Cruel Choices, Charles O’Brien ’51, ’52M.A. (Severn House Publishers). The sixth in the author’s series of historical mysteries featuring Anne Cartier is set in the grim underworld of Parisian prostitution. As Cartier tries to track down a missing country girl in Paris, she discovers a network of brothels, pimps and corrupt policemen who traffic in human flesh. “Fans who have come to expect O’Brien’s well-pitched historical details will not be disappointed,” notes the review in Publisher’s Weekly.
An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene’s Journey from Prejudice to Privilege, Heidi Ardizzone (W.W. Norton & Company). A biography of the woman who became the confidante of J.P. Morgan and directed the Morgan Library for 25 years. That was a rare and powerful position for a woman in the early 1900s, made even more so by the fact that Greene was biracial, a heritage she generally kept hidden. The author teaches American studies at Notre Dame.
Tradition Never Graduates: A Season Inside Notre Dame Football (Genius Entertainment). Ths DVD documentary follows the Fighting Irish during their 2006 season, from the exciting highs to the discouraging lows. Interspersed are clips featuring ushers, a groundskeeper, pep rallies, tailgate parties and residence-hall football games and other aspects of the football experience. Bonus features include an interview with Coach Weis ‘78, a marching band practice and the fans’ take on what makes ND so special. Charlie Ebersol ‘05 was one of the DVD’s producers.
Our Children Deserve Better Health Care: A Pediatrician’s Forty-Year Experience and Observations, A. James Hirschfeld, M.D., ’60 (Vantage Press). Health care professionals too often make flawed decisions, the author says. Here he discusses those problems and presents a proposal for a more effective pediatric health care system.
To Save Her Life: Disappearance, Deliverance, and the United States in Guatemala, Dan Saxon ’95J.D. (University of California Press). Described as part human-rights drama, part political thriller and part love story, this book details the plight of a woman abducted by the Guatemalan army in 1992 while offering a history of the politics of human rights in Guatemala.
Here Come the Irish 2007: An Annual Guide to Notre Dame Football, edited by Jim Walsh ’99 (Maple Street Press). “This is a publication from Irish diehards for Irish diehards,” the editor writes. The guide’s offerings include information on the depth chart, a view of Coach Charlie Weis and his tactics, a conversation with Johnny Lujack ’48 and dozens of full-color game photos.
The Evangelization of Slaves and Catholic Origins in Eastern Africa, Paul Kollman, CSC, ’84, ’90M.Div. (Orbis Books). An exploration of how 19th century French missionary policies shaped the future of the Catholic Church in Eastern Africa.
The Heart of a Saint: Ten Ways To Grow Closer to God, Bert Ghezzi ’69Ph.D. (The Word Among Us Press). The book portrays 10 heroes of the faith, from Francis of Assisi to Dorothy Day and Pope John Paul II, whose lives demonstrate how we can grow closer to God. Suggestions for reflection, prayer and action for growing in the particular spiritual quality exhibited by each saint end each chapter.
The Wrong Stuff: The Extraordinary Saga of Randy “Duke” Cunningham, the Most Corrupt Congressman Ever Caught,_ Marcus Stern, Jerry Kammer ’71, Dean Calbreath, George E. Condon Jr. (PublicAffairs)_. The story of the man who used his congressional role to trade classified military-contract earmarks for millions of dollars in bribes, as well as a look at how the governmental system allowed this to happen. The authors were on the team that won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting.
The Guitar in America: Victorian Era to Jazz Age, Jeffrey J. Noonan ’73 (University Press of Mississippi). Part of the American Made Music series, this book traces the guitar’s transformation from a refined parlor instrument to a mainstay in jazz and popular music. The author introduces several musicians (including numerous female guitarists) and examines new techniques and instruments.
Notre Dame and the Game that Changed Football: How Jesse Harper Made the Forward Pass a Weapon and Knute Rockne a Legend, Frank P. Maggio 63J.D. (Carroll & Graf). This story of Harper, the ND football coach from 1913 to 1918 and its athletic director from 1931–33, details the early years of football and how the game helped the University survive and evolve.
The Half-Truth High: Breaking the Illusions of the Most Powerful Drug in Life & Business, Kevin J. Fleming ’94, ’96M.A., ’99Ph.D. (iUniverse). “I’ve come to believe that psychology is full of half-truths,” the author, himself a psychologist, writes. In this book, he attempts to offer help to those “whose goal is actually change” by pointing out how real change means unlearning half-truths and finding “real solutions to their problems.”
Was Frankenstein Really Uncle Sam? Vol. 1: Notes on the State of the Declaration of Independence, Richard J. Rolwing ’64M.A. (Xlibris). One of four volumes on the Declaration of Independence, formatted in short essays that examine the document’s ethics, politics, philosophy and theology.
Good Hearts: Catholic Sisters in Chicago’s Past, Suellen Hoy (University of Illinois Press). Through seven essays, the author explores the history, activities and contributions of women religious, whose activism played a critical role in Chicago’s development. The author is a guest professor of history at Notre Dame.
The Greatest Battle: Stalin, Hitler, and the Desperate Struggle for Moscow That Changed the Course of World War II, Andrew Nagorski (Simon & Schuster). Using eyewitness testimony and recently declassified Soviet documents, the author tells the bloody story of the winter warfare that ended in Hitler’s first defeat. Nagorski is senior editor at Newsweek International and has previously written for this magazine.
Global Outlaws: Crime, Money, and Power in the Contemporary World, Carolyn Nordstrom (University of California Press). The author, a Notre Dame professor of anthropology, traveled through Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States to investigate the dynamics of illegal trade around the world.
Consciousness Is All: Now Life Is Completely New, Peter Francis Dziuban ’74 (Blue Dolphin Publishing). The book’s presentation of absolute reality uses the work of Alfred Aiken as its foundation. The author affirms that consciousness “is a statement of what is already true; that which is now present, and can never be stopped.”
The Rainbreaker, Steve Simon ’65 (iUniverse.com). The pseudonymous author presents a tongue-in-cheek fable tackling moral issues, as he envisions a God who is ready to give the universe over to animals.
The Age of Strict Construction: A History of the Growth of Federal Power 1789–1861, Peter Zavodnyik ’92, ’95J.D. (Catholic University of America Press). This book focuses on the dispute over the spending power of Congress, the Supreme Court’s expansion of the Contract Clause and the centralizing effects of the Jacksonian spoils system. The author points out that unlike standard interpretations of a weak government, federal authority grew rapidly during the antebellum period.
Mystic Street: Meditations on a Spiritual Path, S.T. Georgiou (Novalis Publishing). Brother Patrick Hart, OCSO, ’66 wrote the forward to this book that explores the power of grace in our daily lives. Georgiou uses an ecumenical and interfaith approach to expand on the view of life as a journey of faith and wonder.