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Colorado CollegeBulletin | March 2006
by Leslie Weddell

On the Bookshelf

ImageA Passionate Affair

by Art Elder ’56

The author is a paperweight collector, historian, and past president of the Paperweight Collectors Association of Texas. A recognized authority on paperweights, Elder discusses how he became interested in them and his 30-year collecting odyssey. The book includes 50 color photographs, a glossary and bibliography, and useful tips that apply to almost any collector. ISBN: 0-933756-56-9. Published by Paperweight Press, 2005.

ImageFleecing Grandma and Grandpa

by Betty L. Alt ’60 and Sandra K. Wells

Falling for a scam can be humiliating for anyone, but for the elderly it can have disastrous consequences. Alt, a sociology lecturer at Colorado State University-Pueblo, and Wells, former chief investigator with the Pueblo District Attorney’s office, discuss forms of fraud commonly perpetuated against the elderly, including identity theft, gambling and pyramid schemes, and power of attorney scams. ISBN: 0-275-98179-7. Published by Praeger Publishers, 2004.

ImageDead Dry

by Sarah Andrews ’73

Andrews’ latest crime novel, her 10th in a rock-solid series, finds forensic geologist and investigator Em Hansen investigating groundwater shortages. The feisty geologist is working for the Utah Geological Survey and helping the Salt Lake City police with the murder investigation of a fellow geologist, whose corpse — with fingerprints missing — was found crushed under a gravel avalanche. ISBN: 0-312-34252-7. Published by St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2005.

ImageAll About Me!

by Shirley Dechaine with Ann C.M. Smith ’73 and R. Ellen Magenis

The book chronicles one family’s experience with Smith-Magenis Syndrome, a rare genetic condition caused by a small chromosome deletion in chromosome 17. The syndrome is named in recognition of Smith, a genetic counselor, and Magenis, a cytogeneticist and pediatrician, who published their findings in 1986; the book traces the development and diagnosis of Paul Dechaine, who was born in 1968. ISBN: 0-9764489-0-4. Published by Mountain Creek Publications, 2005.

ImageHold Your Horses: Anxiety

by Bonnie Timmons ’73

Timmons, who drew the introductory cartoon for the TV series “Caroline in the City,” combines her love of drawing with her love of horses in a warm nuzzle of a read. “Hold Your Horses,” in which a tumble is euphemistically renamed an “unscheduled dismount,” explains everything equestrian, including the difference between English and cowboy terminology (“east of the Mississippi to England, horses live in paddocks on farms; west of there, they live in pastures on ranches”). ISBN: 0-7611-1536-6. Published by Workman Publishing, 2003. “Anxiety,” a book of illustrations, gently pokes fun at people’s most common fears, ranging from getting a makeover or haircut to camping out, dining alone, riding horses, and hearing strange noises coming from the basement when one is alone in the house. ISBN: 0-449-90547-0. Published by Fawcett Columbine, 1991.

ImageMarching to the Music

by James C. Braye ’58

Braye retraces his life from the tenements of Harlem through his three careers as an Army officer, corporate executive, and educator. Braye details his family’s growth and travels, providing many photographs in this memoir. ISBN: 0-8059-9596-X. Published by RoseDog Books, 2005.

ImageFirst Church of the Higher Elevations: Mountains, Prayer, and Presence

by Peter Anderson ’78

Anderson explores the scripture of place, the geography of the heart, the landscape of imagination, and the topography of memory in this collection of essays. The contemplative essays focus on his personal relationship to place and prayer. Anderson, who holds a master’s of divinity, has lived in the Southwest for 25 years, working as a river guide, journalist, teacher, wilderness ranger, and editor. ISBN: 0-9760729-4-7. Published by Ghost Road Press, 2005.

ImageZinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance

by Lennard Zinn ’80

Almost every kid knows how to ride a bike, yet bicycles can be complicated and expensive to maintain and repair. Zinn, a professional bicycle frame builder, discusses how to handle problems associated with road bikes. The book separates repair procedures into levels of difficulty: level one for novices, and levels two and three for the more mechanically savvy. ISBN: 1-931382-69-7. Published by Velo Press, 2005.

