AND I QUOTE: The Definitive Collection of Quotes, Sayings, and Jokes for the Contemporary Speechmaker
Edited by Ashton Applewhite, William R. Evans III and Andrew Frothingham. Thomas Dunne, $27.95 (544p) ISBN 0312307446
THE BIOTECH INVESTOR: How to Profit from the Coming Boom in Biotechnology
Tom Abate. Holt, $26 (288p) ISBN 0805070699
CRACKING YOUR RETIREMENT NEST EGG (WITHOUT SCRAMBLING YOUR FINANCES): 25 Things You Must Know Before You Tap Your 401(k), IRA, or Other Retirement Savings Plan
Margaret A. Malaspina. Bloomberg, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 1576601269
DARK WATERS: An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub
Lee Vyborny and Don Davis. NAL, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 0451207777
A DIFFERENT SHADE OF GRAY: Midlife and Beyond in the Inner City
Katherine S. Newman. New Press, $29.95 (336p) ISBN 156584615X
DOG DAYS AND DANDELIONS: A Lively Guide to the Animal Meanings Behind Everyday Words
Martha Barnette. St. Martin's, $24.95 (208p) ISBN 0312280726
THE EMOTIONAL ENERGY FACTOR: The Secrets High-Energy People Use to Beat Emotional Fatigue
Mira Kirshenbaum. Delacorte, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 0385336098
EPIPHANIES: A Psychotherapist's Tales of Spontaneous Emotional Healing
Ann Jauregui. Prima, $24 (224p) ISBN 0761563768
ESTEEMABLE ACTS: 10 Actions For Building Real Self-Esteem
Francine Ward. Broadway, $23.95 (272p) ISBN 0767912187
FATAL DECEPTION
Michael Bowker. Rodale, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 1579546846
HEALTHY DEPENDENCY: Leaning on Others Without Losing Yourself
Robert F. Bornstein and Mary A. Languirand. Newmarket, $24.95 (272p) ISBN 1557045364
THE HIPSTER HANDBOOK
Robert Lanham. Anchor, $9.95paper (192p) ISBN 1400032016
A HISTORY OF HUNGARY: Millennium in Central Europe
László Kontler. Palgrave, $26.95 (544p) ISBN 1403903166
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT, BUT I KNOW IT'S NOT THIS: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work
Julie Jansen. Penguin, $14 (288p) ISBN 0142002488
THE JOY OF SUCCESS: Ten Essential Skills for Getting the Success You Want
Susan Ford Collins. Morrow, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 0060188669
LIFE'S GREATEST LESSONS: 20 Things that Matter
Hal Urban. Fireside, $12 paper (168p) ISBN 074323782X
MENDING THE WORLD: Stories of Family by Contemporary Black Writers
Edited by Rosemarie Robotham. Basic Civitas, $25 (304p) ISBN 0-4650-7062-0
MENZEL'S REALISM: Art and Embodiment in Nineteenth Century Berlin
Michael Fried. Yale, $55 (320p) ISBN 0-300-09219-9
NEW WORLDS OF DVORAK: Searching in America for the Composer's Inner Life
Michael B. Beckerman. Norton, $29.95 (272p) ISBN 0393047067
THE RETIREMENT SAVINGS TIME BOMB... AND HOW TO DEFUSE IT: A 5 Step Action Plan for Protecting Your IRAs, 401(k)s, and Other Retirement Plans From Near Annihilation by the Taxman
Ed Slott. Viking, $23.95 (304p) ISBN 0670032360
THE SALES ADVANTAGE: How to Get It, Keep It, and Sell More Than Ever
Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc. Free Press, $25 (288p) ISBN 0743215915
SPACE: The Free-Market Frontier
Edited by Edward L. Hudgins. Cato Institute, $25 (250p) ISBN: 1-930865-19-8 [cloth] $15 ISBN 193086518X [paper]
TAKING LIBERTIES: Four Decades in the Struggle for Rights
Aryeh Neier. PublicAffairs, $30 (416p) ISBN 1891620827
WATER FROM HEAVEN: The Story of Water from the Big Bang to the Rise of Civilization, and Beyond
Robert Kandel. Columbia Univ., $27.95 (298p) ISBN 0231122446
WHY STOCK MARKETS CRASH: Critical Events in Complex Financial Systems
Didier Sornette. Princeton Univ., $29.95 (464p) ISBN 0691096309
WHY THE LONG FACE? The True Life Adventures of an Independent Actor
Craig Chester. St. Martin's/L.A. Weekly, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 0312287135
WOMEN WHO THINK TOO MUCH: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema. Holt, $25 (304p) ISBN 0805070184
AND I QUOTE: The Definitive Collection of Quotes, Sayings, and Jokes for the Contemporary Speechmaker
Edited by Ashton Applewhite, William R. Evans III and Andrew Frothingham. Thomas Dunne, $27.95 (544p) ISBN 0312307446
A good speech may have a "good beginning and a good end--preferably close together," but tongue-tied toastmasters will cheer for this new edition of the exhaustive but sprightly and easy-to-use compendium of aphorisms, jokes and anecdotes. The book is designed for the speechmaker desperate for a nugget of wit and wisdom to spice up a talk; selections are arranged thematically, and an alphabetic index facilitates a quick look-up on topics from abortion to zeal. Orators will find timeless wisdom on truth, virtue and the meaning of life, while the many witticisms about the foibles of accountants, lawyers and psychiatrists (among others) are sure to keep trade-show and convention audiences in stitches. The editors include an introductory section on the art of public speaking (brevity, as always, is the soul of wit), but simply browsing through this treasury of well-turned phrases is bound to sharpen one's thoughts and elevate one's rhetoric. (Feb.)
