Our roundup of noteworthy publications by Wesleyan alumni, faculty members, and parents.

STEVEN ALMOND ’88

My Life in Heavy Metal

(Grove/Atlantic, 2002)

Most of the 12 stories in this entertaining fiction debut deal with the passion, humor, and angst of relationships between young men and women in the ’80s and ’90s. Almond is especially adept at writing about the sadness and longing experienced by his characters after the passion subsides or the relationships end. Among the standouts in this likable collection are: “Geek Player, Love Slayer,” the tale of a 33–year–old female reporter who lusts after a younger computer repairman but discovers affection from a friendly coworker; “Among the Ik,” about an aging college professor who remembers the tragic death of one of his former students as he strives to accept his wife’s recent passing; and “How to Love a Republican,” an amusing account of a romance between a Democrat and a Republican who become involved during the 2000 presidential election and find it hard to sustain their affair because of political differences.

—David Low ’76

BONNIE FRIEDMAN ’79

The Thief of Happiness

(Beacon Press, 2002)

In this intense, highly detailed memoir, Friedman recounts the highs and lows of seven exhausting years of therapy with the enigmatic Dr. Harriet Sing. The author enters therapy to deal with writer’s block, which she quickly conquers, but she soon finds herself completely infatuated with Dr. Sing, who appears to have ?unique access to mystical information.? As she continues her therapy sessions, Friedman begins to alienate her husband, family, and friends, and the effectiveness of the treatment becomes ambiguous. The author vividly portrays her complex relationship with Dr. Sing, the painful emotions she uncovers during sessions, and the danger of relinquishing autonomy to her therapist. Some of the most powerful portions of the book are devoted to memories of her depressed mother and her overbearing sister and friends, and how these relationships affected her sense of self–worth. Finally Friedman must decide to end treatment without her therapist’s blessing in order to regain confidence in her own abilities.

—DL

NONFICTION

RON ASHKENAS ’72, DAVE ULRICH, TODD JICK ’71, and STEVE KERR

The Boundaryless Organization

(Jossey–Bass, 2002)

DY BEHRMAN ’84

Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania

(Random House, 2002)

ROBERT J. CALVIN ’56

Sales Management

(McGraw–Hill Professional Publishing, 2001)

and Entrepreneurial Management

(McGraw–Hill Professional Publishing, 2002)

MICHELE N–K COLLISON ’83

It’s All Good Hair

(HarperCollins, 2002)

ANNE–MARIE CONCEPCION P’05

Professional Web Site Design from Start to Finish

(F&W Publications, 2002)

RAHUL K. DHANDA ’95

Guiding Icarus: Merging Bioethics with Corporate Interests

(John Wiley and Sons, 2002)

PAGAN KENNEDY ’84

Black Livingstone: A True Tale of Adventure in the Nineteenth–Century Congo

(Viking Press, 2002)

PETER G. MEYER ’80, EDITOR

Brushes with History: Writing on Art from The Nation, 1865?2001

(Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2001)

JOHN STAUFFER ’91

The Black Hearts of Men: Radical Abolitionists and the Transformation of Race

(Harvard University Press, 2002)

MARK STEINMETZ ’82 (PHOTOGRAPHS) AND JANET LEMBKE (TEXT)

Tuscan Trees

(The Jargon Society, 2001)

GENNIFER WEISENFELD ’87

Mavo: Japanese Artists and the Avant–Garde 1905?1931

(University of California Press, 2002)

ADAM ZAGORIA ’91 AND TERESA WEATHERSPOON

She’s Got Handle: The Story of Nicole Louden’s Triumph Through Inner–City Basketball

(Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2001)

JELLE ZEILINGA DE BOER; HAROLD T. STEARNS, PROFESSOR OF EARTH SCIENCE; AND DONALD SANDERS ’52

Volcanoes in Human History: The Far Reaching Effects of Major Eruptions

(Princeton University Press, 2002)

FICTION AND POETRY

F.D. REEVE, PROFESSOR OF LETTERS,

The Urban Stampede and Other Poems

(Michigan State University Press, 2002)

BRIAN ASCALON ROLEY ’89

American Son

(W.W. Norton, 2001)

SIMONE ZELITCH ’84

Moses in Sinai

(Black Heron Press, 2001)

ALSO OF NOTE

STEVEN GREENHOUSE ’73 and DYLAN McCLAIN ’88 are two of the more than 140 contributors to Portraits 9/11/01: The Collected Portraits of Grief from The New York Times (Times Books, 2002). Profits from the book will go to various charities. For Dylan McClain’s thoughts on writing the portraits, please see www.wesleyan.edu/magazine /wesmag_books.html.

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY PRESS

Global Noise: Rap and Hip–Hop Outside the USA, edited by Tony Mitchell

This anthology contains 13 scholarly essays which explore the hip–hop scenes of Europe, Canada, Japan, and Australia within their social, cultural, and ethnic contexts. The book shows how international hip–hop scenes developed by first adopting and then adapting U.S. models so that an increasing hybrid of local linguistic and musical features was established.