Constance Riley ‘73, wrote Chair City of the World (Xlibris, 2009). The story of more than a century in the life of her Timpany/ McConnell/ Riley/ and LaRoche extended family against the background of the chairmaking industry in Gardner, Massachusetts, from 1869 to 2008.
For more on Riley and her book: chaircityoftheworld.com.
Mimi White's ’70 poetry collection, The Last Island (Deerbrook Editions, 2009), has been praised for its unexpected transformations and revelations that arise from common events. The Last Island has received The Jane Kenyon Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry, 2009.
Albin Irzyk ’40 wrote Unsung Heroes, Saving Saigon (Ivy House Publishing Group, 2009)
Product Description (Amazon.com)
Unsung Heroes, Saving Saigon, the latest work by retired Brigadier General Albin F. Irzyk, recounts the harrowing events that occurred in Saigon during the notorious TET Offensive of 1968. Irzyk, as the leader of Headquarters Area Command (HAC) in Saigon, was the citys unofficial Military Mayor, and was at the heart of the action in Saigon when the Viet Cong forces launched attacks all over Vietnam in the midst of that nation s greatest holiday. Though taken by surprise, the forces that Irzyk commanded, none of whom were trained for tactical engagement, rose to the occasion and
courageously helped prevent VC attackers from taking control of key installations in the capital city. Many of these brave men have gone unrecognized for many years, but Unsung Heroes, Saving Saigon corrects that grave error by highlighting their amazingly bold deeds. From the U.S. Embassy to dark, dangerous alleys, numerous battles took place in the middle of Saigon. Many soldiers fought. Some were wounded. Others perished. Unsung Heroes, Saving Saigon will help ensure that they are never forgotten. Cover photo by Don Hirst
Stephen Cummings ’71G wrote Red States, Blue States and the Coming Sharecropper Society (Algora Publishing, 2008).
Product Description (Algora.com)
Countering the conservative Red State culture and its result, a quasi-vassal state indebted to foreign interests, the author analyzes Democratic Party politics and lays out a theoretical justification and historic, economic and social framework for advancing a new set of liberal-progressive ideas. Analyzing Red and Blue regions and the links with economic history, he shows how the Democrats can become the majority party again.
Jill C. Dardig ’74EdD wrote Involving Parents of Students with Special Needs: 25 Ready-to-Use Strategies (Corwin Press, 2008).
Product Description (Amazon.com)
The author provides general and special education teachers with ready-to-use techniques, sample completed forms, and tips for increasing the involvement of parents of students with special needs.
Todd MacAlister ’76 wrote Einstein’s God: A Way of Being Spiritual Without the Supernatural (Apocryphile Press, 2008).
Product Description (Amazon.com)
Albert Einstein's genius included a spiritual sense that fits comfortably with science. With quotes that illustrate Einstein's views, and with a look at how spiritual feelings may be understood and valued by modern science, this book shows a way of being spiritual that does not include belief in the supernatural. This book examines parallels between some modern views and long-standing systems of belief. It looks at ways of gaining from both the old and the new. But, it also identifies a choice that must be made. So, if traditional beliefs don't fit with what you see-if you see yourself as "spiritual, but not religious," if you attend services, but only partially believe, or if you think you're not really spiritual at all-take a look. You may find something you can say you do believe.
Joseph Niemczura ’77 wrote The Hospital at the End of the World (Plain View Press, 2009).
Product Description (Amazon.com)
There are 2,600 hospitals in Asia, Africa and South America which could be classified as "Mission Hospitals" - far off the beaten path, providing basic medical service to the poorest people of the world. The Hospital at the End of the World tells the story of a nurse from the USA and his first experience as a teaching nurse in Nepal.
Joe Niemczura brings to life the day-to-day realities of life in a rural teaching hospital, literally at the "end of the road." The harsh realities of a lack of modern medical equipment when mixed with the humanness of endurances demonstrates that above all, it is the individual who matters; both patient and caregiver. All else pales in comparison. The strength of this story is in relationships with students, physicians, other nurses, patients, families and most importantly with Nepal itself. There is a sense of community connectedness which the author brings alive as the reader becomes one with the story. The heartbreak and grief of death to the celebrations of life will elicit those same emotions. The thread through it all is the author's own journey as he discovers himself and renews his spirituality. The reader is immediately pulled into the drama and nakedness, and the beauty and mystery of this incredible part of the world.
Ellen L. Bridge, RN, BS, MTS, Public Health Nursing Consultant
Linda Thomson ’77G wrote Harry the Hypno-Potamus: Metaphorical Tales for Children, Volume II (Crown House Publishing, 2009).
