FINDING YOURSELF FAR AWAY
While the Gods Were Sleeping: A Journey Through Love and Rebellion in Nepal, ELIZABETH ENSLIN, PhD '90; Seal Press, $17
In this memoir, the author explores the intersections of class, caste, gender, family, politics and culture in rural Nepal. Her observations on Nepali grassroots activism share center stage with her own struggles as a Western anthropologist and activist who married into the culture she's studying. Aware of her conflicting roles, she wrestles with decisions, finally realizing that trying to be someone you're not can rob you of the power to become yourself.
Par Avion-for Ille
Is this the man from Madagascar
sitting in your office, trying
to look and sound like his letters
with their French postmarks, their strange
tropic-colored stamps?
You want to reach across the desk
and test his sun-darkened skin for texture
and the scent of cinnamon or cloves.
How faithfully you both
corresponded with your distant selves—
perhaps now he is picturing
your fluent hand within the folds
of perfumed airmail stationery.
Perhaps you should try to keep him dwelling
on Madagascar, on those words
with Africa and the Atlantic
stretched between your two busy lives.
Instead, you study him. He stares at you.
He reaches for your hand.
—JOHN N. MILLER, MA '60, PhD '64, in In Passing; Pinyon Publishing, $16.
Sabotage, MATT COOK, '11; Forge Books, $25.99.
This weapons-technology intel thriller set on the high seas centers on the disappearance of a Stanford professor and the students who join forces to find him. Farm-savvy readers will enjoy the trip down memory lane.
"The dining room resounded with weeping and moaning. Joseph was the Saints' living, breathing, wrestling, drinking, sermonizing, truth-revealing champion. No one in Nauvoo didn't know him."
—ALEX BEAM, Knight Fellow '96-97, in American Crucifixion, Public Affairs, $26.99.
I Am Coyote: Readings for the Wild, JAY SCHOENBERGER, MBA '12; Kimbrough Knight Publishing, $18.95.
Unable to find an inspiring collection of writings on the great outdoors, Schoenberger compiled one of his own. Drawing on sources from Mark Twain to Jack Kerouac and covering poetry and prose, this Tao Te Ching for the backpack set addresses humanity's relationship with nature and responsibility to protect it.
The Essence of Wine, ALDER YARROW, '96; Vinography, $75.
Each of wine's 47 flavors and aromas has its moment in the sun in this coffee-table book made for sipping and savoring, not guzzling. Find out why graphite, grapefruit and garrigue intrigue your palate through essays and wine recommendations by blogger and James Beard Award finalist Yarrow, with photos by Leigh Beisch.
When Boys Become Boys: Development, Relationships, and Masculinity, JUDY Y. CHU, '94; New York University Press, $23.
In this book, based on a two-year study, the phrase "boys will be boys" doesn't really mean much. Chu's conversations with children are riveting in their revelations of what happens when we continually undervalue boys' more emotionally perceptive qualities.
The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu, DAN JURAFSKY; W.W. Norton, $26.95.
Jurafsky, professor of linguistics, guides readers through ancient history to highlight the importance of language on the development of modern cuisine culture. Narratives trace culinary transformations, including the journey from traditional Chinese fermented fish sauce into an American staple: ketchup.
Conquering the Electron: The Geniuses, Visionaries, Egomaniacs, and Scoundrels Who Built Our Electronic Age, DEREK CHEUNG, MS '71, PHD '75, AND ERIC BRACH; Rowman & Littlefield, $24.95.
Cheung and Brach explain the science behind our current state of connectivity. Particularly interesting are the scientists' shenanigans: hijinks between Alexander Graham Bell and Western Electric, and a battle between Edison, Westinghouse and Tesla over our electrical system.
500 Time-Tested Home Remedies and the Science Behind Them, LINDA B. WHITE, '75, MS '77, BARBARA H. SEEBER, BARBARA BROWNELL GROGAN; Fair Winds Press, $21.99.
