Books & Recordings

Books

Living Well Now and in the Future: Why Sustainability Matters

By Randall Curren and Ellen Metzger

MIT Press, 2017

Curren, a professor of philosophy and chair of the department at Rochester, and Metzger, a geologist and codirector of the Bay Area Environmental STEM Institute, define sustainability and propose an ethics of sustainability grounded in common morality and intergenerational justice. The book includes three case studies.

Time on My Hands: My Misadventures in Time Travel

By Daniel Kimmel ’77

Fantastic Books, 2017

Kimmel presents a parody science fiction novel that’s “a comic romp skewering all of the clichés of the time travel genre.” The story takes place on and around the University’s River Campus.

Wreckage: My Father’s Legacy of Art and Junk

By Sascha Feinstein ’85

Bucknell University Press, 2017

Feinstein, a professor of English at Lycoming College, recounts life with his father, “a brilliant artist and a hoarder of monumental proportions” whose life the author frames as a “double helix of creativity and destruction.”

Facials Can Be Fatal

By Nancy Cohen ’70, ’70N

Five Star Publishing, 2017

Salon owner Marla Vail’s new day spa hits a snag when a client dies during a facial. The novel is the 13th in Cohen’s Bad Hair Days mystery series.

Warrior Churchmen of Medieval England, 1000–1250

By Craig Nakashian ’10 (PhD)

Boydell & Brewer, 2016

Nakashian explores the problematic relationship of medieval clerics to warfare through the lens of individual English clerics who chose to participate in battle. Nakashian is an associate professor of history at Texas A&M University–Texarkana.

Inhabiting Interdependence: Being in the Next Economy

By John Bloom ’70

Steiner Books, 2016

With the goal of promoting meaning, purpose, and sustainability, Bloom makes a case for re-envisioning “natural resources, work, and forms of capital in their origins as gifts rather than commodities.” Bloom is a vice president at RSF Social Finance.

Gene and Dorothy: A 70-Year Love Story

By Roberta Dayer ’57

CreateSpace, 2016

Dayer traces the history of her parents’ lives in their own words, from their childhoods in New Mexico in the early 1900s, to Pittsburgh and Buffalo, to Silicon Valley in the 1990s.

Elizabeth Bishop’s Brazil

By Bethany Hicok ’90W (Mas), ’96 (PhD)

University of Virginia Press, 2016

Hicok presents a comprehensive study “on the transformative impact of Brazil on the life and art” of the poet Bishop, whom she argues “developed a political poetry of engagement against the backdrop of America’s Cold War policies and Brazil’s political revolutions.” Hicok is a professor of English at Westminster College in Pennsylvania.

Ethics in Forensic Psychology Practice

By Randy Otto ’81 et al

Wiley, 2017

Otto coauthors a resource for mental health professionals who conduct evaluations, research, or teach in a variety of legal contexts. Otto is a professor in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the University of South Florida.

Finding Maria

By Peter Szabo ’85

Chickadee Prince Books, 2017

Szabo’s memoir tells the story of his friendship with his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary, that began after “a grudging afternoon visit” he made to see her when he was a young man. Szabo has published a volume of poetry, Death and Life (Bloomingdale Press), and multiple magazine articles.

The Wise Guide to Winning Grants

By Waddy Thompson ’75E

Stitch-in-Time Books, 2017

Composer Thompson provides a guide to researching and writing effective grant applications to foundations, corporations, and government agencies, as well as to individuals offering major gifts. He draws on more than 30 years of successful grant writing.

Monster Truck-tastrophe

Written and illustrated by Chrishelle Lawrence ’05

CML Literature, 2017

Lawrence tells the story of a little boy who wakes up as his favorite monster truck. Lawrence, an author and illustrator, publishes under the name C. M. Lawrence and through her CML imprint, dedicated to producing books with African-American characters.

