Bulletin

Issue: April 2012

The Politics of Privatization: Wealth and Power in Post-communist Europe

by John Gould, CC Associate Professor of Political Science In this story of post-communist politics gone wrong, Gould explores privatization’s role in the scramble for wealth and power in post-communist Europe. Does democratic development facilitate effective capitalist reform, or vice versa? How do political legacies shape privatization choices? Is simultaneous transition feasible? Offering new empirical information and nuanced political analysis, this in-depth study reveals a surprising relationship between political liberalization and economic reform. ISBN-13: 978-1588267580. Published by Lynne Rienner, 2011.

Issue: April 2012

Peckinpah’s Tragic Westerns

by John Simons, CC Professor of English “Peckinpah’s Tragic Westerns” examines the work of filmmaker Sam Peckinpah and places it within the 2,000-year-old tradition of Western tragedy. The tradition, enfolding the Greeks, Shakespeare, and modern tragedians, is represented in Peckinpah’s art in numerous ways, and the fact that he worked in the mode throughout his career distinguishes him from most American film directors. Book jacket comments by producer and director Garner Simmons note that the book “provides fresh and, at times, profound insights into how and why Peckinpah’s work touches us in such a deep and visceral way.” ISBN-13: 978-0786461332. Published by McFarland; 2011.

Issue: April 2012

Test of Faith: A Novel of Faith and Murder in the Southwest

by Hersch Wilson ’72 “Test of Faith” is a story of sanity or insanity — take your pick. Beneficio Augustin Rael is a world-famous artist. But at the end of his career, the spirit world returns to Beneficio in the form of otherworldly messengers who remind him that his talent is not his but God’s, and God demands obedience above all else. The last time the angels visited Beneficio, there was revenge and murder in the name of God. Now they are whispering to him again to do the unspeakable. Is this a true test of faith or has Beneficio gone completely mad? ISBN-13: 978-1-936183-44-9. Published by Langdon Street Press, 2011.

Issue: April 2012

Cross Currents

by John Shors ’91 The 2004 tsunami that ravaged 11 countries around the Indian Ocean seems a difficult subject for a novel, but Shors manages to convey the drama on a human scale. The book takes place on Thailand’s pristine Ko Phi Phi island and centers on two families: one, a three-generational Thai family trying to make ends meet by running beachfront bungalows, the other involving two American brothers, one of whom is in trouble with the law. With one chapter to each day, the book focuses on 11 fateful days in December 2004. Cross Currents was named a book of the month by National Geographic Traveler Magazine. ISBN-13: 978-0451234605. Published…

Issue: April 2012

Strategic Thinking: Today’s Business Imperative

by Larry Stimpert, CC Professor of Economics and Business, with Julie A. Chesley, formerly of the CC economics department, and Irene M. Duhaime The book provides a realistic picture of the dynamic and complex process of strategic management in organizations. Written from the perspective of a manager, Stimpert’s book builds on theories of managerial and organizational knowledge that have had a powerful influence on many business fields over the last two decades. However, “Strategic Thinking” also focuses on how managers understand their business environments, assess and marshal their firms’ resources, and strive for advantage in the competitive marketplace by examining economic, structural, and managerial explanations for firm performance. ISBN-13: 978-0415875028. Published…

Issue: April 2012

From Jim Crow to Jay-Z

by Miles White ’92 This multilayered study of the representation of black masculinity in musical and cultural performance takes aim at the reduction of African American male culture to stereotypes of deviance, misogyny, and excess. Broadening the significance of hip-hop culture by linking it to other expressive forms within popular culture, White examines how these representations have both encouraged the demonization of young black males in the United States and abroad and contributed to the construction of their identities. White was a Riley Fellow in the CC music department from 2005-07. ISBN-13: 978-0252078323. Published by University of Illinois Press, 2011.

Issue: April 2012

Running with the Moon

by Steve Pettit ’73 This coming of age story features Yano, who lives in western New Mexico circa 1100 A.D. There is both excitement and tragedy in Yano’s world, and when all-out war breaks out, Yano is forced on a mission of vital importance to the survival of his pueblo, one that takes all his courage, knowledge, and skills to fulfill. ISBN-13: 978-0966481631. Published by Parnassus, 2010.

Issue: April 2012

Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling

by Kembrew McLeod and Peter DiCola, with Kristin Thomson ’89 contributing How did the Depression-era folk-song collector Alan Lomax end up with a songwriting credit on Jay-Z’s song “Takeover”? Why doesn’t Clyde Stubblefield, the primary drummer on James Brown recordings from the late 1960s such as “Funky Drummer” and “Cold Sweat,” get paid for other musicians’ frequent use of the beats he performed on those songs? The music industry’s approach to digital sampling — the act of incorporating snippets of existing recordings into new ones — holds the answers. ISBN-13: 978-0822348757. Published by Duke University Press (March 2011).

Issue: April 2012

Gentlemen Preferred Dry Flies

by William C. Black ’53 Through stories of numerous historical characters, Black, a professor of surgical pathology at the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque, details the robust debate among fly-fishing devotees on the relative merits of dry vs. wet flies. The book is an in-depth examination of the history of fly-fishing, an art that stretches back at least 700 years. Drawing upon the words of distinguished fly-fishers throughout history, the book details the extraordinary evolution of the sport and offers a look at the people who cherish and champion it. ISBN-13: 978-0826347954. University of New Mexico Press, 2010.

Issue: April 2012

No More Heroes

by Henry Biernacki ’97 This “travel book” touches on more than the basics of what people do while traveling; it touches on the growth of the human spirit that occurs and what happens when the traveler returns. Niklas, a young man who travels constantly to seek new experiences and avoid the humdrumness of life, becomes friends with Suria, a terminally ill woman who has never traveled but has gained wisdom by living boldly, especially in her senior years. ISBN-13: 978-1452089768. Published by AuthorHouse, 2010.