The Matter of the Gods: Religion and the Roman Empire (Posted on Sept. 24, 2008)

By Clifford Ando ’90

(University of California Press) In this study of the Romans and their gods, the author argues that the Romans acquired knowledge of the gods through observation of the world, and modified their rituals in light of what they learned. Ando is a professor of...

The Jews of Sing Sing: Gotham Gangsters and Gonuvim (Posted on Sept. 24, 2008)

By Ron Arons ’78

(Barricade) After learning that his great-grandfather had done a “stretch” in Sing Sing, the author explored why his ancestor had committed crimes that landed him in jail. Soon, Arons expanded the topic, studying all the Jews who served time in the prison....

Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body (Posted on Sept. 24, 2008)

By Neil Shubin, with illustrations by Kalliopi Monoyios ’00

(Pantheon) The author, a leading paleontologist, tells the story of evolution by tracing the organs of the human body back millions of years, long before the first creatures walked the earth. Shubin is provost of the Field Museum and a professor of anatomy...

The New Mom’s Survival Guide: How to Reclaim Your Body, Your Health, Your Sanity, and Your Sex Life After Having a Baby (Posted on Sept. 24, 2008)

By Jennifer Wider ’94

(Bantam Dell) Filled with anecdotes, burning questions and answers, and practical advice, this primer offers medical information and addresses psychological issues and sexual and physical postpartum health. A physician and radio personality who specializes...

A Picnic in Eden (Posted on Sept. 24, 2008)

By Sidney Harris ’55

(AuthorHouse) In this historical novel set in 1980 Peru, when a pro-U.S. government battled the leftist Shining Path terrorist movement, a seasoned U.S. diplomat and a beautiful teenage revolutionary become entangled in a complicated web of politics that...

The Book of Jane (Posted on Sept. 24, 2008)

By Anne Dayton [the pen name of Beth Datlowe Adams ’01] and May Vanderbilt

(Broadway) In this contemporary retelling of the story of Job, New York publicist Jane Williams has everything going her way — great job, a great man, perfect apartment — until everything changes in a day. Jane wonders if God has forgotten her. Dayton works...

A Companion to the History of the Book (Posted on Sept. 24, 2008)

Edited by Simon Eliot and Jonathan Rose ’74

(John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) From Sumerian clay tablets to the world of online blogs, this book provides an account of the history of the book medium. The contributors also explore issues such as the nature of censorship and the future of the book. Rose is a...