Books & Recordings
Books
The Anatomist, the Barber-Surgeon, and the King: How the Accidental Death of Henry II of France Changed the World
By Seymour Schwartz ’57M (Res)
Prometheus, 2015
Combining details of the history, politics, and medicine of Renaissance Europe, Schwartz, who holds the title of Distin- guished Alumni Professor of Surgery at Rochester, tells the story of the freak jousting accident that killed Henry II of France, his physicians’ efforts to save him, and the political fallout following his demise.
Wages of Sin
By Dave Ewans ’13 (MA)
Ravenswood Publishing, 2015
Ewans presents his debut novel, “a sprawling urban fantasy that couples explorations of identity in modern-day America with the preternatural power struggles of comic book fantasy.”
Techno-Orientalism: Imagining Asia in Speculative Fiction, History, and Media
Edited by David Roh, Betsy Huang ’94 (PhD), and Greta Niu
Rutgers University Press, 2015
Roh, Huang, and Niu present a collection of essays exploring the ways in which Asia and Asians are depicted in relation to technology in literature, film, and new media. The collection “critically examin[es] the stereotype of Asians as both technologically advanced and intellectually primitive.”
Antiracist Teaching
By Robert Amico ’87 (PhD)
Paradigm Publishers, 2015
Based on his 14 years of experience in the classroom, Amico explores ways to open discussions of race and privilege, especially among white students. Amico is a professor of philosophy at St. Bonaventure University, where he chairs the university’s Diversity Action Committee and the Council on Discrimination and Harassment.
Corita Kent: Art and Soul
By April Dammann ’69 (MA)
Angel City Press, 2015
Dammann, a Los Angeles author and theatrical producer, tells the life story of the California artist and radical nun Sister Mary Corita, who rose to prominence in the 1960s.
Dreamhouse
By Penny Drue Baird ’73
Monacelli Press, 2015
Baird, named a Top 100 interior designer by Architectural Digest, presents a photographic exploration of her work, including luxury Manhattan apartments, Tuscan-inspired villas in California, and family homes in the Northeast. The book includes an introduction by interior decorator Mario Buatta.
The World Turned Upside Down: The Second Low-Carbohydrate Revolution
By Richard Feinman ’63
NMS Press, 2015
Feinman, a professor of cell biology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and an expert in nutrition and metabolism, offers an accessible guide to the science of nutrition, as well as the story of “the first low-carbohydrate revolution . . . what killed it, and why another one is happening.”
A Winning Ticket on Queens Boulevard
By Janet Linder ’78
Blurb, 2015
Linder’s children’s picture book tells a story of Depression-era Queens. The book is illustrated by Eli Portman.
The Creation of Wing Chun: A Social History of Southern Chinese Martial Arts
By Benjamin Judkins ’98 and Jon Nielson
SUNY Press, 2015
Judkins, a political scientist and martial arts expert, explores how and why certain martial arts developed in southern China, and why they’ve become popular worldwide.
Old Is Not a Four-Letter Word
By Susan Towle ’63, ’63N
Ward Street Press, 2015
Towle, a nurse with more than 20 years of experience working in elder care, presents a guide to aging that serves as “a clarion call to change our paradigm from dread and denial of aging to embracing, planning, and preparing for our elder years.”
Lair of the Jade (Revised Trilogy)
By Dalia Woodliff ’62
Amazon Digital Services, 2014
Woodliff offers a revised edition of the trilogy Lair of the Jade, Threads of the Jade, and Torn from the Lair, downloadable as a single, Amazon Kindle e-book. The stories, which begin with “a returning nightmare, a drowning, a witness, and a lost jade stone,” are inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien’s quest motif, as well as by Woodliff’s father’s memoir about the family’s escape from Lithuania during World War II.
Chemical Information for Chemists: A Primer
By Judith Currano ’98
Royal Society of Chemistry, 2014
Currano, head of the chemistry library at the University of Pennsylvania, offers a guide to retrieving and evaluating the vast and diverse body of chemical literature, designed for chemists who lack access to a chemical information professional.
