Featured New Titles
February 1999

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Sanctorum communio [BR 45 .B6513x 1998]
Sperber, Daniel. The City in Roman Palestine [DS 111.1 S74x 1998]
Ridley, Jasper Godwin. Mussolini [DG 575.M8 R48x 1998]
Burrows, Edwin G. and Wallace, Mike. Gotham [F 128.3 .B87x 1999]
In iihiyo, in itlahtol= su aliento, su palabra [F 1219 .L465 I54x 1997]
Kinder, Gary. Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea [G 530 .C4 .K55x 1998]
Thompson, Tommy. America's Lost Treasure [+G 530 C4 T48x 1998]
Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod. Faithful and Fearless [HQ 1421 .K27x 1998]
Miller, Richard E. As If Learning Mattered [LA 227.4 .M555x 1998]
Greene, Howard R. The Select [LA 229 .G75x 1998]
Landseer, Charles, 1799-1879. Landseer [++ NC 242 .L36 M32 1972]
Klemperer, Victor. I Will Bear Witness [PC 2064 K5 A3 1998]
Kis, Danilo. Early Sorrows [PG 1419.21 .I8 Z474x 1998]
Samizdat Veka. Edited by Anatolii Strelianyi [+ PG 3228 .U52 S26x 1998]
Sinima al-`Arab = Arab Cinema [PN 1993 .5 .A65 .S56;1996]
Bell, Mark. Aphorism in the Francophone Novel of the Twentieth Century [PQ 673 B44w 1997]
Baricco, Alessandro. Silk [PQ 4862 A6745 S4713 1997]
Holland, Patrick and Graham Huggan. Tourists with Typewriters [PR 808.T72 H65 1998]
Neville-Sington, Pamela. Fanny Trollope [PR 5699.T3 Z76x 1997]


Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Sanctorum communio: a theological study of the sociology of the Church. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, 1.)

Location: Olin BR 45 .B6513x 1998

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1918-1945) was an important theologian, biblical scholar and leader of the Protestant Church in Germany during the Nazi period. Increasingly drawn towards the anti-Nazi resistance movement, he was imprisoned and executed by the Gestapo. This volume, comprising Bonhoeffer's doctoral dissertation, is the first in a projected sixteen-volume series that will offer for the first time a complete, authoritative English version of his works, based on the German critical edition. Given his importance in both modern theology and twentieth century German history, this new series is a significant publishing event and certain to be widely used by students of theology and modern history.
(Yoram Szekely, ybs1@cornell.edu)

Sperber, Daniel. The City in Roman Palestine. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Location: Olin DS 111.1 S74x 1998

A study of the city and urban life during the Talmudic period (ca. 100-400 A.D). Drawing on both literary and archaeological records, the author constructs a composite picture of the hypothetical Palestinian city, describing in detail the structure and use of many physical aspects such as roads and various types of public buildings. Accompanied by a rich array of photographs, maps and drawings, it offers a most informative overview of urbanization in the provinces of the Roman Empire and is thus of interest both to Jewish Studies and Classical Studies.
(Yoram Szekely, ybs1@cornell.edu)

Ridley, Jasper Godwin. Mussolini. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.

Location: Olin, DG 575.M8 R48x 1998
Uris, DG 575.M8 R48x 1998

The first comprehensive biography in fifteen years, this book chronicles Mussolini's circuitous journey through Socialism and Anarchism to become the founder of Italian Fascism. Once in power he revealed his true colors as an empire builder and racist. Ridley counters the often-presented image of Mussolini as a buffoon, showing him as a shrewd politician able to win the confidence of foreign governments when it suited his plans. In the process he gives us a gripping account of one of the arch villains of the 20th century.
(G. David Brumberg, gdb1@cornell.edu)

Burrows, Edwin G. and Wallace, Mike. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Location: Olin, F 128.3 .B87x 1999+
Uris, F 128.3 .B87x 1999

A "page turner" with the impact of a novel, but grounded in the best and most recent scholarship, Gotham has been hailed as the best history of the city ever written. Burrows and Wallace (not the Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes) present the turbulent 400-year tale of the 17th century Dutch colony which grew to be the "first city" and "informal capital" of the United States by the end of the 19th century. No mere local history; the story of New York City reflects the saga of the nation. The work blends the histories of the "movers and shakers" and the great events with accounts of many ordinary people who contributed to the growth of this world-class metropolis. The result is a riveting book which will hold its place as a classic for many years to come.
(G. David Brumberg, gdb1@cornell.edu)

In iihiyo, in itlahtol= su aliento, su palabra :homenaje a Miguel León-Portilla. Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México/ El Colegio Nacional; Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 1997.

Location: Olin F 1219 .L465 I54x 1997

A festschrift to the great Mexican nahuatlist, Miguel León-Portilla; the Spanish parallel title translates "his inspiration, his word." The twenty-six essays that comprise the volume are devoted to the man and to his scholarly interests. An international group of contributors includes: Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, Georges Baudo, Jorge Klor de Alva, José Alcina Franch and Patrick Johansson.
(David Block, db10@cornell.edu)

Kinder, Gary. Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1998.

