Witness: Learning to Tell the Stories of Grace that Illumine Our Lives, Leonard J. DeLorenzo ’03, ’08M.A., ’14Ph.D. (Ave Maria Press). The Notre Dame Vision program features stories of grace as part of its faith-formation retreats for high school students. The college mentors who share their stories, the program director writes, sometimes struggle to show how God’s presence operates in their lives. Here he offers guidance on how to share one’s faith in a genuine way and includes excerpts from talks by ND alumni.
Pembroke: A Rural, Black Community on the Illinois Dunes, Dave Baron ’06 (Southern Illinois University Press). About 70 miles south of Chicago, Pembroke Township is one of the poorest places in the United States. In this memoir, and social, cultural, legal and political history, the author chronicles the time when African-American farmers from the South who bought land there discovered the soil was too sandy to profitably raise crops through the present community’s efforts to survive with grace and purpose.
The Uses of Money, William J. Palmer ’65, ’69Ph.D. (Anaphora Literary Press). On a mission trip to Haiti, well-to-do widower John Murray falls in love with nurse practitioner Megan Macklin. When she is kidnapped, Murray embarks on an operation to pay the ransom and rescue her. This adventure novel is also a work of global social consciousness, as it explores the issue of humanitarian aid. The author, a professor emeritus of English at Purdue University, wrote The Wabash Trilogy and the Mr. Dickens series of Victorian murder mysteries.
Molarity: the Compleat Molarity, Michael Molinelli ’82 (By-the-Book-Press).The cartoonist’s comic appeared in The Observer from 1977 through ’82; Molarity Classic and Molarity Redux are featured on this magazine’s website. This collection of 581 of the original strips stars Jim Mole and his friends as they break rules, trash dining halls, take road trips, talk with various priests and professors, and curse classes, Indiana weather, Emil T. quizzes and parietals while experiencing the highs and lows of undergraduate life.
Pancho Bandito and the Avocado Desperadoes, Mike Sundy ’96, illustrated by Jonathan Sundy ’05 (CreateSpace). This follow-up to Pancho Bandito and the Amarillo Armadillo continues the tall-tale saga of the heroic Pancho, an Old West kid cowboy. The children’s picture book series features action, adventure and some mythical mysteries, as Pancho and his sidekick, the Amarillo armadillo, seek an ancient weapon to defend a helpless town against a gang of greedy desperadoes.
Web extra
A Racketeer for Life: Fighting the Culture of Death from the Sidewalk to the Supreme Court, Joseph M. Scheidler ’50 with Peter M. Scheidler (TAN Books). The pro-life activist describes his history in the movement in the United States in this memoir. He takes readers on his trips around the globe, meetings with such leaders as Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan, sit-ins at abortion clinics and appearances at rallies as he discusses his and other activists’ efforts to fight for the unborn.
The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion; A Book of Daily Reflections, edited by Lisa M. Hendey ’85 and Sarah A. Reinhard (Ave Maria Press). These meditations were created by moms, dads and spiritual companions to provide mothers with a sense of God’s continual presence. Each day contains a brief quotation from scripture, saints, recent popes or important spiritual writers, a personal reflection, a prayer and a question or thought to ponder through the day. Each month also covers a special theme, such as love, family fun and renewal.
My Brother’s Keeper: Above & Beyond ‘The Dotted Line’ with the NFL’s Most Ethical Agent, Eugene Lee ’95, ’98J.D. (Vesuvian Books). Lee, an expert on player contracts, salary caps and collective bargaining, was featured in the 2011 ESPN documentary The Dotted Line. Here the NFL agent and president of MBK Sports Management Group takes readers into the homes and lockers rooms of potential and current clients, and discusses his journey to spiritual enlightenment and growth. The foreword is by actor and poet Omari Hardwick.
Much Ado: A Summer with a Repertory Theater Company, Michael Lenehan ’71 (Agate Midway). The American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, has been called the best classical theater company in America. The author, an award-winning journalist, presents an in-depth look at how the regional theater goes from script to play, including a discussion of how the actors develop their roles; what the director does; how sets, costumes and music contribute to the meaning; and the technical logistics involved with outdoor theater.
