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

Bad news: how America’s business press missed the story of the century, ed. by Anya Schiffrin.  New Press, 2011.  227p; ISBN 9781595585493, $24.95.
48-6721  PN4784  2010-35640 CIP
 
Starting with the premise that the business press failed to adequately predict or explain the recession of the late 2000s, these nine essays (contributed by practicing journalists, academics from journalism schools, and one economist) attempt to explain what went wrong. Particular themes emerge. First, journalism itself was in decline. Many news outlets (print and broadcast) had drastically reduced staff, leaving those who remained with less time for in-depth, investigative work. Second, financial issues had become increasingly specialized and complex. Even experienced financial journalists struggled to understand derivatives, mortgage-backed securities, and collateralized debt obligations; explaining them to readers/viewers was even more difficult. Consequently, journalists became increasingly dependent on their sources–contacts on Wall Street and in the government–for information and explanations, but many of these sources had their own points of view, including a common interest in maintaining public confidence. A few contributors suggest that the public did not want to recognize the downsides of overconsumption and dependence on credit. As Schiffrin (School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia Univ.) concludes, as a result of the recession “journalists have had a crash course in recession economics, along with the rest of the country.” For the most part, these are well-documented, objective analyses. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. — M. S. Myers, Carnegie Mellon University

Begole, Bo.  Ubiquitous computing for business: find new markets, create better businesses, and reach customers around the world 24-7-365.  FT Press, 2011.  254p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780137064434, $34.99.
48-7010  HF5415  2010-41445 CIP
 
Ubiquitous computing describes the paradigm of information technologies embedded throughout everyday work, home, and school environments that are designed to fit into the natural practices of humans. Mark Weiser, then head of the Computer Science Laboratory at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), first described this paradigm in 1988 and, together with UK and Japanese scientists and engineers, created “prototypes of mobile, wirelessly networked devices along with sensors and other devices to perceive the state of the physical environment.” Here, Begole, who currently serves as a principal scientist at PARC, covers this topic in two sections: “Background and Capabilities of Ubiquitous Computing” and “Business Opportunities.” He weaves in business case studies on Dai Nippon Printing’s Magitti system (supply chain management), the Xerox PrintTicket system, the Sun Microsystems system for human interruptibility, and the Responsive Mirror prototype system for supporting retail decision making (shopping). The book also includes a chapter on personalized marketing. The final chapter, “Ubiquitous Business,” examines the business potential of indoor location detection, location prediction, personalized smart homes and buildings, automated workflow services, mobile payment, and real-time language translation, among other topics. The book is very readable and thought-provoking and provides an interesting exposition on the state-of-the-art of ubiquitous computing. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. — E. J. Szewczak, Canisius College  
 
Cochrane, Alasdair.  An introduction to animals and political theory.  Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.  167p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780230239258, $90.00; ISBN 9780230239265 pbk, $33.00.
48-7187  HV4708  2010-27496 CIP
 
Cochrane’s introduction focuses on animals in political, rather than moral, theory and looks at whether political communities–especially states–have an obligation to animals. He clearly presents a number of the most prominent political traditions and their engagements with the question of animals, including ancient and medieval thought, liberalism, utilitarianism, communitarianism, Marxism, and feminism. The author’s preferences for the inclusion of animals and for the liberalism/utilitarian approaches are clear in the book, which offers a more sympathetic and thorough reading of these traditions. In the first five chapters, the careful engagements with the philosophical traditions and their treatment of animals are cogent and clear, providing an invaluable resource for undergraduates or scholars new to political theory. The treatment of Marxism and feminism is less thorough, in particular the focus on care feminism and its limitations rather than the wide range of feminist analyses of animals. Though the focus on political theory provides a unique focus on questions of collective responsibility and state-based obligation, the somewhat narrow definition of “political” limits the author’s engagements and ignores many contemporary discussions of animals within the feminist, postcolonial, and extensive post-humanist traditions. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers, undergraduate students, and graduate students.
— C. E. Rasmussen, University of Delaware  
 
Coyle, Diane.  The economics of enough: how to run the economy as if the future matters.  Princeton, 2011.  346p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780691145181, $24.95.
48-7029  HD87   2010-41654 CIP
 
