To highlight the wide range of publications reviewed in Choice, each month Choice editors feature some noteworthy reviews from the current issue.

Addiction treatment: science and policy for the twenty-first century, ed. by Jack E. Henningfield, Patricia B. Santora, and Warren K. Bickel.  Johns Hopkins, 2007.  221p bibl index afp ISBN 9780801886690, $45.00
46-0320 RC564  2006-103126 CIP

Henningfield, Santora, and Bickel have brought together the most respected minds in addiction treatment and asked them to think outside the box. The result is an impressive and imperative read for students and professionals in the addiction field. Beginning with W. R. Miller’s evaluation of the primary question of what addiction is, and including J. L. Repace’s maze of social policy, this work allows authors to bring their expertise into focus related to prevention, identification, treatment, and public health issues–all through the lens of moving the field forward into the 21st century. Even longtime addiction professionals will find new ways of looking at the challenges faced by addicts, families, and society in this well written, well-researched volume. The book’s important questions about ethics, confidentiality, treatment modes, and public policy related to addiction treatment will encourage lively discussions in classrooms and clinics. Potential solutions that are discussed provide a combination of realism and hope for the future, basing projections and possibilities on evidence-based, theoretically sound current practice modes. Both people new to the field and seasoned professionals will appreciate this readable, easy-to-understand volume. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above; general readers. — B. L. Marshall, Montclair State University

Akhtar, Shabbir.  The Quran and the secular mind: a philosophy of Islam. Routledge, 2008.  400p bibl index; ISBN 9780415437837 pbk, $45.95
46-0217 BP1307 MARC

For both secular humanists and the religiously inclined, this innovative, challenging work will come as a pleasant surprise. Akhtar (Old Dominion Univ.) brings to this work on Islam an impressive command of Western thought from Plato and Aristotle to Kant, Hegel, and Tillich–not to mention an equally impressive command of Muslim thought, particularly on the philosophical side. Drawing on this vast array of resources, the author sets out to develop a philosophy of Islam that is grounded in the teaching of the Qur’an, but one that aims to take the full measure of Western and modern secular thought. In his view, the most powerful challenge facing Islam today comes not from a competing religious tradition such as Christianity but from secular humanism. While learning from all that modern thought has to offer, Akhtar aims to develop a philosophical, Qur’anically informed version of Islam that avoids both the pitfalls of obscurantism and fanaticism on the one hand, and secular humanism on the other. A well-written, powerful challenge to both Muslim and Western readers, whether of the religious or the secular variety, this work will benefit all readers interested in inter- and intra-religious dialogue. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers. — M. Swartz, Boston University

Apel, Dora.  Lynching photographs, by Dora Apel and Shawn Michelle Smith.  California/Getty Foundation, 2008 (c2007).  101p bibl index afp (Defining moments in American photography, 2); ISBN 9780520253322 pbk, $19.95
46-0094 HV6459 2007-210 CIP

Apel (Wayne State) and Smith (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) offer a book that is relevant to numerous fields, from the more specific body of literature on images of lynching, to writings on race and American visual culture more generally. The volume’s essays also engage the discourse surrounding the photography of victims of violence and the implications of the production and dissemination of photographs of human suffering. Following the work of Roland Barthes, Judith Butler, and Ashraf Rushdy, among others, the authors here challenge readers to question why one looks at the tormented bodies of others. Smith emphasizes the historical role of photography in situating the roles of victims and victimizers in the ritual of lynching. Apel uses cases from the 1930s to the late 20th century to analyze the public spectacle of racial violence and its social implications. The authors are thorough in their historical research, raising urgent questions about the dynamics of power and desire tied to race, gender, and violence in American political and social life. This book will be challenging to some readers for its content and theoretical discourse, but it should be required reading for all North American college students. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. — E. J. VanArragon, Calvin College

Bergland, Renée.  Maria Mitchell and the sexing of science: an astronomer among the American Romantics.  Beacon Press, 2008.  300p index afp ISBN 9780807021422, $29.95
46-0255 QB36  2007-35133 CIP

Raised during the early 19th century in Nantucket, where both boys and girls received similar educations, Mitchell became famous by discovering a comet in 1847. She was one of America’s first professional scientists (the US Navy paid her to do calculations on Venus). While on a grand tour of Europe, Mitchell realized her role in encouraging women in science. She seemed unaware that some men were frightened by her success. Bergland (Simmons College) weaves her detailed story of Mitchell’s life with the institutionalization of science following the Civil War. Science moved from being a common interest of both men and women to a masculine profession, mostly based within formal education settings. As Vassar’s first astronomy professor, Mitchell lived through an era when expectations for women allowed more formal education yet discouraged professionalism. Mitchell was the first female member in several honorary societies that did not choose another woman for decades. Bergland notes changes in language, such as the term “female,” that illustrate societal attitudes. This book provides a captivating study of Mitchell’s life during an era of radical changes in academia and US economy. See also Maria Mitchell: A Life in Journals and Letters, ed. by Henry Albers (CH, Jan’02, 39-2775). Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; undergraduates; researchers/faculty; professionals. — M.-K. Hemenway, University of Texas at Austin

