Though university folk are generally expected to produce
scholarly works, UC alumni, faculty and staff also write novels, family
histories, personal journeys, self-help books and works of spiritual guidance.
The following are just some of the recently published general-interest
books.
For inclusion in this section, UC-related authors may contact assistant editor Mary Niehaus before submitting their press releases and copies of their new books for review.
House of the Deaf
by Lamar Herrin, PhD (A&S) '78
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It's the worst news a father could hear: Ben Williamson's talented oldest daughter, Michelle, is killed accidentally by a Basque separatist's bomb while on her morning run in Madrid, Spain. In this compelling novel based on a real event, the grieving father is tormented by a need to discover exactly who is to blame, and perhaps to exact some kind of revenge. Driven like the Spanish painter Goya, who late in life was deaf to all but himself, Ben travels to Spain and eventually has his moment alone with the terrorist leader.
The novelist, whose short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Paris Review and Epoch, is the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. "Romancing Spain," a memoir of how he met his Spanish-born wife, will be published in July.
Order information: Online booksellers, local bookstores or directly from http://unbridledbooks.com/page/titles ISBN 1-932961-22-4
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In God's Hands
by Lawrence Kushner, A&S '65
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Rabbi Kushner proves again he is one of America's most creative religious writers, for children as well as adults. This charming picture book (grades K-3, published in 2005) shows how ordinary people become "God's hands" to others.
Jacob, a rich man, usually naps during Torah reading, but one day hears: "You shall bake 12 loaves of challah and set them before me." Believing it is a message from God, he hurries home, bakes the bread, then places it inside the ark at the synagogue. The caretaker, David, enters later to beg God to help his starving family. He is dazzled to find the bread "from God" and takes it home. With the rabbi's help, both come to understand the real miracle.
Kushner, who was ordained from Hebrew Union College in 1969, is also a lecturer, teacher-mentor to rabbinic students and occasional commentator on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." A full list of his books, including "The Way Into Jewish Mystical Tradition" (2000) and "God Was in This Place and I, I Did Not Know" (1991), is available from Jewish Lights Publishing.
Order information: Online and local booksellers or directly from http://jewishlights.com ISBN 1-58023-224-8
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Tales of an American Soldier
by Werner Von Rosenstiel, att. A&S '36
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Cincinnati was the "turning point" in this German exchange student's life. In political science classes at UC, Von Rosenstiel first heard: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." It amazed a youth from Nazi-led Germany, where even speaking one's opinion could mean jail or death.
Although Werner studied law in Germany, as expected, he requested a month in the U.S. after graduation to improve his English. He didn't go back to Germany that year. When he returned, it was as an American soldier, the Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45. Later, he assisted prosecutors at the International War Crimes Tribunal at Nuremberg, where most of the Nazi leaders received death sentences or life in prison.
Von Rosenstiel's book is an intriguing story of honor and love in a time of horror. The author visited UC in 2001 to present a generous endowment to the history department, as well as his collection of books, documents and photographs that he hopes will help students understand "how it came that we would get a Hitler," he said. "Perhaps they can also learn how not to do it."
Order information: Major bookstores, local and online, or from http://www.authorhouse.com ISBN 0-7596-9339-0
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Michael Graves: Images of a Grand Tour
by Brian Ambroziak
foreword by Michael Graves, DAAP '58, HonDoc '82
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Michael Graves, now a master architect, was awarded the American Academy's Rome Prize in 1960, which gave him two years to see and study masterworks in Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Germany, France and England. As he camped his way across the continent -- at 25 cents a night -- he would photograph and make analytical pencil sketches or pen-and-sepia drawings of the structures that interested him, both the monumental and the humble. This collection features 300 of those illustrations.
Graves includes a short foreword, written from a 40-years-later perspective, and a reprint of his 1977 essay, "The Necessity for Drawing," outlining the types and purposes of architectural drawing. Author Ambroziak, a former Graves architecture student at Princeton, and project designer for Michael Graves & Associates, comments on the tour's impact on Graves' life and work. He is currently a professor at the University of Tennessee.
Order information: Online and local bookstores, or Princeton Architectural Press at http://www.papress.com ISBN 156898-529-0
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Any Cat Can Cook: Garfield Learns About Cooking
by Mark Acey, A&S '79, Ed '79, MA (A&S) '82
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If Garfield wanted to make dinner, what dish would he fix? Lasagna cookies, of course! Would he and Odie enjoy the results? Not likely. Instead, some very strange and funny things would happen, according to author Acey, head writer for Paws, Inc. He is often the voice of cartoonist Jim Davis' lovable, exasperating feline.
This colorful picture-book from the Garfield Play 'N' Learn Library -- a collection that teaches young children about such things as fire safety, thoughtfulness and friendship -- demonstrates how trouble can strike when Garfield (or anyone inexperienced in the kitchen) decides to cook without reading directions or following a recipe. Garfield, naturally, stirs up a "Frankencookie" -- a walking, drooling, giant Cookie Blob. To save himself and Odie from being slurped up by the monster, Garfield takes matters into his own paws . er, jaws.
Order information: Amazon.com, Biblio.com. ISBN: 0-307-15728-8
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Delhi: Cincinnati's Westside
by Christine Mersch, MA (A&S) '06
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If not for John Cleves Symmes, who ordered his brother to build a village in 1789 at the South Bend of the Ohio River, there might not be a suburban Cincinnati community known as Delhi. If not for author Mersch and residents who shared their wealth of historic photographs, the pictorial story of Delhi's early years would not have been so charmingly revealed.