One Step from Normal
By Susan Davis ’64
North Country Books, 2015
Davis presents a historical novel for middle graders set during the 1955 Boston-area polio epidemic.
Building Resistance to Stress and Aging: The Toughness Model
By Richard Dienstbier ’69 (PhD)
Palgrave/Macmillan, 2015
Dienstbier describes how regular physical exercise and mental stimulation activate genes that modify neurochemistry and enhance certain brain structures. Among the results are greater stress tolerance, emotional stability, energy, and memory capacity. Dienstbier is past chair of the psychology department at the University of Nebraska.
Jonas Salk: A Life
By Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs ’68
Oxford University Press, 2015
Drawing on her access to Salk’s sealed archive as well as hundreds of personal interviews, Jacobs reveals details of Salk’s role in developing the first influenza vaccine, his pioneering AIDS research, and his alienation from much of the scientific community in the aftermath of his signature achievement, development of the polio vaccine. Jacobs is the Ben and A. Jess Shenson Professor of Medicine Emerita at Stanford.
An Unexpected Outcome
By Roderick Cyr ’01S (MBA)
CreateSpace, 2015
Cyr’s novel, in which a newlywed husband must choose between faithfulness and temptation, tells a story of “love, broken vows, second chances, and relationship redemption.”
Pediatric Urology for the Primary Care Physician
Edited by Ronald Rabinowitz, William Hulbert ’79M (MD), ’85M (Res), and Robert Mevorach ’85M (MD), ’91M (Res)
Springer, 2015
Rabinowitz, Hulbert, and Mevorach—pediatric urologists at the Medical Center and Golisano Children’s Hospital— offer one of the few guides to pediatric urology intended to help primary care physicians recognize common congenital and acquired urologic problems.
Lake Sammamish through Time
By Kate Thibodeau ’01
Arcadia Publishing, 2015
Thibodeau, a local historian in Washington state, presents a photographic history of Lake Sammamish, once an important center of the Pacific Northwest logging industry, and now a site for recreation and tourism.
Recordings
Capriccio
By Jeremy Gill ’96E
Innova Recordings, 2015
Composer Gill explores the wide-ranging “technical, expressive, and textural possibilities of the string quartet,” through compositions performed by the Grammy Award–winning Parker Quartet. The recording was funded through a New Music USA project grant.
Through the Mist
By Pamela Marshall ’76E
Ravello Records, 2015
Composer Marshall presents a recording of chamber music for winds and strings, performed by chamber groups in the Boston area, and inspired by “visits to the Costa Rican rainforest, a New Hampshire lake, and imaginary primordial landscapes.”
Another Thing
By Joshua Hatcher ’08, ’09 (KEY)
Self-published, 2014
In his second album, Hatcher, performing on vocals, guitar, and keyboards, explores “feelings of solitude and loss that accompany significant life changes.”
Haunted America Suite
By Jim ’90E (DMA) and Celeste Shearer
Summit Records, 2015
The husband-and-wife duo, based in New Mexico, present music for horn, tuba, and piano, inspired by Mexico and the American Southwest.
Eastern Standard Time
By Chris Vadala ’70E
Art of Life Records, 2015
Saxophonist Vadala performs a selection of originals as well as songs by Sonny Rollins, Duke Ellington, Chuck Mangione ’63E, and others, with a quartet that includes Rick Whitehead (guitar), Barry Hart (drums), and John Previti (acoustic bass.) Vadala is a professor of saxophone, director of jazz studies, and holds the title of Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Books & Recordings is a compilation of recent work by University alumni, faculty, and staff. For inclusion in an upcoming issue, send the work’s title, publisher, author or performer, a brief description, and a high-resolution cover image, to Books & Recordings, Rochester Review, 22 Wallis Hall, P. O. Box 270044, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0044; or by e-mail to rochrev@rochester.edu.