Notre Dame Inspirations: The University’s Most Successful Alumni Talk About Life, Spirituality, Football—and Everything Else Under the Dome, Hannah Storm ’83, edited by Sabrina Weill (Doubleday). Why does Notre Dame exert such a powerful hold on its graduates? CBS’s The Early Show co-anchor Storm here presents the reflections of more than 30 alumni, from Rabbi Albert Plotkin ’42 and Regis Philbin ’53 to comedian Jimmy Brogan ’70 and WNBA player Ruth Riley ’01, as they reveal the University’s crucial place in their lives and careers. Then-and-now photographs of the contributors illustrate the book.
What You Hear in the Dark: New and Selected Poems, Sonia Gernes (University of Notre Dame Press). Three sections of new poems join the best of the previous works by the Notre Dame professor emerita of English. The death of her father, her mother’s descent into the mists of Alzheimer’s and the struggles with belief highlight the new poems that showcase the author’s lyrical voice. Other poems in the volume are from Brief Lives, Women at Forty and A Breeze Called the Fremantle Doctor.
Blessed Are the Bored in Spirit: A Young Catholic’s Search for Meaning, Mark Hart ’95 (Servant Books). The author, who calls himself “a postmodern Catholic,” invites readers along on a spiritual journey to discover how to encounter God more fully. As he reflects on the ups and downs of his own experience, he offers ideas for appreciating Mass more fully, keeping the Sabbath holy and learning how to “develop the heart of a disciple.” Hart is vice president of Life Teen International, a Catholic youth ministry.
Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape, edited by Barry Lopez ’66, ’68M.A., managing editor Debra Gwartney (Trinity University Press). Lopez, author of Arctic Dreams and several others books of fiction and nonfiction, kicks off this collection of original definitions by 45 writers and poets for words that describe our lands and waters. Molly O’Halloran ’90 illustrated the book, whose definitions range from Alaska’s pingoes and Virginia’s runs to California’s bajadas and Missouri’s woody draws.
In So Many Words: Arguments and Adventures, Robert Schmuhl ’70 (University of Notre Dame Press). This collection of nearly 40 essays by the director of Notre Dame’s Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics and Democracy focuses on American political culture and contemporary communication, particularly the news media. The essays previously appeared in the Chicago Tribune, American Journalism Review, the Boston Globe and this magazine, among other publications.
Death of a Writer: A Novel, Michael Collins ’87, ’91M.A. (Bloomsbury). When a novel by a professor who recently attempted suicide is published, it appears his dimming literary career will rebound. Then questions begin to surface about the child-murder at the center of his masterpiece, and reality and art intertwine. Collins’s previous novel, Keepers of Truth, was short-listed for the Booker Prize.
Shelby, Stacy A. Nyikos ’90, illustrated by Shawn N. Sisneros (Stonehorse Publishing). A children’s picture book by the creators of the popular Squirt, this one follows the adventures of a lonely lemon shark with razor-sharp teeth. Told in rhyme, the story follows Shelby as she tries to overcome her shyness and make some friends. Two pages of “Shark Bites,” information about sharks, end the colorful book.
Books in brief
Fighting Irish Legends, Lists and Lore, Karen Heisler (Sports Publishing). Year-by-year accounts chronicle the accomplishments of athletes and coaches in a variety of sports at Notre Dame. The author teaches in the University’s Department of Film, Television and Theatre.
The Accidental Spaceship, Gene Hunt ’42 (Handprint Books). A tale for young readers about the adventures of 13-year-old twins who suddenly find themselves the owners of a spaceship.
No Yelling: The 9 Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You Must Know to Win in Business, Wally Adamchik ’85 (James & Brookfield). Based on more than 100 interviews with current and former Marines, the book illustrates the importance of balancing influence with control for effective leadership.
How in the World Do We Make A Difference? Getting to the Heart and Soul of Love and Work, Norman Douglas, Lawrence Vuillemin ’70 and Stephen Hallam (ACTA Publications). A priest, lawyer and professor offer stories of faith, love and work.
A Good War Is Hard to Find, David Griffith ’98 (Soft Skull Press). The essays here explore how U.S. society views violence and cruelty, as the author considers the disconnect between the Abu Ghraib torture photos and Catholic ideals of social justice.
A Piece of Notre Dame, Jacob J. Dell ’04MBA and Rachel E. Dell (JacobJDell.com)_. More than 50 original photographs spotlight some often unnoticed campus architectural finds.
Double-Effect Reasoning: Doing Good and Avoiding Evil, T.A. Cavanaugh ’95Ph.D. (Oxford University Press). The author addresses timely issues of ethics, such as the just conduct of war, in which one cannot realize a good without causing an unintended bad effect.
Fertility Foods: Optimize Ovulation and Conception Through Food Choices, Jeremy Groll, M.D., ’93 and Lorie Groll (Fireside). A diet and exercise program designed to improve insulin sensitivity and aid in fertility.
The Truth is Out There: Christian Faith and the Classics of TV Science Fiction, Thomas Bertonneau and Kim Paffenroth ’95Ph.D. (Brazos Press). The authors investigate Doctor Who, Star Trek, The Prisoner, The Twilight Zone, X-Files and Babylon 5 and their assimilation of themes of faith.