From the somewhat playful Sex, Drugs, and Economics (CH, Mar’03, 40-4105), to the more descriptive and objective The Soulful Science (CH, Sep’07, 45-0378), economist and superb writer (too often mutually exclusive categories) Coyle (Enlightenment Economics) presents her more general assessment in Enough. Blending economics with politics and philosophy, she uses the recent financial crisis as an opportunity to discuss a number of grander themes with the goal of a better and sustainable future, which is to be aided and abetted by a better-informed citizenry led not by an invisible hand but by the fist of more enlightened governments. Her one-word titles for two of her three main divisions–“Challenges” and “Obstacles”–and her eight one-word chapter titles: “Happiness,” “Nature,” “Posterity,” “Fairness,” “Trust,” “Measurement,” “Values,” and “Institutions”–are good indicators of the book’s contents. Embedded in those chapters are, of course, worries about inequality, climate change, natural resources, and economic growth. Her third section and its one-word chapter
title–“Manifesto”–demonstrate her trafficking in prescription and subjectivity. The notes, references, and index are first-rate. If Coyle were not such a good writer one might be tempted to dismiss her book, but it will get juices and important conversations flowing. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. — A. R. Sanderson, University of Chicago

Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, by the Foundation of the Hellenic World.  Internet Resource.
48-6636

http://www.ehw.gr/ehw/forms/Default.aspx 
[Visited May’11] The privately funded Foundation for the Hellenic World was created in 1993 to preserve Hellenic history and tradition and to raise awareness of Greek contributions throughout time periods and geographical regions. To that end, the scope of the Digital Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World (EWH) extends far beyond the classical period or classical boundaries of the Greek mainland or islands. The first three “volumes,” covering Asia Minor, the Black Sea, and Constantinople, offer signed essays in English, Greek, and a dozen other languages on places, persons, topics, and events, complemented by maps, images, and some video and sound files. The essays, scholarly in tone, offer clickable tables of contents, pop-up definitions of terms, and extensive footnotes. Users may navigate by headword, by browsing categories, or by full-text searching. As a polyglot project, the EHW allows easy switching between languages by means of flag icons; the English translations are readable, though sometimes marred by excessive formality or odd spelling (e.g., “sourses”). It is at points difficult to return to the site’s main home page from one of the three volumes.

A nice feature is the searchable bibliography that allows users to filter sources by type of publication, time period covered, geographical area, subject, or language. A sister project, the Cultural Portal of the Aegean Archipelago, is also available http://www2.egeonet.gr/aigaio/Forms/fmain.aspx. Though libraries may house print resources that touch on topics covered by EHW–such as the Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition, edited by G. Speake (CH, Jun’01, 38-5314), or the more recent Classical Tradition, edited by A. Grafton, G. W. Most, and S. Settis (CH, Mar’11, 48-3621)–those works do not offer this Web site’s depth of coverage or ease of access. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers. — B. Juhl, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 

Fox-Kales, Emily.  Body shots: Hollywood and the culture of eating disorders.  Excelsior Editions/SUNY Press, 2011.  195p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781438435299, $70.00; ISBN 9781438435282 pbk, $22.95.
48-6791  PN1995  2010-31821 CIP
 
In this aptly titled book, Fox-Kales (psychiatry, faculty of medicine, Harvard; film and psychology, Northeastern Univ.) offers a trenchant examination of Hollywood’s obsession with the bodies of young women. In Hollywood, a thin and “desirable” body is achieved at any cost, and this obsession is not limited to the movies, of course. Television is also a key player in reinforcing negative body images among tweens, teens, and older women. The author deftly demonstrates this with references to Oprah Winfrey’s yo-yo dieting and such television shows as Extreme Makeover, in which the body is literally deconstructed to create an ideal public image. Although men’s bodies are fetishized by Hollywood in much the same manner, the resounding truth is that women get the brunt of such artificial imagery. Witness films such as Kill Bill, Million Dollar Baby, Shallow Hal, and Maid in Manhattan–and also old films such as The Major and the Minor and This Gun for Hire (both, 1942), the latter starring the iconic Veronica Lake. Packed with frame blowups and arresting arguments, this is a passionate, informed book, ideal for those interested in women’s studies and in study of the moving image. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. — G. A. Foster, University of Nebraska—Lincoln  
  
Gleick, James.  The information: a history, a theory, a flood.  Pantheon Books, 2011.  526p bibl index; ISBN 9780375423727, $29.95.
48-6953  Z665   2010-23221 CIP
 