Coll, Steve.  The bin Ladens: an Arabian family in the American century.  Penguin, 2008.  671p bibl index; ISBN 9781594201646, $35.00
46-0472 CS1129 2007-42748 CIP

This remarkably well-written account of the bin Laden family and its involvement with Saudi Arabia and the Middle East is a timely contribution to understanding one of the world’s most significant areas. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Coll takes on the complex story of the enormous bin Laden family, beginning with Mohamed bin Laden, born circa 1905 in present-day Yemen. During his youth in the 1930s, Mohamed moved to Jeddah and beyond to eastern Saudi Arabia, where he made his home. From the 1940s to 1967, he married a large number of women and fathered 54 children. He and his family built a “unique and important partnership” with Saudi Arabia’s royal family, engaging in an array of business enterprises including construction and road building. Extremely competent, they became immensely wealthy. Their investments and land purchases in their adopted homeland, Europe, and in other countries, especially the US from Florida to Beverly Hills, drew international attention. Mohamed bin Laden’s son Osama, born in 1958, became painfully anti-American and anti-semitic after some years in Afghanistan and after the first New York World Trade Center attack in 1993. Hated in Saudi Arabia, he was stripped of his citizenship in 1994. A brilliantly researched, frightening, thoroughly accurate, marvelously informative work. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. — J. W. Walt, Simpson College (IA)

Hetzel, Robert L.  The monetary policy of the Federal Reserve: a history. Cambridge, 2008.  390p bibl index; ISBN 9780521881326, $50.00
46-0415 HG2565 2007-23447 CIP

Hetzel (senior economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) has produced a meticulous examination of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve over time under different chairpersons, with much attention given to the Volcker-Greenspan era. A monetarist by training with numerous writings on monetary policy history, the author constructs this book around the theme of the Federal Reserve as protector of the “monetary standard” (value of money). Hetzel includes numerous graphs, data, and substantial appendixes to support his narrative. While the book is a relatively uncritical evaluation of monetary policy and of the Federal Reserve, its strength is its thorough treatment. This reviewer was disappointed that the book ends with a section pointing out the benefits of establishing (and striving to achieve) an explicit inflation target without noting any caveats that might rightly be drawn from monetary history. Overall this is a good addition to Cambridge’s “Studies in Macroeconomic History” series, though undergraduates may find Hetzel’s writing dense and ponderous. See related, Allan Meltzer’s A History of the Federal Reserve: v.1: 1913-1951 (CH, May’03, 40-5309). Summing Up: Recommended. Public and academic library collections, upper-division undergraduate and up. — M. H. Lesser, Iona College

Holding NCLB accountable: achieving accountability, equity, & school reform, ed. by Gail L. Sunderman.  Corwin, 2008.  262p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781412957885 pbk, $35.95
46-0434 LB2806 2007-40309 CIP

This book is the product of a roundtable discussion sponsored by the Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity at the University of California and the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University. Its purpose is to connect research and policy with actual practice and action in racial and civil rights justice issues. In this regard, the text examines the intent, history, and impact of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and then provides recommendations for modifying and improving the performance of at-risk schools. A variety of expert contributors from respected colleges and universities cover a wide array of NCLB-related topics ranging from redefining adequate yearly progress, defining interstate inequality, and recommending adjustment of funding and governing at state and federal levels. The editorial conclusion sums up the roundtable discussion and finds NCLB in need of revision, especially with respect to the lowest-performing schools and districts. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. — D. D. Bouchard, Crown College

Kellner, Douglas.  Guys and guns amok: domestic terrorism and school shootings from the Oklahoma City bombing to the Virginia Tech massacre. Paradigm Publishers, 2008.  221p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781594514920, $85.00; ISBN 9781594514937 pbk, $24.95
46-0599 HN90  2007-45369 CIP

