(source: Library Journal, 15/05/2009)
Communications
Greene, Bob. Late Edition: A Love Story. St. Martin’s. Jul. 2009. c.288p. ISBN 978-0-312-37530-0. $25.95. COMM
In a touching homage to the daily newspaper, Greene weaves a wistful tapestry of “the sights, sounds, and smells” of his first job working at his hometown newspaper, the Columbus Citizen-Journal, from 1964 to 1968. He recalls the wonder of his first day as a copy boy and the subsequent years spent writing for the paper’s sports and city desks. In his youth, argues Greene, when TV was just beginning to take hold, American families cherished their local newspapers as “the daily scrapbook of a city’s life.” People subscribed to the morning paper produced by one news organization and the evening edition of another in order to keep abreast of local business, school, civic, and sporting events. Greene also recollects when his “first love,” the Citizen-Journal, printed its last edition in 1985, a time when cities could no longer sustain two competing newspapers. This nostalgic look at the importance of newspaper reporting in American life is valuable reading for anyone concerned about the possibility of having no newspapers to turn to for their local news.—Donna Marie Smith, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., FL
Morton, Paula E. Tabloid Valley: Supermarket News and American Culture. Univ. Pr. of Florida. May 2009. c.224p. photogs. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8130-3364-8. $24.95. COMM
Freelance journalist Morton has written a concise overview of the American supermarket tabloid, emphasizing the National Enquirer and others owned by Florida-based American Media, Inc. Drawing on interviews and various print sources, she traces the history of the tabloid format from its beginnings in England, its American roots in yellow journalism, and the rise in the importance of photojournalism in the age of the Internet. As Morton shows, the National Enquirer was developed from a failing New York newspaper by Generoso Pope Jr, who used shocking or gory content to help increase circulation. He then began to include more celebrity stories, which increased the tabloid’s popularity in supermarkets. Morton reviews the move of the newspaper to Florida, where it helped create a thriving publishing industry in the Palm Beach area. A number of tabloid covers are included here, as are anecdotes about various popular tabloid stories. Though it is somewhat brief, this book provides useful information for those interested in American media history.—Joel W. Tscherne, Bryant & Stratton Coll., Cleveland
Economics
Fox, Justin. The Myth of the Rational Market: A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall Street. Collins Business: HarperCollins. Jun. 2009. c.320p. ISBN 978-0-06-059899-0. $27.99. BUS
Fox, a Time editor at large and economics columnist, here takes readers through the history of academic research on financial markets since the late 19th century. He focuses on the development of the Efficient Market Theory and its fall from dominance, which resulted largely from the rise of behavioral finance. The Efficient Market Theory uses mathematical models to show that investors act on information as it becomes available, making pricing so efficient that an investor would be unable to beat the market without insider information. Fox argues convincingly that this theory has been eclipsed by behavioral finance, which studies investors’ psychology to show that markets are not as rational as the Efficient Market Theory presents. The style here is journalistic, with personal stories that make the book entertaining, but ultimately this is a history of academic thought—complete with endnotes—and is best suited for students of finance or people interested in financial theory.—Robbie Allen, St. Johns River Community Coll., Palatka, FL
Frank, Robert H. The Economic Naturalist’s Field Guide: Common Sense Principles for Troubled Times. Basic Bks: Perseus. Jun. 2009. c.240p. index. ISBN 978-0-465-01511-5. $26. BUS
New York Times columnist Frank (management & economics, Cornell Univ.) is no slouch at making often misunderstood economic precepts easier to grasp. This collection of Times columns is handily organized into thematic sections; Frank’s writing sparkles, and the topics, which include health care and the subprime-mortgage crisis, are timely. However, many readers may find this more a political treatise than an economic one, as Frank’s conclusions tend toward the progressive (he supports both the estate tax and a single payer health-care system). He explored such stances in greater depth in his earlier books, including The Winner-Take-All Society and Falling Behind, which housed more comprehensive and research-based arguments than this one. This book is best as a recreational read and may appeal to fans of Malcolm Gladwell; however, coming only two years after Frank’s The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for Everyday Enigmas, it’s an optional choice.—Sarah Statz Cords, Reader’s Advisor Online, Madison, WI