In this bulky book, master science-storyteller Gleick (Chaos, CH, Feb’88; Faster, 1999, etc.) presents the multifarious aspects of information. The term “information” is used by everyone, and it bombards people in a hundred different ways day in and day out. But what exactly is this intangible bomb, measured in bits, which has influenced human consciousness and civilization in profound ways? And who were some of the principal actors who in different ways thrust information into the human psyche and society? In this sophisticated narrative, which reads like a journalist’s report as well as a learned treatise, readers get numerous insights on many apparently unconnected items ranging from the drumbeats of Africa to DNA, from Babylonian culture to (Charles) Babbage, from (Claude) Shannon to superposition, and more. Readers also learn about telegraphy, telephony, and thermodynamics. Gleick’s writing is full of anecdotes and tidbits, along with keen comments and literary references, all very fascinating and relevant to the current age. This book is critical reading for anyone wanting to graduate from college in the 21st century, for it reminds readers in an informed and informative way of what information is all about. It will make readers see the world more intelligently than before. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.
— V. V. Raman, emeritus, Rochester Institute of Technology  
 
Hölldobler, Bert.  The leafcutter ants: civilization by instinct, by Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson.  W.W. Norton, 2011.  160p bibl index ISBN 0393338681 pbk, $19.95; ISBN 9780393338683 pbk, $19.95.
48-6898  QL568  2010-16202 CIP
 
Expanding on a chapter from their earlier work, The Superorganism (CH, Aug’09, 46-6805), Hölldobler (Arizona State) and Wilson (Harvard), authors of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Ants (CH, Oct’90, 28-0954), have written a detailed but easily readable account of the natural history of leafcutter ants. These species are a dominant force in New World forests and grasslands, and range extensively from the southern US to Central and South America. Colonies may consist of hundreds of thousands to millions of individuals, some of whom may live for ten years. Their success derives not only from their sociality but also from their close mutualistic relationship with fungi that they cultivate and consume within their nests. Large columns of workers forage for leaves, which they cannot digest but they can use to raise the fungi. This symbiosis allowed leafcutter ants to colonize a new niche, unavailable to other herbivores. This slim, excellent work is exceptionally well illustrated with more than 50 figures and color plates. A glossary and list of references enhance its utility. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic, professional, and general readers interested in entomology, evolution, and behavior. — R. E. Lee Jr., Miami University  
 
Jayawardhana, Ray.  Strange new worlds: the search for alien planets and life beyond our solar system.  Princeton, 2011.  255p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780691142548, $24.95.
48-6875  QB54    MARC
 
The search for habitable planets around other stars is one of the preeminent research areas in astronomy today. Jayawardhana (Univ. of Toronto, Canada) gives a firsthand account of the exciting discoveries that have taken place in the past two decades of rapidly accelerating growth in this new field. Strange New Worlds not only conveys the author’s point of view about his own discoveries of planet-forming disks around other stars, but also contains excerpts from Jayawardhana’s interviews with many of the other researchers who helped build the newest astronomical instruments, observe the first extrasolar planets, and create new or revised theories for the formation of planets. Because of this, readers get a great sense for the human part of astronomy, rather than just a recounting of the results of ongoing research. The final chapter presents the challenges and hopes for the discovery of biosignatures, i.e., evidence that other planets host life. The book convinces readers that we have come a long way towards reaching this goal already, and Jayawardhana ends with his prediction that this discovery of life on other planets will be made in the coming decade. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. — C. Palma, Pennsylvania State University  
 
Klein, Menachem.  The shift: Israel-Palestine from border struggle to ethnic conflict.  Columbia, 2010.  206p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780231701969, $30.00.
48-7175  DS119  2010-29992 CIP
 
Do not be fooled by the small size of this book. Within it is an in-depth, well-researched, and cogently written treatise on the endless Israeli-Palestinian struggle. Klein (Bar-Ilan Univ., Israel) has the intellectual/scholarly chops and the direct diplomatic/political experience in the struggle to make his sobering and forthright suggestions and insights credible. Perhaps most important and certainly most valuable is the fact that Klein actually manages to introduce something of a new idea into this heavily researched area. While the conflict continues to be portrayed largely in terms of territory and state power, the struggle has morphed from a debate about territory into a more millenarian struggle based on ethnicity. Indeed, the conclusions in this book are not going to make many optimists or idealists happy, but that does not make the thoughts and arguments expounded here any less interesting or valuable. This is a great little book that gives enough overview for the uninformed and enough subtle detail to keep the knowledgeable honest. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. — M. D. Crosston, Bellevue University
 
Lupo, Lindsey.  Flak-catchers: one hundred years of riot commission politics in America.  Lexington Books, 2011.  275p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780739138106, $75.00; e-book ISBN 9780739138120 e-book, $75.00.
48-7202  HV6477  2010-44212 CIP
 