THE BIOTECH INVESTOR: How to Profit from the Coming Boom in Biotechnology
Tom Abate. Holt, $26 (288p) ISBN 0805070699
With the population aging and eager for medical innovations, the market for biotechnology is vast. But for investors looking at biotech firms, it can be a minefield: before a company's brilliant ideas pan out as profitable products, they must go through years of costly research and development, clear government regulatory hurdles and sometimes, as with genetically modified foods, weather political controversy. This informative and well-written primer will help individual investors navigate the treacherous terrain of biotech stocks. Abate, a biotechnology and health care reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle , provides an overview of each sector of the biotechnology industry and the leading companies in it, tells where to find up-to-date information on the scientific and medical developments that drive the market, and explains how to evaluate the financial prospects of the often shaky start-ups that crowd the field. His advice is appropriately cautious; he suggests putting no more than 20% of a portfolio in biotechnology, and waiting until a company is in hailing distance of profitability before investing. While the book is pitched at the non-professional, Abate makes it clear that these speculative, volatile and often over-sold stocks demand more effort--he recommends reading scientific journals, attending conferences and perusing the patent literature--than a complacent mutual-fund investor is used to. But for those willing to brave the new world of biotechnology, this is a good place to start. 20 charts and graphs. (Feb.)
CRACKING YOUR RETIREMENT NEST EGG (WITHOUT SCRAMBLING YOUR FINANCES): 25 Things You Must Know Before You Tap Your 401(k), IRA, or Other Retirement Savings Plan
Margaret A. Malaspina. Bloomberg, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 1576601269
The title may be unwieldy, but the book is not: Malapsina's modest volume is a simple, straightforward guide to the Byzantine subject of retirement planning. Twenty-five short chapters instruct readers on the basics of plan types, on organizing, withdrawing from, rolling over, avoiding taxes on and investing in plan assets, and on "special situations," such as domestic partnerships, women's retirement, inheritance, company stock and estate planning. Even those who fancy themselves knowledgeable about pensions and defined contribution plans may find new information here. For instance, Malaspina points out that, contrary to popular belief, most large companies in the U.S. still offer traditional, defined benefit retirement plans that reward loyalty and deliver a regular percentage of pre-retirement wages. (The problem is, the modern workforce doesn't stay in one place long enough to maximize these benefits). Designed as a reference rather than a sit-down read, this book is brief and clear. But readers should not misled: retirement rules are frequently convoluted and arcane, and a book is no substitute for a competent attorney or financial planner. But if used as a broad outline to retirement planning issues, Malaspina's volume can serve to highlight important areas for further consideration. (Jan.)
DARK WATERS: An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub
Lee Vyborny and Don Davis. NAL, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 0451207777
A former crewmember and a journalist join forces to tell the absorbing tale of the deepest secret weapon in the U.S. Navy's submarine force, the deep-diving nuclear submarine NR-1. A brainchild of the brilliant and controlling Admiral Rickover, even her construction involved a host of technical problems. When she finally went to sea in 1970, her crew of 12 (including the senior author) found her slow, almost unnavigable on the surface, and facing previously unsuspected threats, such as undersea tsunamis when she operated at her designed depth of 3,000 feet. They and their successors helped place underwater sonar devices, retrieve lost F-14's with secret Phoenix missiles aboard, and perform many other missions that are only hinted at in the book. They had to survive bad food, accommodations that were anything but ergonomic, a reactor that worked most (but not all) of the time and the persistent curiosity of the Soviet Bloc. The Soviet Bloc is gone, of course, and likewise Admiral Rickover, but the NR-1 sails on, the U. S. Navy's oldest operational submarine. Her career was not declassified in time for Blind Man's Bluff, but fans of the earlier book will devour this one with enthusiasm. (Jan.)