Samuel, Larry. Rich: The Rise and Fall of American Wealth Culture. AMACOM: American Management Assn. Jul. 2009. c.320p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8144-1362-3. $24.95. BUS
Samuel (founder, Culture Planning, LLC) has made a career of studying the superrich and consulting with companies that cater to them. Here, with an anthropologist’s eye for detail, he covers the rise of megamillionaires over the 20th century. Each generation has produced new industries that have created different kinds of millionaires, from the Texas oil baron to the Silicon Valley dot-commer. While these groups have varied in what they spend on luxury items and philanthropy, they have much in common, such as difficulties with hiring the help, tensions between old and new money, and the rapid rise and fall of fortunes. Samuel also analyzes the American middle- and working-class obsession with get-rich-quick schemes and the range of admiration, envy, and disgust toward the wealthy. While Samuel acknowledges the present economic crisis and its effect on the wealthy, he argues that many have exaggerated the downturn and that the superrich will rise again. Fascinating, humorous, and readable, this book is recommended for anyone—general reader or scholar—interested in wealth in this country.—Kathryn Stewart, Centreville, VA
Political Science
Allitt, Patrick. The Conservatives: Ideas & Personalities Throughout American History. Yale Univ. May 2009. c.336p. index. ISBN 978-0-300-11894-0. $35. POL SCI
The only problem with this book is that it makes you want to read so many other books, if that can be called a problem! Allitt (history, Emory Univ.) traces leading voices of American conservative thought from the American Revolution to the end of the 20th century. He is amazingly widely read, surveying the field and presenting not just the usual suspects (John C. Calhoun, William F. Buckley, Milton Friedman) but forgotten giants (Edward Everett, William Graham Sumner) and some who were always pretty obscure (e.g., John Randolph of Roanoke, Jerome Tuccille). Most books on political conservatism today are full of invective, their authors preaching to the choir. Allitt isn’t trying to convert or demonize anyone; instead, he merely presents a history of ideas. He has written a marvelous book that will be enlightening to both conservatives and liberals and is the rare university press book that is a page-turner, readable while also scholarly. Libraries, be prepared for some interesting purchase and ILL requests from the citations in this book!—Michael O. Eshleman, Greene Cty. Common Pleas Court, Xenia, OH
Feinstein, Andrew. After the Party: Corruption, the ANC and South Africa’s Uncertain Future. Verso, dist. by Norton. 2009. 320p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-84467-356-8. $26.95. INT AFFAIRS
Feinstein, a former member of parliament for the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s ruling party since 1994, and a frequent political commentator, delivers a detailed and very personal account of the key groups and players inside (and outside) the ANC in the fight against apartheid and for democratic elections in South Africa. Both memoir and historical account, this book is a challenging read in the best meaning of the phrase, inviting readers to look at a very difficult topic through the experiences of a man who was there. While Feinstein’s descriptions of poverty, segregation, and racism will be familiar, American readers might just learn something about the concept of apartheid and its effect on South Africa and its diverse population. Feinstein, himself a Caucasian Jew, tells of not voting in any election (even though he had the right) until 1994, when voting was integrated and Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first democratically elected president. The book focuses on the time from Mandela’s election to the ANC’s splintering, the author’s resignation from the party, and his emigration to London. With notes and a very helpful list of abbreviations; readers with some knowledge of South Africa will especially appreciate this book.—Jenny Seftas, Southwest Florida Coll., Fort Myers
Gerken, Heather K. The Democracy Index: Why Our Election System Is Failing and How To Fix It. May 2009. c.192p. index. ISBN 978-0-691-13694-3. $24.95. POL SCI
