The Battle of Ole Miss
Civil Rights v. States’ Rights
by Frank Lambert
LD3413 .L36 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
As we all know, the middle years of the twentieth century were a very tumultuous time for the civil rights struggle for African Americans. All aspects of life were affected by the color line, including education. This week’s featured title focuses on higher education – one with which we all can relate.
Lambert, history professor at Purdue University, brings us the story of James Meredith, an African American student that enrolled for classes at University of Mississippi in 1962. The riot that took place after his matriculation earned a spot in the record books as one of the deadliest clashes of the era. The author provides a first-hand account of many of these events, as he was a student at Ole Miss at the time. While Lambert highlights the local situation, he also explores the historical context of Mississippi and the South – the sociocultural factors that contributed to the blow-up.
Beginning Google Maps Mashups
with Mapplets, KML and GeoRSS:
From Novice to Professional
by Sterling Udell
G70.212 .U34 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Last week as I worked with a class on a research project, the question came up – “How do you calculate the distance between Chennai (India) and Long Beach, CA… in nautical miles?” While I totally knew the answer in my head, I searched for a solution that would allow the students to find out this for themselves. Enter the Google Maps Distance Calculator from Daft Logic. You plot your two points wherever you’d like and it automagically figures out the distance, in miles, kilometers, nautical miles, meters and FEET. All of this is possible because of a what’s affectionately known as a mashup. (In case you’re wondering, the distance between Chennai and Long Beach measures out to approximately 7800 nautical miles.)
I tell this story because this week’s featured title details just how to make your very own mashup. Udell, having developed with Google Maps since before its release to the public, shares his expertise with the Internet giant’s geographic code and its applications in web design. He provides this information in an accessible volume, stating upfront that the reader need not have programming experience (just not an aversion to it) to utilize this book. The author starts off easy with walking you through the Geoweb and setting up a maps page, and guides you as you explore the possibilities with mapplets. If you’ve ever wanted to put together a mashup but didn’t know how, this book will get you on the right track.
Playbooks and Checkbooks:
An Introduction to the Economics of Modern Sports
by Stefan Szymanski
GV717 .S993 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
With the Olympics closing this past weekend, the NBA and NHL in the middle of their seasons and baseball preseason starting up in the next few weeks, sports on many people’s minds. This week’s featured title makes us think about all of the finances that go into the sports industry.
Szymanski, professor of economics at the City University London, explores the fascinating (and sickening to some) world of professional sports and the business models used to generate the necessary income to support themselves. He examines the economics behind this industry and how it functions and doesn’t function like other profit-grossing industries. The author bases much of his book on scholarly literature and provides a ‘beginner’s guide’ to said literature for those interested in further investigation.
Shoptimism:
Why the American Consumer Will
Keep On Buying No Matter What
by Lee Eisenberg
HF5415.33 .U6 E47 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
In these pressing economic times, common sense would tell us that we should save every penny possible, to become more frugal and to evaluate each expenditure with increased scrutiny. On the other hand, can one easily resist the urge to purchase ‘must needed’ items? For example, I couldn’t help myself when I went to the outlet mall last week and dropped more money than I care to admit (the deals were amazing!). Fortunately, this week’s featured title might just have an explanation.
Eisenberg, accomplished editor and visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, explores the wonderful world of shopping, both from the selling angle – the marketers, advertisers and retailers – and the buying angle – the consumers. He explains the business forces that work for or against us (depending on your perspective) to buy and buy again. The author also delves into the debate about how and why we, as consumers, hand over the dollar bills or credit cards to willing cashiers – is it the act of buying, or what the new found purchases represent? If you have any interest in retail therapy (or need help with understanding it), this book is for you.
Makeover TV:
Selfhood, Citizenship and Celebrity
by Brenda Weber
PN1992.8 .R43 W43 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Reality television, once thought of as a passing fad, has turned out to take over to profile every aspect of daily life. If it can be filmed, then it will be made (think fist pumpers of Jersey Shore – really, MTV?). The trend extends to makeovers as well, everything from home renovations to body transformations. I admit that I have lost many hours of my life glued to the TV, stuck on House Hunters or What Not to Wear marathons. But what does that say about us, our way of life, our society?
