;pap. ISBN 9781588267764. $27.50. SOC SCI
Spencer (anthropology & Afro-American studies, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas; Challenging Multiracial Identity) asserts that large numbers of young biracial Americans—“Generation Mix,” as he puts it—will not alter the essential elements of U.S. race relations. A multiracial America is nothing new. Spencer correctly, albeit repeatedly, points out that almost all of today’s African Americans have some European ancestry. He shows that even in today’s multiracial dynamic, white is considered to be at the top of the racial hierarchy while black remains stuck at the bottom. Spencer alleges that the leaders of the new multiracial identity movement are predominantly white mothers of children from mixed marriages who, as Spencer claims, are seeking a status for their children that will be perceived as superior to black. Thus, the multiracial identity movement is based, according to Spencer, on the age-old premise of white supremacy. Rather then forging new racial categories, Spencer calls for Americans to deconstruct whiteness and denounce the very concept of biological race. VERDICT Unfortunately, while Spencer makes many valid observations about the perception of race in this country, his message is mixed in a sea of academic babble that will retain the attention of very few.—Robert Bruce Slater, Stroudsburg, PA
TRAVEL & GEOGRAPHY
Paul, Alan. Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming a Star in Beijing. Harper: HarperCollins. Mar. 2011. c.272p. ISBN 9780061993152. $25.99. TRAV
Seize seems too mild a word for what Paul did with the opportunities presented by his family’s three-year stint in Beijing. Getting a family of five across the globe and settled into a new home, new jobs, and new schools? Check. Writing an award-winning online column for the Wall Street Journal about the expat experience? Check. Turning a piecemeal group of multinational musicians (including a U.S. Treasury official on saxophone) into “Beijing’s premier blues and jam band”? Check. That’s a whole lot of living to pack into three years, and it’s reflected here in the exhilarating pace of Paul’s writing as he bounces easily from domestic scenes to rehearsals and gigs to insights about culture and the human condition. The one constant is Paul’s enthusiastic commitment to reflection and self-improvement, which shines through in every chapter. VERDICT A rollicking, inspiring narrative with plenty of memorable characters and scenes. Paul’s career hot streak shows no signs of slowing with this entertaining memoir.—Neil Derksen, Gwinnett Cty. P.L., Lawrenceville, GA
TRAVEL WITH TAR HEELS
Daniel, Diane. Farm Fresh North Carolina: The Go-To Guide to Great Farmers’ Markets, Farm Stands, Farms, Apple Orchards, U-Picks, Kids’ Activities, Lodging, Dining, Choose-and-Cut Christmas Trees, Vineyards and Wineries, and More. Univ. of North Carolina. (Southern Gateways). Mar. 2011. c.304p. photogs. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780807871829. pap. $18.95. TRAV
Rev up your transportation and head for the North Carolina countryside—this is one comprehensive and persuasive guide. Local travel writer Daniel paints a charming picture of the attractions of rural life that should motivate even the most dedicated couch potato. Were you aware that poet Carl Sandburg’s home in Henderson County includes a park and a farm you can visit? Interested in picking your own okra? If you’ve always wanted a powder puff made from sheep’s wool, you can get one at the Good Stuff market in Madison County. You’ll find details for all these activities and more among the locations Daniel has visited and evaluated, organized here by county and into five regions that range from apple country in the mountains to the sandy soil of the Coastal Region and Sandhills. The guide also includes a glossary, information sources, recipes, and an alphabetical list of county-by-county offerings. VERDICT Although the limited focus of this exceptionally good guide won’t make it an essential purchase for many public libraries, it is a delightful, informative read.—Janet Ross, formerly with Sparks Branch Lib., NV
Miller, Joe. Backpacking North Carolina: The Definitive Guide to 43 Can’t-Miss Trips from Mountains to Sea. Univ. of North Carolina. (Southern Gateways). Mar. 2011. c.256p. illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780807834558. $45; pap. ISBN 9780807871836. $20. TRAV
In this nice little trail guide, Miller (100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina) covers fewer trails than some North Carolina hiking guides (there are 43 here, compared with almost 500 in Hiking North Carolina) but makes up for this lack of breadth with a good amount of depth. Each trail is described in detail far beyond the basics, right down to things like the nearest outdoor outfitter. Miller also shares his personal impressions of every trail, which read like a friend giving you solid advice. This is useful because to an inexperienced backpacker a trail’s length, elevation, and difficulty alone may not add up to an accurate idea of its true character. Miller’s one- to two-page descriptions of the trails are invaluable firsthand impressions, and they really bring the trails to life. VERDICT This is an excellent guide for backpackers of all skill levels. Even experienced hikers will appreciate the way Miller captures the personality of these trails.—John Helling, Bloomfield P.L., IN
