Beat-itude Revisited, Chuck Perrin ‘69 (Webster’s Last Word Records). Twelve years after the original recording of the folk-meets-jazz-session with songs composed by Perrin, he gathered some of the musicians at his San Diego club Dizzy’s to revisit the music. More information about the CD can be found at chuckperrin.com.
Uniting Against Terror: Cooperative Nonmilitary Responses to the Global Terrorist Threat, edited by David Cortright ’68 and George A. Lopez (MIT Press). The current U.S. objective is “to find, destroy, and defeat operative terrorism groups,” write the editors. The essays here suggest instead “multiple policy responses designed to eliminate the sustaining and underlying conditions of extreme terrorism.” Chapters include a look at the United Nations and its role; how Libya was convinced to end its support of terrorism; and efforts to halt te financing of terrorist networks. The editors are fellows of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.
Return to Dublin and Other Short Stories, Jack Rosshirt ’54, ’56J.D. (Legacy). The author says his global travels inspired him to write the stories included here, as a way to “illustrate universal truths about human nature.” Several of the stories focus on Bledsoe Flax, an attorney whose idealism still lives in his heart.
Gloria Patri: The History and Theology of the Lesser Doxology, Nicholas Ayo, CSC, ’56, ’62M.A. (Notre Dame Press). The professor emeritus of Notre Dame’s Program of Liberal Studies examines the riches in and the history of the short prayer: “Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.”
Bhutan: Hidden Lands of Happiness, photography and writing by John Wehrheim ’69 (Serindia Publications). Interspersed among the 108 black-and-white images are stories, journal entries, folklore, dharma teachings and oral history that explore the geography and culture of the lands of this eastern Himalayan country.
Montpelier and the Madisons: House, Home and American Heritage, Matthew G. Hyland ’89 (The History Press). This architectural biography takes readers through the development of the Madison family as their plantation at Montpelier is transformed from temporary quarters on Virginia’s tobacco frontier in the early 18th century to the home of the nation’s fourth president, James Madison. The book traces the public struggles and private dilemmas of the family and the development of democracy.
Immortals: The Awakening, Joy (Casacio) Nash ’84 (Dorchester Publishing). This third book in the Immortals series unfolds a Gothic story of love and magic, as an ancient warrior reluctantly battles for the good of modern mankind.
Soul Searching: A Movie about Teenagers and God (Revelation Studios Production). A documentary based on the book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Teenagers, by Christian Smith and Melinda Denton. The book reported on the seven-year research project of the National Study of Youth and Religion. Smith is a professor of sociology at Notre Dame who served as executive producer of the film.
The World in Pancho’s Eye, J.P.S. Brown ’52 (University of New Mexico Press). This autobiographical novel focuses on a young man born into a cattleman’s family along the Arizona-New Mexico border at the start of the Depression. As the family disintegrates, Mikey learns to live in a world without the aid of his parents.
A Dynamic God: Living an Unconventional Catholic Faith, Nancy Mairs (Beacon Press). The convert to Catholicism, who has previously written for this magazine, here explains what she loves in that tradition and what she has left behind. The author of Ordinary Time, whose movement is severely restricted by multiple sclerosis, reflects on her political activism and work for social justice while exploring her spiritual development.
BusinessWeek Fast Track: The Best Undergraduate B-Schools: Exclusive Profiles of 121 Business Programs, Geoff Gloeckler (McGraw-Hill). What does it cost? Is it worth it? What’s the average class size? Is it the right fit for me? This guide answers these and other questions for students (and their parents) researching business schools. Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business ranks 7th in the list of “Best Business Schools.”
When Shadows Fell at Notre Dame, Peter K. Connolly (iUniverse). The author, who attended Notre Dame in the 1950s, takes readers on a wild fictional ride through the ND campus, as his character, Mark Haverty, class of 1955, confronts a mysterious campus legend and a present-day campus stalker.