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Profs' picks of books for lay readers 3:50 p.m., Dec. 22, 2005--Whether you’re indulging your inner astronomer or retooling your physique in 2006, it helps to have some expert advice. UDaily asked UD faculty to suggest books they enjoyed in their fields of study--recommendations the rest of us can use as a road map when we’re making ziggety paths through the bookstores clutching our holiday gift cards. The list includes everything from math-lite bestsellers to must-read geography. The common denominator: being a good read from start to finish. There’s fiction, nonfiction, new bestsellers, old favorites, classics, starter books and more scholarly fare. Recommended by John A. Pelesko, assistant professor of mathematical sciences For a light read: Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich “This is a true story of six MIT students who used math to win several million dollars in Las Vegas,” Pelesko said. “It reads like a thriller and will provide readers with a new answer to, ‘What’s math good for, anyway?’” For those who recall a little math from high school: A Tour of the Calculus by David Berlinski. “This is probably the most entertaining introduction to the ideas and people behind calculus that’s out there,” Pelesko said. Recommended by Lawrence G.J. Duggan, professor of history For those who like novels about the Middle Ages, Duggan recommends Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, set in 12th-Century England, and Sharan Newman’s Catherine LeVendeur series of mysteries set in 12th-Century France and featuring appearances by historical figures such as Abelard, Heloise, Abbot Suger of The Abbey of Saint-Denis, and many other notables.
Recommended by Eric W. Kaler, dean of engineering “Probably the two best books to be reading now are Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond and The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman,’’ Kaler said. “Interesting perspectives on where we are now, and where we are going.”Recommended by Leland Ware, Louis L. Redding Professor Law & Public Policy For readers interested in Martin Luther King’s role in the civil rights movement, Ware recommends Taylor Branch’s Parting the Waters: America in the King Years. “Branch’s book is the best read for an academic or general reader,” Ware said. “It is far more engaging than other books. Taylor’s ability to express the rhythms and speech patterns of many of the characters is extraordinary. Branch also writes engaging narratives about less well-known but important individuals, such as Vernon Jones, the black minister who preceded King in Montgomery, and Bob Moses, a leader of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.” Recommended by Jeanne M. Walker, professor of English Walker, a poet, recommends a gift subscription to Shenandoah, a premier fiction and poetry review founded in 1950 by a group of Washington and Lee University faculty and students, including writer Tom Wolfe. Walker also recommends Billy Collins’ Sailing Alone Around the Room, Mary Oliver’s two-volume New and Selected Poems and Ed Hirsch’s How to Read a Poem: And Fall in Love with Poetry.
Recommended by Brian Hanson, associate professor of geography Glacier Ice by Austin Post and Ed LaChapelle is a classic now available in paperback. Hanson said the book is brief on text and heavy on black-and-white photos, including many taken with large-format, airplane-mounted cameras. The text is written for a general audience, and Hanson said the book surveys the whole range of glaciers worldwide. “Pictures were chosen for what they illustrate, but many border on art,” he said. Recommended by Joseph Pika, professor of political science and international relations Pika suggests two items from his own books-to-read list--Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin and 1776 by David McCullough. “Too few Americans appreciate the political skills of the nation’s most-revered presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington,’’ he said. “Both of these books delve into the unusual political skills displayed by both of these icons during trying times. Politicians can also be great leaders, as proved by both of these men.” Recommended by Tobin A. Driscoll, associate professor of mathematical sciences Driscoll’s current read is Adventures of a Mathematician, the autobiography of Stanislaw Ulam, who worked on groundbreaking projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory beginning in 1944. “It’s the autobiography of one of the great and most versatile mathematical minds of the 20th-Century, including how he invented one of today’s most important techniques in computational physics while playing solitaire,” Driscoll said. “It also includes very human portraits of famous scientists he met as part of the Manhattan Project, where he was a key contributor to the hydrogen bomb.”Recommended by Wallace G. Pill, professor of plant and soil science Pill recommends Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. “Botany of Desire has interesting accounts of the history and impact of several horticulturally important crops,” he said. Recommended by David B. Pong, professor of history Pong recommends two Chinese history books with differing viewpoints--Documentary of a Revolution in a Chinese Village by William H. Fanshan and The Private Life of Chairman Mao by Zhisui Li. “The first is sympathetic to the Chinese communist revolution, but, nonetheless, gives a vivid picture of what it was like for the common folks going through the revolution in the late 1940s. A lively narrative,” Pong said. “The second is critical of Mao--by his personal physician of many years. Dr. Li eventually emigrated to the U.S., and wrote this biography, critical but personal.” Pong criticized the newly published Mao: The Untold Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday, which roundly slams Mao. “Nothing about Mao is unbiased,” Pong said, “but this one by Chang and Halliday, in my opinion, goes over the line.”