A DIFFERENT SHADE OF GRAY: Midlife and Beyond in the Inner City
Katherine S. Newman. New Press, $29.95 (336p) ISBN 156584615X
In this intelligent study, Newman, a Harvard urban studies professor and the author of No Shame in My Game, contends that aging, for a large population of minorities and working poor in inner city neighborhoods, is an experience fraught with insecurity, inadequate health care, penury and hard work. Her book is strongest when it employs individual experiences to explore larger themes, such as how the gradual deterioration of some city neighborhoods has affected a generation of middle class African-American women and their children. Newman does not shy away from touchy subjects, and devotes an entire chapter to exploring perceived resentments among different minority groups. Rather than focus on an "experience of discrimination and hostility "in her discussion of anti-Semitism in the African-American community, Newman explores how African Americans view other immigrant groups' rise to success against their own history of achievement. No discussion of race, class and the comparative advantages of different ethnic groups will yield easy answers, but Newman does an admirable job of fleshing out the various big-picture issues, ultimately calling for more awareness on the part of policy makers about the plight of the aging poor. "If we have a commitment to seeing that the elder years are among the best years of any American's life, we must finish the job," she concludes. Her thoughtful volume is all the proof necessary. (Jan. 17)
DOG DAYS AND DANDELIONS: A Lively Guide to the Animal Meanings Behind Everyday Words
Martha Barnette. St. Martin's, $24.95 (208p) ISBN 0312280726
"Animals lurk everywhere in our language," declares Barnette, the author of two previous books for word lovers, A Garden of Words and Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies. From origins that are immediately apparent (grubby refers to grubs, and lousy to lice), to others that might take a little thought (burrito means little donkey, vermicelli translates as little worms), all the way to influences only an etymologist would know (bombastic comes from the Old French bombace, meaning soft padding, which in turn came from bómbyx, the ancient Greek word for silkworm), Barnette offers a sprightly compendium of the animal kingdom's impact on the king's English. "There's a little snake coiled inside the word rankle," "a 'porker' in porcelain" and "a pair of oxen trudging round and round, grinding grain for all eternity" in halo, she writes, and, unsurprisingly, "an oversize insect skittering about inside the word lobster." Arranged alphabetically, the 300-plus entries make for good browsing, and readers with a penchant for odd and underused words, such as myrmidon (an unprincipled lackey) and musteline (resembling a weasel) will find them aplenty here. (Feb.)
THE EMOTIONAL ENERGY FACTOR: The Secrets High-Energy People Use to Beat Emotional Fatigue
Mira Kirshenbaum. Delacorte, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 0385336098
Emotional energy is "an aliveness of the mind, a happiness of the heart, and a spirit filled with hope"--and unfortunately, it's not always easy to come by. When we feel grouchy and lethargic, when we drag our heels through life and avoid treating ourselves to things we enjoy, then, writes psychotherapistKirshenbaum, we're likely suffering from emotional fatigue. And we're hardly alone: according to the National Institutes of Health, one individual in eight becomes saddled with a stubborn case of the blahs. In this upbeat and consumer-friendly how-to, the author of Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay strives to shrink that stat. By sharing real-life anecdotes and posing pointed questions--"Do you live in fear of other people's judgments?"; "[Do] you frequently compare yourself to others and feel resentful?"--Kirshenbaum helps readers identify the roots of their lethargy, and implement the appropriate strategies for regaining their spunk. Her solutions are straightforward (and perhaps easier said than done): Stop the negative thinking; focus on the positive. Envision yourself with pep; invest in what you can control. Like all self-help books, this volume should not be treated as a magical elixir, and Kirshenbaum is careful to advise readers whose fatigue may be associated with psychological or physical illness to seek professional help. But it may be enough to lift readers out of the doldrums, which makes the going worthwhile. (Jan.)
EPIPHANIES: A Psychotherapist's Tales of Spontaneous Emotional Healing
Ann Jauregui. Prima, $24 (224p) ISBN 0761563768
In her first book, Jauregui attempts to guide readers through the intricate realms of self-exploration and scientific explanation. Each short chapter delves into an existential question--What is a person? What was Freud's true intention? Can quantum mechanics help explain human consciousness? What is the mind?--as Jauregui briefly touches on everything from Einstein to Hawking and psychotherapy to physics. Passionately and intelligently, Jauregui, a psychotherapist in Berkeley, Calif., compares the mathematical field of fractals to the human condition, and recounts stories of patients whose personal revelations have brought them joy in the face of great pain. In this book's case, however, brevity does not equal simplicity: the narrative jumps too quickly from one topic to the next and often it's a stretch to understand how each chapter relates to the previous. Though both the scientific anecdotes and the tales of healing Jauregui relates are compelling, they sometimes make odd bedfellows. (Feb.)
