1990 Books

Luck placed the author in Germany at the perfect time to chronicle an unprecedented historical event (German reunification), as well as the response of the German Labor Movement. Turner does an excellent job of synthesizing complex issues and events in a way that appeals to both a labor movement novice and an expert. A critical foundation for anyone who wants to understand the issues confronting the European Community, and Germany, today.

This book is an inspired, readable, and labor of love account of the growth of popular education in El Salvador. The writer shares the continuing challenges faced and rewards shared by students, teachers, and those who teach the teachers.

As in El Salvador, the US, especially Texas, California, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona will increasingly face similar challenges. With the growth of the Spanish speaking populations in the U.S. over the next twenty years, educators and health care professionals will be challenged to adapt and at times abandon certain professional roles and attitudes, in favor of more indigenous methods and messengers for advancing literacy and promoting life enhancing health practices and interventions. Public policy in Texas is already shifting toward the use of community based practitioners in healthcare with a view toward building social capital in Hispanic cultures that can become self-sustaining. Professional treatment and education models are not abandoned, but new program growth may be toward the use of professionals to teach the teachers, health educators, and care givers to care for their own communities, and build community based, rather than, state driven programs.

Social service professionals in the U.S. may see their future in this book.

This book tells the fascinating story of the role of the church, particularly the Roman Catholic church, in the collapse of communism in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. This subject has received precious little coverage in the popular press, but cannot be ignored by serious students of history. The author takes the position that it was neither Mikhail Gorbachev, nor Ronald Reagan alone that did it (brought down the Yalta imperial system), but the undeniable and inexorable faith of many Christians throughout Europe. The collapse of Communism had its roots in the early work of Pope Pius, Pope John XXIII, Paul VI and finally the Polish pastor/dramatist/linguist Karol Woytyla, who became Pope John Paul II. The close identification of Catholicism with the Polish history kept the national character alive and ultimately denied the power of tyranny in Poland and elsewhere. I recommend this book to anyone who is skeptical of the biases of the press

Charles Strong's career as a Bay Area artist spans four decades and many different mediums. Fire And Flux is an impressive catalog of his achievements using a visual approach to explore his works. Insights into his intentions and philosophy are included but the meat of the book lies in these presentations of his art.

Everyone knows Sir Walter Ralegh as the gallant courtier who spread his cloak across a puddle so that his queen might pass dry-shod. A commoner who never lost his thick Cornish accent, Ralegh was nevertheless precisely the sort of man likely to catch Elizabeth's eye: handsome, intelligent, witty, well-spoken, and possessed of enough pride and independence to speak his mind, even to his queen. The term "Renaissance man" seems coined with Ralegh in mind: He was a poet, soldier, privateer, explorer, scientist, historian.

He could also be stunningly naive, and surprisingly inept at the art of courting favor. His first meeting with James I, Elizabeth's successor, was a disaster. Accustomed to priviledge, Ralegh approached James unannounced, even though the king heartily disliked such surprises. When James observed that he might have had to fight for the throne, Ralegh's response was, "Would to God you had! Then Your Majestry would have known your friends from your foes." An honest sentiment and possibly a shrewd one, it not the sort of observation likely to endear him to the new king. James already had reason to be wary of Ralegh, for some of Ralegh's enemies had been plying James for months with negative reports. Ralegh's recent behavior seemed to support these dark hints: he was one of the few dignitaries who did not bother to contact James after Elizabeth's death to assure the new sovereign of his loyalty. Worse, Ralegh presented the peace-loving king with a proposal for seizing the West Indies from Spain. James had been told that Ralegh was a warmonger and possibly a traitor. With his own eyes he perceived another, more subtle threat: this handsome, powerful, and persuasive man was a living reminder of Elizabethan glories.

Ralegh's fall from power during the reign of James I was as swift and spectacular as his rise under Elizabeth had been. His enemies rejoiced, as did the common folk who then and now love to see the mighty brought low. Ralegh's greatest triumph, perhaps, was the courage and wit he exhibited through his trial, imprisonment, and execution. In a last interview with a friend, he advised him to come to the beheading early if he wished to get a place. "As for me, my place is assured," he quipped. His last words, spoken to the hesitant executioner, were, "What dost fear? Strike, man, strike!"

Margaret Irwin is a novelist as well as a historian, and this comes through in the tone and quality of her writing. This biography is far more entertaining than most fictorical fiction I've read. It's full of telling anecdotes, vivid descriptions, and dead-on characterizations. Considering the complexity of her subjects and the paradoxical nature of Ralegh himself, this is a remarkable achievement.

One minor disappointment was the lack of a bioliography; there were several incidents and anecdotes that I would have liked to explore in more depth. Even so, it's an entertaining story, as well as a window into a fascinating time.

My faded (1961) copy of Jim Dante's 1947 "The Nine Bad Shots of Golf and What to Do About Them" is a gem! It's still available in reprints (1990). The scope is exactly what all beginning and most experienced golfers need and want: How to stop hooking, slicing, topping, pushing, pulling, smothering, shanking, skying, and sclaffing. The language is wonderfully straightforward. To hit a low ball, Dante says use one more (lower-faced) club, put nearly all your weight on the left foot, and dont't pivot. "These three things," Dante says, "are virtually all you can do." What if the green can't be approached by a run-up? Dante: "Well, that's just too bad."

As a college counselor in a highly regarded prep school, I use the Fiske Guide heavily. I greatly value the paragraphs of text description of the colleges; while I advise students and their families that they should, ideally, visit colleges and speak with current students and recent alumni, I find that the Fiske Guide descriptions are one more invaluable piece of information among all the resources students can use in making their decisions. I also have an interactive version of the 1996 guide, loaded onto my hard disk from a CD-ROM. I use this constantly, printing out information for one or two schools for my students. I would like to order a more recent version, if one exists, but I have been frustrated in my efforts to learn how to do this!

This is the survival story of five Costa Rican fishermen caught in a storm in a leaky wooden boat. They drift and sail for five months living off the sea, the rain, and their wits. This book is engaging, warm, and human. I recommend it to anyone who likes sea stories.

The true story also has important insights into survival. The men survived on their own without any food or water but what they could gather and yet at their rescue all were in peak good condition. There is much for seafarers to learn here. Also the entire incident was avoidable as so many ship wrecks are. If they'd had a working radio, enough fuel, or less recklessness early on, they never would have been adrift. I congratulate Ron Arrias on doing a fine job of telling this fascinating story.

FLATIRON, by Peter Gwillim Kreitler, represents a first for the AIA. This book is the most important compilation of Flatiron Building photographs. And, as the AIA recognizes, the building was a landmark in architectural development. Thus, the AIA chose to devote an entire publication, for the first time, to a building and its photographic record, and not solely to its architect/builder. The reproductions of well-known as well as hard-to-find photos are exceedingly well done, portraying developments in both architecture AND the blossoming field of photography. Reverend Kreitler's personal collection is the basis for this pictorial monograph; he has been collecting for many years and is an accomplished photographer and author. Daniel Burnham's Flatiron is a watershed in American architecture, parallelling and following upon, but not mimicing, the work of Louis Sullivan in Chicago. Siting was key, and influenced the use of materials, as well as the aesthetic in which Burnham worked. The building remains an important landmark in New York City, and deserves a visit by all who appreciate early examples of integration and art in the modern architectural vernacular. If you can't visit in person, the early record of this remarkable structure displayed so artistically in this classic monograph will serve you very well.

Since I am not really old enough to remember the '85 season this book provides provides an opportunity to learn more about that year. It is a fascinating read for any baseball fan, but especially Cards fans.