Photographing the Second Gold Rush: Dorothea Lange and the East Bay at War, 1941-1945 by Dorothea Lange and Charles Wollenberg

Dorothea Lange's photographs, which often made social statements of the lives of everyday people, helped create the field of documentary photography. The East Bay area during World War II (specifically 1941-1945) is the subject of the sixty photographs included in this book. Focusing on the cities of Oakland and Richmond and especially the shipyards therein, these photographs look at the lives of the people that made up the rapidly changing demographics of the time -- women entering the labor force, Japanese Americans being forced into internment camps, African Americans coming from different parts of the country, Mexican laborers brought in by the United States, and migrant agricultural workers displaced in the Dust Bowl era. The essay is helpful and interesting, but it is Lange's photographs that are truly powerful representations of this period in California history.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: TR820.5 .L36 1995
3rd Floor Science & Technology Library
Review submitted by: Andrew Tessandori, Cataloging Assistant, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

Go Your Own Way: Women Travel the World Solo edited by Faith Conlon, Ingrid Emerick, and Christina Henry de Tessan

This book is a collection of short stories by women who travel alone to various locations: Argentina, Paris, Greece, Iceland, Mexico, Nigeria, Turkey, Arizona, and many more. Two of the stories are not about truly solo trips, so I'm not sure why there were included. This is my only criticism though. The stories are entertaining and well-written, especially Alice Carey's trip to Egypt her 50th year, Alison Culliford's journey to the remote Labrador, and Susan Richardson's fulfilled desire to walk in the footsteps of a tenth-century woman Viking named Gudrid.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: G465 .G63 2007
2nd Floor Social Science Library
Review submitted by: Stacy Russo, Chair of Public Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme

Julia Child has become "trendy" again with the release of the upcoming movie Julie and Julia, which was partially based on this book. It is an interesting first-hand account of how Julia found her life passion in food in 1950s Paris, reconstructed from her letters and supplemented with personal photos. She was certainly a Renaissance woman before her time, and continues to serve as an example of a strong woman even today.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: TX649.C47 A3 2007
3rd Floor Science & Technology Library
Review submitted by: Jennifer Bevan, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Road to Middle Earth: How JRR Tolkien Created a New Mythology by Tom Shippey

I'll preface this by saying that I bit off more than I could chew with this book. I was hoping for some biographical information on Tolkien and how his life experiences influenced the Lord of the Rings series. This book was, instead, focused on Tolkien's experience as a philologist (linguist) and how that influenced his writing. There are some interesting insights into the word choice and linguistic context for his work, but it was a bit too dense for me to really enjoy it.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR6039.O32 Z824 2003
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Jason Keller, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Rating: Not Recommended

The Diary by Eileen Goudge

While cleaning out their mother’s attic, two sisters come across her old diary and find that their mother had a secret lover. His name was A.J., while their father’s name was Bob. Had their mother settled for safety over passion? Read the book to find out.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: McNaughton
1st Floor McNaughton Collection
Review submitted by: Cathy Elliott, Business & Financial Technician, Law Library
Rating: Recommended

Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck

Sweet Thursday is the day after Lousy Wednesday and is also the title of this sequel to Cannery Row. Much has changed since World War II, and this novel tells the stories of the unique characters that are an interconnected part of the eccentric daily life on the Row. I would recommend this work only to those already familiar with Steinbeck and who have read Cannery Row (see the review on 6-19-09 by Kirsten Moore), although I do think the book can stand independently of its predecessor. At first, I did not care for this book as much as Steinbeck's other works (it does not come close to The Grapes of Wrath or Travels with Charley), but I eventually found myself laughing out loud in a few places and thought it to be an intriguing and amusing story overall.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3537.T3234 S9 1986
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Andrew Tessandori, Cataloging Assistant, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Good to Great: Why Some companies Make the Leap and Others Don't by Jim Collins

Our team read this book for discussion at a vp/directors' retreat. The book is an organizational leadership/change management/strategic planning manual, written by a guru in the field. And from that point of view, for people interested in those fields, the information and presentation are thought-provoking. I found the books thoughts on finding a "job" you can pursue passionately, with the goal of achieving excellence while being economically rewarded for your efforts, to be a good life guide. I recommend it for everyone who likes to shoot for the stars, in everything they pursue.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: HD57.7 .C645 2001
3rd Floor Business Library
Review submitted by: Kathy Wright, Executive Assistant, Office of the Executive VP & COO
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Zebra-Striped Hearse by Ross Macdonald

