Yale Books in Brief

Published: November 6, 2009

A young widow finds herself involved in a murder-for-profit scheme in this new thriller by John Moran.

New Haven, Conn. — The following is a list of books recently or soon to be published by members of the Yale community. Descriptions are based on material provided by the publishers. Authors of new books can forward publishers' book descriptions to susan.gonzalez@yale.edu.

The Benefactor

John Moran, production manager, Yale Bulletin & Calendar

(Five Star, part of Gale Cengage Learning)

A young widow discovers her husband's accidental death is the latest in a series of murders-for-profit reaching back more than a decade in John Moran's thriller "The Benefactor." When a stranger calling himself her benefactor tells Kay Daniels the truth about her husband's death, the young widow finds herself in a labyrinth of deceit, suspicion and unrelenting danger.

		In their words A reading by John Moran of “The Benefactor” may be found at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/yale/booksandauthors

Jericho's Fall

Stephen L. Carter, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law

(Knopf Publishers)

Stephen Carter's third work of fiction, "Jericho's Fall," plumbs the emotional depths of a failed love affair and a family torn apart by mistrust. In an imposing house in the Colorado Rockies, Jericho Ainsley, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency and a Wall Street titan, lies dying. He summons to his bedside Beck DeForde, the younger woman for whom he threw away his career years ago, miring them both in scandal. Beck believes she is visiting to say farewell. Instead, she is drawn into a battle over an explosive secret that foreign governments and powerful corporations alike want to wrest from Jericho before he dies. The book moves through the secretive world of intelligence operations and the meltdown of the financial markets as this story unfolds.

Textbook of Men's Mental Health

Edited by Dr. Marc N. Potenza, associate professor of psychiatry and at the Yale Child Study Center, and Dr. Jon E. Grant

(American Psychiatric Publishing Inc.)

"Textbook of Men's Mental Health" provides clinicians with the information they need for understanding how certain disorders manifest differently in men and for recognizing how treatment responses in men differ from those in women. Contributors to the guide practice in fields ranging from public health to substance abuse treatment. The book gathers the latest research about men's psychiatric issues, from the difficulties of diagnosing men's depression to strategies for engaging men in marital therapy. First addressing developmental issues specific to childhood, adolescence and old age, the text then presents treatment options for an array of problems, from anxiety to sexual disorders to postraumatic stress disorder. Additionally, the volume addresses psychosocial issues as they apply uniquely to men, such as fathering, marriage, aggression and overcoming the stigma of mental health treatment, as well as a chapter on how men's ethnicity influences the effectiveness of therapy.

Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism

Robert J. Shiller, the Arthur M. Okun Professor of Economics, and George A. Akerlof

(Princeton University Press)

In "Animal Spirits," economists Robert Shiller and George Akerlof challenge the economic wisdom concerning the current financial crisis and offer a new vision to restore prosperity. They reassert the necessity of an active government role in economic policymaking by recovering the idea of "animal spirits," a term John Maynard Keynes used to describe the gloom and despondence that led to the Great Depression and the changing psychology that accompanied recovery. They contend that managing these animal spirits requires the steady hand of government — simply allowing the markets to work won't do it. In rebuilding the case for a more robust, behaviorally informed Keynesianism, they detail the most pervasive effects of animal spirits in contemporary economic life, such as confidence, fear, bad faith, corruption, a concern for fairness and the stories people tell themselves about their economic fortunes. They maintain that Reagonomics, Thatcherism and the rational expectations revolution failed to account for these animal spirits. Their book offers a road map for reversing today's financial misfortunes.

