The Plazas of New Mexico (Trinity University Press), ­edited by STEFANOS POLYZOIDES ’69 *72 and Chris Wilson, with contemporary photography by Miguel Gandert, explores the history and cultural heritage of New Mexico’s plazas and squares in the context of urban revitalization, sustainability, and historic preservation. The contributors trace three design traditions, examine recent plaza-renovation projects and newly designed plazas, and offer ideas for sustainable public spaces. Polyzoides’ architecture and urban design firm, Moule & Polyzoides, is based in Pasadena, Calif.

In Freedom Papers: An Atlantic Odyssey in the Age of Emancipation (Harvard University Press), REBECCA J. SCOTT *82 and Jean M. Hébrard chronicle the story of an African woman who was enslaved in the late 18th century and later freed, and of five generations of her family across three continents. The authors set the family’s pursuit of equality against the backdrop of three struggles in the 19th century: the Haitian Revolution, the French Revolution of 1848, and the Civil War and Reconstruction in the United States. Scott is a professor of history and law at the Univer­sity of Michigan.

MAGGIE BETTS ’99 wrote, directed, and produced The Carrier, a documentary film about Mutinta Mweemba, a pregnant 28-year-old subsistence farmer in Zambia, who tries to make sure that her unborn child does not contract the HIV virus she carries. The film premiered in April 2011 at the Tribeca Film Festival and was screened at the Woodrow Wilson School in February. Betts is an advocate for HIV-positive women and children in sub-Sahara Africa.