ESTEEMABLE ACTS: 10 Actions For Building Real Self-Esteem
Francine Ward. Broadway, $23.95 (272p) ISBN 0767912187
Developing self-esteem is the key to living a life beyond your "wildest imaginings," according to this book, which is divided into 10 "esteemable actions" designed to get downtrodden readers thinking about how to change their lives. Ward certainly speaks from experience: a former drug-addicted alcoholic and call girl, she turned her life around, graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and is now a motivational speaker and president and CEO of her own company. Ward urges readers to keep a journal to reflect upon goals and answer questions such as "What do you value?", "What does financial freedom mean to you?", and "What's most important to you today?" While much of the advice is common sense--she proclaims the importance of living your dreams, being your own best friend and avoiding a victim mentality--this well-meaning guide all too often slides into overly familiar territory (procrastination is the enemy; you should eat well and take care of yourself) and simplistic platitudes such as "Denial is the enemy of success," or "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." (Jan. 14)
FATAL DECEPTION
Michael Bowker. Rodale, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 1579546846
Journalist Bowker's riveting, anecdotal look at the damage done by mining and manufacturing companies who denied the harmful effects of asbestos might have been titled "Evil Incorporated." Focusing largely on a vermiculite mine in bucolic Libby, Montana, Bowker shows a business that put its bottom line over its employees' health. Interviews with victims of asbestos poisoning and their survivors are interspersed with EPA reports, company memos and other sources, as Bowker charts asbestos's history, from its identification as a "miracle mineral" to the first signs that it might be dangerous, to the government's ineffectual policies and various companies' decisions not to inform its workers of the health risks it posed. As one asbestos plant exec is alleged to have said, it was "the company's policy to let workers continue on the job until they quit work because of asbestosis or died of other asbestos-related disease." Worker after worker describes how he was never told that the dust he encountered daily was poisonous: "The asbestos was whitish-gray and my hair was pure white after work. We never wore any protective gear, except the little paper masks they gave us," said one worker who now has asbestosis. The personal stories make for a sad and gripping read, as Bowker, in classic muckraking style, gives voice to many who suffer from long-term exposure to asbestos and argues for a ban on asbestos products in the U.S. (Jan.)
HEALTHY DEPENDENCY: Leaning on Others Without Losing Yourself
Robert F. Bornstein and Mary A. Languirand. Newmarket, $24.95 (272p) ISBN 1557045364
Yes, Virginia, dependency can be healthy--at least according to Bornstein, a professor of psychology at Gettysburg College who specializes in dependency issues, and his wife Languirand, a private therapist. The couple, both of whom are multi-published contributors to books and articles for professional and lay readers, extol "depending on people without becoming dependent on them." They explore this subject in great depth, from an assessment of the causes and ramifications of dependency disorders to an examination of healthy dependency in professional and personal relationships. Bornstein and Languirand articulate four key skills, including "relationship flexibility" and "connection-based thinking," which they say are necessary to attain a balanced blend of intimacy, autonomy, trust and self-confidence. The authors' textbook approach (replete with case studies, charts, graphs, statistics and quizzes, not to mention some redundancies) is sincere, thorough and learned, but at times overly pedantic. Still, in a world in which time, energies and emotions are fragmented and an increasing dependence on technology can isolate and detach people from each another, this book offers good advice on maintaining the right connections. (Jan.)
THE HIPSTER HANDBOOK
Robert Lanham. Anchor, $9.95paper (192p) ISBN 1400032016
Just as The Official Preppy Handbook exposed wearers of Lacoste polos and drinkers of Bloody Marys, Lanham's new book delves into the lives of those who deem themselves too cool for school. Hipsters, he says, are the ones you see around town smoking European cigarettes, wearing platform shoes and reading biographies of Che Guevara. Lanham, editor of the site FreeWilliamsburg.com (Williamsburg being a favorite New York City hipster enclave), does his best to dissect the personality types, the hangouts, the colleges and even the facial hair of the modern-day Hipster. There's no main narrative per se, rather a prolonged pastiche of sarcastic observances and witty asides. And in a clever marketing gimmick, Lanham compiles a raft of lists detailing crucial Hipster music (including the Beastie Boys record Paul's Boutique) and literature (Nick Hornby's High Fidelity), which are sure to spark debate. Topping it off is a questionnaire, to suss out whether or not you could qualify for Hipsterdom (e.g., if you subscribe to Wallpaper, you're in; if Maxim's more your speed, you're out). The truly hip wouldn't touch this with a 10-foot pole, of course, but they aren't really Lanham's target. (Feb. 18)
A HISTORY OF HUNGARY: Millennium in Central Europe
László Kontler. Palgrave, $26.95 (544p) ISBN 1403903166
This impressive survey provides a comprehensive, intelligently argued and clearly written overview of the rich history of Hungary. Overshadowed by the more powerful Ottoman, Habsburg, Nazi and Soviet empires, Hungary's story is one of foreign domination punctuated by romantic but doomed revolts that, in 1848 and 1956, made Hungary the standard-bearer of freedom in the eyes of a rapt world. Kontler, a history professor at the Central European University in Budapest, tells this story in a brisk but detailed narrative that takes readers from Hungary's ancient origins to its present-day transition to democracy and struggle to find a place in the post-Communist European order. But he goes well beyond kings-and-battles political history to examine broader social, political and economic issues: the tension between Hungary's economic backwardness and its cultural and political affinity to the West; the difficulties of transforming a peasant society into a modern industrial economy; and the struggle to accommodate the competing nationalist aspirations of a multi-ethnic state within a liberal political order. These are important themes not just of Hungarian but of European history as a whole, and the author's searching discussions illuminate them in profound ways. Kontler's thorough scholarship, thoughtful analysis and skillful storytelling will impress students, academics and history buffs alike. (Jan.)