If you like detective fiction with a California locale, try Ross Macdonald. He weaves a complex but tight plot, his hero (Lew Archer) is likable, and his settings are '60s California. He is easier to digest than Ellroy, who spirals into emotional analyses of his investigators, or Hammett, who loves strange characters.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3525.I486Z4
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Isa Lang, Head of Information Services, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

I've read David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim and he comes highly recommended by everyone from 30 to 60. I just don't enjoy his writing. He sees the humor in life's situations, from a very sophisticated but very dark and humorless place that I try to stay away from. He has a tremendous eye for detail, though, and because he hits on those life situations we have all experienced, I'm sure readers have that "oh, yeah, that's happened to me, too" moment. Overall, I would encourage you to give Mr. Sedaris a try and decide for yourself.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3569.E314 W48 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kathy Wright, Executive Assistant, Office of the Executive VP & COO
Rating: Somewhat Recommended

The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck

Set in New Baytown in 1960, this is a story of Ethan Allen Hawley and the relationships he has with family, friends, and antagonists. Ethan, a grocery clerk, working at a store that his once prominent New England family formerly owned, rides the highs and lows that life offers, all with a dry wit and a "silly" sense of humor that belies his innermost feelings. Written to expose the moral abyss that was slowly evolving in the 1960s, this is Steinbeck's last novel, where he makes every effort to highlight the moral dilemmas that Americans often faced as they moved into and through this turbulent and tumultuous decade. An excellent read that kept my attention throughout.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3537.T3234 W5 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

La perdida by Jessica Abel

La Perdida is a graphic novel about a young woman named Carla Olivares who decides to move to Mexico City from the United States to explore her Mexican heritage. Carla is forced to negotiate two groups of friends: the one group consisting of fellow American expatriates while the other are Mexico City natives. Her use of Spanish with English subtitles in the first couple chapters brings much life to the story, along with her sketchy drawings of the people and places she encounters. The glossary is a must read, especially if you are brushing up on your Spanish and would like to gain more cultural insight into the language.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PN6727.A25 P47 2006
1st Floor Graphic Novels Collection
Review submitted by: Annie Knight, Coordinator of CUC Library Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Ours by Cole Swensen

Ours is a thematic collection of poems about gardens, particularly those designed by Andre Le Notre. My favorite sections are "The Medicis" and "Orangeries." I admire Cole Swenson's collection a great deal, but the book may appeal to a narrower taste and may feel a bit long or overdone (it's 101 pages). That said, I recommend it to all readers and highly recommend it to avid poetry readers, fellow poets, and those who appreciate gardening or European history.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3569.W384 O97 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Rating: Recommended

The Purple Culture by Stephen Boehrer

Three bishops are on trial, charged with conspiracy for protecting abusive priests and covering up their crimes. While a work of fiction, this book offers plausible answers to the question so often asked: “Why does the church cover up, instead of protecting it’s children?”

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: McNaughton
1st Floor McNaughton Collection
Review submitted by: Cathy Elliott, Business & Financial Technician, Law Library
Rating: Recommended

To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck

One of Steinbeck's darker novels, this story examines the Wayne family, and more specifically, Joseph Wayne, blessed son of the patriarch, John Wayne. Joseph, feeling a need to own his own land and lead his family, seduces his brothers Thomas, Burton, and Benjy to Northern California ranch country with promises of free ranch land, the reestablishment of a family base, and opportunities to develop a deeper relationship with the land that is both understandable, but at the same time, quite unnatural. Examining the conflict between those who believe in the "old ways", (here meaning the time before Christ) and those who understand what it means to turn away from the old ways and move into the light of a new beginning and a greater understanding, this descriptive and dynamic story encourages one to read this novel on a variety of levels and degrees of understanding that are to be found throughout the myriad relationships that Steinbeck masterfully establishes.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3537.T3234.T6 1986
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Dillinger: The Untold Story by G. Russell Girardin and William J. Helmer

This is a well researched book about the life of John Dillinger that was written in the 30's and not published until 1994. It gives a clear window in which to view the type of life he led before he was killed.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: HV6248.D5 G57 2005
2nd Floor Social Science Library
Review submitted by: James McCulloch, Carpenter, Facilities
Rating: Highly Recommended

