SHARK: A Visual History By Richard Ellis C’59 (Lyons Press, 2012, $24.95.) Ellis’s 23rd book explores historical images of sharks while debunking myths about them through hundreds of full-color photographs. Ellis makes the case that people have little to fear from sharks and should instead work towards their preservation. The book is being published in conjunction with an exhibition (which he is curating) that opens this month at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale. BUY THIS BOOK
LIGHT ON THE PRAIRIE: Solomon D. Butcher, Photographer of Nebraska’s Pioneer Days By Nancy Plain CW’72 (University of Nebraska Press, 2012, $16.95.) Butcher followed and photographed the families who journeyed west after President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862, which granted 160-acre tracts in the Great Plains to citizens willing to farm that land for five years. Accompanied by 62 of Butcher’s photos, Plain’s text illuminates the restless photographer’s career. BUY THIS BOOK
THE REAGAN-GORBACHEV ARMS CONTROL BREAKTHROUGH: The Treaty Eliminating Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) Missiles Edited by David T. Jones C’63 G’64 Gr’80 (Vellum, 2012, $28.) This collective memoir of the historic INF treaty offers fresh observations and insights from members of the American negotiating team, as well as a historical perspective that offers the opportunity for continuing appraisals. Jones, a retired senior foreign-service officer for the State Department, served as special assistant to the late Ambassador Maynard Glitman (the INF negotiator and principal administration witness during the Senate ratification testimony) and as deputy for the INF Treaty Ratification Task Force. BUY THIS BOOK
SPRING CREEK: Twentieth Anniversary Edition By Nick Lyons W’53 (Skyhorse Publishing, 2012, $24.95.) “Learning the creek was a metaphor for all the learning I have ever done,” writes Lyons in the new preface to his classic memoir of trout-fishing in Montana. First published in 1992, this evocative celebration of fly-fishing is also a finely drawn self-portrait of a fisherman learning to fish—and live—more wisely. BUY THIS BOOK
PHILADELPHIA IN STONE: Commercial Lithography in Philadelphia 1828-1878 Edited by Erica Piola G’96 (The Library Company of Philadelphia and Penn State Press, 2012, $49.95.) From advertising to art to cartoons, lithography was one of the primary methods of printing pictures during the 1800s. With eight essays—including one by Piola—and over 130 color images, this coffee-table book explores the important role that lithography had on Philadelphia’s economy and culture during the 19th century. BUY THIS BOOK
DRINKING DIARIES: Women Serve their Stories Straight Up Edited by Leah Odze Epstein & Caren Osten Gerszberg C’86 (Seal Press, 2012, $15.00.) From an essay comparing the benefits of marijuana versus alcohol to a story about a woman’s first sober kiss, this anthology of essays by women writers illuminates the pleasures and the pains of drinking, as well as its aftereffects on their lives. BUY THIS BOOK
IMAGINATION ILLUSTRATED: The Jim Henson Journal By Karen Falk C’84 G’84 (Chronicle Books, 2012, $29.95) Falk, the archives director at the Jim Henson Company and curator for a Smithsonian traveling exhibition about the cartoonist, unveils the inner workings of the acclaimed cartoonists in this adaptation of Henson’s journal. The book includes previously unpublished private notes by the creator of The Muppets, including rare sketches, photographs, storyboards, and doodles. For more on Falk, see “Alumni Profiles,” Jan|Feb2008. BUY THIS BOOK
THE ENTREPRENEUR’S SECRET TO CREATING WEALTH: How the Smartest Business Owners Build Their Fortunes By Chris Hurn G’95 (Advantage, 2012, $19.95.) In his first book, Hurn—CEO and cofounder of Mercantile Capital Corporation— explains the complexities of commercial real estate for entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses. His key “secret” is that entrepreneurs can own their own office through Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. BUY THIS BOOK
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources By Rob Dietz C’93 and Dan O’Neill (Berrett-Koehler, 2013, $19.95). Dietz and O’Neill contend in their book that economic growth is limited by finite natural resources that are increasingly being depleted. In response, they propose a prosperous and stable “steady-state economy” and offer several strategies for maximizing long-term well-being instead of short-term profits. BUY THIS BOOK
LEAVING ON TOP: Graceful Exits for Leaders By David Heenan G’72 (Nicholas Brealey, 2012, $27.50) Heenan, a former Wharton professor now teaching at Georgetown, explores how to exit one’s career gracefully by profiling the likes of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, former boxer George Foreman, and many others. Through his research, Heenan categorizes leaders into four categories: timeless wonders who have no need to quit, aging despots who stubbornly refuse to retire, comeback kids who return to their former glory, and graceful exiters who leave at the right time. BUY THIS BOOK
THE LAST OF THE DOUGHBOYS: The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War By Richard Rubin C’88 (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013, $28.00) Rubin spent the last decade searching for and interviewing the remaining few dozen veterans of World War I—all of whom are now deceased—for his second book. Through these interviews, Rubin explores the forgotten legacy and fading memory of one of the most cataclysmic events in world history. BUY THIS BOOK
