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Spring 2004

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Briefly Noted




	This book is on sale at major booksellers nationwide, by calling (413) 545-3530, or at www.suchsweetthunder.com.

BRIEFLY NOTED
Such Sweet Thunder
From 1989 to 1999, UMass Amherst hosted the Black Musicians Conference and Festival. This decade-long celebration of blues, gospel, jazz and international music has recently been commemorated by the Fine Arts Center’s publication of Such Sweet Thunder: Views on Black American Music. A collection of essays edited by Mark Baszak ’83, ’93G, with photographs by Edward Cohen ’76, the work captures the energy and the message of the hundreds of master musicians and vocalists who performed at the festival. Photos of such icons as Doc Cheatham, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby McFerrin, Odetta, and Sarah Vaughan are interspersed with spirited personal memoirs by artist-authors. Among the stories told are growing up in the same neighborhoods as Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson and discussing matters of race on the phone with Miles Davis.

She’s the Boss
After working her way up the ladder in various public relations firms, Caitlin (Saalfield) Friedman ’92 finally struck out on her own. She and her friend, Kimberly Yorio, then combined their separate agencies creating YC Media, which manages celebrity-chefs. In the process of the merger, they decided to collect their learned wisdom in a useful guide for other women entrepreneurs. The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business (Harper Collins, $21.95) is packed with advice on everything from health insurance to government regulations The authors augment their own experiences with advice, opinions, and true stories from women business owners from a wide range of industries.

No Place Like Home
Barbara Gates ’78G was diagnosed with breast cancer and it sparked an inner journey that she shares in a new memoir, Already Home: A Topography of Spirit and Place (Shambhala Publications, $21.95). Prompted by her recognition of mortality, she researches the hills and shoreline around Berkeley deeply and thoughtfully, from the region’s geologic history to its cultural legacy. Along the way she reminds us to similarly examine the places we call home. Gates, co-editor and founder of Inquiring Mind: A Journal of the Vipassana Community, brings her spirituality to bear on the meaning of everyday living. For more information please visit www.inquiringmind.com.

Bible Redux?
Peter Manseau ‘96 met Jeff Sharlet while working at the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass. The pair founded the online literary magazine www.KillingtheBuddha.com, then decided to take the show on the road—and write about it. Killing the Buddha: A Heretic’s Bible (Free Press, $25) is a travelogue of their pilgrimage to discover the underbelly of America’s religious culture. Along the way the authors tell the stories of Bible-Belt preachers and Jesus freaks, cowboys and storm chasers. Structured like the Bible, the 13 Books of Scripture are written by contributing authors while the Book of Psalms is the work of Manseau and Sharlet. The result is a collection of God-is-everywhere narratives shining a light on the many faces of true belief.

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Books Received