Seek and Hide by Amy Gajda

SEEK AND HIDE, The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy, by Amy Gajda is “just the sort of road map we could use right now” according to The Atlantic. And indeed, Gajda has been commenting on the recent execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago (see this piece for Wired magazine) and on the relationship between abortion and the right to privacy (in this Time magazine article). She begins her new book with a short primer on the four types of US law: Constitutional (federal and state), enacted statutes, regulations, and the common law created through the judicial system. Subsequent chapters deal with the rise of privacy and the rise of media as well as more recent debates on topics like the right to be forgotten. Gajda stresses that tension exists between the individual's right to privacy and the public's right to know the truth. She frames the discussion within an historical context and illustrates her points with stories and anecdotes (with several, for example, involving Louis Brandeis and Oliver Wendell Holmes), but the topic is quite complicated, particularly for an average reader. Throughout this sometimes surprising and always thoughtful review Gajda’s expertise, both as a journalist and as the Class of 1937 Professor of Law at Tulane Law School, is evident. An extensive set of notes, lengthy bibliography, and useful index are included. 

The World According to Color by James Fox

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO COLOR by James Fox received a starred review from Booklist. This non-fiction work provides “A Cultural History,” with chapters on each color (e.g., Yellow: Twilight of the Idols; White: Poisonous Purity; and so on).  Fox is Director of Studies in History of Art at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, and has many acclaimed BBC television documentaries about art. In his first book for a general audience, he describes the history of each major color and some of its geographic and cultural associations, particularly in the art world. For example, it was interesting to note that purple truly is rare in nature and was very expensive to produce so it was found “in only 0.06 percent of paintings [from almost 140,000 reviewed] before the middle of the nineteenth century.” Or, that in China the color red’s “meanings are so positive that China’s stock market shows rising stocks in red, rather than black, the opposite of almost every other country.” Fox devotes roughly one-third of the text to notes, further reading, and a detailed index; he also refers to over 50 plates, but I did not see any illustrations in the preview. This topic is obviously so visually oriented that interested readers may want to investigate The British Library’s program on THE WORLD ACCORDING TO COLOR:

Life Time by Russell Foster

LIFE TIME by Russell Foster, professor of Circadian Neuroscience, at the University of Oxford, offer insights about “Your Body Clock and Its Essential Roles in Good Health and Sleep.” Foster has over forty years of experience as a scientist in this field and he explicitly sets out to explain the intertwining of body clocks and sleep in “a format that is fun and easy to read.”  He has certainly made an effort to group like topics (e.g., when to take drugs or eating times) together and the text is generally more accessible than I had anticipated. However, he has to rely on an alphabet soup of abbreviations and on scientific terms which make the reading difficult in places. There is a helpful glossary and Foster offers some amusing anecdotes in an effort to lighten the load. I also liked the reassuring tone (e.g., "we should stop worrying about our sleep and accept that 'different' is not necessarily worse"). I skimmed several chapters like The Day Within or Seven Ages of Sleep and appreciated that he concluded each with some layperson questions. In addition, the use of bullet points or maybe an outline of “key takeaways” after each chapter could have been a useful improvement. More specific action steps (e.g., get children outside in bright light to reduce the chance of myopia or near-sightedness) and information on implementation (what does bright-light therapy look like at nursing homes?) seemed vague or missing. The connections between sleep and circadian rhythms is an extremely interesting topic and Foster adds to engagement by including an Appendix with suggestions for developing a sleep diary; he also includes a Chronotype Questionnaire to help his readers determine if they are more of a “morning” or “evening” person. LIFE TIME deals with important health-related topics and is worth a look. My favorite quote? “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” ~Marie Skłodowska-Curie

