On the shelf
The Magazine publishes a selection of general-interest books by alumni authors. For additional alumni books, see "In Their Own Words" at magazine.uchicago.edu/books.
Foundations of Voice Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Voice Production and Perception, by Jody Kreiman, AM’81, PhD’87, and Diana Van Lancker Sidtis, AM’66, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Explaining the voice’s physiology, its perception by listeners, and the conclusions those listeners reach about the speaker, Foundations of Voice Studies provides an introduction to the ways that voice quality influences our social experience. Kreiman and Sidtis bring together sociology, neurology, and forensics to examine the complex role that voice plays in media and in everyday lives.
Europe United: Power Politics and the Making of the European Community, by Sebastian Rosato, AM’00, PhD’06, Cornell University Press, 2011. Rosato argues that the European Community—the forerunner of the European Union—did not form, as often theorized, for economic gain or concerns about the structure of nation-states. Instead it was created at the height of the Cold War to preserve a balance of power between Europe and the Soviet Union and between France and Germany. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Rosato claims, the key reason for forming the European Community has faded, and all signs show the union moving away from political, military, and economic integration.
Once Upon a River, by Bonnie Jo Campbell, AB’84, W. W. Norton & Company, 2011. After abetting the murder of her father, 16-year-old Margo Crane takes to Michigan’s Stark River in search of her vanished mother in this novel by Campbell, awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in April. Bearing a rifle and a biography of Annie Oakley, Campbell’s protagonist learns to confront the harshness of nature and people along the river.
Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader, by Linda A. Hill, AM’79, PhD’82, and Kent Lineback, Harvard Business Review Press, 2011. A how-to guide for managers frustrated by conflicting demands and the mire of office politics, Being the Boss offers practical advice for how to be a great leader. Centering around three principles—managing oneself, managing a network of relationships, and managing a team of subordinates—Hill and Lineback show how to accomplish business tasks effectively even under the most demanding circumstances.
Cold War Femme: Lesbianism, National Identity, and Hollywood Cinema, by Robert J. Corber, AM’81, PhD’87, Duke University Press, 2011. In the 1950s and ’60s, popular views toward lesbianism in the United States were characterized by paranoia. Corber argues that while early 20th-century homophobia portrayed lesbians as masculinized women, the Cold War transformed the discourse into a fear of an invisible threat to American values. Corber examines Hollywood films that feature main characters with lesbian undertones (All About Eve, The Children’s Hour) and the effects of Cold War homophobia on the careers of actresses Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Doris Day.
The Supreme Court and the Press: The Indispensible Conflict, by Joe Mathewson, JD’76, Northwestern University Press, 2011. A look at how the press has covered important Supreme Court cases, this book explores the complicated relationship between the Court and the news media since the writing of the Constitution. Although the press depends on the Court to uphold the First Amendment and the Court needs the press to educate the public about its decisions, the Court imposes barriers to keeping the public fully informed; for example, no TV cameras are allowed in the courtroom. Mathewson, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, argues that, for the Court to maintain its authority and for the good of representative democracy, access to and coverage of Court cases must improve.
Critical Insights: John Updike, edited by Bernard F. Rodgers Jr., PhD’75, Salem Press, 2011. The first collection of essays on John Updike’s work since his 2009 death, this book explores the novelist’s career, life, influences, and critical contexts. The collection includes four essays on Updike’s Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom series and a look at one of Updike’s other recurrent characters: Henry Bech, a blocked Jewish American writer.
China Fortunes: A Tale of Business in the New World, by John D. Kuhns, MFA’75, Wiley, 2011. After the opening of China to Western business entrepreneurs in the 1980s, Jack Davis chases wealth there. The novel, by one of the first Western entrepreneurs to do business in the country, traces its protagonist amid the frequent rises and falls of the market, new businesses, and multinational expansion that accompanied the rush of capital to China in its first foray into capitalism.