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT, BUT I KNOW IT'S NOT THIS: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work
Julie Jansen. Penguin, $14 (288p) ISBN 0142002488
"
Close your eyes and...imagine what it would feel like to be happy and excited and fulfilled in your work." Can't do it? Career coach Janson's no-nonsense volume just might help. Herself a former disgruntled employee (she worked in broadcasting, recruiting, outplacement and other fields), Janson is a big proponent of jobs that suit: work, after all, "is not 'one size fits all.'" She identifies six reasons people find their employ unsatisfying, from boredom with an overly familiar routine, to insecurity in the face of discrimination or a toxic boss, to lack of focus on work due to an eye on upcoming retirement. Several quizzes and questionnaires ("When you think about the things you find meaningful, what comes to mind?"; "[Do you] prefer to be the leader rather than have others lead"?) help readers identify their job problems and the kinds of work they might find more meaningful, as well as build confidence in their choices. Janson offers stories of those who made the career change successfully (or in some cases, found a way to renew their interest in their old positions) as well as guidelines for becoming more entrepreneurial. Her advice is seasoned and her tone encouraging, making this a solid resource for people who know they don't like what they do; it might also be a wakeup call for others numbed into job complacency. (Feb.)
THE JOY OF SUCCESS: Ten Essential Skills for Getting the Success You Want
Susan Ford Collins. Morrow, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 0060188669
Collins, who has spent the past 20 years studying highly successful people and sharing their secrets through her "Technology of Success" seminars, extends her franchise with this book. Weaving together metaphysics, physics, philosophy and psychology, she presents an in-depth examination of 10 skills that highly successful people employ. With the premise that success is not a goal but a state of being "satisfied and fulfilled by what you choose to do and be on a daily basis," Collins shows readers how to "manage the process day by day, step by step," beginning with instructions on ways to define, manage and acknowledge success. Insisting that "we are the creators of our lives," she presents the tools that she says will help readers realize their dreams. Although all this talk of following one's ambitions and desires may sound stale, Collins does delineate some key characteristics of successful folk: they communicate powerfully, have a clear idea of what they want to achieve and aren't afraid to step out on a limb. And while some readers may question Collins's anecdotal evidence and free-range logic and beliefs, she does deliver well-defined and practical tips for both personal and professional success. (Jan.)
LIFE'S GREATEST LESSONS: 20 Things that Matter
Hal Urban. Fireside, $12 paper (168p) ISBN 074323782X
Urban, a psychology Ph.D. specializing in "peak performance," draws on his own life experiences, wisdom imparted by his mentors and basketball coaches, observations of high school and college students, and the writings of other self-help gurus like Stephen Covey and M. Scott Peck to compile this catechism of conventional truisms. According to Urban, life's great lessons are exactly what you always dreaded they'd be (they're also his chapter titles): life is hard and not always fair; there's no substitute for hard work; you have to give up something to get something. Although slightly disdainful of the hug-happy self-esteem movement, Urban does insist that we all have a potential to live up to. Fortunately, since "attitude is far more important than intelligence, education, special talent, or luck," with enough positive thinking success is virtually assured--as long as we buckle down, set goals and stick with them, manage our time efficiently and find Jesus Christ or some other kind of spiritual content to nourish our lives. Urban is an ex-high school teacher, a self-admitted former "growth junkie" and a leader of the "character education" movement, and is thus awash in good lessons; his prose, though, tends toward the bland and platitudinous, which may make the lessons hard for some to swallow. (Jan.)