Location: Olin G 530 .C4 .K55x 1998

This fascinating account of the SS Central America, sunk in 1857 off the Carolina coast, combines first-person accounts of the storm and sinking with present day efforts to find and recover the twenty-one tons of gold on the ship. A combination of scientific and technical innovation, along with personal persistence and bravery, allowed the team who worked with Tommy Thompson, the engineer who conceived and carried out this project, to recover gold coins, bars, nuggets and dust and steamer trunks filled with clothes, newspapers, books and journals. Preserving and documenting eachpiece with thousands of photographs taken before and after recovery, the team set a standard of deep water recovery. (See review below)
Martha Hsu (mrh2@cornell.edu)

Thompson, Tommy. America's Lost Treasure; a pictorial chronicle of the sinking and recovery of the United States mail steamship Central America. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1998.

Location: + Olin G 530 C4 T48x 1998

More than 250 illustrations and photographs, some taken 8000 feet below the surface of the ocean, depict the recovery process and the ship's treasure, as well as life on the ocean floor. (See review above)
Martha Hsu (mrh2@cornell.edu)

Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod. Faithful and Fearless: Moving Feminist Protest inside the Church and Military. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, c1998.

Location: Olin 14 Day Shelf, Uris HQ 1421 .K27x 1998

Katzenstein's new book (produced partly thanks to "the wonderful environment of my study in the Carl A. Kroch Library"!), looks at the emergence, in the past two decades, of feminist activism within two male-dominated institutions: the U.S. military and American Catholic Church. Demands for equality within these core, mainstream institutions have furthered the challenge issued by the second wave of American feminism to the notion of gender difference as an important basis for organizing the economy and society.

Katzenstein answers the question of what happened to feminism and other political protest seen in the streets in the 1970s. In the 1980s and 90s, conflict over status and resources in American society has moved into the institutions of our daily lives. There, these issues are being tackled differently based on particular institutional structure and culture, outside events, access to legal recourse, and America's various political traditions. Katzenstein presents a compelling story of a new stage in American institutions, feminism, and social protest.
(Brenda Marston, bjm4@cornell.edu)

Greene, Howard R. The Select : realities of life and learning in America's elite colleges. New York : Cliff Street Books, 1998.

Location: Olin LA229 .G75x 1998

Miller, Richard E. As If Learning Mattered : reforming higher education. Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, 1998.

Location: Olin LA227.4 .M555x 1998

Olin resources about higher education support the self-assessment which is characteristic of a university community. Selected titles offer a range of background information, with books and journals providing descriptive analysis, prescriptive policy, historical perspective, comparative data, etc.A recent addition to Olin, The Select, reports the results of a survey of 4,000 undergraduates at elite American universities. The book focuses on the reality of daily life for the students at twenty schools including Cornell. The response tabulations and the students' comments offer general and specific assessments of each school's performance. In the chapter on the academic experience, for example, tabulations show the environment as challenging, with Cornell ranked highest for level of academic stress.

Another new Olin title, As If Learning Mattered, looks at the process of reform in higher education. The author investigates why there is resistance to reform and what happens when theory is actually implemented for reform. His illustrative essays suggest the possibility for change within the bureaucratic university. His work and the others in Olin's collection promote reflection on the state of higher education.
(Janie Harris, jlh9@cornell.edu)

Landseer, Charles, 1799-1879. Landseer. <edited by Candido Guinle de Paula Machado>. <São Paulo, Fotolito e impressao em offset por Lanzara, 1972>

Location: Olin ++ NC 242 .L36 M32 1972

This beautiful, oversized volume is the sketchbook compiled by Charles Landseer from his trip to London, Lisbon and Brazil, on a diplomatic mission headed by Charles Stuart. The images show Portugal and Brazil in 1825, at the onset of the Brazilian Empire. Landseer's work includes pencil sketches and watercolors depicting landscapes, portraits of the Brazilian elites and scenes of social life, including the pole-wielding Afro-Brazilian included here. There is a brief accompanying narrative, published in parallel Portuguese and English.
(David Block, db10@cornell.edu)

Klemperer, Victor. I Will Bear Witness; a diary of the Nazi years, 1933-1941. Translated by Martin Chalmers. New York: Random House, 1998.

Location: Olin PC 2064 K5 A3 1998

A professor of Romance languages in Dresden, Victor Klemperer was a baptized Jew married to a Christian. He recognized the danger of Hitler early on, but stayed in Germany and survived the war despite losing his job, his house, his car, his typewriter and most of his freedom. Determined to bear witness to the indignities of daily life under the tyranny of Nazism, Klemperer brought eloquence, sophistication and his keen powers of observation to these, his secret diaries. This volume will be followed next year by the translation of the diaries from 1942-1945.
(Martha Hsu, mrh2@cornell.edu) (Yoram Szekeley, ybs1@cornell.edu)

Kis, Danilo. Early Sorrows (For Children and Sensitive Readers). Translated from the Serbian by Michael Henry Heim. New York: New Directions, c1998.