In 2007, Gerken (Yale Law Sch.) wrote an article proposing that states and localities be ranked on the effectiveness of the elections they administer, prompting senators Obama and Clinton to introduce bills in support of her idea. Now Gerken, who worked on the 2008 Obama campaign’s “election protection team,” explains her proposal at book length. She argues that a national debacle such as Florida’s in the 2000 election is only as far off as the next close election, since our system remains plagued by “long lines, registration problems, a dearth of poll workers, [and] machine breakdowns.” Unlike other democracies, with centralized professional administration, we rely on a “hyper-decentralized” and partisan election apparatus, often underfunded and run by amateurs. Further, we operate in a “world without data,” a problem her Democracy Index would address through data collection on matters like length of polling-place lines, number of poll workers, and number of ballots cast against number counted. Public rankings would then, she argues, serves as a nonpartisan path to reform. Addressing a timely topic in highly accessible style, this book is recommended for all interested readers.—Bob Nardini, Nashville, TN
Haas, Michael. George W. Bush, War Criminal?: The Bush Administration’s Liability for 269 War Crimes. Praeger. 2009. 405p. index. ISBN 978-0-313-36499-0. $39.95. POL SCI
Haas (political science, emeritus, Univ. of Hawaii) is the first author to compile a comprehensive list of alleged war crimes committed by the Bush administration during its global war against international terrorism. Haas’s benchmark is the set of Geneva Conventions adopted after World War II, of which the United States was a critical state sponsor. At the least, this work should be read with close scrutiny, given Haas’s insistence on the centrality of the rule of law even (or especially) in time of international conflict—an insistence recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, most notably in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), in which the Court overturned the Bush administration’s system of military commissions. Perhaps most likely to be acknowledged (and even then it’s a long shot) is Haas’s call for a truth commission to investigate the past deeds of various Bush officials, including the President himself. This work’s greatest achievement, however, may be its detailed treatment of the Geneva Conventions and their role in establishing an international regime based on the rule of law, a regime applicable to American law and politics. Highly recommended, especially for serious students of the topics covered.—Stephen K. Shaw, Northwest Nazarene Univ., Nampa, ID
Mamdani, Mahmood. Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror. Pantheon. 2009. c.400p. index. ISBN 978-0-307-37723-4. $26.95. INT AFFAIRS
The World and Darfur: International Response to Crimes Against Humanity in Western Sudan. McGill-Queen’s Univ. 2008. c.344p. ed. by Amanda F. Grzyb. index. ISBN 978-0-7735-3535-0. $29.95.
Highlighted by the International Criminal Court’s recent indictment of Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir on counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the turmoil in the Darfur region of the Sudan continues to evoke both impassioned advocacy and controversy. The latter stems primarily from the power inherent in one word—genocide—and whether or not it should be applied to events in the region. The World and Darfur, edited by Grzyb (information & media studies, Univ. of Western Ontario), uniquely encompasses a diversity of scholarship by both social scientists and scholars in the humanities (all genocide scholars), who examine the West’s response (or lack thereof) to Darfur. The essays from humanities scholars are especially powerful, ranging from the deconstruction of language used by Western and Sudanese politicians to the messages conveyed in art drawn by children in Darfur refugee camps. The message is clear: genocide occurred and continues to occur in Darfur, and Western nations—stalled by bureaucracy and politics—have a moral and legal obligation to intervene.
In stark contrast, Mamdani (Good Muslim, Bad Muslim) argues that calling the events in Darfur genocide is inaccurate and irresponsible. In his sweeping history of Darfur, Mamdani claims that the political and cultural complexities of the region have brought about events that are indeed tumultuous but do not constitute genocide. He believes that the West’s concern with Darfur is a preferred distraction from the failed U.S. occupation in Iraq, offering Western citizens a means to reclaim the moral high ground. At the core of Mamdani’s argument is an explicit fear that the claim of genocide and call for justice is a thinly veiled attempt to recolonize Africa. These books offer strikingly disparate interpretations of Darfur, each stamped as truth. At times, the in-depth academic analyses betray a certain level of detachment from the human experience in Darfur that can be a bit disheartening. That aside, both books provide valuable historical and cultural background to recent events in Darfur and the sure-to-continue scholarly debate on genocide.—Veronica Arellano, Univ. of Houston Libs.