MENDING THE WORLD: Stories of Family by Contemporary Black Writers
Edited by Rosemarie Robotham. Basic Civitas, $25 (304p) ISBN 0-4650-7062-0
Robotham, senior editor-at-large at Essence and author of Spirits of the Passage, here presents a preface from Maya Angelou ("we can all agree that our world needs mending") and a foreword from author and playwright Pearl Cleage ("This book is an important part of...understanding the power of love, the necessity of truth, and the possibility of rebirth"), and 30 short pieces of fiction and nonfiction that center on moments of care and understanding of one form or another among family members. Most have been previously published, and some will be familiar to regular readers of fiction and essays, such as the excerpt from Jamaica Kincaid's novel Annie John, Gerald Early's "The Driving Lesson," Edwidge Danticat's "The Book of the Dead" and Alice Walker's "The Two of Us." The pieces by younger writers (Robotham provides short bios) also feel familiar, but put enough of a twist on wayward male narratives (Nelson Eubanks, April Reynolds) and divorce (William Jelani Cobb) to hold interest. Robotham's goal of telling "the story of today's Black family" provides a clear, activist context that holds the book together, working to advance the title goal despite mostly tepid material. Five city author tour.(Feb. 3)
MENZEL'S REALISM: Art and Embodiment in Nineteenth Century Berlin
Michael Fried. Yale, $55 (320p) ISBN 0-300-09219-9
This terrific study by Johns Hopkins Humanities professor Fried is, in effect, two books, both of enormous importance and value. The first is a pioneering and thorough (if idiosyncratic) critical biography of Adolf Menzel (1815-1905), a great 19th-century realist painter still too little-known outside of his native Germany. The second is the present culmination of Fried's hugely ambitious attempt, begun with 1988's Absorption and Theatricality: Painting and the Beholder in the Age of Diderot, to rewrite the history of art since the Enlightenment. While the ultimate success or failure of Fried's larger project (previous volumes have dealt with such artists as Courbet and Eakins) will undoubtedly be a matter of debate for decades to come, its sweeping scale and conceptual daring give this volume an unexpected polemical intensity. Against the primarily optical drift of Impressionism and the criticism it engendered--the privileging of isolated transcendent visual moments, or "holistic act(s) of seeing"--Fried posits an art of embodiment, in which the artist constructs images reflecting not only the other senses, but the movement of the subject through time and space. Menzel's vast oeuvre and broad range of treatment and subject have worked against his acceptance into the mainstream canon, but his career is given convincingly coherent shape not only by Fried's inspired close readings of individual paintings and drawings (beautifully reproduced in 70 color and 100 b&w illustrations), but by his meticulous unraveling of the artist's relationships with the intellectual currents of 19th-century Berlin. The richly allusive aesthetic writings of Soren Kierkegaard, for example, the Danish philosopher who was a contemporary of Menzel's, are brought forward with rare intelligence and appropriateness. Menzel himself is a compelling figure--very small in stature, and seized with great ambition both as artist and professional man. Fried shows him bringing to the drawing of a pair of binoculars the same clarity of purpose as he does to a domestic interior or a huge history painting. Menzel's voracious engagement with the world is both contextualized and shared by Fried, who at one point, writing about his subject's magisterial sketch of a bicycle, confesses his wish to reach into the drawing and ring it. It is precisely this kind of passionate, intimate and informed advocacy that makes Menzel's Realism not only a great work by a critic at the top of his game, but a stirring humanist document. (Oct.)
NEW WORLDS OF DVORAK: Searching in America for the Composer's Inner Life
Michael B. Beckerman. Norton, $29.95 (272p) ISBN 0393047067
Die-hard Dvorák fans will adore this arcane but vividly written musicological study of the composer's sojourn in America. Dvorák was director of the National Conservatory in New York from 1892-95, and during this time he wrote his famous "New World" Symphony as well as a number of lesser works. Beckerman, a New York University music professor, explores the literary, political and personal influences that helped shape this creative outpouring. His detailed analysis ascribes much of the "New World" to a programmatic setting of Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha, a precursor to a planned opera that never materialized. Beckerman also provides a fascinating account of the ideology of musical nationalism in which Dvorák was steeped. Dvorák, he says, aspired to be the "Slavic Wagner" and was an exponent of a self-consciously "Czech" musical style. In America, egged on by journalist-provocateurs and influenced by black musicians at the National Conservatory, Dvorák became a champion of an "American" national music to be based on African American spirituals and Indian folk tunes. Although an agnostic on the subject of musical nationalism (he feels that Dvorák's music was traditional German-style classical music with Czech and American gestures) Beckerman is a sympathetic and insightful guide to the controversies of an era when music was taken very seriously indeed. His contention that Dvorák suffered from agoraphobia and an accompanying panic disorder brought on in part by tremendous stress, and that the composer drank as self-medication, is interesting but not as compelling as the rest of this committed investigation. An accompanying CD, keyed to the text, illustrates Beckerman's arguments through the music itself. (Jan.)
