The Spirit of Notre Dame: Legends, Traditions, and Inspiration from One of America’s Most Beloved Universities, Jim Langford ’59 and Jeremy Langford ’92 (Doubleday). A foreword by Regis Philbin ’53 kicks off this gathering of the stories about the people and events that personify the spirit of the University, from Mario Tonelli ’39, who survived the Bataan Death March, to Tim McCarthy, whose puns delight home football crowds. The numerous anecdotes of visionary leaders, dedicated teachers, celebrated coaches, and hard-working students and staff all give testimony to the “optimism and possibility” of Notre Dame.
And Only To Deceive, Tasha Alexander (William Morrow). Publishing under a pen name, Tasha Gutting Tyska ’92 serves up a suspenseful historic mystery. Set in Victorian England, the story follows Emily, widow of Philip, Viscount Ashton, as she begins to find out more about his favorite field of study, classic antiquity. During her trips to various museums, she discovers signs of art forgery and begins to investigate, hoping to recover the stolen artifacts. Along the way she also must deal with the intricacies of Victorian society and romance.
Monk’s Notre Dame, Rev. Edward A. Malloy, CSC, ’63, ’67M.A., ’69M.A. (Notre Dame Press). The cons students use to try and get past security guards and drive on campus. The meals that the priest known as Father Duck secretly enjoyed. The naive freshman who requested a note that would excuse him from eating breakfast. Notre Dame’s president emeritus shares stories both humorous and insightful and offers vignettes of campus personalities in a collection he put together because he felt “a responsibility to share with others the many tales passed on to me.” And that naive freshman? Sometimes Monk tells tales on himself.
A Time for Heroes: Business Leaders, Politicians, and Other Notables Explore the Nature of Heroism, Robert L. Dilenschneider ’65 (Phoenix Books). What does it means to be a hero? Who should our heroes be? And why are CEOs, with their power and money, so seldom heroic? In a series of conversations with various influential people, the author examines those issues. He also provides brief biographies of the eclectic and wide-ranging personal champions named by Senator Orrin Hatch, Father Edward Malloy, CSC, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, Marilyn Carlson Nelson and others.
The Turquoise Ring, Grace Tiffany ’85M.A., ’89Ph.D. (Berkley Books). In this skilled retelling of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the author uses the perspective of five women to offer a new view of the character Shylock. Shiloh ben Gozan, a moneylender, escapes the Spanish Inquisition with his infant daughter to live in Venice. He takes with him a turquoise ring, which is hidden, stolen, traded and eventually turns up in the hands of the rich heiress Portia. This book marks the third of Tiffany’s celebrated historical fictions that plumb the world of Shakespeare’s time.
Pure Ducky Goodness: The First Sheldon Collection, David Kellett ’96 (Small Fish). Three years of selected comic strips featuring a nerdy 10-year-old software billionaire and his sarcastic talking pet duck are gathered here. The author did the comic strip Four Food Groups of the Apocalypse for The Observer while at Notre Dame. His Sheldon strip is distributed online by United Media/United Features Syndicate. It can be read and the book can be ordered at sheldoncomics.com.
Books in Brief
Lance Armstrong’s War: One Man’s Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour de France, Daniel Coyle ’87 (HarperCollins). The author spent months in Armstrong’s training camp and emerged with a detailed picture of the athlete. He translated that into a book Publishers Weekly lauded as “honest, personal and passionate.”
The Press, edited by Geneva Overholser and Kathleen Hall Jamieson (Oxford University Press). Essays examining the role of the press in a democracy and how it has evolved. Contributors include Robert Schmuhl ’70, ND professor of American studies.
Confluences: Postcolonialism, African American Literary Studies, and the Black Atlantic, John Cullen Gruesser ’81 (University of Georgia Press). An interpretation of the place of African-American literature as it relates to postcolonial studies.
Vehicle Accident Analysis and Reconstruction Methods,_ Matt Brach ’82 and Ray Brach_ (SAE). A reference for those in the field of accident reconstruction. Ray Brach is an ND professor emeritus of aerospace and mechanical engineering.
About France, Joseph Harriss ’58 (iUniverse). The author, a Paris-based journalist, provides portraits of French icons and looks at national quirks in his colorful portrait of an enigmatic nation.
Opposite Schmopposite: Opposites Attract but Complements Last, Paul Moses ’94J.D. and EmilyAnn Moses (Tate Publishing). Romantic pairings, the authors suggest, will be happier when the partners are not opposites. Here they discuss how to enrich any type of relationship.
Notre Dame: Where Have You Gone? Eric Hansen (Sports Publishing L.L.C.). An answer to the “Whatever happened to?” question about a variety of ND football players, from Derrick Mayes ‘96 and Ken McAfee ’78 to Joey Getherall ’01 and Coley O’Brien ’69, ’72J.D.
Polite Protest: The Political Economy of Race in Indianapolis, 1920-1970, Richard B. Pierce (Indiana University Press). The author, chair of Notre Dame’s Department of Africana Studies, chronicles the political action taken by black leaders in Indianapolis to secure civil rights.
The Politics of Democratic Inclusion, edited by Christina Wolbrecht and Rodney E. Hero (Temple University Press). Several views on how the U.S. political order can either encourage or hamper the representation of traditionally disadvantaged groups. The editors are professors of political science at Notre Dame, as are contributors Peri Arnold and Alvin B. Tillery.
The Church and Galileo, edited by Ernan McMullin (Notre Dame Press). The ND emeritus professor of philosophy edits a collection of essays that provide a scholarly and historic review of Galileo and his interactions with the Catholic Church.
Character Psychology and Character Education, edited by Daniel K. Lapsley and F. Clark Power (Notre Dame Press). This collection of essays covers both the theoretical and practical issues of character education. Power is professor of liberal studies and of psychology at Notre Dame.
The Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America: Advances and Setbacks, Frances Hagopian and Scott Mainwaring (Cambridge University Press). Offers an overview of nine countries and discussions on what causes and sustains democracy. The authors are political science professors at Notre Dame.
The Architecture of Roman Temples: The Republic to the Middle Empire, John W. Stamper (Cambridge University Press). An examination of the development of temples, with a look at stylistic influences, from an ND associate professor of architecture.