Education professor Kellner (UCLA) has been a rather prolific author, producing a number of books in the past few years (e.g., Media Spectacle and the Crisis of Democracy, CH, Sep’05, 43-0621; Grand Theft 2000: Media Spectacle and a Stolen Election, CH, Apr’02, 39-4867). In this book, Kellner explains the wave of school shootings and mass terrorism that has become too common in the US. Numerous scholars and social commentators have attempted to provide a reasonable explanation for the violence. However, no one has clearly articulated a comprehensive reason for this complex phenomenon. Kellner argues that the shooters at Columbine and Virginia Tech and the domestic terrorists at Oklahoma City tried to resolve their crisis of masculinity through violent behavior. He contends that the perpetrators were social outcasts who searched for purpose in a culture that associates guns and militarism with masculinity. This distorted, media-shaped view of masculinity driven and glorified by the corporate mass media, television, movies, and the Internet has created a devastating cocktail of sorts, corrupting the image of men while coarsening US culture. Kellner proposes a number of changes, including stricter gun control laws and media projection of newer, more constructive views of masculinity. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. — J. B. Cook, North Greenville University

Longworth, Richard C.  Caught in the middle: America’s heartland in the age of globalism.  Bloomsbury, 2008.  307p bibl index afp ISBN 9781596914131, $25.95
46-0419 HC107  MARC

Longworth, a prominent Chicago journalist turned think-tank globalization guru, examines the impact of globalization on America’s agricultural and industrial heartland. This is a region in serious trouble, mostly because of the collapse of the industrial economy that defined it for much of the 20th century. The contrast between the Midwest of Longworth’s youth in the 1950s-60s and the region today is stunning, and most of the changes are negative. Large-scale industrial agriculture means that small towns are withering and dying, while the region’s industrial and technology centers have become the notoriously obsolete Rust Belt. Longworth’s main bête noir is a pervasive ostrich/head-in-the-sand attitude toward globalization on the part of too many Midwesterners, accompanied by archaic and inefficient state government structures that foster internecine competition and squabbling and hinder regional solutions that transcend state borders. There are a few bright spots–impressive research universities, Chicago’s success in remaking itself into a thriving global city, the vitality that new immigrants are bringing to some parts of the region. This is a thoughtful, wide-ranging, and accessible examination of a timely, important subject that ultimately transcends its regional focus. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. All levels. — K. Blaser, Wayne State College

Morton, Mark.  Cooking with Shakespeare, by Mark Morton and Andrew Coppolino.  Greenwood, 2008.  319p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780313337079, $55.00
46-0062 TX717  2007-44407 CIP

This book ventures beyond literature and cookery into history, etymology, and sciences. This is not surprising since Morton’s career embraces a PhD in English, instructional technology (Univ. of Waterloo), and award-winning books on food, words, and sex. And Coppolino is a food writer. Thorough, exemplary, logical, and unflinchingly authentic, the volume is a labor of love and thoughtful scholarship. Offering 189 recipes (some delicious), the book features a 67-page introduction on period ideology, dietary theory, law, pharmacology, etiquette, and economics. There are four appendixes, including “Hard to Find Ingredients” (substitutes/sources for hyssop, isinglass, verjuice, etc.) and “Wages and Prices”–a plumber (15 pence/day), a gallon of ale (2p), a pair of spectacles (12p). The recipes are irresistible to read, if not always to cook–baked porpoise, swan’s-blood pudding, and an aphrodisiac tart with sparrows’ brains (the authors suggest substituting a teaspoon of Spam). In the fully quoted and cited original recipes, the authors note details that might escape readers’ attention, e.g., carving breast meat from a live chicken. One missing element: the recipes include no yields, either quantity or number of servings. This wonderful book joins such titles as Francine Segan’s Shakespeare’s Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook (2003). Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers, all levels. — N. L. Gilbert, The Webb Schools

Pyne, Stephen J.  Year of the fires: the story of the great fires of 1910.  Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2008.  325p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780878425440 pbk, $16.00
46-0259 SD421  CIP

Pyne (history, Arizona State Univ.), the eminent author on wildland fire, has added another outstanding masterpiece to his list of successful books. Whereas his earlier anthologies focused on European fire history (Vestal Fire, CH, Jun’98, 35-5632) and wildland fire culture on Earth (World Fire, CH, Dec’95, 33-2120), this book centers on the historical significance of the large fires in 1910 along the Montana-Idaho border. Chronicling the events of 1910, Pyne documents the consequences and political turmoil of a total fire suppression policy opted for by a fledgling US Forest Service. He skillfully narrates the actions of forest rangers, firefighters, politicians, and Washington bureaucrats before, during, and after the Big Blowup on August 20. Those involved in these fires believed that wildland fires must be attacked and suppressed quickly. This “stop all fires” mentality prevailed well into the 20th century when beneficial fire effects began to be recognized. Today large fires often result from fuel buildups sustained by decades of fire exclusion. Pyne expertly presents this changing consensus and firmly establishes the key role of the 1910 fires in molding national fire policy. An excellent, informative, and well-written book. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers/libraries. — M. J. Zwolinski, emeritus, University of Arizona

