University of Rochester

Rochester Review
September–October 2013
Vol. 76, No. 1

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Books

Cultural Considerations: Essays on Readers, Writers, and Musicians in Postwar America

By Joan Shelley Rubin

University of Massachusetts Press, 2013

Rubin, professor of history at Rochester, explores the processes of cultural mediation that take place as texts pass from creators to consumers. The essays examine the contest of authority between critics and readers, the efforts of scholars to broaden exposure to the humanities, and related issues.

Reading’s Non-Negotiables: Elements of Effective Reading Instruction

By Rachael Gabriel ’05

Rowman & Littlefield, 2013

Gabriel, assistant professor of reading education at Connecticut College, presents fundamental elements of reading instruction, along with an explanation for the research that supports them, and practical applications. Gabriel is also the coeditor of Perform- ances of Research: Critical Issues in K-12 Education (Peter Lang).

Chaucer, Gower, and the Vernacular Rising: Poetry and the Problem of the Populace after 1381

By Lynn Arner ’00 (PhD)

Penn State University Press, 2013

Arner, associate professor of English at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, explores the transmission of Greco-Roman and European literature into English in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.

Statesmanship, Character, and Leadership in America

By Terry Newell ’66

Palgrave Macmillan, 2013

Newell, a former Air Force officer and educator and trainer at the U.S. Department of Education, explores the ways in which key leaders in American history have acted at critical turning points. In seven case studies, Newell emphasizes the importance of “transcendent purpose, artful politics, and compelling persuasion” in effective leadership.

West Side Story: Cultural Perspectives on an American Musical

By Elizabeth Wells ’04E (PhD)

Scarecrow Press, 2012

Wells, the Pickard-Bell Chair in Music at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada, examines the iconic American musical from cultural, historical, and musical perspectives.

Horse Latitudes

By Morris Collins ’04

MP Publishing, 2013

Collins tells the story of a photographer’s quest to save a girl from slave traders in a Central American country on the brink of revolution.

Emerald City: The Birth and Evolution of an Indian Gemstone Industry

By Lawrence Babb ’69 (PhD)

SUNY Press, 2013

Babb, professor emeritus of anthropology and Asian studies at Amherst College, explores the ethnic, religious, and cultural dynamics within the gemstone industry of the northern Indian city of Jaipur.

Cognitive Bias in Fantasy Sports: Is Your Brain Sabotaging Your Team?

By Renee Miller ’97, ’05M (PhD)

Xlibris, 2013

Miller, a lecturer in Rochester’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, acquaints lay readers with concepts such as confirmation bias, omission bias, and the pseudocertainty effect, and demonstrates how these forms of biased thinking hinder our ability to make rational decisions in fantasy sports, as well as in other areas of our lives.

Queer Bergman: Sexuality, Gender, and the European Art Cinema

By Dan Humphrey ’06 (PhD)

University of Texas Press, 2013

Grounding his research in LGBT and queer historiography as well as filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s own statements alluding to homosexuality, Humphrey, assistant professor of film studies and women’s and gender studies at Texas A&M University, argues that Bergman’s films offer a radical critique of heteronormative values.

The Haunted Martyr

By Ken Cameron ’53

Orion, 2013

Author Cameron presents a work of historical crime fiction, set in early 20th-century London and featuring the detective Denton. This year Cameron also published The Backward Boy and The Past Master. All three books are available in e-book format.

Alice

By William Hermance ’56, ’60M (MD)

Xlibris, 2013

Hermance tells a true story of Alice, a girl who suffers from severe developmental disabilities stemming from a difficult delivery.

Heart of the Matter: A Practical Guide to Attitude in Teaching

By Rachel Kramer Theodorou ’93 et al

Publishers Solutions, 2009

Theodorou, a public school teacher in Newton, Mass., and a faculty member at Brandeis University, offers a companion to her coauthors’ book Heart of the Matter: The Role of Attitude in Teaching (2007). The guide includes interactive exercises for educators to deepen connections to individuals and subject matter.

The Path to More Sustainable Energy Systems

By Ben Ebenhack and Daniel Martinez ’98, ’07 (PhD)

Momentum Press, 2013

Ebenhack, associate professor of petroleum engineering at Marietta College, and Martinez, assistant research professor of environmental science at the University of Southern Maine, offer an overview of the state of sustainable energy systems. The book explores the roles fossil and renewable energy resources will play in the 21st century in both the developed and developing worlds.