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Moby Dick was required reading in high school. Before rereading it I reflected on what I remembered--the famous first line "Call me Ishmael," Ishmael's introduction to Queequeg and the final chase. What I did not recall was Melville's attention to cetology and the whaling industry (I probably skipped those chapters). With this reading I learned more than I ever wanted to know about whales and whaling, but that aside, Moby Dick is the riveting tale of Captain Ahab's obsession to destroy what he perceives as the embodiment of evil and the crew's inability to mutiny against him.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS 2384.M6 1991
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Diane Gennuso, Student Teaching Advisor, Antelope Valley Campus
Rating: Highly Recommended

What Narcissism Means To Me by Tony Hoagland

I enjoyed the early poems in Hoagland's recent book most, but as I read on and tried to figure out how the title--What Narcissism Means To Me--was panning out, I was more uncomfortable with some of the tone or content. Maybe that's the point of a poem like "Rap Music": to make the reader squirm a little. Part of why I read poetry is to explore different perspectives, so I'm trying to figure out whether the poems here are aware of their narcissisms--and whether they ask us all to consider how limited we all are by our self interests. I'm not quite yet convinced.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3558 .O3355 W42 2003
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Rating: Recommended

A Star is Born: The Making of the 1954 Movie and its 1983 Restoration by Ronald Haver

A Star is Born is a movie with many more stories than just its plot. Its second incarnation in 1954 starred Judy Garland and was heralded as a triumph of moviemaking, until Warner Brothers inexplicably cut the film's length by half an hour after it was released. This book chronicles the making of the film, its undoing, and the fascinating later attempts to restore it (the author spearheaded the restoration effort, which was made more difficult because there was no known original version). Anyone interested in film history, or just simply a good story, should read this book.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PN1997.S65923 H38 1988
3rd Floor Film/TV Library
Review submitted by: Jennifer Bevan, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies
Rating: Highly Recommended

Diving into the Wreck: Poems 1971-1972 by Adrienne Rich

I first read this collection of poems in 1993 when I was an undergraduate taking a women's studies class. Rich explores the layers of gender and relationships beautifully and hauntingly in poems like "Trying to Talk with a Man," "Translations," "Song," and "Incipience." Returning to this collection sixteen years later was a wonderful experience. I felt I was connecting to the young woman I was in 1993, but also relating to the poems differently at this point in my life.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3535.I233 D58 1973
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Stacy Russo, Chair of Public Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton

Chock full of history and written in the dialogue of the criminal classes, this story of the Great Train Robbery of 1855 is much more than just that story. The characters are odd and amusing and their shady strategies make you laugh at their dull victims. To read this book is to be a spectator at a Victorian low-life carnival with a great seat.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3553.R48 G73 1975
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Isa Lang, Head of Information Services, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins

This book was amusing and made for good plane reading, but I didn't find it to be Robbins' strongest work. The premise is that a drug dealing free spirit finds the body of Christ, which has been kept from public view by the Church. The characters are all zany enough to make it fun. The pace was a bit slow for me.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3568.O233 A83 1990
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Jason Keller, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Rating: Somewhat Recommended

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

David Sedaris is a funny, funny man, and this book is no exception to the rule. Even seemingly mundane events like visiting a sister or trapping a mouse make for great storytelling. I recently listened to a Sedaris book on tape, and found that his reading of his work makes it even better.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS 3569.E314 R47
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Jason Keller, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Rating: Highly Recommended

Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947-1963 by Susan Sontag

Reading this book makes you feel somewhat like a voyeur. Here you will discover the private thoughts and fragments of Susan Sontag's amazingly creative and scholarly mind from her undergraduate years at UC Berkeley to graduate school and to her involvment in the cultural world of New York City. The journals and notebooks, edited by Sontag's son David Rieff, contain her reflections on her personal life, including her marriage and its decline, her son, and her first sexual relationships with women. I found her lists of books to read and lists of films viewed simply poetic.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3569.O6547 Z477 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Stacy Russo, Chair of Public Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao focuses mostly on the “lovesick ghetto nerd” Oscar de Leon, a first-generation Dominican-American living on the East Coast in the U.S., surviving the fukú (the “curse and doom of the New World”) that has plagued his family for generations. One of the best features of this book are the lengthy footnotes Diaz provides, which contain sardonic historical, pop culture, and literary allusions that create an amazing perspective of Dominican Republic history. If you like reading about family histories (especially those effected by political strife) and are a comic book or graphic novel fan, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3554.I259 B75 2007
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Annie Knight, Coordinator of CUC Library Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Kingdom of Ordinary Time by Marie Howe