Could the cure for your cold be right in your kitchen cabinet? White, a physician, shares recipes for herbal and nutrition-based treatments to help soothe what ails you, and explains how they help boost you back to health.
Top Billing
Pelican Dreams, Judy Irving, MA '73; Pelican Media; opening in theaters on October 24.
In 2008, a young pelican landed on the Golden Gate Bridge, halting traffic and making a spectacle of itself. Sitting in a southbound lane, the 4-month-old was gently rescued by bridge patrol and whisked to a rehabilitation center. The hungry, dehydrated bird, nicknamed Gigi, caught the eye of documentary filmmaker Irving, who had followed other feathered locals for her 2005 film, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. In her quest to learn more about Gigi, a California brown pelican, she discovered that the once-endangered species isn't faring so well. But her shots of these "flying dinosaurs" gliding smoothly over the waves highlight the strength and resilience of the ancient birds. (Photo: Tyrone Crossman)
We’re broadening our Shelf Life section to include Stanford-connected music and film. Let us know if you have something creative in the pipeline, and we’ll consider featuring it in a future issue of the magazine, in print, online or both.
The following did not appear in the print version of Stanford.
Climate Peril: The Intelligent Reader's Guide to Understanding the Climate Crisis, JOHN J. BERGER, '66; Northbrae Books, $24.95.
A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall, WILL CHANCELLOR, '00; Harper Collins, $25.99.
Blood on My Hands, GERARD H. COX, MA '66, PhD '68; Dog Ear Publishing, $16.95.
Bloodletting: Why Education Reform Is Killing America's Schools, DAVID ELLISON, MA '88; Stairway Press, $12.95.
The Struggle for Equal Adulthood: Gender, Race, Age, and the Fight for Citizenship in Antebellum America, CORINNE T. FIELD, '87; The University of North Carolina Press, $32.95.
After Newspeak: Language Culture and Politics in Russia from Gorbachev to Putin, MICHAEL S. GORHAM, PhD '94; Cornell University Press, $24.95.
Debating China: The U.S.-China Relationship in Ten Conversations, NINA HACHIGIAN, JD '94; Oxford University Press, $21.95.
Conflict - The Unexpected Gift: Making the Most of Disputes in Life and Work, JACK HAMILTON, MA '62, PhD '69; iUniverse Star, $17.95.
How Organizations Develop Activists: Civic Associations & Leadership in the 21st Century, HAHRIE HAN, PhD '05; Oxford University Press, $27.95.
Ontological Humility: Lord Voldemort and the Philosophers, NANCY J. HOLLAND, '69; State University of New York Press, $24.95.
Ecosickness in Contemporary U.S. Fiction: Environment and Affect, HEATHER HOUSER, MA '07, PhD '10; Columbia University Press, $50.
Quite Contrary: The Litigious Life of Mary Bennett Love, DAVID J. LANGUM SR., JD '65; Texas Tech University Press, $34.95.
Living Karma: The Religious Practices of Ouyi Zhixu, BEVERLEY FOULKS MCGUIRE, '98; Columbia University Press, $55.
Looking After Minidoka: An American Memoir, NEIL NAKADATE, '65; Indiana University Press, $20.
Foreign and Domestic Investment in Argentina: The Politics of Privatized Infrastructure, ALISON E. POST, '97; Cambridge University Press, $95.
Commit to Win: How to Harness The Four Elements of Commitment to Reach Your Goals, HEIDI REEDER, '93; Hudson Street Press, $25.95.
Success with Soul, EVE SIEGEL, '70; Self-published, $8.99.
Saharan Jews and the Fate of French Algeria, SARAH ABREVAYA STEIN, PhD '99; University of Chicago Press, $27.50.
DMT and the Soul of Prophecy: A New Science of Spiritual Revelation in the Hebrew Bible, RICK STRASSMAN, '73; Park Street Press, $19.95.
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and the Religion of Biologic Living, BRIAN C. WILSON, '82; Indiana University Press, $35.
Whitman Noir: Black America & the Good Gray Poet, IVY G. WILSON, '95; University of Iowa Books, $45.
