Cherry Blossoms by Ann McClellan ’68
Cherry Blossoms: The Official Book of the National Cherry Blossom Festival by Ann McClellan ’68 National Geographic Society, January 2012 Washington, D.C.’s cherry blossom trees have enchanted residents and visitors for one hundred years. This spring, the National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the centennial of the gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Tokyo to our nation’s capital. To mark the event, National Geographic has published this richly illustrated history by Ann McClellan. The book tells the story of how the gift spawned our...
read moreAmerican Veterans on War by Elise Forbes Tripp ’60
American Veterans on War: Personal Stories from World War II to Afghanistan by Elise Forbes Tripp ’60 Olive Branch Press, November 2011 American Veterans on War is a timely, oral-history collection that gathers stories of war as experienced by those involved firsthand. The words of 55 veterans—ranging in age from 20 to 90 years—raise questions about when the wars are worth fighting, what missions can and can’t be won, and the costs and benefits of the United States intervention, both around the world and domestically. Recent veterans...
read moreFragile Beginnings by Adam Wolfberg, M.D. ’88
Fragile Beginnings: Discoveries and Triumphs in the Newborn ICU by Adam Wolfberg, M.D. ’88 A Harvard Health Publications Book Beacon Press, February 2012 Half a million babies are born prematurely in the United States every year. As doctors and parents make decisions about life-saving care in the first hours of a premature infant’s life, they must grapple with profound ethical and scientific questions: Who should be saved? How aggres-sively should doctors try to salvage the life of a premature baby, who may be severely neurologically...
read moreMainers in the Civil War by Harry Gratwick ’55
Mainers in the Civil War by Harry Gratwick ’55 The History Press, April 2011 Early on the morning of April 12, 1861, a mortar shell arched across the sky and exploded over Fort Sumter in the middle of Charleston Harbor. For the next 34 hours, Confederate artillery pounded Federal troops with shot and shell until the fort’s commander, Major Robert Anderson, surrendered and agreed to evacuate his men. Far to the north, the great state of Maine did not witness any Civil War battles. Mainers, however, contributed to the war in many important...
read moreWho’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? by Touré ’89
Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? What It Means to Be Black Now by Touré ’89 Free Press, September 2011 In the 21st century, racial attitudes have become more complicated and nuanced than ever. Inspired by a president unlike any Black man ever seen on America’s national stage, many are searching for new ways of understanding Blackness. Commentator and journalist Touré begins his book by examining the concept of “Post-Blackness,” a term defining artists who are proud to be Black but don’t want to be limited by identity...
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