Pioneer Spirit: Catherine Spalding, Sister of Charity of Nazareth, Mary Ellen Doyle, SCN, ’63M.A., ’68Ph.D. (University Press of Kentucky). This biography of the co-founder of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth also encompasses a history of women in the early diocese of Bardstown/Louisville.
Brain Science and Psychological Disorders: Therapy, Psychotropic Drugs, and the Brain, F. Scott Kraly ’70 (W.W. Norton and Company). A general view on how the brain organizes behavioral and psychological processes, with a focus on disordered processes and therapies that target dysfunctional behaviors.
To Be Useful to the World: Women in Revolutionary America, 1740–1790, Joan R. Gundersen ’72Ph.D. (University of North Carolina Press). This revised edition takes advantage of new scholarship in its interpretation of women’s lives and their shifting parameters during the Revolutionary period.
The Grail King, Joy Casacio Nash ’84 (Dorchester Publishing). A historical fantasy romance following a Druid seer and the daughter of his Roman enemy as they seek the Holy Grail in 2nd century Britain.
Hit the Job Running: Your Guide to Developing Essential Job Skills and Handling Workplace Issues, Andrea Dolph and Ray Sarnacki ’72 (Rise & Shine Press). A practical roadmap to skills and strategies needed to shine in the workplace.
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Taking Poetry Public Across Canada, Wendy Morton ’63 (Emdash Publishing). A memoir of the author’s journey as she partnered with corporate sponsors and others to take poetry to the streets. Includes 14 poems by Morton.
Now What Do I Do? A Guide to Help Teenagers with Their Parents’ Separation or Divorce, Lynn Cassella-Kapusinski ’85 (ACTA Publications). A workbook designed to help teens confront and channel their emotions and fears following their parents’ breakup.
The New Gold Standard: Charlie Weis and Notre Dame’s Rise to Glory, Tim Prister ’82 (ESPN Books). Former ND coach Lou Holtz wrote the introduction to this book, which takes the reader inside the 2005 season and Charlie Weis’s plan for restoring prominence to the program.
Latinos and the New Immigrant Church, David A. Badillo (Johns Hopkins University Press). A history of Latino Catholicism in the United States, focusing on its growth in San Antonio, Chicago, New York and Miami. The author previously taught at Notre Dame.
The Book of Portraiture, Steve Tomasula (Fiction Collective Two). Illustrated postmodern fiction exploring people’s attempts to understand the world and their place in it through art and representation. The author is an assistant professor of English at Notre Dame. The book was designed by Robert Sedlack, an ND assistant professor of design.
Engendering Mayan History: Kaqchikel Women as Agents and Conduits of the Past, 1875–1970, David Carey Jr. ’90 (Routledge). Oral histories of the women of Guatemala offer a view of their economic, political and social structures of the near past.
Stan Ovshinsky and the Hydrogen Economy . . . Creating a Better World, George S. Howard (Academic Publications). The Notre Dame professor of psychology details the life, the science and the philosophy of the man who wanted to fully utilize the benefits of hydrogen.
News of Paris: American Journalists in the City of Light Between the Wars, Ronald Weber ’56 (Ivan R. Dee). Ernest Hemingway makes an appearance with other eccentric expatriates in this narrative history of American newspapermen in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. The author is an ND emeritus professor of English.
Irish Whiskey Neat & Other Remembrances, Richard Conklin ’59M.A. (Who/Whom Publishing). A collection of the author’s remembrances about growing up in southwest Minneapolis, plus additional essays and stories about the author from his family. Conklin, who retired as the associate vice president of University Relations at Notre Dame, is a frequent contributor to this magazine.
An Unrepeatable Miracle: A Myth of Our Own, Robert A. Keller ’70M.A., Varley E. Wiedeman (AuthorHouse). An illustrated epic poem blending present-day science with traditional wisdom.
Coast Watching in WWII: Operations against the Japanese on the Solomon Islands, 1941–43, edited by A.B. Feuer ’47 (Stackpole Books). A compilation of firsthand accounts from the Australians and others who served on the jungle islands.
The Battle of Turkeyfoot Ridge, David L. Schwartz ’59 (Infinity). A fictional tale of five Union soldiers and their struggle to return to their unit.
Notre Dame, Chicago Bears and “Hunk,” Heartley “Hunk” Anderson ’22 as told to Emil Klosinski ’45 (Panoply Publications). Anderson played football under Knute Rockne from 1918 through 1921 and served as ND head coach from 1931 to 1933, following Rockne’s death. He went on to play with and serve as a coach with the Bears. This is an updated edition of the autobiography originally published in 1976.
Go Irish: My First Notre Dame Words, Connie McNamara (Shamrock Publishing). Colorful, sturdy pages and simple words introduce small fry to Notre Dame. The book is dedicated to the author’s husband, Jerry McNamara ’61, and is available only at the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore and its website at www.nd.catalog.com.
When Bulls Cry: The Case Against Bullfighting, Michael A. Ogorzaly ’83Ph.D. (AuthorHouse). The author presents his research on bullfights and what he views as their extreme brutality and cruelty.