Recommended by Thomas M. Leitch, professor of English Leitch said Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman was the best book on film that he read this year. “I’d recommend it to anybody who wants to get a sense of what it was to run a major movie studio, wonders what things were like in Hollywood when it was Hollywood, likes to read about pitched battles between art and commerce, or gets a glow from reading anecdotes about the shenanigans of dozens of glamorous stars and the misadventures behind a hundred movies,” he said. Recommended by Douglas W. Tallamy, chairperson of entomology and applied ecology “I recommend Win-Win Ecology by Michael Rosenzweig. It is written for the layman, explaining the importance of redesigning the landscapes humans have taken for their own use so that they can accommodate other animals,” Tallamy said. “It is our last chance for avoiding the extinction of 95 percent of our species.” Recommended by Chandra L. Reedy, professor of museum studies “I would highly recommend Masterpiece of Deception: An Art Mystery by Judy Lester,’’ Reedy said. ‘Judy Lester is the pen name of Leslie Caryle, who has a Ph.D. in art conservation science from the University of London so you can trust that all of the details about analyzing a painting for authenticity are correct. It’s a very engaging mystery.” Recommended by J.A. Leo Lemay, Winterthur Professor of English Lemay, who has spent decades researching Benjamin Franklin, recommends the catalogue for the National Constitution Center’s blockbuster exhibit Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World. The catalogue, by the same name, was published by Yale University Press. Lemay called it an extraordinarily beautiful book and an extraordinarily good buy at $40. “It is the best scholarly account of Franklin’s furniture and his material world that has ever been attempted,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to browse or to read.” Recommended by Thomas Lathrop, professor of foreign languages and literature Lathrop recommends Brothers in Arms by former basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was inspired by a friend’s tales of his father’s war heroics and researched the real story behind the heroic 761st Negro tank division in World War II. Recommended by Roland R. Roth, professor of entomology and applied ecology The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik is inexpensive and a must-read for every birdwatcher, as well as anyone else intrigued by what a person, or in this case three persons, with an obsession are capable of doing to satisfy it,” Roth said. “Being somewhat aware of such quests, I still was astounded by the lengths these guys went to in their separate secretive, competitive quests to break a record.” Recommended by Michael H. Santare, associate professor of mechanical engineering Santare recommends To Engineer is Human and other books by Henry Petrosky. “To Engineer is a look at the recent history of structural engineering, and how successful designs are often the result of failures,” Santare said. “For the non-engineer, it provides insight into the engineering process, and, for engineers, it is a humbling look at how mistakes are made and what consequences can follow.”
Recommended by Nancy A. Cotugna, professor of nutrition and dietetics Cotugna had two recommendations as New Year’s resolution time rolls around: The American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide by Roberta Duyff, which she called the most complete, easy-to-read and positive food and nutrition book available, and Dieting for Dummies by Jane Kirby, a bestseller that provides weight-loss and exercise strategies for adults and children and the latest findings on diets and exercise trends. Recommended by Danilo Yanich, associate professor in the School of Urban Affairs “I would recommend David Shipler’s book entitled Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land,” Yanich said. “Shipler was The New York Times bureau chief in Jerusalem when he wrote it. It is one of the best pieces that I have ever readŠThe politics of the Middle East still dominate the world stage. Published in 1987, Shipler’s book is an essential one to understand it. It won the Pulitzer Prize.”
Recommended by Janis A. Tomlinson, director of University Museums “I found Edith Grossman’s translation of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes a real page-turner,” Tomlinson said. “No one will argue with the greatness of this classic novel, but Grossman’s translation gives it a contemporary feel, while retaining the original meaning. I don’t know how she did it, but she did. And, given that this year celebrates the 400th anniversary of its publication, seems appropriate to read it again.” Recommended by William Browning, head of technical production for the Profession Theatre Training Program Browning recommended The Backstage Handbook: An Illustrated Almanac of Technical Information by Paul Carter as an inexpensive and very useful source of a wide range of technical information. Recommended by Diane J. Mick, instructor in the School of NursingMick gave Caring for Yourself While Caring for Your Aging Parents by Claire Berman 10 stars. “It addresses a wide range of issues, from identifying a parent’s early needs to making an informed decision on when it’s time for full nursing care,” Mick said. “The book aids caregivers with making health care and financial decisions for older parents and finding community assistance without jeopardizing parents’ independence.”
Recommended by Lawrence P. Nees Jr., professor of art history “Among fiction books this year with an art theme, the top choice seems to be Jonathan Harr’s The Lost Painting, about Caravaggio. I have not read it yet, but will,” Nees said. “People should certainly enjoy Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, but, please, all should understand that, despite the author’s outrageous claims to the contrary, it is fiction.” Nees also recommends Oliver Bank’s The Rembrandt Panel, written in 1980 when Bank was a professor of art history at UD. It is available at [www.Amazon.com]. For nonfiction fans, he recommended Andrew Bridgeford’s 1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry. Recommended by Jeffrey A. Raffel, director of the School of Urban Affairs “I would recommend Scott Turow’s Ordinary Heroes,” Raffel said. “The story centers on a man unearthing his father’s exploits during the Second World War in Europe. The plot is interesting, the characters are well-drawn and many face moral ambiguities and conflict. While the war was one where we could easily tell the good side from the bad, the individual moral dilemmas faced by several men and women as the story progresses make this an excellent book.” Compiled by Kathy Canavan |
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