Rilke, Rainer Maria.  Rainer Maria Rilke’s The book of hours: a new translation with commentary, ed. and introd. by Ben Hutchinson; tr. by Susan Ranson.  Camden House, 2008.  240p indexes afp ISBN 9781571133809, $75.00
46-0156 PT2635 2007-45639 CIP

One of the pillars of 20th-century poetry, Rilke (1875-1926) was born in Prague, spent his life in Paris, Russia, and Germany, and died and was buried in Switzerland. He merits repeated studies, interpretations, and translations, and this one of his three-volume Stundenbuch (1899, 1901, 1903) is among the finest–in particular because all the poems are presented on facing pages in German and English, accurate to the stanza and line. Usually translated “Book of Hours,” the German title is perhaps best understood as “breviary.” These poems are, on the surface, prayers, but in reality they are much more. They are reflections on and conversations with God, part needy neighbor, part transcendent deity, and they take their meaning from the poet’s terminology of things in the everyday world. Here medieval German mysticism intertwines with Nietzschean philosophy, biblical meanings, and Russian soulfulness. In his thorough introduction, Hutchinson (Univ. of Kent, UK) casts these poems in a new light, adding depth to them as presented in previous editions. Ranson’s 40 pages of commentary and notes will help the reader with the complexity of Rilke’s multilevel terminology and meanings. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. — L. J. Rippley, St. Olaf College

Rodriguez, Gregory.  Mongrels, bastards, orphans, and vagabonds: Mexican immigration and the future of race in America.  Pantheon Books, 2007.  317p index ISBN 9780375421587, $26.95
46-0606 E184  2007-17464 CIP

Rodriguez (New America Foundation) has written a concise yet comprehensive insightful history of Mexican Americans, much more extensive than the oversimplified immigration issue that television viewers are exposed to daily. The author begins with Spanish migration to the Americas and subsequent encounter with Natives in Yucatan in 1519, and continues to today’s Mexican American population in the US. The book is a serious work, yet not dry history. Anecdotal evidence along with related sources gives the book a distinctly rich character. Rodriguez presents Mexican Americans, too often ignored or erroneously portrayed, in a more positive light. The author points to centuries of acculturation and assimilation. This long experience and a broader, more open, perspective toward race and color should help Americans begin to better understand themselves. The timely topic of race, color, and gender that has been infused into this year’s presidential campaign is long overdue as a national discussion. This book is valuable for such a conversation. It includes a treasure trove of footnoted sources for more ambitious readers to discover supplementary materials. Rodriguez undertakes an ambitious task and succeeds brilliantly. From beginning to conclusion, the book is thought-provoking and a delight to read. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. — J. E. Garza, University of Texas–Pan American

Silverstein, Helena.  Girls on the stand: how courts fail pregnant minors.  New York University, 2008 (c2007).  239p bibl index afp ISBN 9780814740316, $32.00
46-0582 KF9315 2006-100337 CIP

State laws that require parental notification or consent prior to a minor procuring an abortion are valid as long as they also contain a judicial bypass provision. This Supreme Court mandate, however reasonable sounding, is Silverstein’s target. She contrasts judicial bypass in theory with how it works in practice. In theory, parental authority, state interests, and abortion rights compete but are balanced. In practice, implementation of the judicial bypass is so rife with discretion, misinformation, and overt hostility that the abortion right is all but eradicated. Her research method is straightforward–call the courts and ask how a pregnant minor who does not want to tell her parents can obtain a judge’s permission to have an abortion. Silverstein (Lafayette College) then lets the data speak: while some callers get accurate information, most are turned away or misinformed, and some even rebuked. For those who manage to get the information needed to begin the bypass process, other hurdles await: mandatory pro-life (even religious) counseling, guardian ad litem assignments for the fetus, intimidation, and delay. Silverstein’s concluding analysis is just as disturbing since she argues that under the “undue burden” test established in Casey v. Planned Parenthood (1992), none of this is clearly unconstitutional. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. — S. Behuniak, Le Moyne College

Valdés, Isabel M.  Hispanic customers for life: a fresh look at acculturation.  Paramount Market, 2008.  194p index; ISBN 9780978660260, $49.95
46-0404 HC110  MARC