Law on Display: The Digital Transformation of Legal Persuasion and Judgment

Christina Spiesel, senior research scholar at the Law School, and Neal Feigenson

(New York Univeristy Press)

"Law on Display" is a survey and analysis of how new visual technologies are transforming both the practice and culture of American law. Christina Spiesel and Neal Feigenson explain how, when and why legal practice moved from a largely words-only environment to one more dependent on and driven by images, and how rapidly developing technologies have further accelerated this change. They discuss older visual technologies, such as videotape evidence, and then current and future uses of visual and multimedia digital technologies, including trial presentation software and interactive multimedia. They also describe how law itself is going online, in the form of virtual courts, cyberjuries and more, and explore the implications of law's movement to computer screens. The authors illustrate their analysis with examples from a wide range of actual trials.

Human-Animal Medicine: Clinical Approaches to Zoonoses, Toxicants and Other Shared Health Risks

Dr. Peter Rabinowitz, associate professor of medicine and director of clinical services in occupational and environmental ­medicine, and Dr. Lisa Conti

(Elsevier)

"Human-Animal Medicine" is a first-of-its-kind clinical manual for health care providers, veterinarians and public health professionals that calls for human health and animal health professionals to work together and learn from each other to better understand and address emerging diseases and the effects of environmental change on the health of all species. Dr. Peter Rabinowitz and veterinarian Lisa Conti provide practical guidelines for "One Health" collaborations in a wide range of clinical human-animal health issues, including the H1N1 virus, zoonotic diseases; the human-animal bond; animal allergy, bites and stings; and animals as "sentinels" for toxic environmental health hazards.

OASIS en la Adversidad: Estrategias de 60 Segundos Para Alcanzar el Equilibrio en un Mundo Agitado

Millie Grenough, clinical instructor in psychiatry and social work

(Beaver Hill Press)

"OASIS en la Adversidad" is a Spanish-language translation of Millie Grenough's ‘OASIS in the Overwhelm: 60-Second Strategies for Balance in a Busy World." It introduces four easy-to-learn, practical strategies that are quick to perform and are designed to help busy people reduce stress so they can be more effective — and happier — in the workplace and at home. Grenough created the strategies during her recovery from a near-death accident and has since taught them to numerous individuals, groups and organizations.

What I Learned in School: Reflections on Race, Child Development and School Reform

Dr. James P. Comer, the Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry

(Jossey-Bass)

"What I Learned in School" is a collection of excerpts from writings by Dr. James P. Comer, whose contributions have shaped such areas as school reform, child development, psychology and race. Included in the book are excerpts from writings spanning Comer's career, ranging from his best-selling book "Maggie's American Dream" to his influential "Leave No Child Behind," among others. The book also features an introduction and updates from the author. At the heart of the lessons learned is the idea that the most efficient and effective way to meet the needs of students would be to prepare the education workforce to integrate student development and academic learning in all aspects of learning, from school entry though student maturity. Comer also focuses on promoting student personal responsibility in preparation for meeting life tasks.

The Crimean War in the British Imagination

Stefanie Markovits, associate professor of English

(Cambridge University Press)

The Crimean War (1854-1856) was the first to be fought in the era of modern communications, and it had a profound influence on British literary culture, bringing about significant shifts in perceptions of heroism and national identity, Stefanie Markovits points out in "The Crimean War." She explores how mid-Victorian writers and artists responded to the unpopular war — one in which home-front reaction was conditioned by an unprecedented barrage of information arriving from the front. By looking at the journalism, novels, poetry and visual art produced in response to the war, Markovits demonstrates the cultural force of this relatively short conflict.

Pediatric Bioethics

Edited by Dr. Geoffrey Miller, professor of pediatrics and neurology

(Cambridge University Press)

This volume offers a theoretical and practical overview of the ethics of pediatric medicine. It serves as a fundamental handbook and resource for pediatricians, nurses, residents in training, graduate students and practitioners of ethics and healthcare policy. Written by a team of leading experts, "Pediatric Bioethics"?addresses the difficult ethical questions concerning the clinical and academic practice of pediatrics, including an approach to recognizing boundaries when confronted with issues such as end-of-life care, life-sustaining treatment, extreme prematurity, pharmacotherapy and research. Topics such as what constitutes best interests and personhood, as well as distributive justice and public health concerns such as immunization and newborn genetic screening, are also addressed.