Rousseau and Dignity: Art Serving Humanity, edited by Julia V. Douthwaite (University of Notre Dame Press). A lecture series and art exhibit held in South Bend and a documentary shot in France were part of the celebration of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s tercentennial in 2012. Among the participants’ goals was to show why Rousseau’s moral philosophy is important to our time. The book includes scholarly essays on Rousseau, 54 photographs that document people who suffer human rights abuses, and notes by youthful visitors to the photojournalism exhibits. Douthwaite is a Notre Dame professor of French and Francophone Studies.
Not by Nature but by Grace: Forming Families through Adoption, Gilbert C. Meilaender (University of Notre Dame Press). “[S]hared history — not just biology — can create a bond between parent and child,” the author says. The center of his concern is “the meaning of adoption for Christian theology,” and he discusses such issues as whether single persons should adopt, if it is wise for adoption to take place across racial or national boundaries, and the relation between adoption and new reproductive technologies. Meilaender is a fellow at the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture.
Gifts of Oneself: Art & Writings by James H. Hamby, edited by Roxanne Dunn and Robert W. Hamblin, compiled by Roy Dawson (Southeast Missouri State University Press). James Hamby ’52, a member of the 1949 ND national championship football team and later a football coach and philosophy professor at Southeast Missouri State, began producing watercolors of birds and accompanying pen-and-ink essays in 1976. Hamby died at the age of 55 in 1986. The book reproduces 75 of his drawings and 300 of his essays, which include philosophical musings about life, friends and family. Order it at semopress.com.
Who Is God? Catholic Perspectives through the Ages, John J. Markey, O.P., ’84, ’86M.Div. (Anselm Academic). The Oblate School of Theology professor draws from scripture, church tradition, poetry and film in combination with theological and historical scholarship to present an exploration of Catholicism’s 2,000-year understanding of God. Markey is also the author of Moses in Pharaoh’s House: A Liberation Spirituality for North America.
PANDAS and PANS in School Settings: A Handbook for Educators, edited by Patricia Rice Doran ’00 (Jessica Kingsley Publishers). Children affected by PANDAS or PANS, a result of complications of strep or other childhood infections, can display many psychological symptoms and behavioral disorders, including anxiety, OCD and sensory issues. The books helps educators understand these complex disorders, and experts in the fields of special education, medicine and occupational therapy offers strategies for supporting affected students.
The Jeweler’s Polish, Marie Ann Dean ’81M.A. (Hope and Life Press). This Catholic historical mystery presents the travels of Lady Emerald Esther Maria de Rohan as she searches for the truth of her background, intermingled with the voyage of self-discovery made by her 21st century namesake, Emerald Rohan Grady. The island of Malta and the mysterious Knights of Malta figure prominently in the adventurous tale of conspiracies, curses and mysterious jewels.
Undaunted Lovers: A Tale of Forbidden Love, Doctor Jac (Dunis Press). Naval veteran Jac Fitz-enz ’55 follows up his Rough Waters: The Life of a Naval Intelligence Officer with this continuation of the story of Lt. Michael Holmes, a spy for the U.S. Navy, and his Chinese sweetheart Grace Donaldson, a State Department special agent. The tale of adventure and romance begins the Spies with Benefits series, as the two team up on a special mission.
Shrinking the Monster: Healing the Wounds of Our Abuse, Norbert Krapf ’66M.A., ’71Ph.D. (In Extenso Press). As a boy, the author was sexually abused by a Catholic priest. In this insightful memoir, he shares his continuing journey of healing, “a healing that is still in progress.” The former Poet Laureate of Indiana is also the author of the book of poems Catholic Boy Blues: A Poet’s Journal of Healing.
Henry Ware Lawton: Union Infantryman, Frontier Soldier, Charismatic Warrior, Michael E. Shay ’67 (University of Missouri Press). At age 18, Lawton enlisted as a Union soldier in the Civil War and went on to fight during the Spanish-American War and the Apache Wars. At age 56, he was killed in the Philippine-American War. His service to the country also included being named military governor of the Santiago de Cuba province in 1898, where he worked to establish order and a viable government in the region. Shay has written other military books, including Sky Pilots: The Yankee Division Chaplains in World War I.