Marie Howe doesn't just churn out a poetry book every year or two, and her patience with her work shows in this collection. The book includes a lovely series called "Poems from the Life of Mary," and the collection uses a variety of forms, including paragraph poems (or prose poems). The voice is very engaging (you want to listen to it), and it varies from poem to poem (if you read one poem, you have not read them all). "What We Would Give Up" is a poem you can read and then come up with your own list.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3558 .O8925 K56 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Rating: Highly Recommended

Special Orders by Edward Hirsh

Special Orders is not my favorite Hirsh, as it lacks some energy and insight of earlier work. The poems in this collection that grab me are the less straightforwardly autobiographical, the less reality based: "A Few Encounters with My Face," "Man Without a Face," and "To My Shadow." Still, I admire the quietness of the book and the willingness to talk about things like joy.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3558 .I64 S64 2008
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Rating: Recommended

Foiled Again by J. Allyn Rosser

Rosser's third poetry collection, Foiled Again, won the New Criterion Poetry Prize and is her best book yet. The opening poem is a sonnet of "Fourteen Final Lines," which introduces the kinds of fun she has with forms, phrasing, and turning our assumptions on their heads. For those not used to reading poetry, this collection is a good one, because the poems are steeped in everyday objects and situations. For instance, there's "Letter to a Young Squirrel," which begins with "It's never about how many nuts, / though I'm not one to say it hurts / to have a trunkful, and a few / stashed underground."

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3568 .O8466 F65 2007
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Rating: Highly Recommended

After by Jane Hirshfield

Jane Hirshfield's poetry asks the reader to slow down and be patient, something I appreciate poetry being able to do in these hectic days. Especially interesting are the "assay" poems scattered throughout this collection; in these, she examines the characteristics of everything from the sky to Edgar Allan Poe to the words "of" and "to."

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3558 .I694 A69 2006
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Rating: Highly Recommended

Buyology: Truth and Lies about Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom

A very interesting book about the "why" we buy. It gives some great examples of it and how in the future the science of marketing and buying might change what we buy.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: HF5415.12615 .L56 2008
3rd Floor Business Library
Review submitted by: James McCulloch, Carpenter, Facilities
Rating: Recommended

Bel Canto by Ann Pachett

Bel Canto has been recommended to me by everyone from my mother to my students to my novelist friends. Read this book-- you'll get to know a variety of characters trapped together in the residence of the Vice President of a small, unnamed country, and you won't want it to end. It's a beautifully written novel, and the Leatherby Libraries copy is a signed first edition.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3566 .A7756 B4 2001
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Anna Leahy, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Rating: Highly Recommended

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

This is the story of two sisters from Shanghai and the strength that enables them to survive despite the hardship of war, betrayal by their father, and the bigotry they find in their new country. Despite battles and jealousy, they remain sisters, and in the end, this, and their heritage, are what sustains them.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: McNaughton
1st Floor McNaughton Collection
Review submitted by: Cathy Elliott, Business & Financial Technician, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

Strange Fits of Passion by Anita Shreve

This was an incredible story that was both thought provoking and very creatively written. Readers will most likely connect to the characters in this emotionally driven story. This will definitely raise awareness surrounding the issues of domestic violence (the basis of this novel).

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3569.H7385 S7 1999
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Alli Segal, Program Coordinator for Greek Life
Rating: Highly Recommended

Warmly Inscribed by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone

I have a lot of books, and I read a lot of books, but I'm not a book collector, so I wasn't sure if I'd find a book about book collecting by book collectors all that interesting. Well, the Goldstones have a clear conversational style that makes this book easy to read, and the adventures they have are not just about book collecting, but are about following one's passions. I may look for the Goldstone's other books.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: Z 989 .G65 2002
2nd Floor Social Science Library
Review submitted by: Nancy Stenerson Gonzales, Cataloger, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

Ex-Libris by Ross King

Enter the world of Pirates of the Caribbean meets the Fall of the House of Usher. This book has pirates, book-sellers, obsessions, passion, crumbling houses, wars, intrigue, a man with a limp--yep, just about anything anyone could want in a story is here. Don't worry about keeping track of everything; just go along for the ride, because it's a good one.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR 6061 .I475 E9 2002
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Nancy Stenerson Gonzales, Cataloger, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck

A wonderfully written compilation of stories depicting families and their often tragic circumstances. The development of the characters that compose a slice of Northern California known as Las Pasturas Del Cielo (Pastures of Heaven) again showcases Steinbeck's immense talent. A great read and once you start, you feel obligated to simply sit down and finish it in one sitting...it is that good! This book again demonstrates to me why I have become such a big fan of John Steinbeck's writing.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3537.T3234.P3 1986
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

