UC authors do it right
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.

DEAD SHOT
River Rats
by Dorothy Weil, MA (A&S) '69, PhD (A&S) '74

Buoyed by river lore and legend, three long-time Cincinnati friends begin a dangerous search along the Ohio for a crossbow-wielding sniper. Struggling through an undercurrent of romance and jealousy, they follow clues to an ominous river town, a backwoods Kentucky village and the ruins of an old steamboat on the banks of the Mississippi. The killer, however, is much closer to home.

Author Weil, a self-proclaimed “river rat” whose childhood was spent on steamboats and other river craft, has written widely about her Ohio River heritage, but this is her first murder mystery. “Cincinnati Horizons” reviewed her entertaining memoire, “The River Home,” in November 2002.

Order information: Internet booksellers: Amazon and Barnes & Noble, local bookstores and Publish America.


WATERY GRAVES
Lake Champlain’s Sailing Canal Boats
by Art Cohn, A&S '71

Underwater remains of a 19th-century vessel, found near Burlington, Vt., puzzled area historians in 1980. The 118-year-old artifact was shaped like a canal boat, but had a centerboard and evidence of rigging for sails. The find turned out to be a once-common type of freight carrier: a sailing canal boat. Crew would hoist sails to traverse Lake Champlain, then lower canvas and spars to continue their voyage through regional canals.

The 1980 discovery led to creation of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, whose co-founder and executive director is UC alumnus Cohn. Historic preservation, education and underwater archaeological exploration of the lake’s collection of 100 or more wooden ships are among the museum’s concerns. Cohn’s lavishly illustrated, 8-by-11-inch book contains hundreds of photos, maps and drawings that help explain the military and commercial importance of the region’s early watercraft.

Order information: Call 802-475-2022 or order at the Web site.

IN BLACK AND WHITE
Cincinnati’s Over The Rhine
by Kevin Grace, assistant head of UC archives, and Tom White, head of acquisitions for University Libraries

In this venerable Cincinnati neighborhood, diversity rules. Residents, religions and ethnicities have shifted many times since its birth in the early 19th century, creating not only a unique community, but also one with persistent economic and social problems. Its grace is that Over The Rhine continues to enjoy its heritage of glorious architecture as well as a vitality of spirit that influences the entire city’s political, civic and religious opinion.

To help readers understand and appreciate this distinctive neighborhood, the authors have selected more than 200 historic images -- from early German settlements to more contemporary trademarks, including the ill-fated subway tunnels, Music Hall’s symphony and opera greats, Findlay Market’s abundant produce and current urban rehabilitation projects.

Order information: Barnes & Noble, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Amazon and the UC Bookstores.

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