Weber, professor of gender studies at Indiana University, takes on the phenomenon of televised makeovers and analyzes how these shows represent much larger cultural ideas. She watched over 2,500 hours of the genre (I want her job!) to come up with these narratives about the ‘rebirth’ of individuals to a national audience. The author contends that the makeover experts exert their influence on participants, emphasizing the distinct differences between males and females. This hyper-’genderization’ speaks volumes about our current society and what makeovers do to a person’s self-identity.
On Thin Ice:
The Changing World of the Polar Bear
by Richard Ellis
QL737 .C27 E47 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
As the snow comes down and blows around outside, it’s hard not to think of our furry, white friends to the north. This week’s featured title takes a look at the future of the mascot for climate change and the green movement.
Ellis, author of more than a dozen nature books and also an acclaimed marine artist, provides his latest work as a testament to one of the planet’s largest land predators, the polar bear. He covers the history of the mammal from the type of their ‘discovery’ by the Europeans, their importance to the Inuit people, and efforts that are being undertaken to save them (or not). The author explains everything about the incredible creatures, from their mating rituals to their plights for survival in the current environment. If you’re interested in using this as a springboard for research, Ellis helps out by conveniently including nearly thirty pages of references at the end.
The Big Burn:
Teddy Roosevelt & the Fire That Saved America
by Timothy Egan
E757 .E325 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Usually when you hear of a fire, big or small, you think of complete devastation, right? This week’s featured title required a second look because of its claim about a fire that ’saved’ America.
Egan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, takes a notable and destructive event from United States history and provides the context for its irrationally positive outcome. He explores the great forest fires just after the turn of the last century, the Big Burn of 1910, in which the national forests of Montana, Idaho and Washington were lost. The author gives voices and life to the rangers and firefighters that valiantly fought to contain the flames, as well as Theodore Roosevelt, known for his staunch support for conservation. Fans of either the great outdoors, Teddy or American history should a take a look at this book.
This Time Is Different:
Eight Centuries of Financial Folly
by Carmen Reinhart & Kenneth Rogoff
HB3722 .R45 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
The financial crisis that we are experiencing: it’s unlike every other economic crash that we’ve ever known, right? The chain of events leading up to the current moment had created a situation like we’d never seen before, right? This week’s featured book might have something different to say.
Reinhart and Rogoff, economics professors at University of Maryland and Harvard, respectively, scoured through eight centuries of financial data and found this time isn’t really all that much different. As they state in the preface, “Our basic message is simple: We’ve been here before.” They contend that these sorts of events actually occur pretty consistently over time. The authors cover varying types of fallouts, from sovereign defaults to banking sector crashes. As scholars, Reinhart and Rogoff provide plenty of support for their argument, not only their analysis, but also with data appendices – an excellent source for further research.
If anything, it should give one hope: we’ve recovered from previous crises, so we can do it again.
Side note: the quote from the cover features Niall Ferguson, author of The Ascent of Money (New Stuff Tuesday – 24 March 2009).
“No Legs, No Jokes, No Chance”:
A History of the American Musical Theater
by Sheldon Patinkin
ML1711 .P37 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Sometimes titles just stand out to me (no pun intended). This week’s featured book required a closer look for obvious reasons, with its catchy name and all.
Patinkin, chair of the theater department at Columbia College in Chicago, takes the reader on a roller coaster ride through the adventures of musicals in two parts. In the first part, the author provides the foundations and sources of inspiration for the American stage, like the European opera and burlesque. He then delves into many of the major musical productions from the early 1900s to the present, profiling not only the shows, but also the performers, producers and the historical context as well. This text is a must for anyone researching or interested in musical theater.
Atomic America:
How a Deadly Explosion and a Feared Admiral
Changed the Course of Nuclear History
by Todd Tucker
TK1345 .I2 T83 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
It seems like at least once a week (or more frequently), a story pops up in the news relating to nuclear energy and the struggle to contain it. The current state of global instability, coupled with the focus on sustainability, have put this controversial power source at the center of an intense debate. This week’s featured title looks to the past to explain its history and to provide caution for its future.
Tucker, a former Naval officer, examines the events of an explosion at SL-1, a nuclear reactor near Idaho Falls, ID in early 1961. The blast at the US Army installation took the lives of three people, making it the only fatal event of its kind in American history. While the Army placed the blame on ‘human error’, the author takes the opportunity to uncover what really happened in the middle Idaho. What he finds is not only poor engineering, but a nuclear-induced craze among the military branches to control nuclear power. He contends that the incident at SL-1 provide an excellent example for guiding today’s management of one of the most feared and revered forces in the world.