This novel, first published in 1905, tells the tragic story of Lily Bart, a beautiful and single woman approaching age 30. Wharton uses Ms. Bart's decline to make the point that a woman without wealth or family support in early 20th Century America had few options. Unless she can marry a man with a good income, she will struggle to avoid a life of poverty. For Ms. Bart, the options provided are constricting and she holds out on marrying until it may be too late. The film adaptation starring Gillian Anderson is also highly recommended.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3545.H16 H68 1994
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Stacy Russo, Chair of Public Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

Personal History by Katharine Graham

In this Pulitzer winning autobiography, Katharine Graham gives the reader an inside view of not only Watergate and the Pentagon Papers, but the more personal and tragic events that led her to assuming the reins of the Washington Post. While a little on the long side, it is, nevertheless, an interesting read, especially for those who want an inside look at Washington during this turbulent period.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: Z 473.G7A3 1997
2nd Floor Social Science Library
Review submitted by: Cathy Elliott, Business & Financial Technician, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

Swimsuit by James Patterson

A swimsuit model disappears while on a shoot in Hawaii. Ben Hawkins, an ex-cop turned reporter, is sent to cover the story. What he discovers is a serial killer who threatens all Ben holds dear. As with all of Patterson’s books, this is a quick and entertaining read.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: McNaughton
1st Floor McNaughton Collection
Review submitted by: Cathy Elliott, Business & Financial Technician, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford

The Mountain Lion is a coming-of-age story that uses the rural Midwest to symbolize young Ralph's maturation. Stafford explores the tense sibling relationship between Ralph and his pretentious sister Molly, two outcasts who can only seem to count on each other. The cast of characters and writing style is reminiscent of Bronte's Jane Eyre, making the Mountain Lion an entertaining tale. However, towards the end Molly becomes so unlikable that the tragic twist comes almost as a blessing. But if you feel like getting in touch with your primal side, this book will definitely foot the bill.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3569.T2 I4 1953
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kirsten Moore, History & Screenwriting Student
Rating: Recommended

Double Indemnity by James M. Cain

This book has a great 1930s Los Angeles “feel” to it – both in description and in language. It’s an intriguing crime drama. The author has the habit of pushing the plot forward by hitting you over the head with a shovel (so to speak) at the beginning of each chapter. It’s a fast-paced read, but the main character is slow and deliberate in his explanation – much like many a detective in movies of the time.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3505.A3113 D6 1992
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Brett Fisher, Chair of Library Systems & Technology Division, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

Hard Times by Charles Dickens

Set in "Coketown" in 19th century England, this is yet another exemplar of Dickens' literary genius. Delving into such social issues as education, class differences, morality, and relationships, Hard Times demonstrates Dickens' ability to not only develop characters that leave his readers fully engaged, but allows the reader to be exposed to his expertise in the use of the English language to articulate the difficulties of the human condition. For those truly interested in fine literature, this should be required reading. It is one of those rare novels that one must read several times to fully understand the depth of meaning often subtly hidden within.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR4561.A1 1997
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

It was very well written and engaged the reader from the beginning. There was a great moral to the story and the ending was great!

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PQ9698.13.O3546 A4513 1998
2nd Floor Humanities Library (also available for limited check-out from the Reserves Desk under call number MAM 003)
Review submitted by: Alli Segal, Program Coordinator for Greek Life
Rating: Recommended

Nineteen Eighty-four: A Novel by George Orwell

Although I had first read 1984 in the 7th grade, rereading it again was an eye-opening experience. As a communication studies professor, I found myself noting the many instances where multiple forms of communication (e.g., interpersonal, group, nonverbal, and propaganda) forcibly shaped the world of the characters while also allowing them to exercise some free will in the totalitarian society that they inhabit. This book should serve as a warning to us all about how transitory our freedom could be.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR6029.R8 N49 1984
2nd Floor Fine Arts Library
Review submitted by: Jennifer Bevan, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies
Rating: Highly Recommended

Michelangelo & the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King

This book describes the process by which Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel in a way that is both informative and entertaining. I selected this book to learn about the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican before an upcoming trip to Rome and I am glad that I did. The context that it provided substantially increased my enjoyment of Vatican City and I recommend it to anyone about to visit Rome or one who is simply interested in the humanistic aspect of art history.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: ND623.B9 K55 2003
2nd Floor Fine Arts Library
Review submitted by: Jennifer Bevan, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies
Rating: Highly Recommended