Exploring White Privilege

By Robert Amico ’87 (PhD)

Routledge, 2017

Amico, a professor of philosophy at St. Bonaventure University, offers a sociological analysis of white privilege, the relationship between race and social and cultural standing, interspersed with personal narratives. The book also includes tools for readers to explore how race influences their own social and cultural standing.

Cotton and Race Across the Atlantic: Britain, Africa, and America, 1900–1920

By Jonathan Robins ’10 (PhD)

University of Rochester Press, 2016

Robins examines how African farmers, African-American scientists, and British businessmen attempted to capitalize on the global demand for cotton—and declining production in the American South—by bringing the American model of cotton production to Africa in the early decades of the 20th century. An assistant professor of history at Michigan Technological University, Robins shows the origins, failings, and eventual evolution of the project.

Geriatric Rehabilitation: From Bedside to Curbside

Edited by K. Rao Poduri ’80M (Res)

CRC Press, 2017

Poduri draws upon a diverse group of practitioners offering insights into the care needs of older patients. Poduri is chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Medical Center.

Differential Diagnosis in Neuroimaging: Brain and Meninges

By Steven Meyers ’94M (Flw)

Thieme Publishers, 2016

Meyers, a professor of radiology and imaging sciences, and director of the radiology residency program at the Medical Center, offers an overview for practitioners on “identifying and diagnosing brain pathologies based on location and neuroimaging results.” Meyers published two additional books in 2016 in the same series: Differential Diagnosis in Neuroimaging: Head and Neck and Differential Diagnosis in Neuroimaging: Spine.

The Sangrita Club

By Amanda Adams

220 Communications, 2017

Under her pen name, Chicago entrepreneur Phyllis Adams ’00S (MBA) tells the story of four women executives from diverse backgrounds who “look beyond their differences, celebrate their similarities, and develop a sisterhood.”

Slam-Dunk Success: Leading from Every Position on Life’s Court

By Charles Norris ’68 and Byron Scott, with Jon Warech

Center Street, 2017

Norris, former CEO and president of McKesson Water and Dear Park Spring Water and board chair of Freshpet, teams up with former NBA star and head coach Scott to offer leadership advice applicable in multiple fields. The book includes a foreword by Earvin (Magic) Johnson.

Recordings

Seeker: The Piano Music of Piet Swerts

By Russell Hirshfield ’88E

Phaedra, 2017

Hirshfield performs a selection of works by the contemporary Belgian composer Swerts. Hirshfield teaches applied piano, music theory, and chamber music at Western Connecticut State University.

Low Standards

By David Finck ’80E

Soundbrush Records, 2016

Composer, arranger, and producer Finck performs on bass and vocals in a mix of standards by Johnny Mandel, Stephen Sondheim, Irving Berlin, and others, as well as two original tracks. Pianist Gary Versace ’93E (MM), who joins Eastman’s jazz studies and contemporary media department in fall 2017, also performs on the recording.

Small Storms: A Collection of Short Pieces by Bohuslav Martinu˚

By Meredith Blecha-Wells ’09E (DMA) and Sun Min Kim ’08E, ’14E (DMA)

Navona Records, 2017

In her debut recording, cellist Blecha-Wells performs works by the Czech composer Martinů, accompanied by pianist Kim. Blecha-Wells is an associate professor of cello at Oklahoma State University and Kim is an assistant professor of music at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Moments of Arrival

By Linda Lister ’93E (MM)

Centaur Records, 2016

Soprano Lister performs works by contemporary American composers Elena Roussanova, Armand Quilliontine, Lee McQuillan, and Julius Williams. Lister is accompanied by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, with Williams conducting, as well as Coro di Praga.

Ebony and Ivory

By Ron Gidron ’71S (MBA)

Ron Gidron, 2017

Gidron performs two volumes of original melodies named for “the noble materials from which keyboards used to be made.” The melodies draw from Gidron’s multicultural background as the descendant of Russians and Poles, born in Israel, and living in Spain.

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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.