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New & Notable

The Explorer King: Adventure, Science, and the Great Diamond Hoax—Clarence King in the Old West
Robert Wilson (Grad ’77)
Scribner

A sort of Howard Hughes of the 1800s, Clarence King went west in 1863 as a scientist-explorer. This biography of the Yale-educated adventurer depicts his amazing feats (from mountain scaling to desert crossing) and the international celebrity that followed when King uncovered one of the greatest frauds of the century.

Mockingbird Song: Ecological Landscapes of the South
Jack Temple Kirby (Grad ’64, ’65)
University of North Carolina Press

Professor and historian Jack Kirby’s extensively researched profile of the American South combines archaeology, agronomy, geology, sociology and zoology. He explores all of the South’s peoples and their landscapes—how humans have used, yielded or manipulated varying environments and how they have treated forests, water and animals.

Empires in the Forest: Jamestown and the Beginning of America
Avery Chenoweth (Grad ’91) and Robert Llewellyn (Engr ’69)
University of Virginia Press

A work of historical fiction with lavish photography by Robert Llewellyn, this book presents a panoramic vision of the Jamestown Colony and its Powhatan neighbors, telling the stories of Captain John Smith, Pocahontas, John Rolfe and others.

The Avenger Takes His Place: Andrew Johnson and the 45 Days That Changed the Nation
Howard Means (Col ’66, Grad ’67)
Harcourt Trade Publishers

Scholar and journalist Howard Means tells the story of the dramatic first six weeks of Johnson’s chaos-fraught presidency. A former slave owner from Tennessee, Johnson was equally detested by the North and South and may be most remembered for having escaped impeachment by one vote.

The Five Languages of Apology: How to Experience Healing in All Your Relationships
Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas (Col ’92)
Northfield Publishing

The authors, both clinical psychologists who work as marital therapists, believe that the lack of real and persuasive apologies by people may be a central factor in the epidemic of crumbling marriages. According to their analysis, the five languages of a meaningful apology are expressing regret, accepting responsibility, making restitution, genuinely repenting and requesting forgiveness.

Etched in Stone: Enduring Words From Our Nation’s Monuments
Ryan Coonerty (Law ’01)
National Geographic Books

With images by noted photographer Carol Highsmith and a forward by historian Douglas Brinkley, this book celebrates 50 sites across the U.S. and the words immortalized on them. Some of the memorials are famous; others are simple and stark places of honor.

No Seat at the Table: How Corporate Governance and Law Keep Women Out of the Boardroom
Douglas M. Branson (Law ’74)
New York University Press

Although women are completing advanced degrees in record high numbers, their struggle to achieve director positions in corporate America continues. Mining corporate governance models applied to Fortune 500 companies, Title VII discrimination cases and proxy statements, the author suggests that women have been ill-advised by experts, who tend to teach females how to act like their male executive counterparts.

My Father Says Grace: Poems
Donald Platt (Grad ’87)
University of Arkansas Press

In his third collection, Platt combines elegy with verse of larger historical allusion and reference. At the center of the book are poems detailing a father’s stroke and Alzheimer’s disease and how it affects one family. The recipient of two Pushcart Prizes and numerous other awards, Platt is a professor of English at Purdue University.