A Second Knock at the Door, Christopher Grimes, director and writer; Leigh Cavich-Grimes ’01MBA, executive producer (5414 Productions). This award-winning documentary focuses on four military families who lost a loved one to friendly fire in Iraq and Afghanistan. Using interviews and investigative reports, the 92-minute movie explores their quest for the truth after the Army attempted to bury it within the “fog of war.” View a trailer and learn where to purchase the CD at asecondknockatthedoor.com.
Almost a Psychopath: Do I (or Does Someone I Know) Have a Problem with Manipulation and Lack of Empathy? Ronald Schouten, M.D., and James Silver ’85 (Hazelden Publishing/ Harvard Health Publications). Perhaps one person in 100 is a true psychopath, but one in seven may exhibit less intense psychopathic behavior that still affects those around them. Schouten, a former attorney who now specializes in forensic psychiatry, and Silver, a criminal defense attorney, offer tools to help those who are dealing with (or who may be exhibiting) antisocial behavior.
Dating Vegans: Recipes for Relationships, Anne Dinshah ’91 (American Vegan Society). Can a vegan and non-vegan be friends? Can the relationship survive a meal? The author, a lifelong vegan, serves up lighthearted stories, advice and recipes for those entering a friendship that can too easily get burned by philosophical differences over food. She shares dating success stories from couples in “mixed eating” friendships and offers shopping and cooking tips for novice cooks. The 51 recipes included here cover main and side dishes and desserts.
It’s Enough to Make You Sick: The Failure of American Health Care and a Prescription for the Cure, Jeffrey M. Lobosky, M.D., ’73 (Rowman & Littlefield). How, the author asks, did the U.S. health care system devolve to its present state of high costs and mediocre quality care? Can it be fixed? Here he sorts through what he sees as the systemic causes of the health care crisis and offers solutions, from making insurance regulations federal and not state-based to a reform of medical malpractice rules that is fair to both patients and doctors.
Who Is My Enemy? Questions American Christians Must Face About Islam — And Themselves, Lee C. Camp ’97M.A., ’99Ph.D. (Brazos Press). What are the Christian and Muslim views of war? Of peacemaking? The author discusses the political views present in the New Testament and the Qur’an and shares misconceptions about religious violence. Father David Burrell, CSC, ’54says, “Read this book at your peril, for you will surely discover how entering into another faith tradition can enliven your own.”
Brilliant Mistakes: Finding Success on the Far Side of Failure, Paul J. H. Schoemaker ’72 (Wharton Digital Press). Efficiency and order are fine guiding principles, the author argues, but such a system can also undercut the value of accidental learning. He offers examples of innovations that resulted from “a flash or two of brilliant insight, and many, many years of wrong answers, dead ends, and missteps,” and discusses how one can separate destructive from constructive mistakes. The book is available in both ebook and paperback format.
Consecrated Dust: A Novel of the Civil War North, Mary Frailey Calland ’76, ’79J.D. (Dog Ear Publishing). As the bloody Battle of Antietam raged, a tragic event also occurred that same day: The Allegheny Arsenal in Pittsburgh exploded, killing 78 girls and young women. The author here weaves fact and fiction to tell of four young northerners — feminist Clara Ambrose; law-student-turned-soldier Garrett Cameron; industrialist Edgar Gliddon; and Irish immigrant Annie Burke — whose choices lead to their presence at the battlefield and the arsenal.
The Last Justice, Anthony J. Franze ’95J.D. (Sterling & Ross). After an assassin guns down six Supreme Court justices, Solicitor General Jefferson McKenna, the man appointed to a commission investigating the murders, learns he is the prime suspect. As Congress debates who will replace the slain justices, McKenna, on the run with his deputy, Kate Porter, begins a frantic search for the shadowy enemy who planned the massacre. The author’s debut novel has won praise for its “breakneck pace,” “fascinating inside details” and “emotional truth.”
Dream of the Echoes: Notre Dame Beats Miami! Brandon Crouch ’96, Frank Corrigan ’97, illustrated by Nicolette Capuano (Limerick Publishing). A follow-up to Dream of the Echoes: The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, this book for young readers follows Theo and his dog, Eddie J, on another magical trip to the past. This time they land in 1988, where they meet up with Coach Lou Holtz and a fairy named Elsie McFaley, who introduces them to the Notre Dame spirit. Available through the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore, ndcatalog.com or dreamoftheechoes.com/.