Otto, Nathan & Amber Lupton. Give Peace a Deadline: What Ordinary People Can Do To Cause World Peace in Five Years. Greenleaf. 2009. c.273p. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-929774-86-9. $22.95. POL SCI
This is an introduction to the authors’ newly launched P5Y (Peace in Five Years) organization, which puts the deadline for achieving peace at February 14, 2014. The authors are calling for an international peace movement to end politically organized warfare, offering a business-oriented model that includes accountability, deadlines, and measurable goals. Otto, who formerly organized several successful Internet ventures, and Lupton, a personal development expert, describe here an infrastructure that enables planning and development, centered at their web site (www.P5Y.org) and supporting as many peace collaborations as individuals or groups are willing to propose. Skeptics, take note: the authors assert that they do not see peace as a Utopian conclusion; they acknowledge that disagreements and struggle will continue but argue that resources freed from the machinations of war can be reallocated to other worldwide problems of poverty, hunger, and disease. While this book takes a self-actualizing approach to changing the world, it is ultimately a call for volunteers willing to devote themselves to a movement that has a recognizable and imperative outcome as its goal and is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in that goal. [A portion of the proceeds will go to support the movement.—Ed.]—Jim Hahn, Univ. of Illinois Lib., Urbana
Social Sciences
de Botton, Alain. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. Pantheon. Jun. 2009. c.336p. photogs. ISBN 978-0-375-42444-1. $26. SOC SCI
This exploration of how and why we labor arrives at a poignant time, as global economic turmoil cuts off countless workers from their livelihoods—and the meaning work gives them. Essayist and novelist de Botton (How Proust Can Change Your Life) spends time with workers in England as well as the United States, including fishermen, rocket scientists, accountants, a landscape painter, and a career counselor, in pursuit of some fundamental truth about work. His conclusion is, perhaps unavoidably, elusive; he variously seems to praise commitment to a task and to deride it, to glorify and to condemn modern industry. De Botton filters his subjects’ experiences through his own; though he is a witty, engaging interlocutor, his dominant voice distances the reader from those he aims to portray. Photographer Richard Baker contributes visual images of workers and workplaces, including a photo-essay documenting the process by which a tuna in the Indian Ocean becomes dinner for an English child. Providing provocative insights on specialization and the transitory nature of significance, this is sophisticated reading on a timely subject. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/09.]—Janet Ingraham Dwyer, Worthington Libs., OH
Dirt: The Quirks, Habits, and Passions of Keeping House. Seal, dist. by Publishers Group West. 2009. c.280p. ed. by Mindy Lewis. ISBN 978-1-58005-261-0. pap. $15.95. SOC SCI
In this anthology of 38 pieces, by writers ranging from Rebecca Walker to Ann Hood to Joyce Maynard, essayist Lewis (Life Inside: A Memoir) turns her attention to housekeeping. Dirt in our homes and the process of cleaning it up is a universal task that all of us can appreciate. But while some of us enjoy housekeeping and excel at it, others abhor it and ignore it as long as possible. The contributors discuss their cleaning experiences and how those experiences have shaped them; clutter, neatness, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, hoarding, and dust bunnies are all covered here. This book certainly differs from the usual how-to manuals. Indeed, even though it offers no direct help with cleaning, its heartening prose could encourage even dedicated slobs to raise their standards. It is effectively a cumulative story about our lives and a great read to pick up now and then: the short entries and interesting points of view make this a pleasing and accessible volume.—Holly S. Hebert, Rochester Coll., Rochester Hills, MI
Lemke-Santangelo, Gretchen. Daughters of Aquarius: Women of the Sixties Counterculture. Univ. Pr. of Kansas. 2009. c.256p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-7006-1633-6. $24.95. SOC SCI
Not surprisingly, Tim Hodgdon’s Manhood in the Age of Aquarius: Masculinity in Two Countercultural Communities, 1965–83 appears in the selected bibliography of Lemke-Santangelo’s book on hippie women. Both books look at the counterculture and alternative lifestyles that became popular among younger people beginning in the 1960s, and they share an academic writing style (not to mention the use of the same Irwin Klein photograph, “Alan and Mickey in Meadow”). Manhood began as Hodgdon’s dissertation, and it reads like one: earnest and kind of plodding. Lemke-Santangelo (history, St. Mary’s Coll. of California) similarly generalizes and strives to explain things (like why communes relied on food stamps), using quotes from a seemingly random selection of folks who were there, interspersed with out-of-context bons mots from people like Benjamin Spock and Barbara Ehrenreich. For a really fun read and a nice cultural history of the times, Sheila Weller’s Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon—And the Journey of a Generation goes over a lot better. Daughters of Aquarius may be of interest, however, to students and specialists on 1960s America.—Ellen Gilbert, Princeton, NJ
