JENNIFER SMITH TURNER ’74
Lost and Found: Rhyming Verse Honoring African American Heroes
Connecticut River Press
This book of poetry includes illustrations by Turner’s sister, Valarie Smith. The poems are about the inspiration Turner found in what she calls the “courageous” lives of public figures ranging from tennis player Arthur Ashe to poet and novelist Maya Angelou. About Angelou, Turner writes, “Maya personifies phenomenal us/ Proclaims joy, delight/ In lives we share so much.” Turner began writing poetry while at Union and in 2003 published Perennial Secrets, Poetry & Prose. The author worked for 28 years as a senior-level business executive.
JOHN W. JACOBSON ’71
Handbook of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Springer
Jacobson conceived of this handbook, recruited contributors and served as editor until rapidly progressing lung cancer took his life on May 8, 2004. The book was then about two-thirds complete and was finished by coeditors James A. Mulick and Johannes Rojahn. The handbook examines advances in the field and also summarizes major subject areas like autism. Jacobson earned a doctorate in psychology from the University of Vermont and worked for more than 25 years as a research scientist at the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities in Albany. Coeditor Mulick writes in the book’s dedication, “So many people sought [Jacobson’s] guidance in so many fields related to developmental disabilities, psychology and applied research that his absence is sorely felt on at least three continents.”
JOHN DiCOCCO ’70
New England GolfGuide, 2007 Edition
BallMarker Press
This is the 18th installment of one of New England’s best golf guides, which is subtitled “The Directory for Public Play.” The guide contains information from slope to greens fees for 541 public courses. DiCocco has been the editor of the GolfGuide since 1995 and bought the publication in 2005. He creates the content for the book’s first 20 to 30 pages and reviews and rates courses. When not working on the GolfGuide, John serves as publications manager for the Boston University School of Management. At GolfGuide, DiCocco calls himself chief enthusiasm officer because he says, “publishing feels like a 16-month cycle in a 12-month year, so you have to love what you are doing.”
ROBERT G. MEYERS ’60
Understanding Empiricism
Acumen
Understanding Empiricism is an introduction to empiricism and the empiricist tradition in philosophy. The book examines the most important philosophical issues bearing on the subject, while maintaining enough distance from the intricacies to allow readers to gain a clear overview of empiricism. Empiricism posits that all knowledge of real existence must be justified by experience, as opposed to rationalism, which argues that some knowledge is innate. Meyers is a professor of philosophy at the University at Albany in New York. The book is part of series of short, accessible books about major schools, movements and traditions in philosophy since the Enlightenment.