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.

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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.