ImageConfessions of a Slacker Wife

by Muffy Mead-Ferro ’81

Mead-Ferro’s witty remarks and her book’s lighthearted title belie her seriousness as she speaks of the importance of letting go of society’s unending pressure to maintain the immaculate lifestyle and letting yourself — and kids — get dirty and enjoy life. Among her confessions in this sequel to her first book, “Confessions of a Slacker Mom,” are deep-seated suspicions regarding the pursuit of cleanliness and how she convinced her children that unloading the dishwasher is a fun new game. ISBN: 0-7382-1016-1. Published by Da Capo Press, 2005.

ImageThank God We have the Comfort of Heaven: The 1866-1871 Diaries and Letters of Maggie Royston

edited by Heather Palmer ’81

As a middle-class woman in the mid-19th century, Maggie Royston was shaped less by the politics of the Reconstruction Era and more by the high mortality rate of women in childbirth and their restricted ability to control their own lives. The book chronicles four years in Maggie’s life, beginning when she was 16, and reveal much about life in the Reconstruction-Era South. ISBN: 0-9760489-1-4. Published by the Sherman Preservation League Press, 2004.

ImageChildhood on the Farm

by Pamela Riney-Kehrberg ’85

Riney-Kehrberg draws upon a wealth of primary sources, including memoirs, diaries, and census data, to create a vivid portrait of Midwestern farm childhood from the early post-Civil War period through the growing pains of industrialization. Her inclusion of narratives written by children gives a fresh voice to these forgotten years and provides insight into generational ties to the farm. ISBN: 0-7006-1388-9. Published by the University Press of Kansas, 2005.

ImageThe Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from Seattle

by David B. Williams ’87

A naturalist and Seattle native, Williams, who has a degree in geology, offers his perspectives on the wonder and resilience of nature in and around the Northwest’s largest population center. His keen observations support his premise that Seattle remains a wild place on the Northwest landscape. ISBN: 1-55868-859-5. Published by WestWinds Press, 2005.

ImageSo You Want to Be in Show Business

by Steve Stevens Sr. with John D. Cady ’89

The book’s subtitle, “A Hollywood Agent Shares the Secrets of Getting Ahead Without Getting Ripped Off,” is an accurate summary of the book. Written from an agent’s point of view and based on 50 years’ experience in Hollywood, the guide covers such topics as finding the right agent, getting effective publicity photos, and writing resumes that sell. ISBN: 1-58182-453-X. Published by Cumberland House Publishing, 2005.

ImageHeroes of Empire: The British Imperial Protagonist in America, 1596-1764

by Richard Frohock ’89

The British representation of America in the Colonial Period has been looked at in many ways. Frohock takes a new approach by delineating the evolution of the British imperial hero, as the image of the nobleman gives way to that of the scientist, the merchant, and the industrious planter. ISBN: 0-87413-879-5. Published by University of Delaware Press, 2004.

World Vegetarian Classics

by Celia Brooks Brown ’91

This encyclopedic cookbook, which is organized geographically (with every continent represented), presents 220 of the world’s greatest vegetarian dishes, all adapted for the modern home kitchen. The book, which was published in England, is extensively researched and beautifully photographed, but is still difficult to obtain in the U.S. ISBN: 1-86205-677-3. Published by Pavilion Books, 2006.

ImageThe Man with my Face

by Jennifer Tseng ’91

Several of the 39 poems in this collection have a sense of nostalgia about them and many touch on the immigrant life. The collection, Tseng’s first book of poems, recently won the Asian American Writers’ Workshop National Manuscript Competition. ISBN: 1-889876-17-8. Published by The Asian American Writers’ Workshop, 2005.

ImageHouse of Thieves

by Kaui Hart Hemmings ’98

This debut collection of nine stories, set on the islands of Hawaii, are told from a variety of viewpoints — a father, a child, a young woman, an adolescent boy. The title story features a 12-year-old surfer girl caught in an adolescent entanglement of idolatry and complicity. ISBN: 1-59420-048-3. Published by The Penguin Group, 2005.

ImageBody Painting

by Jane Hilberry, professor and co-chair of the English department

The 43 poems in this book are mystical, sensuous, and anguished. “Crazy Jane,” an alter-ego figure, makes appearances throughout the book: seducing a bear, sleeping in a priest’s bed, and generally transgressing social norms. Ultimately, the book celebrates the poet’s own unconventional choices. ISBN: 1-59709-013-1. Published by Red Hen Press, 2005.