Product Description (Amazon.com)
Harry the Hypno-potamus is a collection of metaphorical stories that deal with a variety of physical and behavioral problems faced by children. Embedded in each story is a metaphor as well as hypnotherapeutic techniques that can be used as part of a comprehensive approach to the diagnosis and treatment of a host of disorders. Reading the title story, “How Harry the Hypno-potamus Got His Name,” to a child is a wonderful way to introduce him or her to the idea of hypnosis as well as understanding the power of the child’s imagination. The thirty-two illustrated stories feature animals in the Ashland Zoo that rely on the guidance and support of Dr. Dan, the zoo’s vet, to help master such problems as: --Phobias and anxiety attacks --Pain management --Sleep disorders --Asthma and other serious medical disorders --Habits and habit control --Death and dying A clinician may wish to read one of the stories with a child or may find it more suitable to adapt the techniques to his own unique style. Some of the therapeutic interventions are very problem specific while others are more general and can be used for a variety of conditions. Each story contains full-color illustrations and is designed so that a specific story can be read by the clinician to the child. In addition, there is introductory clinical material included that explains how to use the book and the stories it contains, as well as additional references.
Lev Raphael ’78G, wrote My Germany: A Jewish Writer Returns to the World His Parents Escaped (University of Wisconsin Press, 2009). Raphael lives in Okemos, Michigan, and has written 18 other books. levraphael.com.
From Booklist
Germany was, Raphael says, “a country I had sworn never to visit . . . anywhere I turned in that country, I might face something that had belonged to a murdered relative.” But a book tour for his Holocaust-survivor novel The German Money (2003) took him there. Haunted by his mother’s experiences in a slave labor camp, he wondered whether forgiveness is possible. In this book, that leads to flashbacks personalizing the horrors of the Holocaust. A photo of relatives in pre-war Vilna, “as much at ease as a Jew could be in Poland,” prompted musings about the Poles’ anti-Semitism, which eventuates in recollections of his mother’s desperate retreat in 1941 from the Polish-Soviet border to Vilna, where Germans were rounding up Jewish men for mass execution. Encompassing recollections of childhood with parents grimly silent on the defining experience of their lives as well as accounts of historic atrocities, Raphael’s chronicle of growth and self-discovery isn’t easy reading, but his hard-earned healing and freedom from a tortured past make it remarkably satisfying. --Whitney Scott
Robert Surbrug ’92, ’03G wrote Beyond Vietnam: The Politics of Protest in Massachusetts, 1974-1990 (University of Massachusetts Press, 2009).
Product Description (Amazon.com)
Narratives of the 1960s typically describe an ascending arc of political activism that peaked in 1968, then began a precipitous descent as the revolutionary dreams of the New Left failed to come to fruition. The May 1970 killings at Kent State often stand as an epitaph to a decade of protest, after which the principal story becomes the resurgence of the right.
In Beyond Vietnam: The Politics of Protest in Massachusetts, 1974-1990, Robert Surbrug challenges this prevailing paradigm by examining three protest movements that were direct descendants of Vietnam-era activism: the movement against nuclear energy; the nuclear weapons freeze movement; and the Central American solidarity movement. Drawing lessons from the successes and failures of the preceding era, these movements had a significant impact on the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, which itself had been undergoing major transformations in the wake of the 1960s.
By focusing on one state Massachusetts Surbrug is able to illuminate the interaction between the activist left and mainstream liberalism, showing how each influenced the other and how together they helped shape the politics of the 1970s and 1980s. During these years, Massachusetts emerged as a center of opposition to nuclear power, the continuing Cold War arms race, and Ronald Reagan s interventionist policies in Central America. The states role in national policy was greatly enhanced by prominent political figures such as Senator Edward Kennedy, Speaker of the House Thomas Tip O Neill, presidential candidate Governor Michael Dukakis, Vietnam veteran Senator John Kerry, and moderate Republican Silvio Conte.
What Beyond Vietnam shows is that the rise of the right in the aftermath of the 1960s was by no means a unilateral ascendancy. Instead it involved a bifurcation of American politics in which an increasingly strong conservative movement was vigorously contested by an activist left and a reinvigorated mainstream liberalism.
John Galluzzo ’93 latest two books are Images of America: Monhegan Island (Arcadia, 2009) and Lifesavers of the South Shore: A History of Rescue and Loss (History Press, 2008). Galluzzo walks a minimum of 30 minutes daily and blogs about his walks at: halfanhouraday.blogspot.com.
Synopsis (BarnesandNoble.com)
The natural beauty of Monhegan Island has continuously attracted generations of artists, day-trippers, and summer sojourners. White Head, Pulpit Rock, and Cathedral Woods are names that resonate throughout New England and beyond. Long before the first ferry full of seasonal visitors arrived, the Monhegan Island fishermen had established a permanent community on the island, scratching out an existence on a remote offshore outpost. As early as 1890, prominent artists Robert Henri and George Bellows, followed by Rockwell Kent and Jamie Wyeth, captured the magnificence of Monhegan. They shared the cliffs and coves with the lighthouse keepers, carpenters, lobstermen, and the island people.