Valdés, a pioneer in Hispanic marketing, has produced a well-written and current introduction to the Hispanic/Latino market in the US, offering insight into this complex market segmented by age, generation, and region. The book presents an excellent statistical as well as cultural portrait of this very diverse community using data from the US Census 2000, the US Census Bureau’s “American Community Survey 2005,” the Pew Hispanic Center http://pewhispanic.org/ (CH, Sup’04, 41Sup-0494), and other sources. The author also covers thoretical frameworks for implementing marketing strategies to the Hispanic community. In addition to business audiences, this work will be useful to people interested in the immigration debate because it presents data that challenge popular perceptions about Hispanics. The book contains an extensive list of relevant online resources and recent contributions to the literature on Hispanic marketing. See related, Hispanic Marketing: A Cultural Perspective, by Felipe Korzenny and Betty Ann Korzenny (CH, Apr’06, 43-4770), and Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations: Understanding and Targeting America’s Largest Minority, ed. by Elena del Valle (CH, Feb’06, 43-3472). Summing Up: Recommended. All collections. — B.P. Corrie, Concordia University

Walker, Gabrielle.  The hot topic: what we can do about global warming, by Gabrielle Walker and Sir David King.  Harcourt Brace & Company, 2008.  276p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780156033183
pbk, $14.00
46-0309 QC981  2007-45080 CIP

In The Hot Topic, Walker (science writer/editor) and King (Cambridge Univ.) provide a simply but eloquently written synopsis of climate change. In the midst of the flood of publicity these days about climate change, it is refreshing to read a straightforward, honest appraisal of this complex topic. The book consists of three parts that cover a description of the problem, technological solutions, and political solutions. Clear, concise presentations of the likely impacts of climate change over the next few decades are laid out along with a host of readily applied methods to reduce the collective carbon footprint and to begin to intelligently and seriously address this huge environmental problem, often called “The Key Environmental Issue” of this century. This reviewer particularly enjoyed reading The Hot Topic and found himself having trouble putting it down. This book is a must read for anyone thinking about climate change. If nothing else, any remaining skeptics of the occurrence of global warming should read the appendix titled “Climate myths, half-truths, and misconceptions.” Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates and up. — D. F. Karnosky, Michigan Technological University

Wilford, Hugh.  The mighty Wurlitzer: how the CIA played America. Harvard, 2008.  342p index afp ISBN 9780674026810, $27.95
46-0584 JK468  2007-21587 CIP

The title of Wilford’s engaging book comes from CIA official Frank Wisner’s comment that his operation was a “mighty Wurlitzer” organ on which he could play any propaganda tune. Wilford (history, California State, Long Beach) traces the history of how the CIA funded and employed front groups in its contest against the Soviet Union from the inception of George Kennan’s Office of Policy Coordination under Wisner in 1949 as the prime instrument of psychological political warfare through the exposure of these clandestine activities by the radical muckraking Ramparts magazine in 1967. The book discusses the colorful characters that designed, created, and implemented the various programs, and the different venues targeted and used–including the postwar émigré community, labor organizations, journalists, intellectuals, artists and others of the cultural front, student organizations, women, blacks, Catholics, and others. The expense in dollars was considerable, but the author also considers the costs to democracy, the nation’s reputation, and individual lives far too great a price to bear. The conclusion is too harsh, but the author provides a most valuable addition to an understanding of the early Cold War decades. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and research faculty. — J. P. Dunn, Converse College

Zoglin, Richard.  Comedy at the edge: how stand-up in the 1970s changed America.  Bloomsbury, 2008.  247p bibl index ISBN 9781582346243, $24.95
46-0166 PN1969 2007-44078 MARC

In what is possibly the best comprehensive history of 1970s comedy this reviewer has encountered, Zoglin (critic, Time; self-described baby boomer) surveys post-Lenny Bruce stand-up comedy in its social and cultural contexts. Although never really fulfilling the promise of the subtitle, the book does deliver a fascinating record of counterculture comedy moving into the mainstream. In addition to offering chapters on individual comics such as George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Robert Klein, Albert Brooks, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Andy Kaufman, Jay Leno, and David Letterman, the volume chronicles establishments such as The Improvisation, Catch a Rising Star, and the Comedy Store chain; the importance and influence of The Tonight Show and host Johnny Carson; and the challenges to women comics. The strength of the volume lies in the interviews with the individuals being chronicled. Zoglin does not shy away from the negative aspects of the industry, and he documents the substantial drug use among comics of the era and the 1979 Comedy Store strike. Stand-up comedy is arguably the most underrepresented form in performance studies; Zoglin’s excellent account of an important period in the development of (post)modern comedy should be celebrated. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers, all levels. — K. J. Wetmore, Jr., Loyola Marymount University

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