Brandeis Magazine

Edited by Anita Ilta Garey and Karen V. Hansen
Rutgers University Press, $27.95

This book centers on the ideas of Arlie Russell Hochschild, a contemporary sociologist who has done seminal research on parenting and work. Brandeis sociologist Hansen and her co-author present 21 scholarly essays with titles that include “Inside the Clockwork of Male Careers,” “Emotion Work in the Age of Insecurity,” “The Viacom Generation: The Consumer Child and the Corporate Parent” and “Childbirth at the Global Crossroads.”

By Charles Baudelaire
Edited by Edward K. Kaplan
Moliere & Co., $13.95

Humanities professor Kaplan provides a new classroom edition of Baudelaire’s 1857 “The Flowers of Evil.” The book (erroneously described in our Spring 2011 edition as an English rendition) contains the authoritative French text, translations of key words into English, explanations of grammar and allusions, and a French-English glossary. One reviewer called this work “a splendid introduction to the poet and his visionary project.”

By Sajed Kamal
Earthscan, $29.95

In 2008, environmental activist Kamal, who teaches in Heller’s Sustainable International Development program, was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the EPA and named by The Boston Globe as one of “six local heroes” making the world a better place. As for this book, the subtitle says it all: “How We Can Fight Climate Change, Prevent Energy Wars, Revitalize the Economy and Transition to a Sustainable Future.”

By Kay S. Hymowitz ’71
Basic Books, $25.99

Once upon a time, guys finished high school or college, went to work in a factory or big-business trainee program, and lived happily ever after. Today, with a transformed job market, the path is less clear. Add competition from those focused, motivated females, and it’s enough to make a fellow refuse, like Peter Pan (or Adam Sandler) to participate in adult life. Journalist Hymowitz captures a new male archetype she calls the “preadult.”

By Robert Sharenow ’89
HarperTeen, $17.99

An award-winning TV producer and executive for A&E Network, Sharenow won acclaim for his first young-adult novel, “My Mother the Cheerleader.” Here, he brings us Karl, a weak, insecure and irreligious Jewish boy who apprentices himself to champion pugilist Max Schmeling in pre-WWII Germany. As tensions escalate, Karl is challenged to balance his passions for boxing and art with a growing imperative to protect his family.

Edited by Allon Gal, M.A.’70, Ph.D.’76, Athena S. Leoussi and Anthony D. Smith
Brill, $199

Historian Gal, professor emeritus of Ben-Gurion University, serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Modern Jewish Studies. Here, he and co-editors draw on leading scholars who examine Greek, Armenian, Irish, Turkish, Sikh, Ukrainian, Hindu, Pentecostal and Muslim populations to reflect on diaspora nationalisms, particularly in an age of global communication. The book is part of the series “Studies in Judaica.”

By Claire Golomb, Ph.D.’69
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, $22.95

In this book, subtitled “The Role of Art, Magic & Dreams in Child Development,” Golumb — a psychology professor for more than 40 years — shares insights on kids’ creativity. With rich illustrations and anecdotes, she cites examples from the worlds of child art, make-believe play, imaginary friends, fairy tales and magic, stressing their roles in fostering abstract thinking and self-expression and their potential in play therapy.

By Carole Joffe ’67
Beacon Press, $27.95

Subtitled “The Costs of Fanaticism to Doctors, Patients, and the Rest of Us,” this book goes behind the scenes to describe the difficulty abortion providers face in delivering safe, legal services. Despite Roe v. Wade, sociologist Joffe demonstrates, “abortion wars” rage on as medical professionals do battle with personal stigma, intimidation, regulatory challenges, political pressures, lies, and the ever-present threat (and reality) of violence.

By Deborah E. Lipstadt, M.A.’72, Ph.D.’76
Random House, $24.95

The trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem 50 years ago riveted the world spotlight on the depraved acts of Nazi war criminals and the depths of suffering they caused. In this book, Lipstadt, professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University, offers a fresh analysis of the court proceedings, and presents what the publisher terms “a legal, moral and political framework for coming to terms with unfathomable evil.”

Edited by Nicole Steinberg ’04
State University of New York Press, $21.95

Poet Steinberg, an editor for LIT magazine, celebrates the diversified borough of Queens as a breeding ground for literary talent. Here, Steinberg gathers writings on Queens from some two dozen contributors, including novelist Julia Alvarez (who contributes “85–11 Avon Street”), short story writer Jayanti Tamm (“God Lived in Queens”) cultural critic Buzz Poole (“To Bridge: The Spaces Between, Behind, and Around Us”) and poet Jill Eisenstadt (“Rockaway Sonnets”).

By Elizabeth Bremigan, Ralph Bremigan, M.A.’86, Ph.D.’90, and John D. Lorch
Mathematical Association of America Books, $64.95

Aimed at teaching the teachers, this 400-page textbook provides exercises and activities designed to sharpen readers’ skills and enhance their pedagogical toolboxes. Topics include functions, polynomials, trigonometry, exponential and logarithmic functions, number and operation, and measurement. Ralph Bremigan is a professor of mathematical sciences at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

By Mary Godwyn, M.A.’97, Ph.D.’00, and Donna Stoddard
Greenleaf Publishing, $24.95

Babson College teachers Godwyn, from the history and society department, and Stoddard, from information technology management, team up to shine light on a dozen female-owned minority businesses, ranging from an embroidered-bag company based in Virginia to a metal distributor in Tampa. Beyond telling their stories, the authors mine the businesswomen’s experiences to identify “best practices” as a model for others’ success.

By Ariel I. Ahram ’01
Stanford University Press, $21.95

In this book, Ahram, a political scientist at the University of Oklahoma, sounds the alarm on a growing threat to international security — the reliance by weak states on quasi-official militias, warlords and paramilitaries. Drawing examples from Indonesia, Iraq and other nations, Ahram shows the perils involved and provides policy prescriptions to ameliorate what he sees as a pending crisis.

By Judith Chazin-Bennahum
Oxford University Press, $29.95

The author, a dancer and professor emerita of theater and dance, has long been fascinated with the story of writer and producer Blum, who died in the Holocaust. A charismatic hero who lived at the heart of French high culture, Blum was a friend to Claude Debussy, Paul Valery and Marcel Proust. Chazin-Bennahum’s biography draws on previously untapped letters and other primary sources to shed new light on Blum’s enigmatic character.

By Mark Seth Lender ’71
St. Martin’s Press, $19.99

Nature writer and photographer Lender’s syndicated column, “Salt Marsh Diary,” reaches 100,000 Connecticut households. He also contributes to Public Radio International’s program “Living on Earth.” In this volume, he shares a year’s worth of inspiration derived from his front-porch vantage point on the marsh’s edge, describing goings-on among the kingfishers, tern, bluebirds, egrets and owls who populate his environment.

By Cameron Lynne Macdonald ’94
University of California Press $22.95

Bringing a nanny into the home is not like hiring a house painter. Less obvious is the depth and complexity of emotional nuances at play between moms and “shadow” moms. With 70 percent of U.S. mothers working outside the home, sociologist Macdonald explored the topic in extensive interviews with mothers and caregivers. She couples their stories with research data to provide insights, cautionary tales and recommendations.

By Jenifer Gershman ’91
Sweet Dreams Publishing, $16.95

In 2007, Gershman was diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening bone marrow disease that sapped her energy and separated her from her 4-year-old son, Jason, for weeks. She wrote this booklet to explain to him and other children what happens when a parent experiences a serious illness. The author (now in remission and living an active life with her family) addresses topics like physical weakness, hair loss, hospitalization and recovery.