Home by Marilynne Robinson

Home by Marilynne Robinson makes you glad you can read and grateful you found such a book. This is a unique book in that the basic story and characters are the same as in her previous work, Gilead (2004). Both works are completely independent stories of the return of Jack, the prodigal son of the Reverend Robert Boughton in Gilead, Iowa, but each is told from a different character's point of view and you feel as if you're reading a different book. The author gives an impressive performance of what a REALLY good writer can do. I can also picture her giving such an assignment to one of her classes at the Iowa Writer's Workshop.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: McNaughton
1st Floor McNaughton Collection
Review submitted by: Ann Ryan, Reference Librarian, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen

I don't know how to express how this book has affected me. Every educator, every politician, everyone should read this book. Education (a balanced education) is arguably the key to peace. To quote the coauthor, "Mortenson goes to war with the root causes of terror every time he offers a student a chance to receive a balanced education, rather than attend an extremist madrassa." I think Greg Mortensen deserves to be nominated for a Noble Peace Prize. Chapman University should start a Pennies for Peace drive to support his efforts.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: LC2330 .M67 2006
3rd Floor Education Library
Review submitted by: Diane Gennuso, Student Teaching Advisor, Antelope Valley Campus
Rating: Highly Recommended

Coraline by Neal Gaiman

This is the graphic-novel version of Gaiman's classic creepy tale, with art done to perfection by P. Craig Russell. I knocked this one off sitting in the library one evening while waiting for an event to start over in Memorial Hall -- it's a fast read, and if you've read the original or seen the rather excellent Tim Burton movie, it's very familiar. Precocious pre-teen Coraline, frustrated with her parents, explores and finds a door to a secret, alternate reality, where her Other Parents -- the same, yet different, with black buttons for eyes -- live. In sort of a twist on the Persephone myth, Coraline loves the attention her Other Mother lavishes upon her - until the veil lifts, as it is wont to do, and our gal sees her Other Mom and the previously cool Other World for what it really is. With the help of one cool black cat (my fave character), our plucky heroine endeavors to escape! Russell renders Gaiman's fantasy world with gorgeously eerie art.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PN6727.R85 C67
1st Floor Graphic Novels Collection
Review submitted by: Mary Platt, Director of Communications
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

I was lucky enough to get my own copy of The Satanic Verses autographed by Salman Rushdie when he visited Chapman last year (that copy is sealed safely now in a ziplock bag!), and I finally got around to reading it this summer. What all the horrific fuss was about (that drove Rushdie into hiding with death threats howling after him, that led to riots and even deaths in Islamic countries) will probably escape a Western reader (the book was declared blasphemous, and a fatwa against Rushdie was issued in 1989 by the Ayatollah Khomeini) -- it has something to do with three pagan goddesses in Mecca that are part of the novel's subplot. As a whole, though, this is a complex, entertaining novel, packed with intricately interwoven language and fantastical, magical-realist scenes and sequences. The adventures and misadventures of the two Indian actors, Gibreel and Saladin, illuminate the varied experiences of Indian immigrants to the West, questioning/mocking conformity, alienation and identity itself. It's been called "the greatest novel never read," but it is actually very readable and enjoyable.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR6068.U757 S27 1992
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Mary Platt, Director of Communications
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan

The Bonesetter’s Daughter is a novel that uncovers the history and secrets of a family of Chinese ink makers who live in a village outside Peking, near a mountain called the Monkey’s Jaw, where Peking Man was discovered in the 1920s. The story is narrated by Ruth Young, a ghostwriter, who discovers the diary of her mother, LuLing. Consisting of two parts titled "Things I Know Are True" and "Things I Must Not Forget," the diary is LuLing’s account of pivotal life experiences stemming from her secret family heritage, being raised to learn the art of ink making, spending the latter portion of her adolescence as an orphan, living through the Japanese invasion of China, and her eventual immigration to the United States. For me, the strength of this novel comes from the rich stories told through LuLing’s diary.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3570.A48 B6 2001
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Annie Knight, Coordinator of CUC Library Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

Why Evolution is True by Jerry A. Coyne

President Doti's recommended reading is well worth it in this case. Coyne does a nice job of combining geological, molecular and biological evidence to show why evolution is as true as any other accepted scientific theory. My only complaint was a consistent use of arguments in the vein of "Would an all knowing creator have done...?" The scientific facts do a much better job than this line of logic which seems impossible to argue.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: QH 366.2.C74
3rd Floor Science & Technology Library
Review submitted by: Jason Keller, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Rating: Recommended

