New Books:
102.07 C362a Thomas Cathcart. Aristotle & an aardvark go to Washington: understanding political doublespeak through philosophy & jokes. 2007.
Philosophers rip into American political rhetoric.
152.46 G226s Daniel Gardner. The science of fear. 2008.
How our natural tendency to act on the basis of fear leads to all sorts of irrational behavior.
175 S565e Miguel Sicart. The ethics of computer games. 2009.
Uses a variety of tools to study the objects and the play, and speculates on effects.
189.4 A141l Letters of Heloise & Abelard. 2009.
A new translation of the immortal correspondence between the great lovers.
191 T474l Michael Thompson. Life & action: elementary structures of practice & practical thought. 2008.
Attempts to formulate how life, thought, and action need to be part of a unified system.
210 D417c Martin J. DeNys. Considering transcendence: elements of a philosophical theology. 2009.
Lays out a theory of religion involving transcendence as a key element.
210 P977r Richard Purtill. Reason to believe: why faith makes sense. 1974.
Reissue of a classic philosophical argument against atheism and for Christianity.
211 S769g T.L.S. Sprigge. The God of metaphysics. 2006.
Argues that metaphysics offers many reasons for belief in God.
220.61 G464c Christopher Gilbert. A complete introduction to the Bible. 2009.
Very basic guide for readers with no previous background.
220.93 C976l Robin Currie. The letter & the scroll: what archæology teaches us about the Bible. 2009.
Well illustrated guide to current understandings; from the National Geographic Society.
224.06 M511t Samuel A. Meier. Themes & transformations in Old Testament prophecy. 2009.
A study of the uniqueness of each prophet, and how their work changed over time.
231.042 R953e Ormond Rush. The eyes of faith: the sense of the faithful & the Church’s reception of Revelation. 2009.
Argues for more attention to the sensus fidelium versus the authority of the Magisterium.
231.7652 C224r Judy Cannato. Radical amazement: contemplative lessons from black holes, supernovas, & other wonders of the universe. 2006.
Developing a healthy sense of wonder at creation.
232.908 A438h Dale C. Allison, Jr. The historical Christ & the theological Jesus. 2009.
What is the significance of the historical search for Jesus, & its effect on our belief?
234.163 B463e Pope Benedict XVI. The Eucharist. 2009.
A collection from his many writings and speeches.
236.2 D811l Dinesh D’Souza. Life after death: the evidence. 2009.
A survey of scientific and philosophical evidence that death is not the end.
248 H842p Caryll Houselander. The passion of the infant Christ. 1949.
The beloved writer’s musings on the Divine Infancy and how it saves the world.
248.32 T544 Bonnie Thurston. For God alone: a primer on prayer. 2009.
A nice guide to the varieties of prayer, from oratio to lectio divina to physical movement.
261.8325 H747g Susan R. Holman. God knows there’s a need: Christian responses to poverty. 2009.
As Patricia Hampl writes, seeks not a solution so much as the right relation to poverty.
264.02036 R533m Thomas Richstatter, OFM. The Mass: a guided tour. 2009.
An introduction to the celebration and the wider context.
271.125024 M575cf Compassionate fire: the letters of Thomas Merton & Catherine de Hueck Doherty. 2009.
Selection of the Spiritual Book News, traces their long friendship and common concerns.
297.12261 C189r Robert A. Campbell. Reading the Qur’an in English. 2009.
An introduction to the book, its history, and its interpretation.
303.482 H559g Andrew Herod. Geographies of globalization. 2009.
How the economic forces are dramatically affecting world geography.
304.2 B959e Edmund Burke, III, ed. The environment & world history. 2009.
Scholarly essays on specific examples, mostly Asian, of the influence of both.
305.89712 M141n Ann McElroy. Nunavut generations: change & continuity in Canadian Inuit communities. 2008.
Longitudinal study of four generations of gradual social change.
305.897454 E68y Kirstin C. Erickson. Yaqui homeland & homeplace: the everyday production of ethnic identity. 2008.
Ethnographic study of the Indians of Northern Mexico.
