Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family, Condoleezza Rice; Crown, $27.
Rice writes her life from its girlhood in segregated Birmingham, Ala., up to the time of George W. Bush's inauguration. The account (on sale October 12), celebrates her parents—two educators who had such high expectations for their only child that they tried enrolling her in first grade when she was 3. That particular effort didn't pan out, but Rice was precocious in many ways as she moved toward becoming the first black woman to be secretary of state. Alumni will be particularly interested in her descriptions of the years she provided "clear and unapologetic leadership" as provost during the cost-cutting 1990s.
Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention, Katherine Ellison, '79; Voice/Hyperion, $24.99.
Journalist Ellison came to understand that "I have a certifiable problem child, while I'm also certifiably part of the problem." When her older son's attention-deficit problems and her own threaten to torpedo all peace, Ellison devotes a year to researching—and trying out—almost anything that promises to help. Strong reporting on neuroscience is blended with candor about the pain the boy feels and causes. Harrowing, wry and yet satisfyingly objective, this book trots through the treatments, pharmaceuticals, school discord, behavioral ordeals and staggering costs that are as common for some families as milk in the fridge.
The Surf Guru, Doug Dorst, '91; Riverhead Books, $25.95.
The rampage of styles, subjects and voices in this story collection could make readers think they've fallen into an anthology. Dorst, who teaches creative writing at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, seems to get inspiration from everyone: Melville and Murakami, Shirley Jackson and Denis Johnson, Van Gogh's physician and the Coen brothers. Everywhere there are situations that startle and lines to be savored, as with the cake decorator who contemplates tossing cigarettes to her daughter with trichotillomania. "Here," she imagined saying, "try being self-destructive like a normal person."
Secret Daughter, Shilpi Somaya Gowda, MBA '96; William Morrow, $23.99.
Sentimental yet shrewdly observed, this debut novel puts a face on India's gender-skewed birth rates. Pressured to bear a son, Kavita leaves her newborn daughter at an orphanage and silently mourns for the rest of her life. The infant, Asha, is adopted by Somer and Krishnan, a white Californian and a son of India who don't quite manage to achieve the cross-cultural bliss they envisioned as they fell in love at Stanford's med school. Asha grows up and undertakes a study of Mumbai poverty—a quest that leads everyone to an examination of identity.
The More I Owe You, Michael Sledge, '84; Counterpoint Press, $15.95.
In 1951, the shy, determinedly unconfessional poet Elizabeth Bishop set out at the age of 40 on a restorative trip—and wound up in a 15-year affair with Brazilian aristocrat Lota de Macedo Soares, a combative woman who built a glass house in the jungle and sought to create a mammoth public park in Rio de Janeiro. With Bishop's letters and his sympathetic imagination, Sledge creates an elegant debut novel about modernists in love.
Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in Our Schools, Milton Chen, MA, '83; Charlesbridge, $16.95.
Executive director emeritus of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, Chen thinks the hybrid car is a great metaphor for the solution to America's educational predicaments. Instead of either-or debates (phonics vs. whole language; computational drill vs. mathematical thinking, tests vs. authentic assessment), educational experiences should support all kinds of smarts by synthesizing good ideas.
"You must first get past three major obstacles. The first two are the belief that the world is a just place and the hand-me-down formulas on leadership that largely reflect this misguided belief. The third obstacle is yourself."
—Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, PhD '72, in
Power: Why Some People Have It—
and Others Don't, HarperBusiness, $27.99
