A Washington Thriller, a Mount David Denouement, and a Kennedy Campaign.

Edited by H. Jay Burns

Matt Buchman ’80, The Dalari Accord, Goodfellow Press, 2000, 350 pages. In this science-fiction fantasy, a young woman, her memory removed, is thrown into an interstellar peace negotiation between her mother—the dread matriarch of the evil Clans of Dalar—and her own lack of memory.

Lee Bumsted ’77, Hot Showers! Maine Coast Lodgings for Kayakers and Sailors, Brunswick, Maine: Audenreed Press, 2000 (second edition), 240 pages. The travel guide’s second edition has more listings of mainland and island lodgings (152 total), campgrounds (30 total), launching ramp and boatyard listings, and Web sites, plus expanded eastern Maine coverage.

Christina Chiu ’91, Troublemaker and Other Saints, New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2001, 278 pages. In a series of intertwined stories, members of three Chinese families clash and connect with humor and pain, love and disillusionment. This Book-of-the-Month Club First Fiction selection offers a glimpse into the universal struggle with duality: Chinese heritage vs. American lifestyle, the desire for mischief vs. the need to heal.

David Cornwell ’74, Hanover Country Club—100 Years of Birdies and Bogies, 1899–1999, Hanover, N.H.: Dartmouth College, 1999, 42 pages. Drawing from Dartmouth College and club archives, Cornwell presents a centennial history of Hanover Country Club, the oldest continually operated course in New Hampshire, which became part of Dartmouth College in 1914.

David Dykstra ’68, The Shifting Balance of Power: American–British Diplomacy in North America, 1842–1848, Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1999, 288 pages. Dykstra discusses how and why the emergence of liberal economic policies allowed the United States to become a dominant Western Hemisphere nation as Great Britain’s attention shifted elsewhere.

Robert Harrington ’47, The Soul Solution, Galena Bay, British Columbia: White Oak Press, 2000, 198 pages. Educator, environmental activist, and author Harrington blends spiritual perception with practical philosophy to advance the notion that “a healthy, cared-for earth is the sine qua non of our own existence.” This bedrock belief, he argues, can be the foundation for a new or enhanced faith—a theology of the earth.

T.J. King ’58, The Great Matrimonial Debate, Xlibris Corporation, 2000, 248 pages. Set at Bates—including a climax on Mount David—the book tells the story of a married music professor, the father of a budding young actress, who charts a course of erotic involvement with a student. His daughter, influenced by her beloved father, then makes a tragic decision.

Howard Kunreuther ’59, Richard Roth, editors, Paying the Price: The Status and Role of Insurance against Natural Disasters in the United States, National Academy Press, 1998, 320 pages. Kunreuther, professor of decision sciences and public policy and management at Wharton, and his co-editor discuss the effectiveness of insurance coverage for low-probability, high-consequence events—such as natural disasters—and look at how insurance programs, used with other policy tools, can encourage loss reduction.

David Lentz ’72, The Silver King, 1999, buybooksontheweb.com, 193 pages. A novel of 1980s Central American political intrigue, with forays into deep-sea fishing and the Contra underground of Nicaragua.

Brian McGrory ’84, The Incumbent, New York: Pocket Books, 2000, 345 pages. Former White House reporter, current Boston Globe columnist, and Bates Student alumnus McGrory uses an insider perspective to pen a “crisp Washington thriller” (Publishers Weekly), a “breathless debut” (Kirkus Reviews), and a “genuine, classic, political thriller” (Bob Woodward). Caught in a presidential assassination attempt, a reporter later gets an anonymous phone call: “Nothing is as is seems.” Off he goes, from Idaho militia compounds to the inner sanctums of the federal power elite.

Jean Monahan ’81, Believe It or Not, Alexandria, Va.: Orchises Press, 1999, 96 pages. This second book of poetry by the award-winning poet prompted Vijay Seshadri of the New Yorker to say, “Jean Monahan’s poems have a fine appetite for the world’s wayward idiosyncrasies—for the odd facts that illuminate the entire landscape of our inner lives….”

Peggy Morehead Wilber ’78, Reading Rescue 1-2-3, Roseville, Calif.: Prima Publishing, 2000, 240 pages. Offering a fun and interactive way to help you encourage your child’s reading development, this guide, based on Yale research, merges three essential elements of reading instruction—auditory training, phonics, and whole language—paving the way for children to develop better fluency, comprehension, and language skills.

George Reese ’91, Database Programming with JDBC and Java, Sebastopol, Calif.: O’Reilly & Associates, 2000 (second edition), 352 pages. This second edition, part of the Java Series, continues Reese’s discussion of how JDBC fits into unitized software applications in which various functional parts communicate over a network. True to his philosophy-major heritage, Reese begins each chapter with a quote from a major philosopher.

Thomas Whalen ’86, Kennedy versus Lodge, Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2000, 216 pages. Fascinating even for those who aren’t New England political junkies, Whalen’s book chronicles the pivotal Massachusetts Senate race in 1952, with insights into the emergence of television in politics, the Kennedy mastery of the media, and the stark contrast—and huge egos—involved in an epic battle between two larger-than-life political families, all relevant to today’s political and cultural landscape.

Correction
In the fall 2000 Bates Magazine Bookshelf section, it should have been noted that former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell provided the introduction, not a foreword, to Jonas Klein’s Beloved Island: Franklin & Eleanor and the Legacy of Campobello. Also, Klein is a member (and secretary-treasurer) of the Class of ’54, not ’51. As Klein noted, “Really! Ralph Perry ’51 will laugh, Lynn Willsey ’54 will gasp. Score this one for Bates ’54, same year as George Mitchell at that other Maine college. And, also noted, Robert B. Parker, of Spenser fame, is Colby ’54!”

If you would like your book listed in the Bates Bookshelf section, please provide bibliographical information (your name and class year, book title, publisher’s name and location, year of publication, number of pages, and a brief synopsis). A review copy is always appreciated, and will be forwarded to the Special Collections Library. Send to Managing Editor, Bates Magazine, 141 Nichols St., Lewiston, ME 04240.