Mersch has included photos of horse-and-buggy rigs used by turn-of-the-century milkmen, the mailman and Kroger's grocery, as well as the community's flourishing vegetable, fruit and flower growers, many of whom had German roots. There are group pictures from long-ago Delhi schools and churches that show shy or smiling youngsters with their teachers and clergy. In what must have been the custom, whole families choose the front yard as background for their group picture. Readers can also look into the faces of past community leaders and famous folks who once called this close-knit community their home.
Order information: Amazon.com, local bookstores or directly from http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/ ISBN 0-7385-3440-4
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Mocky's Revinge
by Mark Louis Lehman, MA (A&S) '70, PhD (A&S) '77
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For an eight-year-old, Carrie Ann Watson has a pretty good understanding of how people should treat one another: with kindness. Those who deliberately hurt others are due for some come-uppance. So when Roy, her mother's rude boyfriend, insults Carrie's favorite uncle -- a 40-year-old gay professor of French -- the child struggles for a way to even the score.
Although Uncle Mocky has no interest in "getting back" at Roy, and tells Carrie that hating others "can tear a person up inside . It's not worth it," the girl can't quite agree. She decides to get "revinge," on Mocky's behalf, by writing a book about what she witnessed, sticking strictly to the "facks."
Lehman, who spent 32 years teaching English, was partially inspired to create Carrie's free-form writing voice by the inventive spelling and grammar he encountered in student papers. This novelette is his first work of fiction.
Order information: Amazon.com, local bookstores or directly from http://www.littlepossumpress.com/ ISBN: 0-9770326-2-0
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The Biblical Jesus, from
Genesis Through the Revelation
by Joseph Kanzlemar, EdD '80
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Author of several books on Biblical themes, as well as works about Christian parenting, marriage and family life, Kanzlemar says he finally has written the book he wished he had during his years of pastoral ministry. He describes it as a systematic presentation of the nature and purpose of Jesus, presented sequentially and supported by Bible passages (King James version).
In addition to the text, a set of review questions follows each chapter, ending with a glossary of terms and definitions. While the material may be used for individual reflection, it is also suited for a class or study group. A related teacher's manual is available from www.biblebasedstudies.org
The UC alumnus has degrees in theology and liberal arts, as well as his UC doctorate in education. In addition to pastoral work, Kanzlemar formerly was academic dean and professor of Bible, theology and church history at Bethany Bible College in Canada.
Order information: Amazon.com, local Christian bookstores or directly from http://www.xulonpress.com/ ISBN 1-59781-420-2
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My Lost Summer, a Memoir
by Elizabeth Evans Fryer, MA (A&S) '03
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The odds were definitely against 13-year-old Libbi. While riding along a country road in early July 1983, her horse stumbled and fell. Libbi hit the pavement head first, arriving at the hospital in a coma. Her worried family learned that if she lived, she would be unable to speak, have no control over her body, a feeding tube in her throat, double vision and mental confusion.
Libbi did wake up with all those problems. "Part II" of the book, written from her own memories of recovery, is the heart of this story. The young teen's sense of humor and determination helped her get through long days of frustration and painful therapy.
After several weeks, still without a voice, Libbi learned to control one hand enough to point out her first words in alphabet letters. As her family watched, wondering what she would say, they read: "Stop picking on me." Another time, when she tipped over her wheelchair as she tried to climb into her hospital bed without help, she didn't cry for help; she just took a nap under it. Finally well enough to return to junior high in October, Libbi parked her wheelchair, and asked students to walk her to classes.
Libbi makes the reader want to cheer when she not only graduates from high school and college, but goes on to earn a master's degree. And write a book.
Order information: Amazon.com, local bookstores or order directly from http://www.lulu.com/EEFryer ISBN 1-4116-6296-2
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Creating Lean Corporations --
Re-engineering from the Bottom Up to Eliminate Waste
by Jeffrey Morgan, Eng '88
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To transform a large company into a "lean corporation," Jeffrey Morgan defies conventional wisdom by beginning at the bottom -- with the employees who perform the manufacturing tasks. Each worker is empowered to create and manage his own part of the business process. As each task is examined, relationships between them become clear, as well as the optimum order in which they should be performed.
This is one of three concepts Morgan, an expert in analyzing complex mechanical systems, explains in this, his first book. Each concept is designed to increase quality and lower costs; the one described above is recommended for large, complex and already efficient businesses.
A senior project engineer with the General Motors Powertrain Group for 17 years, Morgan won a "Boss" Kettering Award in 2001 for successfully applying his lean concepts at GM. His work was called one of the most important technological innovations of the year.
Order information: Amazon.com, local bookstores or order directly from http://www.productivitypress.com/ ISBN 1-56327-324-1
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Twilight Zone Scripts of Earl Hamner
by Earl Hamner, CCM '48, and Tony Albarella
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Pop quiz: What do the "Twilight Zone" and "The Waltons" have in common?
Answer: A writer
Because two of the longest-running television shows of all time seem to be part of such disparate genres, the fact that they shared a writer may seem a little odd. But Earl Hamner, Emmy-winning writer, producer, narrator and creator of "The Waltons," says, "I was able to bring a quality to it that hadn't been there before, which was a kind of integration of folk tales and folkish material."
That flavor comes through when reading his eight scripts, which aired in the early '60s and remain in syndication today (as does "The Waltons"). He penned the scripts after writing "Spencer's Mountain," which became a movie and later evolved into the Walton's Mountain saga in the early '70s.
Although the scripts are intriguing by themselves, Tony Albarella adds a wealth of behind-the-scene anecdotes and insider information after each script. Readers will also find additional dialogue, scenes that were never filmed and an in-depth interview with Hamner.
Order information: Amazon.com, local/online booksellers.
ISBN 1-58182-330-4 |
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Editors & Composers 2005."