THE RETIREMENT SAVINGS TIME BOMB... AND HOW TO DEFUSE IT: A 5 Step Action Plan for Protecting Your IRAs, 401(k)s, and Other Retirement Plans From Near Annihilation by the Taxman
Ed Slott. Viking, $23.95 (304p) ISBN 0670032360
As if the stock market hadn't been bad enough lately, sinking and taking the nation's retirement funds along with it, now IRA expert Slott has news of an additional nightmare: the IRS is eager to take a monstrous chunk out of whatever's left. Slott asserts the importance of recognizing what he calls playing the back nine, or understanding that however much you've saved over the years, it won't matter much if you haven't protected it from the taxman. Indeed, the author shares the story of one schoolteacher whose heroic efforts to stash away $1.2 million for her two children went for naught when the IRS claimed all but $150,000 for each child. A few of Slott's prescriptions: take your required distributions so you don't get hit with additional taxes; buy life insurance to offset the estate taxes that will bite into your IRA upon your death; and take advantage of the Roth IRA, which hands you your money tax-free upon retirement. Though 401(k)s, IRAs and taxes in general are notoriously complicated subjects, Slott distills the morass of information into useful strategies while striking a note that's alarmist enough to scare anyone with a retirement fund. (On sale Jan. 27)
THE SALES ADVANTAGE: How to Get It, Keep It, and Sell More Than Ever
Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc. Free Press, $25 (288p) ISBN 0743215915
According to the business sages at Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc., sales make the world go round. That's a bold statement, but when you consider that a driver for an international freight company may not have a job if a salesperson hasn't sold the products being delivered, or that an aerospace engineer wouldn't have anything to do if an account executive hadn't secured a contract for commercial jets, it makes pretty good sense. In this snappy guide to making winning transactions, the organization behind the colossal bestseller How to Win Friends and Influence People explains the ins and outs of finding prospects, getting their attention, building trust, giving customers what they want, negotiating, handling objections and securing the sale. The suggestions range from the practical (e.g., make sure the audiovisual equipment works before giving a sales presentation) to the psychological (e.g., figure out the customer's emotional motive for buying something); taken together, they make for a good primer for novices and a perfect refresher for old hands. (Jan. 13)
SPACE: The Free-Market Frontier
Edited by Edward L. Hudgins. Cato Institute, $25 (250p) ISBN: 1-930865-19-8 [cloth] $15 ISBN 193086518X [paper]
Outer space will languish as an economic vacuum until private enterprise is given its head, according to this dry and doctrinaire collection of papers from a conference sponsored by the libertarian Cato Institute. The contributors include congressmen, lawyers, business executives and an astronaut, and cover such topics as NASA's history, cheaper space travel, opportunities for and barriers to space investment and legal and property rights in space. The essays are sprinkled with sermonettes on the virtues of free markets and the evils of "central planning" and NASA's "self-perpetuating bureaucracy." But most writers are not free-market purists; their main agenda seems to be to channel government space spending to private companies in the form of tax breaks, loan guarantees, prize competitions, lucrative NASA outsourcing contracts and other "government-private sector partnerships." A look at the proposed space businesses shows why extraterrestrial commerce still needs the booster rocket of state subsidy. There are fuzzy schemes to "expand our economy" to the Moon and asteroids and beam solar energy from space, but hopes seem to ride primarily on space tourism and gimmicks like a logo-festooned "space sail" and a lunar rover webcam; how profitable any of these ventures would be, given the expense of operating in the vast distances and inhospitable climate of space, is not discussed. Apart from the already mature satellite business, it doesn't seem like there's much to do in space that's both financially rewarding and feasible, which is why this blueprint for a capitalist cosmos looks more like a welfare program for the aerospace industry. (Jan.)
TAKING LIBERTIES: Four Decades in the Struggle for Rights
Aryeh Neier. PublicAffairs, $30 (416p) ISBN 1891620827
In this unflinching memoir of his 40 years of working for human rights, noted activist Neier brings to light his many successes as well as his "mistakes and errors in judgment"; with 20/20 hindsight and refreshing honesty, he even describes some of the stances he's reconsidered. The volume's three sections recount Neier's tenures at the ACLU (1963-78), where he rose from field director to executive director; as a founding member of Human Rights Watch (1978-93); and his current post as head of the Soros Foundations and the Open Society Institute (1993-present). Each section is divided into chapters about specific crusades against such wide-ranging evils as police brutality in New York, military abuses in El Salvador, and genocide in the former Yugoslavia. Throughout, Neier also weighs in on current affairs and, unsurprisingly, criticizes the Bush administration, which can sometimes muddle the narrative; the brief analyses of recent events that end many chapters feel tacked on. The book is also marred by patches of unimportant details, immoderate praise of Neier's associates and disconcertingly frequent references to September 11, some of which seem uncalled for. Neier's accomplishments and passion deserve respect, but his prose is too often wordy and dry. His skills as a writer, unfortunately, don't quite match his talents as an advocate. (Jan.)
