Compiled by Katherine Duke ’05
Blessed and Beautiful: Picturing the Saints
By Robert Kiely ’53 (Yale University Press)
In this illustrated volume, Kiely meditates upon the lives of the saints and the ways in which Italian Renaissance painters depicted them.
Crafting Mexico: Intellectuals, Artisans, and the State After the Revolution
By Rick A. López ’93, associate professor of history (Duke University Press)
After Mexico’s revolution of 1910-20, its artists and intellectuals used dance, music and handicrafts to formulate a unified national identity.
Escape from the Land of Snows: The Young Dalai Lama’s Harrowing Flight to Freedom and the Making of a Spiritual Hero
By Stephan Talty ’86 (Crown Publishing)
After a violent uprising in Lhasa in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama crossed the Himalayas from Tibet into India to escape Communist Chinese occupiers.
A Free Man of Color
Written by John Guare, directed by George C. Wolfe and starring Jeffrey Wright ’87
In this play, performed at Lincoln Center in New York through January 2011, Wright starred as Jacques Cornet, a powerful figure in New Orleans just before the Louisiana Purchase.
Good Kids, Tough Choices: How Parents Can Help Their Children Do the Right Thing
By Rushworth M. Kidder ’65 (Jossey-Bass)
A guide to teaching ethical decision-making
The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal: Transforming the Academy through Collegial Conversations
By Peter J. Palmer and Professor of Physics Arthur Zajonc, with Megan Scribner (Jossey-Bass)
A holistic approach to teaching and learning—one that involves the mind, heart and spirit
Last on Grant: The History of the First English Evangelical Lutheran Church in the City of Pittsburgh
By Philip H. Pfatteicher ’57 (Lutheran University Press)
Pfatteicher, an associate pastor at the church from 1999 to 2010, presents a history reaching back to 1748.
My Darklyng
By Laura Moser ’99 and Lauren Mechling ’99 (Slate.com)
This thriller about a 10th-grader’s obsession with trendy vampire fiction was published online in weekly installments throughout last summer.
The Mystifications of a Nation: “The Potato Bug” and Other Essays on Czech Culture
Written by Vladimír Macura, translated and edited by Hana Píchová and Craig Cravens ’92 (University of Wisconsin Press)
A translation of the writings of Macura (1945-1999), who examined the myths and symbolism that pervaded his country and culture
"The Smart Electricity Grid and Scientific Research"
Article by Jan Beyea ’61, published in the May 21, 2010, issue of Science
The potential of so-called “smart” meters and appliances
Springfield College: In Spirit, Mind, and Body: Notes and Scenes from Our First 125 Years, 1885–2010
Edited by Richard C. Garvey and Ronald S. Ziemba ’64 (Springfield College)
This photo-rich exploration of the history of Springfield (Mass.) College mentions many people who also helped to shape Amherst.
Succeeding King Lear: Literature, Exposure and the Possibility of Politics
By Emily Sun ’93 (Fordham University Press)
How readers and writers, including William Wordsworth and James Agee, have engaged with the political themes of Shakespeare’s King Lear
Sweet Dreams: A Family History
By DeWitt Henry ’63 (Hidden River Press)
This memoir includes a chapter on Henry’s years at Amherst.
The Unwritten Rules: The Six Skills You Need to Get Promoted to the Executive Level
By John Beeson ’71 (Jossey-Bass)
Advice from the founder and principal of a management consulting firm
Virtual Words: Language on the Edge of Science and Technology
By Jonathon Keats ’94 (Oxford University Press)
The writer of Wired magazine’s Jargon Watch presents 28 essays about words recently coined to name and describe new technologies.