Too Princessy! Jean Reidy ’81, illustrated by Geneviève Leloup (Bloomsbury). What do you do when it’s raining and you’re stuck inside? This colorful story of imagination “for cooped up kids everywhere” follows an adventurous girl as she searches for the answer to her dilemma of what to do when the toy box doesn’t hold the right answer. The oversized book follows Too Pickley! and Too Purpley! in the author’s series for preschoolers.
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President of the Other America: Robert Kennedy and the Politics of Poverty, Edward R. Schmitt ’92 (University of Massachusetts Press). During his race for the presidency in 1968, Robert Kennedy frequently brought his anti-poverty theme to the masses, although this view was overshadowed in the media by his stance against the Vietnam War. In his reconstruction of RFK’s campaign, the author demonstrates how the New York senator and former U.S. attorney general viewed the issue both as a moral outrage and a threat to the nation’s long-term stability.
Prep School Days: The Seminary at the University of Notre Dame, Andrew Stevans (Morris Publishing). While the seminary closed its doors after the 1967 school year, the memories still live on. Here the author offers stories of his time at the “little sem” from which he graduated in 1955 — from sporting events to musicals, obediences and “misadventures.” The book includes more than three dozen black-and-white photos and is available at amazon.com and the Notre Dame Hammes bookstore. For more information contact the author at P.O. Box 613, Merrifield, VA 22116 or alstevans@cox.net.
The Vatican Conspiracies, James “Mac” McCarty ’74 (Lulu). The novel takes place in the near future, when the Catholic Church and the Vatican find themselves in crisis, as its solvency is endangered by a massive lawsuit, and key and valuable Vatican assets are discovered missing. As a new pope considers sweeping reforms in Church teachings and policies, a new crisis erupts that threatens the very survival of the 2,000 year-old Church. The thriller is available both in hardcover and as an e-book.
Life’s Reflections: Poetry for the People, Tommy Hawkins ’59 . The former Notre Dame All-American basketball player, L.A. Lakers star and L.A. Dodgers executive here turns to poetry, which he learned to appreciate in a class taught at ND by Father Chester A. Soleta. The poetic narratives include “The House of Hesburgh,” a tribute to ND President Emeritus Father Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, and an “Ode to the Sons of Troy,” which celebrates a Notre Dame football victory. Music, family, sports and travel are among the topics covered, with paintings and photographs included throughout. For more information, see tommyhawkins.net.
Arrogance and Scheming in the Big Ten: Michigan State’s Quest for Membership and Michigan’s Powerful Opposition, David J. Young, M.D., ’77 (DJY Publishing). In this detailed look at the origins of the Big Ten and MSU’s entry into what was then the Western Conference, the author follows the behind-the-scenes maneuvering, friendships and scheming that took place. Notre Dame’s role in aiding Michigan State College’s evolution into a major land-grant research institution is also covered.
Quotable Ara: The Words, Wisdom and Inspiration of Legendary Notre Dame Football Coach Ara Parseghian, Mike Towle ’78 (Win-Win Words). Along with 250 quotes from the coach, the book includes a recent Q&A with him, several black-and-white photos, numbers trivia and game-by-game results of his 24 seasons as a collegiate head coach. A portion of the sales will go to to the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation, which seeks a cure for Niemann-Pick Type C disease.
La Mariposa Azul y los Regalos de Dios – Historias y cuentos para sanar tu corazón, Juan Rafael Pacheco ’56 (Ediciones Unidas del Caribe). The book, which translates as The Blue Butterfly and God’s Gifts — Stories and tales to heal your heart, brings together a group of 50 of the author’s weekly short articles published in the Dominican daily La Información. The author uses his life’s experience in these short tales, which focus on viewing life with optimism, and trusting God and self. An English translation is in the works.
Eternal Consciousness, John S. Dunne (University of Notre Dame Press). The life of the spirit is the eternal in us, the ND professor of theology says. Here he explores such questions as what can I know; what should I do; what may I hope? “Faith,” he writes, “is a combination of willingness and hope, willingness to die and yet hope to live, willingness to walk alone and yet hope to walk unalone.” Among his many books, Father Dunne is also the author of The Circle Dance of Time and Deep Rhythm and the Riddle of Eternal Life.
Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power, Andrew Nagorski (Simon & Schuster). The author offers a view through the eyes of Americans who were in Germany in the 1920s and ’30s, when Hitler was forming his tyrannical plans to return the country to glory. “Essential for anyone interested in World War II,” wrote the Library Journal. Nagorski, who has written for this magazine, is also the author of The Greatest Battle: Stalin, Hitler, and the Desperate Struggle for Moscow That Changed the Course of World War II. He is vice president and director of public policy at the EastWest Institute and a former senior editor at Newsweek International.
Sports Psychology for Dummies, Leif H. Smith and Todd M. Kays ’89 (For Dummies). Mental toughness is important in sports. In this resource for both players and coaches, the authors offer routines that can lead to consistent improvement and discuss practical techniques which can help deal with such issues as motivation, performance anxiety, team chemistry, conflicts, playing under pressure and being in a slump. Real-world examples from both amateur and professional sports are included.
On the Intrinsic Value of Everything, Scott A. Davison ’94Ph.D. (Continuum). Does everything that exists have intrinsic value — people, all living creatures, the environment? How do we assign value? Is there a cut-off point for what does and does not have intrinsic value? This look at fundamental questions in ethics probes the basic value structure of the world, as the author defends the view that everything that exists is intrinsically valuable to some degree, and looks at how this view fits with the traditional theistic idea that God is the source of goodness and truth.
A Defense of Computational Physics, Patrick J. Roache ’60, ’63M.S., ’67Ph.D. (Hermosa Publishers). The author, who has worked in the broad area of computational physics for more than four decades, here challenges the views of Karl Popper, a philosopher of science who asserted that true science theories are characterized by falsifiability and cannot be verified. Roache is also wrote the textbooks Fundamentals of Computational Fluid Dynamics and Verification and Validation in Computational Science and Engineering.
Poppy’s Combine, written by Beth E. Meyerson, illustrated by Chrissy Krakowiecki Searcy ’93 (copyright Beth Meyerson). Readers follow young Jake as he navigates through the emotional time following his grandfather’s unexpected death. “Books that address grief are always in need,” says Kirkus Reviews, “and Meyerson’s gentle words and child-centered perspective will provide comfort to young readers.”
Hellfightin’, Makalani Bandele (Willow Books). This lyrical collection of poems, whose title is derived from the nickname the French Army gave the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment in World War I, the Harlem Hellfighters, speaks to how black people have used music as a way of struggle. The rhythms and framework of jazz and the blues form the backdrop for the stories of love and loss, injustice and triumph, sexual and drug abuse and other issues in the fight to survive. The author, who uses a pseudonym, is Michael E. Penman ’92.
Sharing the Love of the Heart of Christ: A History of Cor Jesu Academy, Tom Curran ’93 Ph.D. and Brian Hohlt (Reedy Press). A ministry of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the St. Louis, Missouri, academy was founded in 1956 as a Catholic high school for girls. The authors trace the development of the school, placing the narrative in the broader context of trends in Catholic education locally and nationally. For more information, see https://www.corjesu.org/historybook.
Circle Nine, Anne Heltzel ’06 (Candlewick Press). The young adult novel explores homelessness and abuse as it follows Abby, a teenage girl who doesn’t remember what happened the night she woke in a burned building with an unfamiliar boy at her side. As she and Sam start a new life, memories begin to haunt Abby and her reality soon threatens to crack apart. School Library Journal says the novel “touches on some of society’s weightiest issues. This is a title for teens who like their fiction serious and gritty.”
Personality Disorders and States of Aloneness, John G. McGraw ’56 (Rodopi). Part of the Value Inquiry Book Series, this book concerns personality, especially its aberrations, regarding starts of aloneness. A severe lack of connections, primarily intimate, the author argues, is the sufficient condition for an individual to be deemed not only mentally but morally aberrated. He also analyzes five social factors that are conducive to maintaining negative kinds of personality and aloneness. See rodopi.nl/functions/search.asp?BookId=VIBS+246 for more information.