Object Permanence, Mutts (Mutts Music). The Chicago trio’s third LP is their first entirely unplugged album, and it serves as a companion to last year’s heavy electric Separation Anxiety CD. Mike Maimone ’04, keyboard and vocals; Bob Buckstaff, bass; and Chris Pagnani, drums, continue their social commentary, with the gritty vocals of Maimone taking center stage. The blues/rock group again offers free downloads of their work at muttsmusic.com.
Captain Dad: The Manly Art of Stay-At-Home Parenting, Pat Byrnes ’81 (Lyons Pequot Press). Drawing cartoons for The New Yorker or working on other freelance projects in his home office didn’t truly prepare Byrnes for being the primary caregiver for his two daughters when his wife went back to work. Here he presents tips, insights and stories, from the comical to the serious, on surviving the “silly, cute, maddening, infuriating, adorable” life with children.
The Ruining, Anna Collomore (Razorbill). Written under a pen name, this second young-adult novel by Anne Heltzel ’06 explores the nightmare that Annie, a nanny in California, undergoes when her picture-perfect reality begins to crumble. Is Annie truly forgetting things — or is someone out to get her? Booklist says the psychological thriller “builds at a pitch-perfect pace” and offers “gripping, unputdownable stuff.” Heltzel’s previous novel, Circle Nine, explored themes of addiction and homelessness.
The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century, Joel F. Harrington ’81 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). To torture or kill people was Meister Frantz Schmidt life’s work. A professional killer from 1573 until he retired in 1618, Schmidt kept a journal of his gruesome trade and his attempts to reconcile it with his religious faith. Here, Harrington weaves Schmidt’s journal and other archival resources into both a biography of the man and a social history of the times.
Finding God Beyond Religion: A Guide for Skeptics, Agnostics & Unorthodox Believers Inside & Outside the Church, Tom Stella ’67, ’70M.A. (Skylight Paths). The author, a former priest, revisits nine traditional aspects of religion, sharing his attempts and those of others “to discover the spiritual meaning of religious truths.” Designed for the “spiritually hungry,” each chapter ends with a “questions for your own journey” section.
Creative works; web extra
Forests for the People: The Story of America’s Eastern National Forests, Christopher Johnson ’69, David Govatski (Island Press). The national forests east of the Mississippi River sequester massive amounts of carbon, thus helping to cleanse the atmosphere’s greenhouse gases. The authors explain how those forests have been restored and protected, then examine critical issues facing the forests today, from timber harvesting, the use of fire and endangered wildlife to developments surrounding national park borders.
American Pastimes: The Very Best of Red Smith, edited by Daniel Okrent (Library of America). The works of Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith, Class of 1927, cover more than 50 years. A Pulitzer Prize winner for distinguished commentary, he set the standard for sports reporting. This collection includes some hard-to-find pieces as well as both his legendary baseball work and articles on football, boxing, horseracing, fishing and more. His son, Terence Smith, contributed the afterword.
Planet of the Apes and Philosophy: Great Apes Think Like, edited by John Hoss (Open Court). From the 1963 novel by Pierre Boulle to the 1968 movie and its sequels, The Planet of the Apes has inspired numerous philosophical questions. This book offers 22 essays on such subjects as animal rights, genetic engineering, race relations and humanity’s place in the cosmos.
Eugene Halton, ND professor of sociology, is among the contributors.
Scars: The Effects of Post Traumatic Stress on Family, Relationships and Work, Richard Berg, CSC, ’59 (Corby Books). The author based this book on his visits to active and retired military service members who suffer from PTSD. Using real-life events, he relates the impact PTSD has on both their lives and the lives of those surrounding them. “This book will be a source of healing for many,” says John A. Riherd, a first lieutenant in the Army who served in Vietnam.
The Grim Reapers At Work in the Pacific Theater: The Third Attack Group of the U.S. Fifth Force, by John P. Henebry ’40 (Pictorial Histories Publishing Co.). During World War II, Henebry flew 219 combat missions. He published this book, he writes, “to relate the extraordinary effort, determination, ability, and bravery shown by the individuals” he worked with during his active combat years. Several black-and-white photographs are included in this book, which was published in 2002. The author died in 2007.
Tripped Up Love, by Julie Farley ’94 (Perfect Mammas Press). In the author’s debut novel, a woman faces the difficult life of a single mother of three when her 38-year-old husband dies. As Heather navigates her new role in the midst of prying neighbors, she discovers that an unimagined adventure awaits her.
What’s Your Decision? How to Make Choices with Confidence and Clarity: An Ignatian Approach to Decision Making, J. Michael Sparough, S.J., Jim Manney and Tim Hipskin, S.J., ’82 (Loyola Press).Using the insights of Saint Ignatius as a guide, the authors present a spiritual approach to making decisions. The book addresses such common questions as “Can I ever trust my gut?” and “Should I change careers?” Inviting God into the process, the authors say, can help provide the clarity necessary to make good choices.
