Books for the holidays
Archived article from Dec 15, 2000
Focus asked members of the university community what books they recommend for giving as holiday presents. Perhaps not surprisingly, the variety of subjects was extensive, ranging from meatballs to meditations on higher education. Selections listed here are, in most cases, the most recent hardbound edition.
Robert Bailey, associate professor, public policy and administration, Camden
"Beowulf: A New VerseTranslation" by Seamus Heaney (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000) -- Like all kids in high school, I hated to read "Beowulf" in Middle English, but I love Heaney's poetry.
Barbara Bender, associate dean, Graduate School-New Brunswick
"Academic Duty" by Donald Kennedy (Harvard University Press, 1997) -- Kennedy, president emeritus of Stanford University, provides an insightful and fascinating perspective on the contemporary research university in the United States. Anyone interested in higher education,its strengths and challenges, will enjoy reading this work.
Marie Cornelia, associate dean, Graduate School-Camden
"Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time" by Dava Sobel (Walker & Co., 1996) -- I recommend this book for giving because this story of the invention of the chronometer to measure longitude at sea is by far the most interesting book I've read in the last five years.
Donita Devance-Manzini, project coordinator, Center for Urban Policy Research
"It's the Little Things: Everyday Interactions That Get Under the Skin of Blacks and Whites" by Lena Williams, preface by Charlayne Hunter-Gault (Harcourt, 2000) -- This book is about perception -- how the predominant races perceive one another and themselves. In spite of many advances toward racial harmony, blacks and whites live in separate worlds. Our communities collide at work, school, even in our neighborhoods, friendships and social institutions. Yet something undeniable divides the races and our understanding of one another.
James Dunn, professor of political science and chair of the graduate department of public policy and administration, Camden
"Master and Commander" by Patrick O'Brian (W.W. Norton, 1994) -- The first in a 20-volume "roman fleuve" about Jack Aubrey, a Nelson-era Royal Navy sea captain, and his surgeon/spy friend, Stephen Maturin. It is a lively and penetrating look at British society, its stratification and mores at the turn of the 19th century.
Bari Anhalt Erlichson, assistant professor, department of public policy, Bloustein School
"The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats (Viking Children's Books, 1996), "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barrett, et al. (Aladdin Paperbacks, 1982) and "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst (Aladdin Paperbacks, 1987) -- Although we have not reached a final decision as to what child will get what book, my husband and I will be giving these to our list of 26 kids from 17 families.
Gail Farrelly, mystery author and associate professor of accounting and information systems, Faculty of Management, Newark
"On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" by Stephen King (Scribner, 2000) -- This is a concise and information-packed work about the wonders and challenges of a writing career -- a great selection for authors and would-be authors. "The Vault" by Peter Lovesey (Soho Press, 2000) -- This latest in the Peter Diamond mystery series by the famed British author is a wonderfully entertaining story that begins when skeletal remains are found in Bath.
Mark G. Frank, assistant professor, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies
I plan to give "Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" (Norton, 1999) and would like to get "The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal (HarperTrade, 1992) -- Both books, by Jared Diamond, look at the natural history of humanity and try to explain why we are the way we are now.
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