Thomas Harris and William Blake: Allusions in the Hannibal Lecter Novels

By Michelle Leigh Gompf ’93 (MA)

MacFarland, 2013

Gompf, associate professor of English at Concord University, examines explicit and implicit allusions to Blake throughout Harris’s four Hannibal Lecter novels, arguing that Blake’s work and philosophy regarding the nature of evil provide a philosophical foundation for the novels.

Barry Baskerville Solves a Case

By Richard Kellogg ’70W (EdD)

Airship, 2013

Kellogg, professor emeritus of psychology at Alfred State College, presents a picture book that introduces children to the aspiring young detective Barry Baskerville, and through him, to the methods of legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. Illustrations are by graphic artist Gary Kato.

The College Bound Organizer

By Anna Costaras and Gail Liss ’80

Sourcebooks, 2013

Liss, a member of the advisory board of Young Women’s Leadership Network, coauthors a step-by-step guide to the college application process. The book includes tips and worksheets, advice from admissions professionals, and a foreword by Edward B. Fiske of Fiske Guide to Colleges.

Threads of the Jade

By Dalia Woodliff ’62

Smashwords, 2013

Woodliff offers the second book in her Jade mystery trilogy. The series is inspired by J. R. R. Tolkein as well as her father’s memoir about the family’s exodus out of Lithuania.

The Brotherhood of Battle

By Jerald Marsh ’63

Xlibris, 2012

Marsh profiles more than 300 Civil War soldiers and their families, all from the Tioga County, N.Y., town of Newark Valley.

Just Us Chickens

By Kathy Gilbert ’69 and illustrated by Terre Reed ’69W

CreateSpace, 2013

Gilbert and Reed offer an illustrated poem, in book form, for children. The poem is by Gilbert and illustrations feature paintings by Reed.

Reinvented Lives

By Annie Weissman ’70

Scottsdale Press, 2013

In her first work of fiction, Weissman tells the story of 80-year-old Rae, who loses her memory in a car accident, leaving her care in her daughters’ hands.

Warrior Rogue

By Nancy Cohen ’70, ’70N

Wild Rose Press, 2013

In the second novel in her Drift Lords series, Cohen tells the story of fashion designer Jennifer Dyhr, who discovers new powers while fighting off a terrorist attack.

Handbook of Forensic Psychology (Volume Four)

Edited by Randy Otto ’81 and Irv Weiner

John Wiley & Sons, 2013

Otto, associate professor at the University of South Florida, coedits a revised and updated edition of a standard reference in forensic psychology. Among the topics explored are eyewitness identification, competence to stand trial, criminal responsibility and insanity, reliability of child witnesses, and validity of the polygraph.

The Soulkind Awakening

By Steve Davala ’95, ’96 (T5)

CreateSpace, 2013

Davala offers a work of fantasy fiction in which Soulkind monsters reawaken after a millennium of dormancy.

Recordings

Pacific Ridge

By Emma Lou Diemer ’49E (MM), ’60E (PhD)

Navona/Parma Records, 2013

The recording features three orchestral works by composer Diemer: Santa Barbara Overture, Concerto in One Movement for Marimba, and Concerto in One Movement for Piano.

Colossus

By Colossus

Colossus, 2013

The 17-piece jazz orchestra consisting of Eastman alumni and students presents its debut studio CD. The band includes Dave Chisholm ’13E (DMA), Mike Conrad ’13E (MM), Levi Saelua ’12E, Marc Abrate ’12E, Charlie Carr, Gabe Condon ’13E, Alistair Duncan ’13E, Jacob Dupre, Greg Hammond ’12E, Joe Kozlowski, Jeff Krol ’13E, Matt Krol ’13E, Brendan Lanighan ’15E, Reid Poole ’13E (MM), Erik Stabnau, Karl Stabnau ’11E, and Alexa Tarantino.

Graceful Degradation

By Christopher Wilke ’12E (DMA)

Audiation Media, 2013

Lutenist Wilke performs rare solo pieces from the early classical period, including works by Haydn and his contemporaries.


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.