The Kimberlins Go to War: A Union Family in Copperhead County, Michael B. Murphy ’79 (Indiana Historical Society Press). During the Civil War, a southern Indiana family sent 33 fathers and sons, brothers and cousins to fight for the Union. They saw action at Vicksburg, fought under Sherman in his March to the Sea and survived prison camps. Along with 40 letters to and from the front lines, the book examines the family members’ feelings about the war and what they thought of their Hoosier neighbors to the south who backed the Confederate cause.
The Kind of Brave You Wanted to Be: Prose Prayers and Cheerful Chants against the Dark, Brian Doyle ’78 (Liturgical Press). The editor of Portland Magazine, whose essays appear frequently in this magazine, presents what he calls “proems,” short essays he once described as “life set to the music of poetry.” These “gentle songs to the sacrament of every moment” are about children and birds and love and grief and Boy Scout camp and bars and the many things that can make up a prayer.
They Rule the World, Samuel Hazo ’49 (Syracuse University Press). In his new collection of poems, the author explores the connections between the personal and political, and life and art. He candidly reflects on the passage of time and the tenderness of the present moment. Hazo is the founder and was the director of the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is the McAnulty Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Duquesne University.
Killing Thyme, Leslie Budewitz ’84 (Berkley Prime Crime). In the third of the author’s Spice Shop Mysteries, Pepper Reece is savoring the business success of her store at Seattle’s Pike Place Market. A welcome visit from her mother, Lena, adds a touch of intrigue when Lena bumps into Bonnie Clay, an old friend who had disappeared years before. When Bonnie is murdered days later, Pepper begins a search of the secrets of the past, leading her into danger. Budewitz is a two-time Agatha Award winner.
The Executioner’s Journal: Meister Frantz Schmidt of the Imperial City of Nuremberg, translated by Joel F. Harrington ’81 (University of Virginia Press). “On that account led out in a cart, his body torn four times with red-hot tongs. Afterward executed with the wheel,” is just one of the chilling reports in Frantz Schmidt’s diary. As an executioner from 1573 to 1618, he put more than 300 people to death, and tortured, flogged or disfigured hundreds more. This translation of Schmidt’s diary includes a biographical portrait of the complex, pious man.
Kinetics in Materials Science and Engineering, Dennis W. Readey ’59 (CRC Press). The author, an emeritus professor of metallurgical and materials engineering, includes examples of real industrial processes in his discussion of various materials. “[T]his book leads the reader to fundamental, model-based understanding of kinetic processes critical to development, fabrication and application of commercially-important soft (polymers, biomaterials), hard (ceramics, metals) and composite materials,” said one reviewer.
The Election of 2028: Murder most foul in the race for the White House, David Stout ’64 (Amazon Digital Services). The adventure novel tells of a plot to rig the presidential election in 2028. Shortly after election day, with one candidate in the lead in the popular vote but the Electoral College contest almost a tie, some members of the Electoral College are killed in strange accidents. Are their replacements involved in a conspiracy to grab the White House? Stout is also the author of Carolina Skeletons, Night of the Ice Storm and The Dog Hermit.
When We Visit Jesus in Prison: A Guide for Catholic Ministry, Dale Recinella ’76J.D. (ACTA). The lay chaplain has been doing prison ministry for more than 20 years and now serves those on Florida’s death row and in solitary confinement. Along with stories of encounters with those he has served, the author presents Church teaching, and sociological and psychological thinking on incarceration. He also addresses such topics as Catholic prison ministry as evangelization, current theories of why people commit crime, and pastoral needs of inmates.
The Timeless Teachings of Saint John Paul II: Summaries of His Papal Documents with Questions for Study, John E. Fagan ’71 (Scepter Publishers). This updated version of the book first released in 2006 summarizes many of the important documents — encyclicals, apostolic exhortations and letters — issued by the pope over his 26-year pontificate. The book emphasizes the aspects of the pope’s teachings of special interest and application to the lives of the laity.
Gene ‘Kentuck’ Oberst — Olympian: All-American, Notre Dame Football Champion, Robert D. Oberst (Global Future Press). Gene Oberst played on Knute Rockne’s championship ND teams, alongside the Four Horseman. He was an NCAA champion in javelin, and in 1924 he won an Olympic bronze with his throws, the first American to medal in that category. This biography of the 1924 Notre Dame graduate, written by his son, includes material from his journals and the 60 letters between Oberst and Rockne.
Compiled by Carol Schaal ’91M.A.