Lupo (Point Loma Nazarene Univ.) examines five riot commissions in the US over the past 100 years. The author relies on an extensive assortment of primary sources, including many interviews with persons involved with the commission studying the 1992 Los Angeles riot. Lupo states her main finding and argument concisely in the conclusion: “Riot commissions are a rough measure of how we look at race–they are an official cataloguing and one lens through which to view race.” As such, it would seem to make more sense to discuss how the politics of riot commissions are a reflection of US politics. Lupo does mention this dynamic at times. For example, she connects riot commissions and presidential politics; but her account focuses heavily on the commissions themselves, and she therefore gives less attention to how riot commission politics simply reflects the politics of race in the US. Nonetheless, Flak-Catchers is a valuable contribution to the broader literature on race and politics, and addresses a very important, yet understudied, subject. Summing Up: Recommended. All undergraduate, graduate, and research collections. — N. Kraus, University of Wisconsin–River Falls  
 
Quiviger, François.  The sensory world of Italian Renaissance art.  Reaktion Books, 2010.  206p bibl index; ISBN 9781861896575, $27.00.
48-6698  N6915    MARC
 
Quiviger (Warburg Institute, Univ. of London) here presents a cornucopia of ideas. Rather than drawing on traditional literary sources to elucidate the imagery of Renaissance painting in Italy, he approaches iconography from a contextual point of view. His methodology relates as well to cultural history, inasmuch as he deals with the development of sensory responses and mnemonics. His comments about the tuning of musical instruments, and the purpose of these images in religious and secular works of art, are particularly thoughtful. He leans heavily on Aristotle as a backdrop to the psychological understanding of the senses that prevailed in the Renaissance. Quiviger treats conventional artistic categories, but also objects that one does not associate with art, such as scented and sculpted rosary beads; events such as lavish banquets; and devotional practices such as meditation. One is reminded repeatedly of parallels with Northern Renaissance painting and sculpture. Indeed, the author makes reference to some examples thereof, but possibilities for further work in this area abound. He does not touch on the analogies in the work of Jan van Eyck, for example, whose fascination with sound and texture deserves exploration within the framework he outlines. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above. — H. J. Zakin, emerita, SUNY Oswego  
 
Rivers, Ian.  Homophobic bullying: research and theoretical perspectives.  Oxford, 2011.  232p bibl indexes afp; ISBN 9780195160536, $35.00.
48-6991  LC212  2010-46856 CIP
 
The voices of pain are powerful. In this latest volume, prolific researcher Ian Rivers (human development, Brunel Univ., UK) captures the suffering experienced by targets of homophobic bullying. The author presents poignant, evocative narratives in which victims express the maelstrom of confusion that peer abuse etched on their memories. He integrates a rich review of pivotal investigations on the topic of bullying with primary quantitative and qualitative data as he introduces three original studies that focus on the victimization of sexual minorities. His insightful discussion of classic and contemporary theories from a multidisciplinary perspective will sharpen the reader’s understanding of the complex set of psychosocial factors involved in this cycle of abuse. Providing perceptive, incisive interpretations of his extensive empirical research, Rivers pricks the conscience of parents and educators by warning of the profound effects and imminent dangers that result from denigrating the status of others. This is a powerful, timely reminder that there are no innocent bystanders in the “bullying circle.” Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty/professionals.
— S. Durr, Macon State College  
 
Seligman, Martin E. P.  Flourish: a visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being.  Free Press, 2011.  349p bibl index; ISBN 9781439190753, $26.00.
48-7217  BF204   2010-33642 CIP
 
Positive psychology has taken root, and its branches are reaching out, seeking what is next and what is new. According to Seligman (Univ. of Pennsylvania), positive psychology’s titular founder, happiness is only one part of well-being; other matters need attention too in order for the individual to attain the good life–in a word, to flourish. For psychosocial fulfillment, the author now advocates making and meeting personal goals according to a model he calls PERMA–an acronym for positive emotion (i.e., happiness), engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. Part autobiographical narrative, part revision and extension of existing constructs, and part presentation of recent theoretical and empirical innovations, Flourish is both popular (in the sense it can serve a lay audience) and polemical. Fans will find much to like here, and critics will be surprised at the author’s adroitness in always moving forward, making new connections, and working to apply psychological knowledge to improve people’s lives. This ten-chapter book describes some intriguing new ventures that make positive psychology more global, including teaching emotional resilience skills to the US Army and explorations in positive education among grammar school students in Australia. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. — D. S. Dunn, Moravian College  
 