Autism Prevention, Care and Management: The Plight of the Canary Children and Their Release from Captivity, Marvin D. Anderson, M.D., ’60 (G.U.D. Publishers). People vary in their susceptibility to toxins, the doctor writes, and he believes children with autism are particularly sensitive to contaminants. Here he discusses complementary approaches to preventing and controlling autism, with an emphasis on nutrition, as well as appropriate physical, occupational and speech therapies.
What Is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A Defense, Sherif Girgis, Ryan T. Anderson ’11M.A., Robert P. George (Encounter Books). In this expansion of an article that appeared in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, the three authors set forth the reasons they believe a redefinition of marriage is both unnecessary and contrary to the common good. They answer common objections to those who oppose their viewpoint and discuss how the legalization of same-sex civil marriage would leave no firm ground for not recognizing other types of relationships, such as polyamorous sexual unions.
Learning to Change the World: The Social Impact of One Laptop Per Child, Charles Kane ’79, Walter Bender, Jody Cornish, Neal Donahue (Palgrave Macmillan). The mission of One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit established in 2005, is to “empower the children of developing countries to learn.” The authors here present the origin and development of this group, which created and has delivered the affordable XO netbook to children around the world.
Untangled: Contemplation and Entanglement, Henry J. Sienkiewicz ’85 (Dog Ear Publishing). In this hyperconnected modern world, the author says, readers need to learn to focus on what actually matters in life. The software developer is not anti-technology, but he suggests that people explore the three pillars of contemplation — silence, stillness and solitude — as an aid to self-awareness.
When the Gospel Grows Feet: Rutilio Grande, SJ, and the Church of El Salvador — An Ecclesiology in Context, Thomas M. Kelly ’91 (Liturgical Press). In March 1977, Father Grande and two others in the car he drove were shot to death in El Salvador. Here the author explores liberation theology and its impact on the church in Latin America and the world, while also looking at what the church of El Salvador can teach North American Catholics today.
Corporate Governance Regulation: How Poor Management Is Destroying the Global Economy, Nicholas V. Vakkur ’95, Zulma J. Herrera ’95 (Wiley). The 2008 global financial crisis exposed the failure of regulation in the modern era. This analysis delineates how “value neutral” policies impair the world’s capacity to develop effective responses to developing crises and offers ideas for restarting a policy dialogue that could lead to meaningful reform.
Women in the Global Economy: Leading Social Change, edited by Trish Tierney ’92 (Institute of International Education and the American Institute for Foreign Study Foundation). An exploration of the key role women play in fueling economic growth by creating stable societies. Contributors include Melanne Verveer, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues; Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of Women’s World Banking; and Penny Abeywardena of the Clinton Global Initiative.
Ramblers: Loyola-Chicago 1963 — The Team that Changed the Color of College Basketball, Michael Lenehan ’71 (Agate Midway). A dramatic look at the integration of college basketball, told through the stories of Loyola’s NCAA championship team and their games with Mississippi State and Cincinnati. This detailed history also follows the players through to the present day.
Hey Folly, by Mary Margaret Alvarado ’01 (Dos Madres Press). This collection of poems, says one reviewer, expands the paradox that “the world of beauty is a world of unspeakable pain . . . [as] wonder, awe and exuberance contend with a crushing awareness of injustice and the suffering of others.” See http://marymargaretalvarado.com/section/344998_Poetry.html for a selection of Alvarado’s poetry.
The Art of Classical Details: Theory, Design and Craftsmanship, Phillip James Dodd ’99M.Arch. (Images Publishing). The lavishly illustrated book highlights projects by such architects as Marc Ferguson and Oscar Shamamian, Peter Pennoyer, Quinlan Terry and Gil Schafer. The author also covers the fundamentals of classical architecture, such as Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite columns.
Doing Survey Research, Peter Nardi ’69 (Paradigm Publishers). The updated version of this text, which prepares students to write a questionnaire, generate a sample, conduct their own survey research and analyze date, now references online media and includes new methods for web-based surveys. Each chapter also offers a “test yourself” section.
Peter Jangle Uncorks the Inflation Genie and Peter Jangle and the New Madrid Discovery, John W. Marske ’85, ’89MBA (Create Space). The author calls these novels “edutainment,” or educational entertainment. In the first, a fiscally minded fable, 17-year-old Peter Jangle stumbles upon a genie in a bottle and uses his newfound power to try to help “fix” the economy and find his father a job. Unfortunately, he learns that some economic decisions have dire consequences. In the second book, Peter lands an internship with a money-management firm in Chicago and his friend, Jerry, is hired by an insurance firm in Indianapolis. While they learn about high finance and health care, the two also discover that corporate life may test their integrity.
Carol Schaal is managing editor of this magazine.