Location: Olin, PG 1419.21 .I8 Z474x 1998

Early Sorrows, originally published in Belgrade in 1969, has only recently been translated from Serbian into English. Danilo Kis is an acclaimed Serbian writer, well known in the West for his earlier works, Encyclopedia of the Dead, Hourglass, and A Tomb for Boris Davidovich. Early Sorrows is composed of stories that comprise a memorial to his childhood. All twenty pieces bring back experiences of a Jewish boy during World War II in a small Serbian town near the Hungarian border, the land where "the armies and ideologies washed with the brutal regularity of surf." (William Gass, The New York Review of Books) Kis's poetic prose masterfully captures the change from the dreamy serenity of boyhood to a life, after the soldiers enter his village, of horror and brutality. Since childhood experiences are echoed throughout Kis's later works, this book provides a necessary link for a better understanding and appreciation of the author's literary legacy.
(Wanda Wawro, wtw3@cornell.edu)

Samizdat Veka. Edited by Anatolii Strelianyi ... [et al.] Minsk: Polifakt, 1998.

Location: Olin, + PG 3228 .U52 S26x 1998

In Samizdat Veka (A Century of Underground Publishing) editors gathered the most significant and outstanding works published underground, despite severe censorship, in Russia during the twentieth century. This impressive, most carefully edited volume contains poetry, essays, anecdotes, folk songs, leaflets, slogans, and, most of all, over 1,000 reproductions of art and artifacts from prisons and gulags. Authors from all walks of life, all ages and backgrounds manifest their steadfast love for liberty and life and their hope and courage in the struggle for freedom of thought and expression. The book's preface consists of several separate essays written by eminent scholars who define and describe underground publishing as a distinct phenomenon of Russian culture.
(Wanda Wawro, wtw3@cornell.edu)

Sinima al-`Arab = Arab Cinema <computer file>. -- Falls Church, Va. : Dijitik Intirnashyunal, 1996.

Location: Olin,Reference Disk PN 1993 .5 .A65 .S56;1996
Available in: Electronic Text Center (108 Olin Library)

This multimedia database gives a full account about more than 3,000 Arabic films, representing a complete archive of Arab cinema and Arab actors and actresses. An outstanding and a unique source for the researcher and the lay person for studying the history of motion pictures in several Arab countries. (Arabic operating system required, provided in ETC room).
(Ali Houissa, ah16@cornell.edu)

Bell, Mark. Aphorism in the Francophone Novel of the Twentieth Century. Montreal, McGill-Queen's University Press. 1997

Location: Olin PQ 673 B44w 1997

 

In this exploration of the twentieth-century novels written in French, Mark Bell defines aphorism as a literary genre and demonstrates how it is used in seven texts that provide a cross section of ideological stances and francophone communities.
(Flaminia Cervesi-McCobb, fcm4@cornell.edu)

Baricco, Alessandro. Silk. Translated by Guido Waldman. London: The Harvill Press. 1997.

Location: Olin PQ 4862 A6745 S4713 1997

When an epidemic threatens to destroy the silk trade in France, the young merchant Hervè Joncour leaves his doting wife and his comfortable home in Lavilledieu and travels across Siberia to the other end of the world, to Japan, to obtain eggs for a fresh breeding of silk worms. It is the 1860's; Japan is closed to foreigners and this has to be a clandestine operation... Silk, which became an immediate best seller in Italy, is to be published in sixteeen languages- including Japanese. This book is also available in Olin in its original Italian version.
(Flaminia Cervesi-McCobb, fcm4@cornell.edu)

Holland, Patrick and Graham Huggan. Tourists with Typewriters: Critical Reflections on Contemporary Travel Writing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1998.

Olin: PR 808.T72 H65 1998

When Ithaca skies are gray, turn to this book to inspire your escape to the rich variety of contemporary travel writing. The authors of this extensive survey are critical of the frequent complacency and ethnocentrism of travel writing, but recognize its importance as a literary and cultural form. Their work helps us consider the quality of writing; or the accuracy of descriptions; or the temperature of the destination; or the traveler's mode of transportation; or colonial vs. postcolonial locale. Guided by this study, we readers, snowbound, can be transported to faraway places with a literate companion of our choosing.
(Sarah How; seh4@cornell.edu)

Neville-Sington, Pamela. Fanny Trollope: The Life and Adventures of a Clever Woman. London: Viking, 1997.

Olin: PR 5699.T3 Z76x 1997

Traveler and clever commentator, prolific author and mother of novelist Anthony, Fanny Trollope's real life was as interesting as fiction. In Domestic Manners of the Americans, a bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic in 1832, she wrote: "I do not like them. I do not like their principles. I do not like their opinions." Olin owns the British edition of this well-received biography, purchased one year before the U.S. edition appeared in late 1998. Olin's collections include materials by other Trollope family members, as well. For example, in addition to some of the more than 40 works by Frances Trollope, Olin stacks contain all available Trollope Society editions of Anthony Trollope's 47 novels, and works by contemporary Aga-saga writer Joanna Trollope. (A complete list of the Trollope Society editions of Anthony Trollope can be found at<http://mirrors.org.sg/victorian/trollope/tsociety/publishing1.html>
(Sarah How; seh4@cornell.edu)


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