Flush by Carl Hiaasen

While intended for young readers, this work has the same humor and unique cast of characters as Carl Hiaasen's adult novels. Also present is a strong respect for the environment seen in much of Hiaasen's work. The story is quick and easy to read, and it is good fun.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3558.I217 F58 2005
3rd Floor Education Muth Library
Review submitted by: Jason Keller, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Rating: Recommended

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency chronicles the exploits of Mma Ramotswe, the only female private detective in Botswana. This book entertains while providing the reader a glimpse of the lighter side of life in Africa.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR6063.C326 N6 2002
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Cathy Elliott, Business & Financial Technician, Law Library
Rating: Recommended

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (writing as Claire Morgan)

This novel, originally published in 1952, was ahead of its time. The main character Therese Belivet is a 19-year-old set designer struggling to make her way in New York City. While working a temporary job at a department store to make ends meet she encounters Carol, an older and wealthier woman. Their acquaintance turns into a romantic relationship. I recommend the novel for its groundbreaking treatment of a lesbian relationship, but I could never warm up to any of the characters and did not find it as satisfying a read as I'd hoped.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3558.I366 P7 1991
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Stacy Russo, Chair of Public Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Scarlatti Inheritance by Robert Ludlum

This is a tight international thriller with historical significance. It deals with the original financing of the Nazi party, before it had access to government treasuries. This fictional account is relevant to private financing of terrorist activities in the present era.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3562.U26 S32 1972
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Isa Lang, Head of Information Services, Law Library
Rating: Highly Recommended

Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker

Possessing the Secret of Joy is an unflinching examination of the psychologically and physically debilitating practice of female circumcision in Africa. The novel follows Tashi, an African woman who decides to undergo female circumcision as an adult even though she is haunted by the memories of her sister's death as a result of a botched circumcision. It may appear at first blush that Tashi has a choice in the matter; however, we soon realize that in order to be an accepted member of society she must subject herself to the mutilation or risk becoming a social pariah. Although a work of fiction, Walker does an outstanding job in portraying the life altering implications of such a gruesome practice.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3573.A425 P67 1997
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Ashley Bloomfield, Program Assistant, Rodgers Center
Rating: Highly Recommended

Pol Pot's Little Red Book by Henri Locard

This book clearly reveals the relationship between the fundamentals espoused in the concept of communism and socialism in Chairman Mao's Little Red Book and those of Pol Pot's regime in Kampuchea. Using slogans as a tool to control and threaten the people of Kampuchea (Cambodia) Pol Pot and the infamous Angkar (Organization) were able to starve and dehumanize an entire population, while at the same time, eliminating almost two thousand years of Cambodian history. Locard does analyze each slogan and categorizes them so that the reader clearly sees how these slogans and bits of advice were used in all aspects of society to totally control the minds and bodies of the people. Here are but two examples: "He who protests is an enemy; he who opposes is a corpse" and "If you are free, it would have been better that you had died young." Definitely a book to read if you want to gain a better understanding of mob psychology and indoctrination in the harshest sense.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: DS554.8.L6313 2004
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kevin Ross, Associate Dean, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut successfully blends reality with the absurd to craft a tragic, yet somewhat humorous anti-war tale in Slaughterhouse-Five. The science fiction elements blend in beautifully to the semi-autobiographical account, and work to illustrate Vonnegut's ideas on ethics on the nature of time. Though Slaughterhouse-Five is a fast read, you will constantly be pausing to meditate on the book's insights, as pertinent today as they were when the book was written.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3572.O5 S6 1969
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kirsten Moore, History & Screenwriting Student
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel

I really really wanted to like this book. The title is certainly provocative, but I found the writing off-putting, too much in the style of the Latin American magical writers I loathe. However, the opinions that Manguel expresses invite the reader to respond, and I found myself wishing I could be actually conversing with him. Many will find this book intriguing, so I do recommend it, just not for me.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: Z721 .M25 2008
2nd Floor Social Science Library
Review submitted by: Nancy Stenerson Gonzales, Cataloger, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Recommended

Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom by Suzan-Lori Parks

Cool title. Not so cool book. It sounds like every angry high school drama student that has something to say and feels entitled to force you to listen by presenting it as a play. Language and slang is dated (1980s) and I am left with the sorrow that I will not get that time back again.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3556.A736 I57 1995
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Brett Fisher, Chair of Library Systems & Technology Division, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Not Recommended

Sailing: A Course of My Life by Edward Heath

A thoroughly engaging book: Sir Edward Heath regales us with a moving account of winning the Sydney-Hobart race before escorting us through the evolution of his sailing avocation. Anxious for relief from the stresses of political life, his “Skipper” persona was conceived at the age of 49 when he began sailing lessons (1966), and soon after purchased a sixteen foot Foreland. Counterbalanced by an interlacing of scientific boat design strategies; Sir Edward Heath’s recounting of crew camaraderie, competitions, and conditions on river tides and sea—from becalmed to raging, are spellbinding. With a final chapter that at times waxes poetic, Sir Heath best embodies the general mood of this book with the exclamation that we sail, “because it intensifies life!”

