Alumni Bookshelf

Through the myriad media of visual arts, Janetta Rebold Benton, MA ’69, documents the history of ancient art in Art of the Middle Ages (Thames & Hudson, 2002). Benton’s study details medieval history with an analysis of social structure and the influence of the Church, and concurrently provides a comprehensive look at the changing face of art and architecture across continents and cultures. The book includes a chronology, maps, and explanations of the media and techniques used by medieval artists.

Adoptive motherhood takes center stage in Like Our Very Own: Adoption and the Changing Culture of Motherhood, 1851-1950 (University Press of Kansas, 2001), by Julie Berebitsky, MA ’90. The book charts the growing social acceptance of adoption as a legitimate way to form a family. The work focuses especially on how adoptive mothers have challenged and expanded dominant understandings of maternity. Berebitsky is an assistant professor of history and director of the women’s studies program at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.

Marian Edelman Borden, BA ’70, is the author of Unbelievably Good Deals & Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can’t Get Unless You’re a Student (McGraw-Hill Contemporary Books, 2002). As Borden points out in the preface to this, her latest book, “Of course, not all fun costs money—you also have to know where to find the action in order to join in.” Finding the action, and financing it, are the primary topics on this useful resource for bargains and discounts on just about everything a student might want. Borden doesn’t ignore that “adventures” word in the title, either; there’s an A to Z listing of potential adventures, complete with e-mail addresses for easy contact. Bon Voyage!

Caring is as integral a part of good medicine as is advanced medical technology, says Leighton E. Cluff, MD ’49, in The Lost Art of Caring (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001). The volume, co-edited by Cluff and Robert H. Binstock, contains essays by prominent members of the health care field on many aspects of caring for the sick and disabled—by health care providers, families, communities, society, and the nation. Cluff is immediate past president and trustee emeritus of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Award-winning freelance writer Cynthia Polansky Gallagher, BA ’80, takes us back to the dark days of the second World War in her first novel, Far Above Rubies (Booklocker.com, 2001). Based on a true story, a Dutch woman is caught in the nightmare of Hitler’s regime when she volunteers to accompany her six stepdaughters to Auschwitz. The events that transpire during and after the war exemplify a rare courage in an extraordinary heroine. Gallagher is currently at work on her second novel, Remote Control.

Enjoy Teaching: Helpful Hints for the Classroom (Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2001) by Carol Gildner, MA ’84, is designed to provide fresh ideas for enjoyment and success in teaching. Gildner’s 30 years of classroom experience have contributed to a book seen as equally appropriate for the veteran and the first-year teacher. Home school educators also may well find Gildner’s insights useful.

New York lawyer Barry L. Goldstein, BA ’74, offers practical advice to victims of domestic violence and helps them find the necessary resources to escape in Scared to Leave, Afraid to Stay: Paths From Family Violence to Safety (Robert D. Reed Publishers, 2002). The book presents the stories of 10 women who fought the courts and their abusers to gain safety for themselves and their children. An attorney since 1978, Goldstein served for 14 years on the board of directors of My Sisters’ Place, one of the leading domestic violence agencies in the country. He also works with the Community Change Project of the Volunteer Counseling Service in Rockland County, N.Y., teaching classes about domestic violence classes for men convicted of domestic violence crimes.

Andrew R. Harrison, BA ’88, has written his first book, Passover Revisited: Philadelphia’s Efforts to Aid Soviet Jews, 1963-1998 (Associated University Presses, 2002). Harrison is the archivist for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, N.J.

Career journalist Roy Hoopes, BA ’43, MA ’48, turns his attention to the Nixon era is his new historical novel, A Watergate Tape (Forge Books, 2002). In the book, Hoopes takes us back to the tumultuous year of 1973—the year after the Watergate break-in—when the scandal hit Capitol Hill at full steam. Hoopes skillfully mixes fact with fiction to create a memorable mystery focusing on the unsolved murder of Nixon-hating Senate staffer Tom Cranston, who is found on a Delaware beach with a bullet in his head. Also hitting the bookstores this year was a paperback edition of Hoopes’ Americans Remember the Home Front: An Oral Narrative of the World War II Years in America (The Berkley Publishing Group, 1977, 2002).

The vital role of seapower in driving Saddam Hussein’s invading Iraqi forces out of Kuwait is highlighted by Edward J. Marolda, PhD ’90, and Robert J. Schneller Jr., in Shield and Sword: The United States Navy and the Persian Gulf War (Naval Institute Press, 2001). The volume describes in detail the U.S. Navy’s role in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, one of the most successful campaigns in American military history. Marolda is also the author of The Washington Navy Yard (Naval Historical Center, 1999), a richly illustrated history of the Navy’s oldest shore establishment. A recognized authority on the modern operations of the U.S. Navy, Marolda is senior historian of the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., serving as principal adviser to the director of naval history.

Kathy Wilker Megyeri, MAE ’69, MA ’83, and Joan Graham evoke laughter, tears, and waves of nostalgia as they recall their years in the North Star State in Minnesota Memories (MinnMemories@aol.com. 2002). The stories in the collection focus on real people, places, and events—from town celebrations to eccentric relatives and dreams gone awry.

During the past two centuries, a vibrant prison press has chronicled life behind bars in American prisons, championed inmate causes, and challenged those in authority who sought to silence it. In an updated paperback edition of his book Jailhouse Journalism: The Fourth Estate Behind Bars (Transaction Publishers, 2002), James McGrath Morris, MA ’00, presents the dramatic history of prison journalism, the lives of the people who brought it to life, and the controversies that often surround it. A historian and high school teacher, Morris is the author of several books and numerous articles that have appeared in both scholarly publications and magazines.

Sleep is the focus of a new book by Mark R. Pressman, BA ’73, entitled Primer of Polysomnogram Interpretation (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002). Written for physicians and psychologists training to become clinical sleep specialists, the volume covers the basics of reviewing and interpreting results of overnight sleep studies. Pressman is director of sleep medicine services at the Lankenau and Paoli Memorial Hospitals in suburban Philadelphia, as well as clinical professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia.

New York Post daily TV columnist Michael Starr, BA ’83, recently wrote his third book, Mouse in the Rat Pack: The Joey Bishop Story (Cooper Square Press, 2002). His 1997 book Art Carney: A Biography was re-published in April by Applause Books.

Recognized across the country for his essays, poems, and short stories, Randy T. Sultzer, MEM ’92, recently published The Wicca: And Other Tales (Writers Club Press, 2002), a collection of short stories for young adults. Sultzer brings together the stories featured in The Wicca in “their attempt to inspire the young reader to better handle the many challenges in life.”