306.45 S741d Michael Specter. Denialism: how irrational thinking hinders scientific progress, harms the planet, & threatens our lives.2009.
About the great distrust of science and experts.
306.6 B476r Jonathan Benthall. Return to religion: why a secular age is haunted by faith. 2008.
Defines religion broadly & shows its pervasiveness in a host of cultural phenomena.
307.76 N554r Peter Newman. Resilient cities: responding to peak oil & climate change. 2009.
What cities can do to deal with the environmental crisis in order to survive.
320.011 S474i Amartya Sen. The idea of justice. 2009.
Less concerned with a pure theory than with a workable system for the world’s survival.
330 L666s Steven D. Levitt. Super freakonomics. 2009.
Follows his wildly successful book on interestingly applied economics.
398.20971 S345s S.E. Schlosser. Spooky Canada: tales of haunting, strange happenings, & other local lore. 2007.
Eerie folk tales from the Great White North.
523.8875 S964b Leonard Susskind. The black hole war: my battle with Stephen Hawking to make the world safe for quantum mechanics. 2008.
A debate over the nature of black holes and the universe.
569.9 J65f Donald C. Johanson. From Lucy to language. 2006.
The paleoanthropological evidence for our journey from standing up to where we are now.
569.9 J65l Donald C. Johanson. Lucy’s legacy: the quest for human origins. 2009.
The research of the past 30 years on human evolution.
572.46 M891e Oliver Morton. Eating the sun: how plants power the planet. 2008.
Photosynthesis detailed and its importance in the ecosystem analysed.
577.22 B262h Anthony D. Barnosky. Heatstroke: nature in an age of global warming. 2009.
The effects of the shock of climate change on plants and animals.
598.0974 S838b Paul Sterry. Birds of Eastern North America: a photographic guide. 2009.
Very usable guide to our little friends.
701.17 D981a Denis Dutton. The art instinct: beauty, pleasure, & human evolution. 2009.
Argues that our taste in art is dictated by natural selection.
708.1731 C972m James Cuno. Master paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago. 2009.
Wonderful guide to many of the masterpieces there.
720 P954a Francesca Prina. Architecture: elements, materials, form. 2008.
Really useful guide to many buildings, pointing out details of their design & construction.
730.96751 N574s François Neyt OSB. Songye. 2009.
Lavishly illustrated guide to the carvings from the Congolese people.
755.53 F491i Gabriele Finaldi. The image of Christ. 2000.
An astonishing exhibition of how artists have attempted to portray the God-Man over time.
780.89 A889m Laurent Aubert. The music of the other: new challenges for ethnomusicology in a global age. 2007.
What happens when non-Western music changes as Western music is changing?
780.92 B451 K51b William Kinderman. Beethoven. 2nd ed. 2009.
A musical biography with much attention to specific works.
780.951 J79r Stephen Jones. Ritual & music of North China. 2 vols. 2007-.
Preservation of cultural traditions through decades of tumultuous assault and change.
780.973 T556m Judith Tick, ed. Music in the USA: a documentary companion. 2008.
Photographs, stories, interviews, all kinds of great resources to the history of the art.
782.109 K43a Robert C. Ketterer. Ancient Rome in early opera. 2009.
From Monteverdi to Mozart, lessons applied from classical history to music.
782.14 M939 H946m Mary Hunter. Mozart’s operas: a companion. 2008.
Analysis of each work, plus studies of the music, theatre, & production of them all.
808.819353 S732a Lisa Russ Spaar, ed. Acquainted with the night: insomnia poems. 1999.
A collection to lose sleep over.
811.0093822 D671d Lynn Domina, ed. Poets on the Psalms. 2008.
Essays and examples on how poets have translated or interpreted various Psalms.
813.54 G664cm Mary Gordon. Circling my mother: a memoir. 2007.
About her mother and their relationship, from the beginning to the mother’s death at 92.
813.54 G664s _______. The shadow man: a daughter’s search for her father. 1996.
The almost incredible memoir of her research into her father’s life and the huge surprises.