Product Description
Lifesavers of the South Shore: A History of Rescue and Loss . However cruelly the rocks of Massachusetts's South Shore have treated storm-driven sailors, there can be no questioning the selflessness and courage of the keepers and surfmen who played host to the no man's land between frozen beach and gale-tossed sea. Read John Galluzzo's enthralling account of the Life-Saving Service and meet legends like Joshua James, whose surfboat, Nantasket, once saved twenty-nine men from six boats in a grueling thirty-six hours. Chart a course through the service s history, from its humble beginning in the refuge huts built after the American Revolution until its absorption into the U.S. Coast Guard in the twentieth century.
Janet MacFadyen ’93G wrote A Newfoundland Journal (Killick Press, 2009).
Overview
Newfoundland Journal is a book-length poem drawn from the author's travels through the province's western edges in 2003. Janet MacFadyen is "from away," and the poem weaves disparate images of RV-packed ferries and backpack-loaded tourists with stories of courage and resilience from the long and continued history of Newfoundland. Through the eyes of the speaker and the voices of Newfoundlanders, the poem investigates our notions of history and belonging, as well as our position in the natural world. Ultimately, this is a poetry of spiritual connection to time and landscape.
Robert Forrant ’94G has published Metal Fatigue: American Bosch and the Demise of Metalworking in the Connecticut River Valley (Baywood Publishing Co.,Inc, 2009).
Product Description (Amazon.com)
On February 4, 1986, the lives of thousands of workers changed in ways they could only begin to imagine. On that day, United Technologies Corporation ordered the closure of the 76-year-old American Bosch manufacturing plant in Springfield, Massachusetts, capping a nearly 32-year history of job loss and work relocation from the sprawling factory. The author, a former Bosch worker and the business agent for the union representing nearly 1,200 Bosch employees when the plant closed, interjects his personal recollections into the story.For more than 150 years Springfield stood at the center of a prosperous 200-mile industrial corridor along the Connecticut River, between Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Springfield, Vermont, populated with hundreds of machine tool and metalworking plants and thousands of workers. This book is a historical account of the profound economic collapse of the Connecticut River Valley region, with a particular focus on Bosch, its workers, and its union. The shutdown is placed in the context of the wider region's deindustrialization. The closure marked the watershed for large-firm metalworking and metalworking unions in the Connecticut River Valley. The book also describes how the United States, in a ten-year period from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, went from being the world's leading exporter of machine tools to its leading importer, and how that sharp decline affected the region's leading city, Springfield, Massachusetts, which by 2005 was in danger of bankruptcy.
Nancy Rial ’70 was always curious about her uncle Alan, killed in World War II in the battle for Metz. She tells his story in Alan’s Letters (self-published) through his letters, maps, photos, and background history. “I created this book because when I traveled with my family to World War II museums in the U.S. and Europe, there were few books that would appeal to families with teens,” she says. “This book could introduce the topic to another generation of Americans.” Rial is a library media specialist with the Cambridge Public Schools. alansletters.com
Peter Manseau ’96 wrote Rag and Bone: A Journey Among The World’s Holy Dead (Holt, 2009).
The Barnes & Noble Review
Watching an ultrasound of his unborn daughter swimming in the dark soup of the womb offered Peter Manseau more than just a glimpse of the infant soon to make her way into his arms. It put him on the road to another discovery. “These bones are where belief begins,” he mused seeing the baby’s tiny limbs. And so began his wondrous journey to teach her, “that faith is strange and beautiful and sometimes scary,” by way of exploring the stories behind a diverse collection of sacred relics the world over. Relics, those fragments of flesh, bone, or fabric believed to be taken from the holiest people to walk the earth, have been revered for thousands of years by the faithful of many religions. According to Manseau’s vivid descriptions, they are indeed as strange, beautiful (and sometimes downright scary) as the faiths that preserve them. From the Catholics’ prodigious and peculiar assortment including the purported prepuce of Jesus (which he did not actually view) and the “chewed piece of licorice” said to be the tongue of St. Anthony (which he and hundreds of others stood in line for hours to see), to a surreal traveling Buddhist reliquary, on to Kashmir’s most sacred Muslim treasure: Prophet Muhammad’s chin whisker, and others, Manseau’s unerring eye for detail makes for a fascinating travelogue. But it’s more than that. Drawing on history, spiritual traditions, legend and contemporary reports, this book is a totally exuberant compendium of human beliefs, certain to satisfy devotees of all stripes, “because [relics] make explicit what we all know in our own bones: that bodies tell stories; that the transformation offered by faith is not just about, as the Gospels put it, the ‘word made flesh,’ but the flesh made word.” --Lydia Dishman
Caroline Liebenow ’98 has produced a coloring and storybook, Color a Lizard’s Tale (lulu.com, 2009).
