The Union Bookshelf regularly features new books written
by (or about) alumni and
other members of the Union community. If you're an author and would like to be included in a future issue, please send
us a copy of the book as well as your publisher's news release. Our address is Office of Communications, Union College, Schenectady, N.Y. 12308.
David J. Fitzgerald '56
Toyland chronicles the summer season in a resort town, at the saloon known as Mitty's Adirondack Hotel that's busy hustling custom. Hugh Fitzroy, proprietor, a juicer of note himself, presides, while an unpopular war continues interminably in distant Southeast Asia. When the body of a young girl is found by the side of the road, the police investigation leads to Mitty's and Marco Rigo,
a young Vietnam veteran and small-time marijuana dealer. Fitzroy believes the police have
the wrong person and, despite his own admonitions to the contrary, feels compelled to look into the case. In doing so, he learns that it may be politically expedient to convict Rigo. When another girl
is murdered, Fitzroy attempts to take the law into his own hands, resulting in the novel's explosive climax. In examining the ethical matrix of the archetypal warrior-hero, the novel may raise more questions than provide answers. For more information on
Toyland, or to obtain a copy, go to www.1stbooks.com.
Hank Harrell '59
Prime Producing Equations:
The Distribution of Primes and Composites Within a Special Number Arrangement addresses several exciting, thought admittedly esoteric, subjects. The focus
of his work is prime producing quadratic equations; Harrell's theory proposes an improved method for finding equations that “increase the density of primes in the total numbers processed.” The writer, an amateur mathematician and self-taught programmer, describes the book as appropriate for math and computer science hobbyists, as well as for professionals looking to stay alert to
new mathematical discoveries. Although the material is complicated and specialized, Harrell's passion for his own work and his respect for the work of his predecessors makes
Prime Producing Equations a “must read!” Harrell is a retired mechanical engineer who began his study of prime numbers in 1997 after reading a magazine article that described their random nature. To obtain a
copy, go to www.1stbooks.com and click the “media” image at the top of the page.
Stuart S. Shapiro '70
Edited by Laurie Dolphin and Stuart S. Shapiro, Flash Frames:
A New Pop Culture celebrates the work of more than forty of the most innovative media artists currently using the software program known as Flash. From veteran celebrity animators such as Stan Lee, who wrote the book's introduction, to the high-spirited adventures of Marina Zurkow's mutant-cute superheroine Braingirl, to the apocalyptic landscape of Pink Floyd's “Wish You Were Here,”
Flash Frames showcases it all. “Flash-like jazz, rock 'n' roll, and hip-hop-is a new beat for a new generation,” says Shapiro. “Flash art will prove to define a new generation of media artists whose work will be able to be recognized by a single frame of the Flash art animation.”
Flash Frames is the first book to document this new art form. Shapiro, president of Digital Download, has production credits that include the USA Network award-winning series “Night Flight,” the cult feature “Mondo
in New York,” the comedy documentary “Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen,” the feature film
Only the Strong, and the live webcast of “Woodstock '99.” To obtain a copy, go to
www.FlashFrames.org or www.watsonguptill.com.
Kate White '72
If Looks Could Kill introduces readers to Bailey Weggins, a thirty-something, single-again true crime writer for
Gloss, a leading Manhattan women's magazine. Enter Cat Jones, Bailey's boss and the glamorous high-powered editor of
Gloss, whose nanny has just been found dead after eating a box of chocolates that were seemingly meant for Cat. Bailey, a true gutsy sleuth, sets on the trail to find the murderer. Says
Publisher's Weekly, “Bridget Jones meets Nancy Drew in White's impressive debut novel, which provides plenty of New York glamour and glitz, besides a smart, sexy heroine and a cleverly constructed murder mystery.” White,
Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief, started as a writer when she won a Glamour magazine contest while enrolled at Union. After graduation, she took a job with the magazine as an editorial assistant. Her experiences at
Cosmopolitan may have provided fodder for this novel, but she assures readers that it's purely fiction. In addition to
If Looks Could Kill, White is the author of two non-fiction books. Look for the second novel in the Bailey Weggins mystery series,
A Body
to Die For, to appear on shelves
in 2003. For more information
on White, or to obtain a copy
of If Looks Could Kill, go to www.katewhite.com.
Janet Sasson Edgette '78
Candor, Connection, and Enterprise in Adolescent Therapy addresses the difficulties facing therapists who deal with adolescent clients. Using case studies and examples from years of practice, Edgette advocates a relationship-based therapy to crack the code of adolescent reticence and defiance. Kids are quick to pick up on a therapist who struggles to be helpful, to be liked, make conversation, and not upset. Occasionally a therapist is so worried about saying the “wrong” thing, he or she may wind up saying too little that is useful. This book offers therapists techniques for engaging and connecting with their teenaged clients to help them and their family members find dignified, face-saving ways out of their problems. It proves to be a valuable resource for therapists
and families alike, helping to deconstruct the difficulties inherent in adolescent therapy,
in order to achieve healing and change. Edgette is the founder and co-director of The Brief Therapy Center of Philadelphia and co-director of the Milton H. Erickson Institute of Philadelphia. She is also a clinician in private practice and the author of
Head Up! Practical Sport Psychology
for Riders, Their Families, and Their Trainers. To obtain a copy
of Candor, Connection, and Enterprise in Adolescent Therapy, go to www.amazon.com.
Evan I. Schwartz '86
The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television tells a tale of genius and greed, innocence and deceit, and corporate arrogance versus independent brilliance. According to Walter Isaacson, the chairman of CNN, “Philo T. Farnsworth is probably the most influential unknown person in the past century. Schwartz tells the fascinating inside story of how this eccentric loner invented television and fought corporate America.” In 1921, Farnsworth had an idea but didn't know anyone who would understand it. By 1926, at the age of twenty, he was operating his own laboratory above a garage in San Francisco and filing his first patent applications. The resulting publicity brought him to the attention of David Sarnoff, founder of the NBC radio network, whose RCA laboratories began investigating, without success, a way to transmit a moving image. Sarnoff was determined to control television the same way he monopolized radio, so he devised a plan to steal credit for Farnsworth's designs. This book is vividly written and based on original research, including interviews with surviving members of the Farnsworth family, including his wife, Pem. Schwartz is an award-winning journalist who has covered technology and business for
the past fifteen years. For more information, go to www.lastloneinventor.com.