813.54 O18p Flannery O’Connor. The presence of grace & other book reviews. 1983.
Wonderful essays by the master of the incisive phrase.
813.54 R476d David Rhodes. Driftless. 2008.
Novel set in a farming community in Southwest Wisconsin; the All Iowa Reads book.
813.54 R489cd Anne Rice. Called out of darkness: a spiritual confession. 2008.
A memoir of her literary, personal, and spiritual journeys.
813.6 A384a Sherman Alexie. The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. 2007.
Memoir of a young adult who leaves the Reservation to go to a white school.
821.912 Y41 R823c David A. Ross. Critical companion to William Butler Yeats. 2009.
Guide to his life, explication of his poems, and dictionary of people and places of note.
904.5 D536m Florin Diacu. Mega disasters: the science of predicting the next catastrophe. 2010.
The evolving science of trying to predict tsunamis, earthquakes, even financial meltdowns.
909.07 H842f Norman Housley. Fighting for the Cross: crusading to the Holy Land. 2008.
What was the actual experience of crusading?
909.09767 A617d Tamim Ansary. Destiny disrupted: a history of the world through Islamic eyes. 2009.
Another perspective makes a large difference in how the world & its history look.
909.0976708 A421c Ali A. Allawi. The crisis of Islamic civilization. 2009.
Argues that globalization and Western influence are unraveling this society.
909.09821 B468a Thomas Benjamin. The Atlantic world: Europeans, Africans, Indians & their shared history, 1400-1900. 2009.
Takes a giant view of the period.
910.202 F523w World Heritage Sites. 2008.
Guide to 878 UNESCO-designated places of historical importance.
938.01 A236h Lesley Adkins. Handbook to life in Ancient Greece. 2nd ed. 2005.
Nicely illustrated guide
940.540922 B856p Terry Brighton. Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: masters of war. 2008.
Comparative biography, argues that Monty wasn’t quite as bad as he’s now made out.
946.04 M261r William S. Maltby. The rise & fall of the Spanish Empire. 2009.
Politics, economics, & culture of three centuries of Spanish domination.
948,022 F353v Robert Ferguson. The Vikings: a history. 2009.
Well received narrative of their wide-ranging voyages, conquests, and settlements.
951 K25c John Keay. China: a history. 2009.
Very readable survey of the lengthy, rich story.
962.4 H794k Peter G. Hopkins, ed. Kenana handbook of Sudan. 2007.
Comprehensive geography, covering history, arts, science, environment, and future.
973 P314u Bethanne Patrick. An uncommon history of common things. 2009.
Really fun guide to origins of everything in everyday life, from roller skates to safety pins.
974.71004 M131a Frank McCourt. Angela’s ashes: a memoir. 1996.
The wildly popular memoir of his Irish childhood.
988.1 M823u Rebecca Moore. Understanding Jonestown & People’s Temple. 2009.
A new look, within the context of the times and other Black religions, of the death of 900.
DVDs
179.9 D633p The power of forgiveness. 2007. Worldwide efforts at a critical part of life.
610.73092 N688 M695f Florence Nightingale. 1985. Dramatization of her life & service.
808.001 A752c Carroll Arnold presents Classical rhetorical theory. 2006.
808.51 S893c Julie Stowall. Conquering communication anxiety. 2005.
808.53 C931d Nicolas Cripe presents Debate: the crumbling foundation. 2006.
And a treat for the culturally minded among us, a collection of Bond films:
823.914 F597dr Dr No. 1962. The very first!
823.914 F597f From Russia with love. 1963. Sean Connery, of course.
823.914 F597l Live and let die. 1973. Roger Moore, Jane Seymour.
823.914 F597s The spy who loved me. 1977. Moore, Barbara Bach, & Jaws.
823.914 F597t Thunderball. 1965. Connery.
823.914 F597y You only live twice. 1967. Connery takes on Blofeld.
CDs
839.738 L334m Steig Larrson. The girl with the dragon tattoo. 2005. Swedish mystery.