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: DA591.H4 A36 1976
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Tracie Hall, Librarian, Law Library
Rating: Recommended

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

All other piratey goodness must flow from this book. This is a well-written adventure that is hard to put down. A fascinating plot, great characters, and rum may be found throughout. The author tells the story from the point of view of one of the characters and then, to explain some things that this character has no knowledge of (at that time), switches to another character for the same purpose. Several surprises push the plot forward as the reader lives each moment through the character being used for the narrative. I don’t know why I have waited this long in my life to read this book. If you are in the same situation, make remedy says I!

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR5486 .A6 1949
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Brett Fisher, Chair of Library Systems & Technology Division, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Reading this novel became a "dessert-like" activity for me. I wanted it to last and last, so I read it very slowly and deliberately, enjoying every sentence. I knew that Toni Morrison had earned a Nobel Prize in literature for later published works and after reading this book I completely understand how. She assembled words in her sentences that painted a picture and drew out emotion like none I’ve ever read before. This story is about 3 Negro girls (Pecola, Claudia and Frieda; told mostly through the eyes of Claudia) who all believed they were ugly (particularly Pecola) because they didn’t have blue eyes and blond hair. These ideas were well-fed and distributed by the adults in all three of these girl's environments. But this book is, of course, much more than this, but it is the driving force. The story also takes a look at the other individuals in Pecola’s life; Cholly who is Pecola’s father and father of her child and Pauline – Pecola’s mother and how they came to be so disengaged.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3563.O8749 B55 1994
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Linda Greeley, Research Assistant, Anderson Center for Economic Research
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Arguably Hawthorne's finest work, The Scarlet Letter set in Puritan New England, tells the story of Hester Prynne (rhymes with sin) who commits adultery with the town's minister and is sentenced forever to wear a scarlet "A" upon her clothing. Hester is another strong female character demonstrated by her quiet dignity and forbearance as she raises her daughter in a town where she is shunned. The minister is wracked with guilt, but not able to admit his part and the "wronged" husband is evil personified as he becomes filled with the need for revenge. Is it better to put your sins out on the table for all to see or keep them hidden within where they can slowly consume you bit by bit?

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS 1868.A2 1994
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Diane Gennuso, Student Teaching Advisor, Antelope Valley Campus
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Stations of Solitude by Alice Koller

"I collect fierce beauty, and I am curator of my own collection" (p. 355) is one of my favorite lines from this second book by the author of The Unknown Woman. According to Koller, you do not need to be wealthy to have beautiful things, because beauty can be found in memories, in nature, and at museums. In this book, Koller describes her life, which is a life lived with her beloved dogs in remote, wild locations. Something about this woman's writing has really struck me and I cannot believe how fortunate I am to have discovered her.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3561.O398 Z477 1990
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Stacy Russo, Chair of Public Services, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Classic tale of leaving your father's death in the past and not listening to your mother. Rebellion leads to the loss of material things, leaving Peter as God created him and fighting for survival in a land that promised much but provided nothing but bitter feelings and several near death experiences. Note to the reader: the story itself is good, but hold out for a book that supplies the original illustrations. It is not the same without them.

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PR6031.O72 T377 1996
3rd Floor Education Muth Library
Review submitted by: Brett Fisher, Chair of Library Systems & Technology Division, Leatherby Libraries
Rating: Highly Recommended

Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

My daughter Sarah introduced me to Christopher Moore 3 months ago. I haven't stopped reading and laughing since. In Lamb, Biff (Levi) has been brought back to life in order to fulfill a "holy mission:" to write his story and help fill us in on the very human side of Josh's life that we would have had no way to know (until now). Josh, aware of and accepting his ultimate task, works through the challenges of human adolescence and adulthood with Biff at his side, through thick and thin, even as he was also fully aware of his friend's destiny. Biff tells a funny, sweet, and very human story...be ready to think outside the box!

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS3563.O594 L36 2003
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Kathy Wright, Executive Assistant, Office of the Executive VP & COO
Rating: Highly Recommended