Product Description (Lulu.com)
Coloring and story book. Biz is a real green anole lizard, who is the narrator of the story. Color A Lizard's Tale aims to teach children that anole lizards are adorable critters to be respected and admired. The story is also a gentle reminder that wild animals should not be removed from their natural habitat. The charming freehand illustrations alone are certain to make this beautiful book an heirloom. Author Caroline and illustrator Andy are a brother-sister team whose family adopted Biz. ** Ongoing book signing option: if you would like us to autograph your copy at any time, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to us, and we will return an autographed slip of paper, which you can then affix permanently to your Color A Lizard's Tale book (we recommend archival tape or glue). Please go to www.LiebenowDesign.com for details.
Trudy Milburn ’98G wrote Nonprofit Organizations: Creating Membership Through Communication (Hampton Press, 2009).
Product Description (Hampton Press)
In this book, the author takes an in-depth look at the way people collaborate to provide services for two specific groups: Puerto Ricans and families. By observing and participating within the organizations, Milburn discovered how conversations and written discourse were used to establish and sustain both the vibrancy of the organizations and individual’s sense of what is means to be a member of a voluntary nonprofit. The author skillfully blends ethnography of communication, membership categorization analysis, and ethnomethodology to explore typical organizational issues (such as negotiation and change) that occur in common business contexts like meetings and special events. This study reveals how unpaid participants’ communication shapes a nonprofit organization’s ability to fulfill its mission and serve its members.
Timothy Willig ’02G wrote Restoring the Chain of Friendship: British Policy and the Indians of the Great Lakes, 1783-1815 (University of Nebraska Press, 2008).
Product Description
During the American Revolution the British enjoyed a unified alliance with their Native allies in the Great Lakes region of North America. By the War of 1812, however, that “chain of friendship” had devolved into smaller, more local alliances. To understand how and why this pivotal shift occurred, Restoring the Chain of Friendship examines British and Native relations in the Great Lakes region between the end of the American Revolution and the end of the War of 1812.
Jean Williams ‘06 wrote The State of Gracie (Xlibris, 2009). For more information visit: jgraciew.com.
Description
After Gracie’s first marriage ends in divorce, she is wary to love again. Juggling work, school and raising her son has kept her too busy to think about re-entering the dating world. Then a chance encounter opens the door to new possibilities—and a new love. Is Gracie ready to open her heart to love again? Gracie is a pretty single working mother who got pregnant at seventeen and was divorced by the time she was twenty-two. After that bitter experience, she contents herself by working and caring for her ten-year-old son. Then she meets Lamont Williamson, an acquaintance of her best friend, Anita. A kind and decent man, Lamont seems to have everything she could ever want in a husband. Could he be the soul mate she is waiting for? Lamont, however, has a dark secret in his past that could threaten their future. What will Gracie do once she uncovers this shocking revelation? Will she forgive Lamont and move on? Or have they lost their chance at happiness?
Claire Puccia Parham ’94G published The St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project: An Oral History of the Greatest Construction Show on Earth (Syracuse University Press, 2009).
Product Description
The culmination of a century-long dream to link the Great Lakes interior industrial hubs to the Atlantic Ocean, the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project stands as one of the largest and most important public works’ initiatives of the twentieth century. In this book, Claire Puccia Parham reveals the human side of the project in the words of its engineers, laborers, and carpenters.
Holly Robinson ’84G has written a memoir, The Gerbil Farmer’s Daughter (Harmony Books, 2009). Visit authorhollyrobinson.com for more informaion.
From Booklist
Robinson’s traditional military-brat upbringing is upended by her father’s sudden and inexplicable fascination with gerbils. As she details the family’s dedication to this new project, her mother’s grudging tolerance, and the machinations required to keep the gerbils secret from the navy (which would frown upon such kitschy weirdness), Robinson makes her family seem ordinary in spite of this one bit of strangeness. And her father was no rodent dilettante, as evident in her chronicling of his years of research into using gerbils in lab experiments and his careful business plan. What keeps this surprising memoir from becoming a Lucille Ball/Henry Fonda parody is, sadly, the sudden death of Robinson’s younger sister from cystic fibrosis, a disease her father hopes can be cured through scientific inquiry. Suddenly gerbil farming isn’t so silly after all. Robinson writes with humor and honesty, creating a charming story, a reminder of how all the love and care in the world may not be enough, and a moving tribute to a father who, nonetheless, never stopped trying. --Colleen Mondor
