Vol. 19, No. 2 - Winter 2003

Rx for cold winter nights

Faculty and staff recommend some favorite books

On a recent trip to the University of Saskatchewan, I was lucky enough to meet the Canadian novelist, Guy Vanderhaeghe. I have just finished reading his novel, The Englishman’s Boy, which tells stories of the Canadian West and 1920s movie-making in Hollywood. It’s wonderful.
—Tim Lensmire, associate professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
 

I would recommend Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. So much of our early childhood work involves communicating with diverse families. This book has provided us with a foundation understanding of what a wide divide there can be between ways of viewing the world and our place in it. The Hmong family at the center of this story is struggling to care for their daughter’s health. They encounter many well-meaning people from the health and human services systems of our culture who think in such different ways that it is nearly impossible for meaningful communication to occur.
—Christopher Watson, coordinator, Center for Early Education and Development

If you love mysteries in the classic British tradition, there is no one better among contemporary writers than P.D. James. One of her latest books, Death in Holy Orders, is another of her complex, well-written mysteries to be solved by poet protagonist Commander Adam Dagliesh of New Scotland Yard, who investigates the death of an ordinand at a small theological college on a windswept English coast.

Coaching Kids for Dummies is a good, practical, common sense reference book for anyone who coaches or parents their young athlete in sport. In the context of a society that has lost sight of the importance of fun and enjoyment in sport, this book provides recommendations on answering some of the common questions faced by well-meaning coaches and parents who want to keep youth sport what it should be: a fun, learning experience for the kids.
—Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, professor, School of Kinesiology
 

Good to Great, Why Some Companies Make the Leap….and Others Don’t by Jim Collins is the prequel to Built To Last, a national best seller in the 1990s coauthored by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras. Good to Great was developed from a five-year study to determine what elements make some companies great. The study found among other factors that a company’s greatness depends on leadership that blends a CEO’s personal humility with their professional will. These leaders “are incredibly ambitious—but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.”
—Harvey Feldman, teaching specialist, School of Kinesiology
 

I highly recommend the series of political thrillers written by Vince Flynn. They are very well-written and full of suspense and action. The author resides in the Twin Cities and includes a Midwestern flare to the stories. The books are very realistic, but may hit a little close to home (9/11) for some people.
—Suzannah Mork, coordinator of graduate studies, School of Kinesiology
 

The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language by Steven Pinker is a very readable account of the domain of psycholinguistics. The book focuses on the psychology of language by appealing to theory and research from cognitive science, presented in a style that readers will find both informative and entertaining.
—David Rapp, assistant professor, Department of Educational Psychology
 

One of my favorite recent “reads” is The Other End of the Leash by P.B. McConnell. This is a really interesting book if you are at all interested in dogs. It explores the differences between the ways primates and canines relate to one another and to other species, and some of the implications of those differences.
—Peggy Irish, editor, Office of Educational Accountability
 

Are you interested in what is happening in cognitive science? Do you shrink from reading a technical article or anything in more depth than the science section of the newspaper? Try a novel about thinking, and how cognitive scientists approach it, professionally and personally. It’s David Lodge’s book, Thinks. Like most of his other books, this one was nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize (English equivalent of the Pulitzer). Well-known for his ability to slice-and-dice academia in a light satirical manner, Lodge’s other books (Therapy, Changing Places, Small Worlds) might also interest you.
—Karen Seashore, professor, Department of Educational Policy and Administration
 

I would recommend Meaningful Differences by Betty Hart and Todd Risley. A must-read on differences in language development for students from poverty and non-poverty settings.
—Jim Ysseldyke, associate dean for research
 

Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson. A blend of World War II code breaking and espionage, modern-day data encryption, and a treasure hunt. Absolutely fascinating. A book related to my field of study: Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community, by Alfie Kohn. Discusses the often-troubling philosophical and educational assumptions that underlie the predominant disciplinary paradigms present in our schools. Really, really good stuff.
—Scott McLeod, assistant professor, Department of Educational Policy and Administration
 

Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball is an exceptional mix of careful reportage and human integrity. The white author traces his family’s history as slave owners in the ante-bellum south. The crux is that he identifies and seeks out living descendents of the family slaves. Many of them he documents as his blood relatives, putting an extraordinary new face on the problem of race in America.
—Thomas Stoffregen, associate professor, School of Kinesiology
 

I recommend Beyond College for All: Career Paths for the Forgotten Half by James E. Rosenbaum. Nearly all of the students remaining in high school by 12th grade plan to go to college. (This of course ignores the estimated 12 to 25 percent who drop out along the way.) Yet only a minority of those who profess college as their goal will ever complete a two- or four-year college degree. A majority will face remedial coursework when they do attempt college. Youth are rarely shown or provided alternatives that could lead to a productive adult life. This “College for All” policy is the launching point for Jim Rosenbaum’s thoughtful critique of education practices and policies and their impact on the transition of youth to the labor market.
—James Stone III, director, National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
 

Here’s a book I just read by Trudy Lieberman, Slanting the Story: The Forces that Shape the News. It documents how conservative think-tanks frame and influence media coverage of issues in ways that influence public opinion and policy.
—Richard Beach, professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
 

I recommend The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas. You will love reading this work of fiction, particularly if your grandmother(s) lived in the predominantly white rural Kansas/Nebraska farming areas during the 1930s. The conversations will delight you. Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination by Scott Plous is another good book. Everyone will find an article of interest in this fascinating collection of non-fiction readings on the nature of prejudice! Scott is an engaging and skilled author. His overview on “Homo Stereotypus: Wired for Trouble” is excellent!
—Judith Puncochar, education specialist, Department of Educational Psychology
 

I have read two books recently that I really enjoyed and found informative as well. The first is Richard Peck’s Invitations to the World: Teaching and Writing for the Young. Peck is a Newbery Award winning author who also taught high school English and has an insightful perspective on writing and the teaching of writing. Leonard S. Marcus’ Ways of Telling: Conversations on the Art of the Picture Book includes interviews with 14 critically acclaimed author/illustrators, from Mitsumasa Anno to Robert McCloskey to Charlotte Zolotow.
—Rebecca Tisdel Rapport, lecturer, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
 

An important book that I believe all people in the “knowledge industry” should read is: Thomas Frank’s One Market Under God. While some may think that it was “deconstruction” that started destroying academia, it was our ignorance of the market, and our (all citizens’) inability to understand how wealth is really created.
—Michael Hartoonian, program director, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
 

I would recommend God: A Biography and Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God, both by Jack Miles.
—Paul van den Broek, professor, Department of Educational Psychology
 

In Clean New World: Culture, Politics, and Graphic Design, Maud Levin provides a historic perspective on the conflicting role of graphic design in representing “clean” versions of our culture for corporate clients (in order to sell more stuff) vs. an altruistic impulse by designers to use their talents toward changing public opinion on issues that affect society. The precarious balance between a need to make a living and the pull to create art is also given special attention in interviews with women artists trying to combine, work, family, and their own artistic pursuits.
—Nance Longley, designer, communications office