Fun and Games

Lisa Kereszi, lecturer at the School of Art

(Nazraeli Press)

Lisa Kereszi's new monograph — titled after the name of a Jersey Shore arcade and the ancient Roman wrestling phrase, "It's all fun and games, until someone loses an eye" — documents the artist's self-described obsession with what is hidden behind the façades of strip clubs, haunted houses, nightclubs, bars and other places of fantasy and entertainment. Kereszi's images are devoid of participants, allowing the viewer to look at what people discard or reject, or are in denial about. Kereszi describes her subjects by saying, "I look for places where fantasy falls short upon closer inspection."

The Familiarity of Strangers: The Sephardic Diaspora, Livorno and Cross-Cultural Trade in the Early Modern Period

Francesca Trivellato, professor of history

(Yale University Press)

Taking a new approach to the study of cross-cultural trade, this book blends archival research with historical narrative and economic analysis to understand how the Sephardic Jews of Livorno, Tuscany, traded in regions near and far in the 17th and 18th centuries. Francesca Trivellato tests assumptions about ethnic and religious trading diasporas and networks of exchange and trust. She conducted research in international archives, incuding a vast cache of merchants' letters written between 1704 and 1746. She argues that cross-cultural trade was predicated on — and generated familiarity among — strangers, but could coexist easily with religious prejudice. In "The Familiarity of Strangers," Trivellato also analyzes instances in which business cooperation among coreligionists and between strangers relied on language, customary norms and social networks more than the progressive rise of state and legal institutions.

Partnership Parenting: How Men and Women Parent Differently — Why It Helps Your Kids and Can Strengthen Your Marriage

Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of child psychiatry, and Marsha Kline Pruett

(Da Capo Press)

In "Partnership Parenting," Dr. Kyle Pruett and Marsha Kline Pruett offer a new outlook on parenting. They argue that the "united front" that many experts advocate actually may not be what's best for children and their families. Instead, the authors say, a couple's "not being on the same page" with regard to parenting may, in fact, strengthen the whole family. The Pruetts point out that men and women have naturally different communication styles and unique approaches to parenting: While mothers tend to overprotect their children, fathers tend to push them toward greater independence. "Partnership Parenting" features strategies for negotiating common "landmine situations" from birth to age eight, from discipline and bedtime to helping children with homework and teaching them responsibility.

The Bourgeois Frontier: French Towns, French Traders and American Expansion

Jay Gitlin, lecturer in history and associate director of the Howard R. Lamar Center for the Study of Frontiers and Borders

(Yale University Press)

In this interpretation of the forces behind the development of the American West, Jay Gitlin argues that the activities of the French are crucial to understanding the phenomenon of westward expansion. He points out that although the Seven Years War brought an end to the French colonial enterprise in North America, the French in towns such as New Orleans, St. Louis and Detroit survived the transition to American rule. French traders from mid-America such as the Chouteaus and Robidouxs of St. Louis then became agents of change in the West, perfecting a strategy of "middle grounding" by pursuing alliances within Indian and Mexican communities in advance of American settlement and re-investing fur trade profits in land, town sites, banks and transportation.

A Practical Guide to Autism: What Every Parent, Family Member and Teacher Needs To Know

Fred Volkmar, director of the Child Study Center and professor of pediatrics, psychology and psychiatry, and Lisa A. Wiesner

(Wiley & Sons Inc.)

"A Practical Guide to Autism" provides comprehensive information about recent scientific developments related to the disorder and is also a practical guide for how they are being implemented. Written in clear ­language so the non-specialist can understand, the book includes charts, question-and-answer sections and chapters on topics ranging from diagnostic issues to evaluating services for a person with autism. It also ­features comprehensive references and lists additional resources for families and teachers.

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