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New & Notable

Six new books from UVA alumni and faculty

The Silent Girls
by Eric Rickstad (Grad ’97)

This literary mystery novel tells the story of Frank Rath, a murder detective in the remote community of Canaan, Vermont, who investigates the disappearance of a teenage girl. With the consequences of his own violent and painful past plaguing him, Rath discovers that even in the smallest towns on the map, evil lurks everywhere—and no one is safe. Rickstad’s first novel, Reap, was a New York Times Noteworthy Book.


Honest Engine: Poems
by Kyle Dargan (Col ’02)

In his fourth poetry collection, Dargan examines the mechanics of the heart and mind as they are weathered by loss. Following a spate of deaths among family and friends, Dargan presents self-portraits that capture what of these departed figures remains within him. As the title suggests, Dargan writes with unflinching honesty.


Tipton
by Hilary Holladay (Col ’83)


Set against the backdrop of World War II, this sweeping novel tells the story of Alice Williams, an alluring young woman who works as a housemother in an Oklahoma orphanage. Alice attracts admiration from many, but longs for her estranged husband. As the war escalates and the national mood changes, Alice sets off across the country to seek out her husband in Rapidan, Virginia.


Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress: The Lawmakers
by Craig Volden (Faculty) and Alan E. Wiseman

This book explores why some members of Congress are more effective than others. Volden, a professor in the Batten School, and Wiseman develop a new metric of individual legislator effectiveness. They use this metric to study party influence in Congress, the successes and failures of women and African Americans in Congress, policy gridlock and the specific strategies that lawmakers use to advance their agendas.


Best Little Stories from World War I
by C. Brian Kelly (Faculty)with Ingrid Smyer (Col ’81)

Based on the writings of soldiers, politicians, kings, nurses and military leaders, this book tells the stories of the men and women who lived, fought and survived the first Great War and chronicles how the emergence of fervent national pride led to ruthless combat. Included is the story of UVA’s own aviator, James Rogers McConnell, who died over the Somme in 1917.


Becoming Madison: The Extraordinary Origins of the Least Likely Founding Father
by Michael Signer (Law ’04)

In this biography of the United States’ fourth president, Signer focuses on Madison before age 36, when he accomplished his most enduring work. Young Madison battled Patrick Henry over religious freedom, and worked to ratify the Constitution in 1788, when the nation’s future hung in the balance.