Malaby, Thomas M. Making Virtual Worlds: Linden Lab and Second Life. Cornell Univ. Jun. 2009. c.184p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8014-4746-4. $24.95. SOC SCI
Examining the challenges of developing and governing one of the most hyped virtual worlds today, this ethnographic study details Linden Lab’s ongoing organizational evolution in response to its mercurial creation, Second Life. Because Linden Lab eschews vertical authority, Second Life, while based in part on game design principles, is primarily an open world where users self-govern and design their own social environments. Linden Lab sees its role chiefly as a provider of tools to aid user creativity and content construction. Malaby (anthropology, Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee) focuses on how Linden Lab can guide and manage a world where users are not only allowed but encouraged to take unpredictable, idiosyncratic actions that will influence other users’ experiences of Second Life. Overall, this is an illuminating study, but one caution: it’s slim on details for translating these findings into applications for other organizations. Recommended for readers familiar with Second Life or seeking to learn more about it. [For more on Second Life, see Sue Martin Mahar & Jay Mahar's The Unofficial Guide to Building Your Business in the Second Life Virtual World, LJ 5/1/09.—Ed.]—David Ward, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Smith, Paul Chaat. Everything You Know About Indians Is Wrong. Univ. of Minnesota. May 2009. c.192p. photogs. ISBN 978-0-8166-5601-1. $21.95. SOC SCI
With acerbic wit and unflinching honesty, social critic Smith (associate curator, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution; coauthor, with Robert Warrior, Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee) offers a collection of essays that were written over approximately a 15-year period. It is an eclectic collection that chronicles the evolution of his views on the politics of being a Native American, beginning with his obvious naïveté as a committed activist within the American Indian Movement to his present employment with the federal government. No target is safe from his pointed barbs, not even himself. The explanation of how quickly his views toward the creation of the National Museum of the American Indian changed when the practicality of needing employment entered the equation is alone worth the price of the book. In addition to being an entertaining read, this book gives one much to consider as Smith challenges many of the tropes that too many authors utilize when writing about native peoples. Highly recommended.—John Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY
Sweeney, Matthew. The Lottery Wars: Long Odds, Fast Money, and the Battle Over an American Institution. Bloomsbury Pr., dist. by Macmillan. 2009. c.288p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-59691-304-2. $25. SOC SCI
New York journalist Sweeney offers a history of the lottery in America, interwoven with tales of individual wins and losses, as well as descriptions of the battles fought over whether or not to create lottery systems in various states. While much has been written from economic and popular perspectives on the merits and evils of lotteries, this book combines history and personal anecdote, presumably in an attempt to provide a comprehensive picture. Perhaps the best part of the book is the inclusion of personal stories taken from interviews with lottery winners, losers, and addicts; readers are allowed to make their own judgments about the relative benefits and demerits of lotteries. Unfortunately, the book suffers from a lack of organization. The introduction jumps from topic to topic, with no statement of purpose; the loosely arranged chapters would have benefited from structural clues, such as section headings and summary sentences. Owing to these problems, it is difficult to recommend this book, though there will be readers in popular culture who will want to see it.—Elizabeth L. Winter, Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta
Vollmann, William. Imperial. Viking. Aug. 2009. c.1344p. photogs. maps. bibliog. ISBN 978-0-670-02061-4. $55. SOC SCI
Award-winning writer Vollmann (Europe Central) spent more than ten years researching Imperial County, CA, and the result is this complex, detailed, but often frenetic look at Southern California’s border region. Vollmann uses Imperial’s history to explore larger issues, such as immigration policies. Unfortunately, it appears that Vollman wanted to include every nugget of information he discovered—every interesting anecdote, roadside sign, or newspaper advertisement—and cram it all into this book, with the rationale for arrangement mostly unclear and with no synthesis or analysis (though plenty of his own bias). For example, he includes a series of hand-drawn maps at the beginning but waits until the final pages to explain them and put them into context. In addition, at least 12 different font types and sizes were used throughout, which only proves distracting. Overall, this book suffers under its own weight—it comes in at over 1300 pages, and evidently no index is planned. Perhaps Vollmann’s accompanying photo book, to be published simultaneously by powerHouse (not seen by reviewer), would be a better purchase for interested libraries. Not recommended, though Vollmann fans will still ask.—Mike Miller, Austin P.L., TX
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