To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker

TO KILL A TROUBADOUR by Martin Walker is the latest in the series involving Bruno Courrèges, Chief of Police in the French Périgord (or Dordogne) region. These mysteries involve police investigations combined with local lore and cuisine. In addition to being a wily detective, Bruno is quite the chef and Walker portrays his knowledge of cooking and wines throughout the story. In this selection he also provides important historical information about Occitan, the original local language, and about Eleanor of Aquitaine’s role in spreading Islamic scholarship and music. Readers learn much of this from the character Joel Martin; he is a scholar and songwriter whose life is threatened because he has authored a song supporting Catalan independence from Spain. Bruno and his local and national colleagues suspect a sniper threat that evolves into an international plot with possible Russian backing. It’s complicated and necessitates quite a bit of background information which slows the pace. Still, TO KILL A TROUBADOUR is suspenseful and a welcome summer escape to the South of France.

Nomad Century by Gaia Vince

NOMAD CENTURY by Gaia Vince (Transcendence; Adventures in the Anthropocene) is all about “How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World,” a topic which has been of high interest to our student researchers in the past few years. Her book has pre-pub blurbs from an impressive array of accessible non-fiction authors: Mary Roach, Bill McKibben, and Bill Bryson. Vince herself is an award-winning science journalist, author, broadcaster and speaker. Eloquently creating relevance, she states “Human movement on a scale never before seen will dominate this century and remake our world,” further noting "you will be among them, or you will be receiving them." She begins with a look at the nature of migration – both for people and “stuff.” A key point is the possibility of a “climate apartheid” where social inequality and poverty interact with climate change for even more devastating consequences. Vince devotes several chapters to outlining the problems, complete with shocking, but relatable, statistics (e.g., “the Welsh capital, Cardiff, is projected to be two-thirds under water by 2050”). The final chapters advocate for possible solutions (e.g., using technology like cloud brightening for solar reflectivity), including long-term efforts to restore areas for habitation by humans although many comments are rather general (e.g., “we must stop seeing the people who move as the problem, even if some of their reasons are”). Vince also includes an eight point manifesto, a few “further reading suggestions,” notes, and a helpful index, together comprising roughly twenty percent of the text. NOMAD CENTURY received a starred review from Kirkus. It is a call to action - sobering, but hopeful reading. 

The Destructionists by Dana Milbank

Happy National Book Lovers Day!  It is celebrated every year on August 9th. Today also marks almost 50 years since Nixon resigned (on August 9, 1974) while also being the first time that the FBI utilized a court order to “raid” the home and offices of a former President. Seems fitting to turn to a book about politics and the Republican Party: 

THE DESTRUCTIONISTS by Dana Milbank, a nationally syndicated columnist for the Washington Post, was recently published and is subtitled “The Twenty-Five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party.” Milbank traces the modern day evolution from the mid-1990s when Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House.  Clearly not a fan, Milbank argues that “Republicans have become an authoritarian faction fighting democracy.” He asserts that Republican leaders have “repeatedly put short-term self-interest ahead of the national interest” and illustrates this by investigating four major actors and their eras: Gingrich’s savage attacks during the Clinton presidency; Karl Rove’s “dishonesty” during the Bush presidency; Mitch McConnell’s (and Sarah Palin’s) assault during the Obama Presidency and the ongoing debacle that Trump has created. What is even more interesting is the pattern of action which Milbank documents with Republicans “hacking away at the foundations of democracy and civil society” through “their war on truth, their growing exploitation of racism and white supremacy, their sabotage of the institutions and norms of government, and their dehumanizing of opponents and stoking of violence.” Kirkus’ review aptly labels THE DESTRUCTIONISTS “A well-researched, dispiriting dissection of politics.” Yes, Milbank devotes roughly a third of the text to notes in this disheartening chronicle. He certainly focuses on the negatives, barely mentioning Liz Cheney and making no reference to other brave Republicans like Adam Kinzinger or Rusty Bowers. The events and motives Milbank chooses to stress make reading difficult at times for anyone who values America’s traditional values. Interested to learn more for yourself? The Washington Post has made an excerpt available here (or via our ProQuest database).