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Books and Recordings

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Books and Recordings is a compilation of recent publications by University alumni, faculty, and staff. For inclusion in an upcoming issue, send the work’s title, publisher information, author, and author’s class year, along with a brief description, to Books and Recordings, Rochester Review, 147 Wallis Hall, P. O. Box 270033, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0033; e-mail: rochrev@rochester.edu.

Books

A Profane Wit
By James William Johnson
University of Rochester Press, 2004

In a book subtitled “The Life of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester,” Johnson, professor emeritus of English at the University, examines the life of the infamous British peer known for his reputation as a libertine who repented on his deathbed.

Healing the Nation: Soldiers and the Culture of Caregiving in Britain during the Great War
By Jeffrey S. Reznick ’92
Manchester University Press, 2004

Reznick, executive director and senior research fellow at the Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund, explores life behind the lines for ordinary British soldiers who served on the Western front during World War I.

The Unending Mystery: A Journey Through Labyrinths and Mazes
By David Willis McCullough ’59
Pantheon Books/Random House, 2004

McCullough, a former member of the Book-of-the-Month editorial board, explores the social and cultural history of labyrinths and mazes (and discusses the differences between them) from prehistoric to modern times.

Died Blonde
By Nancy J. Cohen ’70N
Kensington Publishing, 2004

The sixth in Cohen’s Bad Hair Day mystery series, the book features South Florida hairstylist Marla Shore in an investigation that takes her to a smoky bingo parlor, a spooky town run by spiritualists, and sultry Delray Beach.

Prayers for Animals
By Carol J. Adams ’72
Continuum Books, 2004

Adams, who holds a master of divinity degree from Yale and has taught at the Perkins School of Theology, collects her original prayers for animals in the volume.

One Dear Land
By Ellen Doherty Hadley ’77
AuthorHouse, 2004

Hadley mixes nonfiction and fiction to outline her ideas for using religious, economic, and social concepts to help shape a better future for the world.

How to Say It for Executives
By Phyllis Mindell ’77W (EdD)
Prentice Hall Press, 2005

Mindell, a member of the Warner School’s advisory board and an adjunct professor of pharmacology at Georgetown University’s medical school, offers guidance to current and future leaders about communicating their ideas more effectively and efficiently.

A Singing Ambivalence: American Immigrants Between Old World and New
By Victor Greene ’60 (MA)
Kent State University Press, 2004

Greene, professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, examines how immigrant groups used music as part of the process of building new lives in the United States.

The Inner Voice: The Making of a Singer
Renée Fleming ’83E (MM)
Viking, 2004

In what she calls an “autobiography of my voice,” Fleming recounts the years of study and work she’s undertaken to become one of the world’s premier sopranos. Fleming also released a new CD, Handel (Decca, 2004), with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the direction of Harry Bicket.

Across America: The Lewis & Clark Expedition
By Maurice Isserman ’79 (PhD)
Facts on File, 2004

Isserman, a professor of history at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, who also edits the five-volume Discovery and Exploration series of which the volume is a part, details the Corps of Discovery’s adventures to the Pacific and back.

Annotated Bibliography of Percussion Music Publications
By Geary Larrick ’70E (MM)
The Edwin Mellen Press, 2005

Incorporating professional memoir, analysis, biography, and bibliography, the book is based on a study of 200 percussion works produced by Per-Mus Publications of Columbus, Ohio.

Back-of-the-Envelope Physics
By Clifford Swartz ’45, ’51 (PhD)
Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003

Swartz, professor emeritus of physics at SUNY Stony Brook, compiles 101 examples of “back-of-the-envelope” calculations to celebrate a quantitative approach to solving physics problems. Swartz also published Miracles, Among Other Things, a collection of verse plays that are intended to be read as entertainment in churches (Trafford Publishers, 2003).

Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
By J. M. Smith, Hendrick C. Van Ness ’45, ’46 (MS), and M. M. Abbott
McGraw-Hill, 2005

First published in 1949, the new edition is the seventh for the widely used textbook by Van Ness, professor emeritus at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Smith; and Abbott.

Strassenfeger
By Karen Adams-Rischmann ’69
Heyne, 2003

Published in a German translation from the unpublished (as of last fall) English original, the book is a detective novel set in the German city of Karlsruhe.

Inheritance Law and the Evolving Family
By Ralph C. Brashier ’82E (MA)
Temple University Press, 2004

Brashier, the Cecil C. Humphreys Professor of Law at the University of Memphis, examines American inheritance laws in a world of changing family commitments.

American Diplomats: The Foreign Service at Work
Edited by William D. Morgan ’49 and Charles Stuart Kennedy
IUniverse, 2004

Morgan, a former U.S. consul general in Beirut, Paris, and Montreal, and Kennedy describe the lives of American Foreign Service officers through a collection of interviews with members of the diplomatic corps.

Bob Bly’s Guide to Freelance Writing Success
By Robert W. Bly ’79
Filbert Publishing, 2004

The longtime freelancer offers advice for those interested in making a living as freelance writers.

Recordings

West End Avenue
Jeff Campbell ’92E (MM), John Hollenbeck ’90E, ’91E (MM), and John Wojciechowski
Musique Cambeaux Productions, 2003

Bassist Campbell, associate professor of jazz studies and contemporary media at the Eastman School, percussionist Hollenbeck, and saxophonist and clarinetist Wojciechowski play originals and compositions of Berlin, Mingus, and Parker.

Dan Locklair: Chamber Music
Various Artists
Albany Records, 2004

The two-CD set includes six chamber works composed by Locklair ’81E (DMA), professor and composer-in-residence at Wake Forest University.

Higher Ground
Todd Beaney ’85E (MM) and Yoshiko Maruyama
Self-produced, 2004

The album by Beaney, the music director at Wilton Baptist Church in Wilton, Connecticut, includes arrangements for violin and piano of hymns and worship songs in contemporary settings.

Touches of Bernstein: The Complete Published Piano Music of Leonard Bernstein
By Thomas Lanners ’91E (DMA)
Centaur Records, 2005

The recording by Lanners, an associate professor of piano at Oklahoma State University, features the American composer and conductor’s music for piano, including his first published work.

Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time
Janice Weber ’74E, piano; Jonathan Cohler, clarinet; Andrew Mark, cello; and Ilya Kaler, violin
Ongaku Records, 2004

The CD features the “Quartet for the End of Time” and the composer’s “Theme and Variations” for violin and piano.

Panoramicos
By Margi Griebling-Haigh ’82E
Musicalligraphics, 2004

The recording of chamber music includes three compositions by Griebling-Haigh. Performers include Randall Fusco ’81E, ’83E (MM), Thomas Sperl ’84E, Bryan Dumm ’84E, ’86E (MM), and Molly Fung-Dumm ’86E.