Sloan, John J., III.  The dark side of the ivory tower: campus crime as a social problem, by John J. Sloan III and Bonnie S. Fisher.  Cambridge, 2011.  211p bibl index; ISBN 9780521195171, $80.00; ISBN 9780521124058 pbk, $24.99.
48-7238  HV6250  2010-6614 CIP
 
In this eye-opening account about campus crime in the US, criminal justice professors Sloan (Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham) and Fisher (Univ. of Cincinnati) argue that campus crime was socially constructed as a new social problem during the late 1980s and into the 1990s, despite the fact that campus crime has existed on college and university campuses since the colonial era. Security on campus, campus feminists, victims, and public health researchers were instrumental in constructing campus crime as a new social problem. The strength of this work is their explanation of how an event becomes a social problem. The strategies of naming the problem, taking ownership and achieving social recognition of the problem, establishing an orientation, legitimizing the problem, institutionalizing social problems, and packaging of the new problem are applied to the notions of unsafe and violent campuses, the sexual victimization of women on campuses, institutional liability for campus crime, and binge drinking on campuses. A resource for all interested in campus crime and safety issues. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. — A. A. Hodge, Buffalo State College  

Stone, Andrea.  Reading Maya art: a hieroglyphic guide to ancient Maya painting and sculpture, by Andrea Stone and Marc Zender.  Thames & Hudson, 2011.  248p bibl index; ISBN 9780500051689, $34.95.
48-6702  F1435    MARC
 
Stone (Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), with numerous articles on Maya art and iconography to her credit, and Zender (Peabody Museum, Harvard), who has researched and written extensively on Maya hieroglyphic writing, here bring their expertise to bear on the relationship between hieroglyphic writing and the art of the ancient Maya. In the introductory chapter, they address the free flow of logographic signs of hieroglyphs, often with pictorial origins, into the iconography of Maya art. They explore, in a concise, informative manner, the variety of functions of these logographs when embedded in art. Following the introductory chapter is a catalogue of 100 logographs with explanations of their meanings, phonetic values, and pictorial origins, as well as images from Maya art that make use of the logographs. The illustrations are numerous, but of varying quality. The complexity of the imagery, and the information encoded in it through the use of logographs, makes Maya art very challenging to understand. This volume offers the most comprehensive and informative exploration of this relationship to date. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. — J. J. Borowicz, Mercyhurst College
 
Turkle, Sherry.  Alone together: why we expect more from technology and less from each other.  Basic Books, 2011.  360p index afp; ISBN 9780465010219, $28.95.
48-7239  HM851  2010-30614 CIP
 
Turkle (MIT) examines the human consequences of the adoption of robotic technologies and immersion in virtual media. She bases her book’s first section on extensive interviews and observations, exploring the role of robots and related simulacra in the care of others–specifically, children and the elderly. In her exploration of the ways in which machines can be used to work through psychological issues, she also makes clear that robots do not necessarily challenge users toward greater health or integration, as the robots’ lack of interpersonal demands and limited needs for reciprocity seems preferable to some, and their reliability and constancy appeal to others. The second section analyzes the management of relationships with technologies like instant messaging, video chatting, and social media sites. Here Turkle problematizes the depth, sincerity, and incessant demands of an “always-on-line life,” exploring how ideas about connection, identity, and memory become redefined in relation to what is technologically available. Some will dismiss Turkle’s analysis as romantic or simply reflecting a generation gap, but she refuses “either-or” quandaries to ask deep questions about relationships, identity, empathy, and community in immersive technological environments. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. — J. L. Croissant, University of Arizona

What caused the financial crisis, ed. by Jeffrey Friedman.  Pennsylvania, 2011.  360p bibl index afp ISBN 0812221184 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9780812221183 pbk, $29.95.
48-7051  HB3722  2010-17605 CIP
 
The number of answers to the question posed by the title of this book is roughly equal to the number of scholars who contributed to this informative but hardly pathbreaking volume. After all, a whole literature on the 2007-09 financial crisis, seeking to unearth the cause of this rare event, has emerged in the past few years. Indeed, many of the contributors included here merely repeat the analysis they have written elsewhere. Contributors include Joseph E. Stiglitz, Peter J. Wallison, John B. Taylor, Lawrence J. White, Daron Acemoglu, and Richard Posner, who wrote the afterword. That no consensus has yet emerged (if it ever will) is hardly surprising. The two chapters that castigate the economics profession for providing the intellectual framework that inhibited sound preventative economic policy are perhaps less well known, but no less controversial. The 66-page introductory chapter by editor Friedman (visiting scholar, Univ. of Texas, Austin) will give the interested reader an excellent sense of the rest of the book. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.
— J. Prager, New York University

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