The Union
Bookshelf regularly features new books written by alumni
authors and other members of the Union community. If
you're an author and would like to be included in an
upcoming issue, please send a copy of the book as well as
your publisher's news release to the Office of
Communications, Union College, Schenectady, N.Y.
12308-3169.
Orel Friedman
'35, M.D.
Eighteen By Thirteen is a murder
mystery that includes blackmail, love, betrayal, and a
close look into the world of crime. What makes the book
particularly interesting — and a little scary — is that
it is the collaborative effort of thirteen members of a
writer's workshop, ten of whom are in their eighties and
three in their seventies.
The authors met every Saturday morning
for three years, clustered around a long table in the
arts-and-crafts room of the Forum Retirement Community in
Deerfield Beach, Fla. They say that the book that
resulted from those meetings bears part of each of them.
Friedman, who is a retired physician
from Glens Falls, N.Y., was one of the members of the
workshop. The group has pledged a percentage of each sale
to a local the Alzheimer's Family Center. The book was
published by Rutledge Press.
Frank Alois '40
Rhymes and Reflections, written by
Frank and his wife, Greta, starts with poetry that was
written earlier in their life, followed by a section of
short stories, and finally, another section of poetry
written in later years, most of which reflects on nature
themes. In “Of Rabbits and Vegetables” —
“Of great value is a clover to each and every bunny,
to him a clover anytime is absolutely yummy!” From
another poem, “The Fog and My Loneliness” —
“My loneliness too is a wave that can be dreary like
mist, a cloud soft but cold, pierced by a sea-gull, its
wings rimmed with gold. A bell in the distance, the sound
of trees, the fog and my loneliness are shared by these.
Now is silence all around me, no matter where it ends,
the fog and my loneliness — these are my friends.”
The small, hardcover volume is
available from the authors, who live at The Cedars, Box
3, West River, Md. 20778. At the time of this writing,
Frank was hard at work on his first novel.
John Lewis '41
John Lewis, retired professor of
economics and international affairs at Princeton
University, has co-written The World Bank — Its First
Half Century. Lewis, working in with Richard Webb of
Peru, former governor of Peru's central bank, and Devesh
Kapur of India, assistant professor at Harvard, has
produced a two-volume set. The first is a history of the
World Bank, written by the authors, and the second is a
collection of perspectives on the bank, edited by the
authors.
Lewis, who retired from Princeton in
1991, was a member of the Kennedy-Johnson Council of
Economic Advisers, director of the USAID mission to
India, dean of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of
Public and International Affairs, and resident chairman
of OECD's Development Assistance Committee in Paris. The
books are available through Brookings Press.
Bill Maynard
'50
Bill Maynard's first novel, Rock River,
is an action-packed adventure for 8-12 year olds. It is
the story of Luke, who has questions about his own
bravery after his brother dies in a daredevil stunt. His
brother's death changes things at home; his parents don't
get along, and they constantly warn Luke about not taking
chances with the river, since it looks calm on the
surface but can be very dangerous underneath. It's not
until he takes a dangerous river trip with his friend,
Milo, who challenges Luke to take unnecessary risks, that
he discovers the true meaning of courage.
Maynard's previous books, Incredible
Ned and Santa's Time Off, were featured in “The
Union Bookshelf” in September 1997. The author lives
in Westchester County, N.Y., and on Martha's Vineyard.
The book is available through the publisher, The Putnam
& Grosset Group.
Kate White '72
What do you dream about having — a
perfect partner, the house of your dreams, a big
promotion? Kate White tells us that getting what you want
is possible and is a learned skill. Using anecdotes from
successful women, she gives us nine rules that are,
surprisingly, just the opposite of what “good”
girls are taught. The chapters of her new book, 9 Secrets
of Women Who Get Everything They Want, are “Bite off
More Than You Can Chew,” “Don't Wait for the
Right Moment,” “Never Mind Your Own
Business,” “Wear Your Heart on your
Sleeve,” and “Covet Thy Neighbor's
Things.”
White is the newly-appointed editor of
Cosmopolitan magazine, after serving as editor-in-chief
of Redbook magazine. Her new book is available through
The Crown Publishing Group. Her first book, Why Good
Girls Don't Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do, was featured in
“The Union Bookshelf” in March 1997.