WATER FROM HEAVEN: The Story of Water from the Big Bang to the Rise of Civilization, and Beyond
Robert Kandel. Columbia Univ., $27.95 (298p) ISBN 0231122446
No tangible substance means more to us than water, and in this scientific history, astrophysicist Kandel traces not only the cycles of water molecules on Earth, but their voyages through time and space as well. Since water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen--very old elements, cosmologically speaking--Kandel applies a Michener-like thoroughness to his subject in the first section of his book. Starting with the Big Bang, he methodically works his way along toward the origin of life. "No water, no life," he states succinctly, showing how crucial water is to the biochemical development of organisms. The second part of the book, dedicated to "Water in Today's World," covers weather, tides and currents, and the familiar rain-river-sea-cloud cycle that children learn in school. Kandel works to make the hard science exciting, but he really shines in the last third of the book, which is devoted to "hydropolitics." Water "could be the biggest problem of the 21st century," he writes, and he offers numerous examples (e.g., water conflict and management between Israel and its neighbors) to prove his point. Judging by the vulnerability of agrarian societies and the struggles of cities trying to support their growing populations, humans around the globe are having trouble finding, keeping and recycling water. While dense with facts and figures, Kandel's aquatic history is riveting, an exhaustive and complex examination of our most precious chemical compound. "Have a drink of water," says Kandel. You're sipping "the history of the Earth and of the universe." 21 illustrations (Jan.)
WHY STOCK MARKETS CRASH: Critical Events in Complex Financial Systems.
Didier Sornette. Princeton Univ., $29.95 (464p) ISBN 0691096309
It's everybody's favorite topic of conversation at the moment: why did the Dow and the Nasdaq tank so horrifically, and where did all the money go? UCLA professor Sornette does his best to tackle those questions. While CNBC anchor Ron Insana's recent Trend Watching took a reader-friendly look at the history of market bubbles, Sornette's approach is decidedly different. Befitting his status as an expert in geophysics, the author loads the text with enough charts, graphs and advanced economic theory to choke John Kenneth Galbraith (one chapter subheading, for instance, is "The Origin of Log-Periodicity in Hierarchical Systems"). It's a meaty book, with helpful autopsies of past crashes ranging from tulip mania in the Netherlands to the Nasdaq crash of April 2000, as well as information on how crashes might be predicted in the future. Unfortunately for the average investor who tends to get burned after these bubbles, Sornette's conclusion is that a mixture of "systemic instability" and plain old human greed means that market bubbles aren't about to disappear anytime soon. And neither, of course, will the subsequent crashes. (Jan.)
WHY THE LONG FACE? The True Life Adventures of an Independent Actor
Craig Chester. St. Martin's/L.A. Weekly, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 0312287135
In this witty, absorbing memoir, Chester muses about his unlikely trajectory from growing up around trailer parks and born-again Christians to working as an openly gay actor who's appeared in several indie films, including Swoon, for which he earned a Spirit Award nomination. An engaging storyteller, Chester indiscriminately pokes fun at himself and others and is almost always upbeat (save for nicknaming his hellish summer camp "Kidshwitz"). It's not all light, though. Chester tackles serious issues and candidly reveals his own struggles with his career, relationships, substance abuse and a disfiguring jaw malady (hence the title: "By fourteen," he writes, "I looked like a Picasso sock puppet with pimples") that required extensive, painful surgeries. Although readers may wonder how real some of Chester's fiction-worthy characters are, they'll nonetheless be entertained. Chester has a fresh voice--though occasionally he tries too hard to be funny--and when he opines that "the most counterproductive barriers to true genius are a healthy childhood, healthy relationships, and healthy surroundings," readers will be grateful he suffered no such encumbrances. Agent, Edward Hibbert. (Jan. 6)
WOMEN WHO THINK TOO MUCH: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema. Holt, $25 (304p) ISBN 0805070184
Practically everyone agonizes over decisions or situations from time to time, but overthinkers carry analysis and introspection to unhealthy extremes, "getting caught in torrents of negative thoughts and emotions,"according to this book. Even minor events can trigger a chain of second-guessing in which negative emotions are "amplified instead of managed." Kneading damaging thoughts like dough, overthinkers fall victim to a "yeast effect" that causes negativity to grow and take control of their lives, distort their perspectives and damage relationships, careers and emotional (and perhaps physical) health. Nolen-Hoeksema, a University of Michigan psychology professor and author of five professional books, explores why people overthink, contends and explains why too much thinking is predominantly a woman's disease and prescribes a three-step program to overcome overthinking. Citing many studies (including her own) and occasionally zooming in on particular cases, she offers no-nonsense, reasoned and easy-to-understand advice and strategies, as well as a quiz to help readers recognize their own patterns of overthought. (Feb. 5)
